JC: I'm so busy with school work these days. I sleep very late at night nowadays and I always end up sleeping in class. Thankfully, I can still catch up with my lessons. I managed to find some time to write this. I was thinking about what Cagalli-sama will do if she meets Rusty again. Okay, just read on…

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or the characters.

Entwined Hearts

Phase 10: A Person to count on

Miriallia kept busy around the office for hours now. She had plenty do, and she had promised Kira to take care some of his paper work, which she did, since the representative was busy dating his two fiancées. Miriallia was quite happy that her good friend was finally going somewhere with his love life. Although, she can't help but feel sorry about Kira since the lad was not good with dates or so. Speaking of dates, she wondered if Dearka would visit her soon. She had missed him a lot, though she won't openly admit it.

RING! RING! RING!

The video phone on Kira's desk was ringing. Miriallia turned on the screen and picked up the phone. Much to her surprise, the person that popped on the screen was Dearka.

"Oh, it's you!" the blonde guy said cheerfully with a big smile on his face. He hasn't seen Miriallia for quite a while, so he was pretty happy to see her cute face again. "How's it going? How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," she replied, smiling widely. "Why did you call? Are you looking for Representative Yamato?" Of course, Miriallia remembered to be formal when mentioning Kira to other people, especially soldiers.

"Yeah…" Dearka leaned forward, which made his face a lot bigger on the screen. "You see, our Chairman here is going to pay a visit to ORB again."

"Chairman Rey Za Burrel?" Miriallia took a seat on Kira's huge chair and rested her elbows on the desk. "I see… I'll tell Kira about that later."

"Really? Thanks a lot." Dearka's eyes grew softer as he backed away from the screen. He began fiddling with his fingers. "Umm… I'll be visiting too, Miriallia." He swallowed hard, feeling nervous.

Miriallia's face brightened up so much at what he said. "That's great. I'll be waiting." She cast him a warm smile, making him blush like crazy. Miriallia seemed to notice his hot cheeks, but she didn't dare to ask him about that. She didn't want to embarrass the guy.

"Okay, see ya soon!" Dearka uttered, his body growing stiff. When he saw her warm smile, time seemed to stop for Dearka. Well, he was totally in love with the honey brown-haired girl, so it was natural for him to act that way. Contrary to his playboy looks, he was actually a shy guy when it comes to love.

When Dearka signed off, Miriallia turned the phone off and went back to her paper work. Despite the work laid before her, she was happy. She was going to spend some time with Dearka again soon. She couldn't wait for that day. But she kinda wished Dearka lived in ORB so that she could see him everyday. It was such a hassle to keep talking with him through the phone or internet. Well, she can't do anything about it since the blonde guy's home was in outer space.

ORB Military Sea Port

The princess of ORB was in dazed as she stared out to the deep blue sea. With the wind blowing through her golden locks, only one thing clouded her mind. She sighed at the thought, knowing it would be impossible. Hell will break lose if she'll ever meet him again. Cagalli Yula Athha, being the toughest princess that ever walked the planet, possessed great pride. She touched her lips, remembering the time the orange-head kissed it. She had to admit that his lips were so soft and tender, but his kiss was nothing compared to Athrun. Cagalli would prefer Athrun anytime, anyplace.

Cagalli took in a deep breath, savoring the cool sea breeze. She had been standing by the pier for an hour now. She needed to be alone. She had never told anyone about her problem yet. She tried looking for Miriallia, but the war journalist was nowhere to be seen. She wanted to talk to Jean about it, but knowing the red-head, she would probably spill the beans to her loving brother. Kai was another option, but that guy also had a big mouth.

"I've found you at last!" a cheery voice disturbed Cagalli's thoughts.

"Huh?" The princess turned around and saw a fellow blonde girl approaching her. "Stellar?"

Stellar Loussier was clad in her usual pink Earth Alliance Uniform. She would never wear her uniform properly, but it does look good on her. At the very least, Stellar's way of wearing the uniform was way more unique than the other female soldiers of the EA. "I've been looking everywhere for you, Cagalli-san."

"And why?"

"Are you free this weekend?" the younger blonde asked.

"This weekend…? Umm…" Cagalli crossed her arms to think. "Yeah, I'm free."

"Great! Then you don't mind if we go shopping this weekend, huh?"

"S-shopping?" Cagalli dreaded that word. Any girl would love to go shopping, but Cagalli wasn't like any girl. She was different and boyish. She had never liked shopping. She had always described it as boring and a waste of money. But she couldn't say no to Stellar, knowing the young girl would just plead with those puppy dog eyes. "Errr… Okay…" she finally answered.

"Thanks!" Stellar said, thinking Rusty is going to owe me big! She let out small giggle and winked an eye at Cagalli. "Let's meet at the Wing Zero Café near the park. Is 9 AM okay with you, Cagalli-san?"

Cagalli nodded her head.

"All right! I'll see ya!" Stellar quickly spun around and ran off. She was happy about her plan. She hoped that Rusty wouldn't ruin it, but she was kind of worried about him.

On the other hand, Cagalli went back to sea gazing. Despite her hate for shopping, she was a bit glad that Stellar invited her to go out. She had nothing to do this weekend, she thought, and it might take her mind off of Rusty.

Hangar

"Yo, Zala!" Kai greeted the blue-haired coordinator who just came in. "Didn't expect you to here. Aren't you supposed to be with the princess right now?" he said, smirking teasingly, as he played with the wrench in his hand. He was standing right beside his mobile suit.

Athrun let out a deep sigh, as Kai mentioned the word 'Princess'. He was really down in the dumps. He didn't know what to do with Cagalli anymore. He had been feeling quite distant with her lately. "I think Cagalli is avoiding me," he said it so plainly that it shocked Kai.

"What did you say?!" Kai uttered. He dropped the wrench on the floor and marched up to Athrun. "Why on earth would she do that?" He grabbed Athrun's shoulder and shook him a little. He demanded for an answer.

"I have no idea," Athrun replied sadly.

Kai pushed the blue-haired guy away and folded his arms. "What did you do, Zala?" Kai pointed an accusing finger at Athrun. "Maybe you're cheating on her!" His blue eyes narrowed.

"Me? Cheating?" Athrun was appalled. He would never do such a foolish thing like cheating. He loved Cagalli with his whole heart and he had already proposed to her. They were going to be husband and wife soon for crying out loud! And yet, his blue-eyed friend was accusing him of cheating. "Don't be stupid, Kazuya."

Kai was still suspicious. "Then tell me why she's avoiding you?" His voice sounded a bit eerie and annoying.

It was a good thing that Athrun had an amazing patience. His cool and nice demeanor was very admirable. "I told you, I don't know. Something is bothering Cagalli, I can feel it." Athrun cupped his chin with his hand and focused his emerald-green eyes on the floor. "But it seems that she doesn't want to tell me."

"Have you tried asking her?"

"No…"

The orange-head slapped his own forehead. "Idiot! Why don't you ask her then?!" he yelled out loud, but Athrun covered his ears on time. "Geez, Zala, I thought you were smart." He shrugged.

"Sorry…" Athrun said softly. He had to admit, Kai was right, which was bothersome, but he will never admit that. "I'm gonna ask her later." And he hoped that she won't avoid him.

Kai could see how serious Athrun was through his luscious emerald-green eyes. The guy smiled at this and patted Athrun's shoulder for encouragement. He felt confident in his friend, knowing that Athrun's heart was pure and full of love. But if Athrun ever messed things up with Cagalli, Kai swore to hit him hard on the face. He snickered at the thought. "Just do your best, Zala. If Cagalli breaks up with you, then I'll be more than happy enough to take her." Of course, Kai wasn't being serious when he said that.

Unfortunately, Athrun took it seriously and he immediately cast one deadly glare at Kai. "Don't you dare, Kazuya," he said in an eerie way.

The orange-head swallowed hard and backed a few steps away from Athrun. "I was kidding, Zala! Don't try to kill me, okay?" He laughed to shake off his nervousness. However, Athrun's piercing glare was still scaring the hell out of him. Once again he laughed out loud, making a fool out of himself.

ORB Mansion

Athrun came to pick Cagalli up from her workplace that late afternoon, and took her home. She was extremely quiet during the trip, which bothered Athrun a lot. She had never been so quiet before. She would usually start a conversation about how tiring her work was or how she would love to go out on a vacation once in a while. One of her close friends, Miriallia, came to visit her after she got home, and Kira arrived at the same time with Lacus and Fllay.

Cagalli put on her casual clothes and went downstairs. She saw Athrun talking with Kira and the girls in the living room. Frankly, she wasn't in the mood for chatting, but she had to pretend that she was all right. She walked into the living room with a fake smile plastered on her face. Everyone bought her smiling act; however, her brother felt something wrong with her. Let us just say that it was a brother's intuition.

"Fllay-san has a great fashion sense," the pink-haired girl muttered, slightly giggling, as she motioned herself over to Fllay's side. She placed her hands on the red-head's shoulders. "She helped me a lot with shopping. She knows how to pick the right clothes for me."

There was a hint of frustration in Fllay's expression. Truth to be known, Lacus pestered her non-stop during their shopping trip. Fllay didn't want to be rude to her or anything, so she politely helped Lacus with the shopping. She was so relieved when they got home. The happy-go-lucky attitude of the pink-haired girl was really getting on her last nerves.

"Is that so? I bet you bought so many clothes," Miriallia said, shifting her gaze at the brunette representative. "Kira, it looks like your date went well." Miriallia winked a playful eye, causing him to blush madly. She could see that Kira was fairly happy being with the two girls. She just hoped that he would make the right decision in choosing which one to marry.

Kira hid his blush by sipping some tea. After that, he put the teacup down and turned to Cagalli. "How was work today?" he asked.

"Boring as usual…" Cagalli replied in a very bored tone. The paperwork and meetings were nothing new to her. It was always the same.

Judging from the way she answered, Kira was now convinced that something was wrong with Cagalli. His sister would usually make a fuss about her work and stuff like that. He had to find out what was her problem, but knowing Cagalli, she would probably say it's nothing.

Kira wasn't the only one bothered by her reply. Miriallia and Athrun found it unusual too. Miriallia threw a questioning look at the brunette and then at Athrun. It was clearly seen in her aqua-blue eyes that she was beginning to worry.

Cagalli's Room

The blonde princess came out of the bathroom, wearing a silk white robe that hugged her curves perfectly. She sat down on her bed and hugged one of her soft feathered pillows. When she heard a knock on the door, she lay down on the bed and covered herself with the blanket. She didn't want to talk or listen to anyone. She wasn't in the mood. She was lucky enough to be able to excuse herself from the girlish conversation of Lacus Clyne and Fllay Alster.

"Cagalli, open up will ya? I know you're still awake," the voice from the other side of the door said.

Annoyed, Cagalli sat up on the bed and threw a pillow at the door. "Leave me alone, Kira!" she growled, lying down again. This time, she hid her head under the pillow and shut her eyes tight. She wished that Kira would go away and let her sleep, as if that was possible.

Kira, being the caring brother, will not give up on his sister. He banged his fist on the door, as if he had plans on breaking it. "Cagalli, there's something bothering you, right?" he said.

Cagalli shrugged.How…? How did he find out? Was I that obvious?! She wailed in her mind. She grumbled some curses and scratched her head in frustration. She hopped off the bed, stomped towards the door, and opened it for her twin brother. "WHAT?!!" she shouted, looking flustered.

"Took you long enough…" Kira complained, throwing her a concerned look. "Now, Cagalli, tell me what's wrong? You're acting a bit strange."

"It's none of your business, Kira," she retorted as she turned her back at him. She didn't want to face Kira, knowing her facial expressions would give it all away. As a brother, Kira could read her like an open book.

"You can't fool me, Cagalli."

"I guess I have no choice." Cagalli sighed and looked back at Kira. Her eyes were much softer this time. "You won't leave me alone if I don't tell you." She walked up to her bed and sat down. She patted the side of her bed, telling Kira to sit beside her.

"Is this about Athrun?" Kira asked, sitting down on her bed.

Cagalli touched her lips and shook her head. "It's not about him. It's about someone else," she spoke with hesitation. She had to be careful not to shock Kira too much.

"Please tell me that this 'someone' is not a guy."

"I'm sorry, Kira…" Her voice was cracking. Her ambers orbs grew feeble, as she looked up at him. "You see… There's this guy…." Cagalli felt her heart beating so fast. She was nervous, as in, completely nervous. She was afraid of what Kira's reaction after she'll tell him about Rusty.

Kira could see the fear in her beautiful amber eyes. His intuition was right all along; there was something wrong with Cagalli and it seemed she had a big problem with a GUY! Kira was really flabbergasted. He didn't expect his tomboy of a sister to have guy problems. Plus, she already has Athrun to worry about and now this. Nevertheless, Kira was more than willing enough to listen to her and to help her in whatever means possible.

To be continued…

JC: Kira will finally know about Rusty. Stellar's planned date will be in the next chapter. Let's see how Rusty will apologize to Cagalli. There would be some Kira/Lacus moments in the next chapter too. Be sure to watch for it. I'll update soon. Please leave a review. No flaming, okay? Ja ne!