Gundam Seed:
Love On The Battlefield
By Eagle_Alchemist
Chapter 7
"Dear Diary, today was such a fun day! It's the first day after the wedding and the first of 6 whole days alone with Athrun! Well, kinda alone haha. After breakfast we took a drive to the city and Athrun took me to a museum with so many interesting things in it. From pottery to fossils...he says fossils are long dead animals that got preserved in the ground. Kinda cool. We had lunch at this really nice little place by a park. Then after we took a walk in the park and fed some ducks at the pond.
I loved spending the day with him. He was so sweet to me the whole time and even let me hold his hand! Yay! We had dinner with Myrna, it was chicken covered in breadcrumbs with a cheesy sauce on it...think she called it, Chicken Parmigiana. But it was really nice and then for afters we had a big chunk of chocolate cake with cream. Yum! Athrun suggested we do a little star gazing. I wasn't too sure what that was at first, but he showed me what he meant and I really liked it.
Finding that spot on the cliff, where the lights didn't reach, the stars were so bright and there were gazillions of them! I can't wait for tomorrow to get here. Athrun said we would spend some time at the beach, with a picnic and he was going to teach me how to swim! I'm a little scared about it, but I trust him. I feel so safe with Athrun and also, I totally like him. I think Cagalli called it a crush, but I'm not so sure. It feels so strong. Well, I guess I will have to ask her when she returns."
Closing the little hard cover writing book Mina laid the pen down and all but leaped into bed. She honestly could not wait for the morning to come. She had been keeping her diary for a while now, noting down all the things she learned, did or saw, people she spoke to and spent time with. It was so she would never forget and be able to look back on it one day and recall it all. Just from her words alone. She knew there were a lot of entries regarding Athrun. He was becoming a big part of her life. And she was over the moon about it too. Burying herself under the covers, she closed her eyes and tried to dream of Athrun. The fact that she was thinking of him, stopped any of the nightmares from returning to plague her mind and ruin her sleep.
The following morning, she was up bright and early, selecting what to wear to the beach over her swimsuit. It was a one piece suit with pale blue edging and the main body of it being a pastel shade of sea green. After staring at her limited closet of clothing, she finally settled on a pretty forest green dress, with straps over the shoulder and the stretchy section across the chest. It was quite short too, but suited a trip to the beach where she would likely shed it in favour of her swimsuit alone. Putting on some simple sandals, she combed her hair through and then packed her beach towel into the small bag. There was a soft knock upon her door, making her stop and momentarily freeze. Until, that is, she heard the familiar voice on the other side of it.
"Mina dear, it's time to get up. Breakfast is ready." Myrna said, thinking she might have to go in there to wake her physically.
"Okay Myrna, I will be right there." Mina replied, her voice cheerful and her mood elevated.
Just as Myrna walked away, Mina closed the bag and slung it over her shoulder. Heading out of her room and running to catch up to Myrna, she chatted with her as they went down the stairs. As they rounded the corner into the dinning room, Mina's face lit up when her eyes spied Athrun at the table with a cup of coffee and a light breakfast of fruit before him. He was scanning the morning news on his laptop. Mina almost thought he hadn't noticed them entering the room. But he had.
"Morning Mina, Myrna." He said lifting his gaze from the screen and smiling.
"Good morning Mr Zala." Myrna replied, still yet to use his first name.
"Morning Athrun!" Mina settled in a seat close to him "What are you looking at on your computer?"
"Oh just the local news. I like to keep up to date with things." Athrun replied "I hate being out of the loop."
"Oh I see." Mina replied, taking a sip of her orange juice and popping a wedge of strawberry in her mouth.
"I prefer knowing what goes on. Helps to be clued in." He went on, picking up his coffee and sipping it "So are you all ready for our day at the beach?"
"So your saying that knowing what goes on, is helpful?" She asked, spearing a chunk of melon and eating it "Yup! All set! Got my bathing suit on and my towel packed and I put the bottle of sun lotion Myrna told me to use as well."
"That's good, we don't want you getting sunburnt out there." He chuckled "Well I am all set too. Once we have breakfast, we'll make our way down there and set up."
Mina smiled big, Athrun's heart melted a little.
"I bet you'll find it fun to look in the rock pools." He continued, between bites "There are plenty of interesting creatures that live in them."
"Oh like what?" Half way through her plate, she stopped to drink more juice.
"Well crabs for one...but just be careful not to try and pick up ones that are bigger than your palm, they pack quite a pinch." Athrun chuckled, before finishing his meal.
"Crabs? Wow cool!" Mina seemed to gulp her food down now, eager to get going "Will there be lots of them? Think we could bring one home?"
"Mina..." The chuckle came out of him and he couldn't help but be amused "You can't bring home a crab. They have to say where they live, okay."
"Awww, that ain't fair." She pouted, and damn if he didn't think she was the cutest girl ever.
"That is the way it is Mina, I'm sorry." Placing a hand over hers he smiled at her "How about this...next chance I get, I'll make you another robot, okay?"
"You'd do that for me?" Her eyes lit up, like tree at Christmas "Really Athrun?"
"Of course Mina." Gazing at her affectionately, he squeezed her hand a little "I'd do anything just to see you smile."
Mina blushed, bright bright red and giggled softly. The most girly, sweet sound. Athrun would forever recall this moment. Just as he would the moment last night when she kissed his cheek and when they danced together. The words he spoke were entirely true. Athrun would do anything, anything at all, just to see her smile with joy just as she was doing now. With breakfast done with, Myrna gave Athrun the picnic hamper she had filled, along with the parasol to shade them and sent them on their way. She had other things to be getting on with. Mina stopped by almost every flower again, to sniff and to touch delicately. She liked them a lot. After descending the stairs and setting up on the beach with the parasol and towels, Mina slowly and a bit shyly, stripped off her dress and removed her sandals. She turned Beet red, when Athrun shed his shirt and stood there in just his swim shorts.
"Ready for your first lesson?" Athrun asked.
"Um, well, I uh.." Mina hesitated.
"It's okay Mina, I won't let anything happen to you." He assured her.
"You promise?" Her Garnet pools shimmered.
Walking to her and touching her upper arms, he rubbed his thumbs unconsciously and his Viridian orbs locked onto hers.
"I promise, Mina."
With a nod, she allowed him to lead her to the water. Athrun coaxed her into waist deep water, proceeding to explain to her the basics of swimming. After a few attempts, some blunders and false starts, she finally got the basic Doggy Paddle down and was able to go along on her own, without Athrun holding her up. By the time they finished that, both were quite hungry and it was closing in on lunch time. Myrna had packed a nice hamper. There were cheese cubes, fresh grapes, lemonade and crackers, sandwiches of tuna and cucumber with lettuce and mayonnaise and some sweet snacks too. As they ate, they talked. Athrun began to learn more about who Mina was as a person. Artistic and kind, sweet and caring, full of life and so very inquisitive. She was always willing to learn something new.
With lunch out of the way and a nice break of lazing about following it, Athrun decided it was time to show her the rock pools. They sat by the side of a couple, peering in at the small creatures eking out a life in the small pools of water. Mina was a constant questioner. Asking Athrun what is that, what is this, don't you think that one looks funny? Normally it would bug the hell out of him to be pestered like that with question upon question. But today, he did not feel hounded or harassed. Spending this time with her was relaxing and fun. Putting a crab in her hand made her laugh at how it walked. She marvelled at the shape of the starfish. As they were walking back along the shoreline, Mina got a bit playful and splashed Athrun with water. And so ensued a crazy few moments of fun. By the end of which, they were both soaked again.
Opting to relax some more, Athrun went back to the shade of the parasol. He laid out on the towel with his hands behind his head. Mina meanwhile was happily seeking out more shells, to make yet more things with. She got lost in the hunt, not realising that Athrun had fallen asleep in the shade. After a lengthy search she came back to the shade, carrying several new pieces of shell. She sat and placed them on the bag. It was then she looked at Athrun. Cocking her head a little, she tried to figure out if he truly was asleep or not. Getting onto all fours, she leaned over him. He looked so peaceful. Her gaze drifted over his face and settled on his lips. She wondered to herself, what it might be like. To do like Cagalli and Kazuhiko did. Putting their lips together. It had always looked as though they liked doing it.
Curiosity seemed to win out, as she leaned closer to his face. Her hands were planted on either side of his torso. Lowering further, she stared at his lips, just minimally parted. The closer she got, the more her eyes closed. The very second her lips touched his, she felt like she had been zapped by a bolt of electricity. The shock wave sped through her body like a wild fire. In that instant, she knew why people did this. Athrun stirred beneath her and his eyes crept open. Before he could fully grasp the situation, Mina panicked and pulled back. She hid her eyes beneath her hair, hands clenched tightly in her lap. She just prayed, he would not be mad at her. She was, after all, only curious. Athrun sat up, fingers touching his lips. He looked at Mina. Seeing immediately that she was shocked at getting caught.
"Mina, why did you.." Athrun began to ask.
"I...I dunno..." Her voice was so quiet.
"Uh..." Blinking, he realised she was scared "Mina, I'm not mad at you."
Her face lifted quickly and he was able to see the glistening of building tears in those pretty eyes. Shock spread across his face.
"Please don't cry." His hand cupped her cheek "I promise you, I'm not mad. A little puzzled, but not mad."
"I'm sorry, I was just...just..." Biting her lip she managed to blurt the rest out quickly "I just wanted to know what it was like!"
He smiled now, something soft and gentle. The hand that cupped her cheek, began to rub lightly. Her eyes seemed to well up a little more. Athrun knew, he had to do something to show her he was not mad at her. It took him just a split second to figure out what. Leaning in, he pressed his lips gently on hers. His eyes closed, hand still upon her cheek. Mina froze, eyes wide. It felt completely different now that Athrun was awake and putting his lips on hers. Then she felt something very soft and wet probing at her lips. A delicate brush, to entice. Instinct took over, and her body responded to him. Her eyes fluttered shut, her lips parted and allowed his tongue entry, head tilting to the left. The entire moment was so slow and so soft. Mina thought for sure she was going to melt, with the heat that seemed to consume her.
His hand slipped back into her hair and held her head just where he wanted it. Athrun took it slowly. He did not want to scare her, but at the same time, he did not want to stop. The pressure had been building in him to kiss her. He had wanted this, from the moment they had danced together. A pair of trembling hands touched his upper chest. His free arm swept around her and drew her closer. Mina got lost in the feeling. She thought she would forget to breath. As if reading her mind, Athrun pulled back a bit, so that their lips were barely touching at all. His eyes opened slightly, to look at her. Her face was flushed and her eyes no longer held unshed tears, but a sparkle that spoke volumes to him. He knew, he had made the right move. For both of them.
"Are you alright?" He asked, tentatively against her lips.
"Yeeeessss.." The drawn out reply, had a dreamy tone to it.
"Good. Because Mina..." Athrun brushed his thumb under her eye "...I'd like to have permission to do that any time."
"Yes." Was the only word Mina could think of.
With a chuckle that sent a shiver up her spine, Athrun closed the gap once more and kissed her. He was so tender with her. Being around Athrun, having contact with Kazuhiko and Cagalli and the others, Mina had found the kindness that had been lacking in her life up till that point. No pain, no needles, no horrible tests...and no nightmares. She felt perfectly at peace here. Safe and welcomed and treated like a normal person. The second kiss lasted a fair bit longer than the first and felt even better. They stayed on the towels a while longer, before packing up and heading back to the mansion, to shower and dress for dinner. As she did so, Mina had a song in her heart and was humming the tune all the way to the dinner table. Where Athrun awaited her, with a smile .
She could not wait till that night, so she could put in her diary all that had occurred that day. A very important day for her. In more ways than one.
~~~X~~~
