Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Bandai. On with the story then!

TOLLE! Both screamed in unison in their minds, judging from the evident features on their faces; the raised eyebrows and stares of disbelief each gave the other.

"Are you all right in there Lacus! Lacus! Open up!" Tolle knocked the door harder, as if trying to forcefully break open the door.

Both Kira and Lacus were too surprised if the unexpected situation. Kira felt rather vexed that his chance of a private moment with Lacus was interrupted by none other than Tolle, his 'rival' in love. Stupid Tolle… always appearing at the 'right' moment… Kira grumbled.

"So what'd you think we should do?" Kira whispered to Lacus who was still dazed, staring at the door.

Lacus was thinking of ways to best solve the current situation, until Kira asked her, which brought her back to reality. Lacus decided to choose what she felt was the best solution. That is not to hide anything and remain calm. "I think we should just act normally, and that you were also a guest as well… So try not to make it seem like anything happened… I mean like as if anything happened right…" Both Lacus and Kira blushed recalling the earlier incident, one that could totally change their current social ties.

"Well… if that's what you feel is best then I shall go along with it I guess…" Kira followed Lacus's plan of action.

"So… Just get comfortable on the couch while I go entertain a new visitor…" Lacus smiled while heading for the door.

Lacus opened the door and greeted Tolle in a seemingly nonchalant manner. "Oh Tolle… what brings you here?"

"Lacus! I heard some commotion going in there just a moment ago! Are you all right? Anything wrong?" Tolle tried to act worried so as to warm Lacus's heart, but in fact it turned out otherwise.

"Oh… nothing to worry about Tolle… just some minor blips here and there… So… what brings you here then?" Lacus with her all innocent expression.

"I just wanna visit you that's all… you know for some coffee or something… if you don't mind that is… to maybe continue our conversation from lunch just now?" Tolle tried to act cool by brushing his hair.

Of course I mind…Oh well… I can't just let him leave… it's very rude thing to do Lacus…Lacus reprimanded herself."Oh not at all… do come in then… sorry if the place is a bit messy…" Lacus smiled and let Tolle in.

As Tolle made a few steps into the apartment, he received the biggest shock of his life. Tolle stood rooted at his spot, his lips forming a big circle and his eyes widened by just staring at the sight of a lone familiar figure resting comfortably on the sofa. Tolle's shock was clearly evident on his face and he did nothing to hide it.

Kira grinned like a wolf who had just eaten the three little pigs, albeit from his comfortable position on the right side of the sofa. Prying his gaze away from Tolle, he purposely stifled a yawn to further aggravate Tolle's apparent displeasure.

Tolle was too stunned to even say anything. His feet sort of felt rooted to the floor, much to his mind wanting to go over to Kira and strangle the lights out of him. What the… how'd this punk get here? Tolle felt a mix of anger and jealousy, as both his pride and ego suffered a massive dent, especially to lose to an 'average' guy, even more a loser, as he had branded Kira one. Tolle snapped from his trance and stared at Kira. His expression says it all; he didn't like the situation one bit.

Lacus sensed that the situation might alleviate into becoming more tense, she had to do something quickly before things may go out of hand. Sighs… this is become a much complicated solution after all..

"Make yourself comfortable Tolle… hot cocoa okay for you? Or you prefer coffee?" Lacus tried to sound warm and friendly, so as not calm the situation down a little.

"Yeah, thanks Lacus… hot cocoa will do just fine…" Tolle smiled at Lacus, but continued to glare at Kira while making his way to the sofa. He propped himself on the left side of the sofa, considering there are no other places to sit, of course he didn't want to demote himself by sitting on the floor.

Five minutes seemed like an eternity for both Kira and Tolle, as Lacus prepared the hot cocoa for Tolle in the kitchen. Kira decided to take a swipe at Tolle.

"Party pooper…" Kira declared, his eyes still fixed on the television screen.

"What!" Tolle glared at Kira but didn't have anything to retort back. "Cheap loser… did you shower her with cheap words just to get into her apartment?"

"At least I don't need to hit on her door so loud just to get in…" Kira kept cool, his grin never leaving his lips.

"Why you… listen here peasant… I'll bet even in your dreams you can't even be as successful as I am… just admit it… you're just jealous of my looks and fame…" Tolle stared at Kira challenging him to make another statement.

"Looks? You mean you have looks?" Kira felt rather amused at the statement.

"Of course I do, much more than you have. I am after all the in the top fifty of Orb's most eligible bachelor… Oh… I understand, you're just too poor to buy the issue. What a pity…"

What a show off… I'll bet he bribed the editors just to get number fifty… luckily I declined the interview, or else people would know who I am now…Who'd even want to see his face in the issue? "Yes, it's a pity they had to cut down trees just to print your curly mop on the issue…"

"See… you can't even hold a decent argument, that's an argument only kids would use. Cut down trees to print my beautiful face…" Tolle mocked Kira's sentence. You can't win you punk punk, especially to the likes of me… so just give up already… Lacus is only interested in me… not even in your wildest dreams will she even think of going out with you…" Tolle thought he had the upper hand against Kira.

"Oh really… what if she does want to go out with me…"

"Not a chance."

"There will be one."

"Not in your lifetime that is…" Tolle challenged Kira even more.

"What makes you think so then…" Kira was too bored so decided to entertain Tolle for a while.

"I am after all Tolle Koenig… the son of the mayor of Onogoro Harry Koenig for your information, since I know you're too ignorant of the things around you…" Tolle boasted about his status.

"What a cheapskate…" Kira shrugged his shoulders.

"Cheapskate? Doesn't that term refers to you."

"At least I don't use the taxpayer's money for my own benefit… and claiming myself to be all rich and handsome like some jerk I kind of know of…"

Tolle brushed the argument aside. "You're just jealous that you can never come close to my wealth and looks… I am a very popular figure in Onogoro, or even Orb itself…"

"Dream on buster…" Man… this guy is so full of himself… Kira sighed.

Lacus finally arrived with the hot cocoa. Despite not liking all the attention that will be turned towards her, she had no other choice but to sit in between the two arguing boys. It felt rather awkward the moment she passed Tolle and propped herself in the middle, brushing both Tolle's and Kira's shoulders and she plopped on her back. This is something new…She grinned to herself. Who would've thought someone like me would get two guys fighting for my attention…

"Sorry for taking so long with the choco… I can see that you two boys are getting along…" Lacus smiled, even though felt rather uncomfortable being sandwiched in between Tolle and Kira.

Both snickered at Lacus's comment. "Me get along with the curly mop?" Kira was first to comment.

"I'll pretend that I didn't hear that cheapskate…" Tolle challenged from his position.

"Hush hush you two… can't we just enjoy a peaceful evening for once?" Lacus tried to cool the two boys down.

"But he started it…" Kira defended himself.

"What? ME? Why you…" Tolle tried to argue back, and made a threatening glare at Kira.

"Hush! Sighs… Please stop the squabbling just for tonight at least…" Lacus pleaded with her all innocent look.

"Fine…" Both chorused together, just like schoolboys after being scolded by their teacher.

"Good boys… now let's enjoy the television show shall we…" The three of them then focused on the neglected television. Ironically, the current program wasn't really suitable for the situation. The discovery channel about two wild dogs fighting for their right of their territory. The two boys watched with intrigue, and then stared at each other, as if challenging the other.

"Oops… wrong channel I guess…" Lacus then switched to another channel, this time to a sports channel, to make matters worse, boxing. "Hehe… certainly not this…" Lacus giggled childishly and switched to another channel, finally deciding on a cooking show.

The living room became rather quiet for a moment, the only sounds coming the television audio, the chef explaining on how seasoning the meat over the night would make the texture less firm and it's taste enhanced. The kind of silence is rather awkward, yet rather welcoming rather than having the inaudible noise of the bickering pair. Lacus too felt rather awkward to be in the middle of two rather bored and annoyed looking guys beside her, both having far distinct personalities to even try making them become friends.

Tolle felt bored. This is boring… That cheap punk is such a spoiler… He then shifted to his right a bit so that his hand grazed with Lacus's. This feels better…Tolle. Kira sensed the actions of Tolle then too did the same, shifted to his left a bit, so as his hands too grazed with Lacus's. What! That cheating ass… two can play that game…Kira thought to himself.

Tolle sensed that Kira was copying his actions then shifted a bit more to his right, and Kira followed suit. Both guys were sort of challenging each other as to who could be closer to Lacus. It was like a tug-of-war, or more precisely, a 'push' of war game between Kira and Tolle.

Lacus blushed at the actions of the guys beside her but then felt herself being rather awkwardly sandwiched by them. Though feeling rather proud to have two guys vying for her attention in a slightly childish manner, she'd wish she hadn't even been in this awkward position in the first place. I'm certainly the envy of many girls out there who'd die to be I this position…Lacus saw the brighter part of the situation.

"Err guys… I think I'm being squished here…" Lacus softly announced.

Both Kira and Tolle immediately nudged away from Lacus and towards the edge of the sofa respectively, while mumbling a sorry in the process. Kira blushed furiously at his rather childish and embarrassing move, the few rare moments he did something bold.

The room became quiet yet again, save the television. Lacus's eyes were starting to drift, and she stifled a yawn, her body seemed weary after a hard day's work. Kira who was busy admiring Lacus from the corner of his eye caught from the body language of Lacus that she is trying her best to keep awake, even though she feels rather weary.

"Hey… You seem tired Lacus. Better go get some rest then… we'll be on our way then… Right Tolle?" It was more of an instructive manner rather than a question to Tolle, as Kira got up from the sofa.

"Oh I'm fine… Just feeling the effects of a day's work that's all…" Lacus smiled politely.

Luckily Tolle were understanding enough to know that Lacus was feeling tired, and he had no other choice but to go with Kira. "You should really get some rest Lacus… thanks for the hospitality…" Tolle propped himself up, feeling rather annoyed that he had to agree with Kira.

"Well… see you tomorrow then Lacus… sorry to disturb you…" Kira apologized as he made his way to the door, with Lacus accompanying them to the door.

After the formalities, Kira headed down to his car without even acknowledging the presence of Tolle. Same goes for Tolle. Both of them just went to their respective cars, and head to their own destinations, clearly the lines have been set as rivals to Lacus's heart.

OOOooooOOOooo

Kira parked his car along the driveway of his mansion, too lazy to drive up to the garage. He'd expected the rest of the household to be in their respective rooms, since it is around ten. He'd didn't want to bother his housekeeper so he'd went ahead to open the door instead of pressing the doorbell.

As he headed towards the spiral stairway to the second level, he was surprised to hear Uzumi calling for him from the living room.

"Kira, come here for a while, there are some things I want you to take note of," Uzumi's regal voice sounded majestic in the near silence of the mansion.

"Oh hey uncle Uzumi… anything of matter?" Kira asked as he proceeded to sit on the elegant three-seater sofa, to the left of Uzumi, who was apparently watching the news program before Kira arrived.

"Nothing much actually… Just to let you know that there will be a general board meeting tomorrow morning. All the board members wanted to have a rather small assessment of you before you officially take over the past of president." Uzumi conveyed, his brow showing all the experience he gained over the years.

"Meeting? I wasn't informed of any, especially tomorrow?" Kira was totally surprised to hear of the general meeting the following day.

"Well… it's kind of a last minute thing. I tried to call you at the office the other day but you seem to be away… in fact I called twice on different days but still you were not around… Kira…"

Kira hastily cut in before Uzumi could finish his sentence. "No no! It's not what you think… I'm kind of… err…" Kira struggled to find a suitable enough explanation for his rather lengthy absence. "I'm sort of helping out Athrun with the new OS… yeah that's it…"

Uzumi examined Kira, who was rather shifting about in his position, but chose to trust with his judgement. "Well… whatever you're up to, I have faith in you. I'm sure you're not going to let your parents down and be a responsible leader…" Uzumi gave a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Well… I have to do my best in order to achieve that… since most of the board members have high expectations of me… But what exactly do they want out of tomorrow's general meeting?" Kira was totally clueless about the procedures of the meeting.

"First foremost, it'll be a chance for them to assess you since you'll be facing them for the first time… the them I'm referring to is all the board members, the people who hold the crucial positions for the company." Uzumi explained.

"You mean ALL of them? But…"

"Don't worry Kira… you'll be the one in charge of them in less than a month's time… Didn't Athrun tell you about the meeting? He'll be attending it if I'm not mistaken…"

"Well that ass usually remember to tell me only after the event has taken place…" Kira grinned after recalling the incident where he had to hide from his own uncle after Uzumi made a surprise visit to the marketing department.

"Care to tell me about it?" Uzumi asked as he realized Kira was grinning in amusement relating to the matter.

"Long story… just a funny experience that's all…" Kira smiled.

"It's getting late… you should go and rest. Be prepared to answer many questions tomorrow though. Well good night then Kira…"

"Okay uncle Uzumi… you too shouldn't stay up too late then…" Kira wished him as he propped up from the sofa and headed to his room for some good night rest.

End of chapter

Author notes: SOSORRY FOR THE LONG DELAY! Again sorry if the chapter seems really lame… kind of took me long to choose a best possible solution for Lacus… I used too have many ideas but I've kind of seem to have lost many of them over the long delay… stressed I guess… sighs… now must study all the nautical terms…and the boat maneuvering and all those stuff related to BOATS…

I'm really really grateful to those who still follow this fic… is it just me or are my ideas for the fic getting lamer by the chapter… and also special thanks to those who persuade me to hasten the chapter… even though sometimes I do feel but pressurized though… I know this chapter may not be as long to satisfy the long delay… but I'll try to make it up in the next chap… somehow : S

Special thanks to cyberdemon, asga, FMKaiba, N/A, Far-Fetched Imagineer, CryingSmile Joyrok, ninofchaos, chibisuke, striker, RuByMoOn17, DigiChar, oblivionknight7, Anthony1, Hyper-Bitch, ckk, WillTheWatcher, wIsTful-wIsHeR, sander, ZAFT-X20A Strkie-Freedom, fly, Tolle hater for now, Kira4ever, The hero of time 2005, Alexs, sportiegrl, Riley-Mayori, MinoTashi, deathdefyer, RyuuDavi0, Moon-Miko-Ashes, ZGMF X-19A Infinite Justice and TamarinianAngel for the reviews!

Well… until next chapter then… : ) Feel free to ask me any questions…