Chapter 10: A Date

"She's been sitting there like that for the past hour," whispered Lacus as she pointed to Cagalli. Cagalli was sitting on the porch railing as she stared blankly at the long road in front of the house. She was dressed back in her usual clothes, her dark red shirt and cargo pants. "Waiting for the boys to come..."

"She's probably aware of how much time has passed..." said Stellar.

"Not at all. Watch this," smirked Meer. "Hey, Cagalli."

The blonde didn't turn around from her stiff position. "Hmm?"

"There's been an accident," explained Meer as serious as she possibly could. "Your wedding dress was, well, kind of..." she paused and tapped her slender finger against her chin. "Stolen by wild monkeys!"

"Okay."

Lacus, Meer, and Stellar tried hard to swallow their giggles.

"Hey, Cagalli, Flay can't be a bridesmaid, so we're going to have Dearka fill in. He's coming tomorrow to be fitted for his rose lace dress."

"Okay."

Lacus and Stellar had lost it by then. Meer managed to eke out one more between laughs. "Hey, Cagalli, your brother wants to throw a bachlorette party for you. He said he'd dress like a girl and everything for it!"

"Okay."

"She's gone!" laughed Stellar. "Absolutely gone!"

Suddenly, Cagalli dashed quickly from the porch. Her shaggy blonde hair followed her with the breeze.

"You said it!" giggled Lacus. She looked up to see the big black sports car pull in to the once empty driveway. "Oh, I guess Athrun and the guys are here."

Athrun was three-fourths of the way down the driveway when he saw her. "Athrun!" called Cagalli as she bolted towards him. Her amber eyes sparkled in the noonday sun. Athrun dropped his backpack to make room for the little blonde girl who hurtled into his embrace. Dearka whistled.

Athrun kissed Cagalli on the forehead. "You really did miss me, didn't you?" he laughed. "It's good to see you." He picked up his backpack again. "Come on. I'm starving!"

When they reached the house, Cagalli noticed Meer, Lacus and Stellar. She scowled. "What was that about my wedding dress being stolen by wild monkeys? And a bachlorette party?" Her scowl deepened. "AND DEARKA WEARING A LACE DRESS?"

"She was listening!" Lacus yelped. Meer grabbed Stellar and Lacus's arms. "Run!"

Athrun, Kira, Nicol, Shinn and Dearka stood, dumbfounded.

"What was that about Dearka wearing lace?" Kira asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't agree to that!" said Dearka.

"I don't want to know," said Athrun, his emerald eyes wide.

The entire house was filled with people- Athrun, Cagalli, Kira, Dearka, Lacus, Meer, Stellar, and Nicol. With that many teenagers, there was an awful lot of commotion.

With all the people around, it was a full day before Cagalli saw Athrun by himself. Her heart pounded, and, as was her new habit, she fiddled with her locket as she approached him. "Athrun?" she ventured quietly.

He turned around. "Yes, Cagalli?" he said. His sparkling eyes caught hers for a moment, but she instantly dropped her gaze to stare at the floor.

"I just- I wanted to-" she stammered. Athrun waited patiently. "Why the hell am I so nervous? Ugh...this is so unlike me!"

"Cagalli, what do you say tonight we..." he paused. "Go on a date?"

Cagalli's amber eyes grew wide. "A-a date?" she repeated.

"Yes," he answered. He smiled. "A date. Pick any place you want to go, and I'll take you."

"Really?" she gasped. It had been two months since she last saw him, and two months since she had time together with him...alone with him. She couldn't wait.

"Yes, really," said Athrun. He shot her his infectious grin. "Go get ready."

"All right," beamed Cagalli. "I'll be ready in a few minutes!" She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Wait..." she paused. "I don't have to wear a dress, do I?"

"Not if you don't want to," laughed Athrun. Cagalli was extremely thankful.

Sure enough, ten minutes later she was completely ready. She was wearing a red button-up blouse and cargo capris. Her shaggy blonde hair fell over her shoulders, but the top was pulled back with a red clip. It was slightly dressier than her usual attire. "How do I look?" asked Cagalli shyly.

"I never thought I'd hear the spitfire Cagalli ask how she looked." grinned Athrun. "Anyways, you look lovely. So where would you like to go?"

"I'm not really sure," said Cagalli, a little hesitant. She tapped her finger against her chin. "Could we just go window shopping for a while?"

"Sounds good to me," said Athrun. "Let me get our coats, and we'll go." Athrun helped Cagalli slide her jacket over her shoulders, then proceeded to slide on his own.

"Hey, where are you two going?" asked Nicol. He looked at Athrun, then Cagalli, confused.

"Cagalli and I have a date," said Athrun proudly. He smiled gently at the younger boy. "We'll be back in a few hours."

The early December evening was cold, but not too cold. Snow fluttered across the night sky. Many people, most of them rushing around finishing Christmas shopping, milled about on the sidewalks, talking and laughing. Cagalli was staring at the whirling crowd around her when a warm touch on her hand caught her attention. Athrun nonchalantly reached over and slipped his hand around hers. Athrun thought she would pull away and possibly yell at him, but it was worth the risk. They had been apart for what felt like years, and he wanted nothing more than to be close to her. He laced his fingers through hers, and Cagalli squeezed his hand gently.

They walked around for a while, glancing in windows and commenting on things they saw.

"Hey, let's go in there," suggested Athrun. He tugged her into the little corner bookstore/coffee shop. "You want anything?"

"Hm, I don't know," said Cagalli. He had let go of her hand.

"I'm getting one of those," said Athrun, pointing at a customer who was walking away from the counter with a coffee like drink topped with about 3 inches of whipped cream.

Cagalli batted his hand lightly. "It's rude to point," she said.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "I'm still getting one. Want to share?" he asked. She nodded.

Athrun smiled and stepped up to the counter. "I want one of those," he said to the cashier, pointing to a picture of the beverage. "The Carmel Latte. Two straws, please."

He handed the drink to Cagalli as he pulled his credit card out of his back pocket. "On the Zala account, sir," said Athrun, handing the cashier his card. The cashier nodded. He turned to Cagalli. "Find us a seat, okay?" She nodded as she turned on her heel to enter the seating section.

She looked around and found a small corner booth. It took only a few seconds for her to realize, even just a few hundred steps away, she was lonely without Athrun. Lazily, Cagalli ran the tip of her finger in the whipped cream.

"Hey, you can't start without me!" protested Athrun jokingly. He held the two straws in his grasp. He pointed at the whipped cream on Cagalli's fingertip. "I want that..."

"Well, you can't have it. It's mine," said Cagalli. She waved her finger in Athrun's face. He grinned and sat beside her. Then, once the moment was right, he leaned forward and licked the whipped cream off her finger. She stared at him wide-eyed. She was speechless.

"Didn't think I'd actually do it, did you?" teased Athrun. He then stuck his finger in the cream and held it out to her. "Here. Take a lick." Cagalli stared at the whipped cream, then her fiancée, then the whipped cream again.

"Why should I?" she retorted. "I don't know where your fingers have been!"

He smiled and waved his finger. "If you don't lick it off, I'll stick it up your nose," he threatened.

"All right, all right," she sighed, though not complaining. She actually wanted to lick the whipped cream off. She leaned forward and licked the whipped cream off Athrun's finger. His skin was warm against her tongue.

"See? It wasn't bad," smiled Athrun. "I'm not poison." He took a sip of the latte they had ordered. " Oh, this is good! Try some."

Without thinking, Cagalli put his straw in her mouth and sipped the cold drink.

"You have your own straw, you know," joked Athrun

"I know," she said matter-of-factly. She knew very well that her face was pink. She tried to act like as if she meant to do it. "I just like to dominate things."

"I guess we just need one straw, then," sighed Athrun dramatically. He tossed the second one over his shoulder, where it hit a middle-aged bald man right in the middle of his forehead. The bald man glanced up and glared in the general direction of anyone with a straw, then returned to his book.

It took Athrun what seemed like forever to finish the latte. "Come on, you have some,"

"I've had enough," said Cagalli. She tugged at his sleeve. "Hurry up. I want to go look at the books."

"Go ahead," smiled Athrun. I'll catch up with you when I've finished this." As she turned to leave, Athrun continued.

"Just don't find another guy who's better looking or nicer than me, okay?" he joked. "I'm trusting you!"

"It won't be possible to find anyone else," she said back. Cagalli wandered towards the racks and racks of books. She loved to read. It was how she kept level-headed throughout the war. She moved her gaze towards the mythology rack. A large hardbound book caught her eye. It was a collection of Greek gods and goddesses, filled with paintings. She flipped through the colorful pages, interested. She glanced at the price, winced, and set the book back on the shelf with a last, loving pat on its cover.

"Did you find anything you want?" asked Athrun, sneaking up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Not really," she said. She didn't push him away. "Come on, let's go look around some more."

It was ten o'clock before they realized it. "We'd better be getting back soon," yawned Cagalli. She stretched out her muscular arms. "Flay and Sai are coming in tomorrow, and we don't want to be tired. Everyone knows what a pain Flay can be..."

"No kidding, " said Athrun. "Hey, I have to go do something really fast. Will you wait for me? It'll only take a second."

"Okay..." said Cagalli reluctantly. "It better take only a second. And I'm counting!"

"All right, all right," laughed Athrun. He reappeared several minutes later with a bag in his hand.

"That was more than 'a second'," she scowled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," apologized Athrun. "Let's go home, okay?"

The walk back to the house in the dark was quiet. The snow fluttered across the beautiful night sky. Cagalli kept yawning. Her amber eyes were heavy. She had trouble keeping them open, though she was quite awake when she felt a strong, warm arm slide around her waist. Athrun pulled Cagalli towards him, letting her small body curve against his. Cagalli nestled against him. When they reached the house, he let go of her.

"Goodnight, Cagalli," he said.

"Goodnight," she yawned. He smiled brightly at her, and ran up the steps. Cagalli was clearly puzzled. She shrugged, assumed it was nothing, and slumped sleepily upstairs to her room.

Her bedroom door was open. She made another puzzled face. She hated having her room open, and she knew she hadn't left it that way. She figured it was just Lacus, Meer, and Stellar, but when she went inside, she understood why.

A plastic bag was lying on the quilt on the foot of her bed. It was labeled with the bookstore logo. Confused, she reached inside.

A thick book of Greek Gods and Goddesses slid into her hands.

"Athrun!" she called, running down the hall. She wasn't worried about waking anyone up. "Athrun!"

He poked his head out the door. Innocence shined in his dark eyes. "Yes?" he asked.

Cagalli tossed her arms around his neck. "Thank you!" she cried. "Thank you so much!"

Athrun hugged her tightly. "Are you happy?" he asked.

"I'm so happy I could kiss you!" she said breathlessly.

"Then kiss me," smiled Athrun. He turned his cheek towards her.

Shyly, Cagalli leaned close to him. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips softly against his cheek. It was over in a second.

She felt her face get hot. "Goodnight, Athrun," whispered Cagalli, running back to her room.

This Chapter Updated 11/10/2010