Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny

Authors note:Alright guys the first part of this is mush. But it appeases my hapless romantic side. More action at the bottom. And I maybe hurt after ya'll read the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoy.

Updates maybe a little slower. My brother is getting married this weekend and I have a lot to do for that, plus school and work.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I really do appreciate all the kind words and encouragement. Your reviews make my day ;)

Now on with the story.

8-8-8-8-8

It was the warm, naked body against his own that woke, Dearka. Cracking an eye open, he looked over to find Miriallia snuggled close to him, with an arm thrown over his chest, one of her legs rested between his and her head pillowed on his shoulder. He could not help but smile at the childish way she slept.

He tried to stretch without waking her, but found it to be an impossible task. So instead he settled for cramped muscles, so that she could have a few more moments of sleep. Pulling the slumbering Miriallia closer to him, he gently kissed the top of her head. Turning his gaze back to the ceiling he slowly let his hand run up and down her satiny back as he worried about the day ahead of them.

He did not like leaving Miriallia all alone on the Voltaire but they really had no choice. The High Council had wanted to see them and they had been specific in saying only Yzak, Shiho, and himself were to be there. It was highly odd that they had requested this, and it made him more apprehensive about what was coming. The idea of tying Miriallia to his bed still held certain appeal to him. He would know where to look for her, but then it would only be fun to have her tied there as long as he could join her.

Dearka could not help the smirk that made its way to his face as he thought about her reaction to being tied to his bed. It would not be one of happiness, he was sure. In fact if he tried it, then he was certain that the whole ship would most likely be able to hear her out-rage. As great as his idea sounded he knew he could not do it. In his gut, he knew that something was going to happen today, and he was not sure he would be able to do anything to stop it.

Dearka did not realize that he had tightened his grip on Miriallia until she let out a startled yell. He immediately lessoned his grip, but the damage was done. She was now awake and staring at him shyly. Stretching against him, she worked the kinks out of her muscles, and then sat up, taking most the covers with her. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" she asked with a devilish gleam in her aqua eyes.

Seeing the odd combination of shyness and devilment on her face was enough to bring a true smile to his face. Reaching up, he pulled her back down and wrapped his arms around her.

She maneuvered herself so that she was now laying on top of him. Crossing her arms over his chest, she laid her chin on top of her hands and stared at him, waiting for an answer. "Well, did you sleep good?" she finally asked again, when he still said nothing.

"Not really. I had this harpy demanding my attention all night. She wouldn't let me sleep at all, until I exhausted her. And then just as I tried to fall asleep this lump of mass settled onto me."

"Harpy!" she exclaimed hitting his chest. She missed the twinkle in his dark amethyst eyes. "Kept you up all night? Lump of mass, am I?" she fussed trying to roll off of him.

"You forgot the demanding part," he said wrapping his arms around her so that she could not move. "And yes, you are all those things. But most importantly, you are my harpy and my lump of mass."

Miriallia rolled her eyes at his unromantic words, but felt her heart lighten. "You are, aren't you? I mean mine," he asked sounding both unsure and nervous. Which was understandable, since until last night they had made no move to declare such things. But now that was all over, she knew in her heart and soul that he was were she finally belonged.

Hearing the worry in his voice, she reacted to it immediately. Leaning up she kissed him softly, pulling back she smiled into his beautiful amethyst eyes. "Of course, I'm yours. Just like you are mine. Though if you call me harpy one more time I may have to hurt you." She attempted to sound stern with him, but failed miserably as she broke into peals of laughter, due to his tinkling fingers.

Dearka pulled one hand away from the job of tickling her, and raised saluting her. "Yes, Ma'am," he exclaimed in his best soldier voice. He caught her hand before she could hit him and rolled them over so that they were both on their sides facing one another. His fingers traced the soft planes of her face. He could not stop touching her. It was as if he was worried that if he did then she would disappear and it would have all been a dream.

"Hey," she said softly, "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. And believe me that was no dream, because it has never been that good in my dreams," she continued answering all his unspoken thoughts.

A broad smirk made its way onto Dearka's face. "So you dreamed about us did you? I knew you couldn't resist my charm."

Miriallia snorted and rolled her eyes at him again. "I was wrong. My dreams were better. They didn't have your insufferable, over-inflated ego in them."

"Well then I guess, I'm just going to have to prove you wrong. No dream is better than the real thing," he said rolling again so that he was above her.

Dearka braced himself on his elbows and stared down at the woman beneath him. Her breathing was just as labored as his own, and she was laughing softly. When the both finally managed to catch their breaths, Miriallia turned her head to kiss his soft mouth. "I don't think I quite got the message. Maybe we should try that again," she teased.

Dearka groaned and rolled off her. "I couldn't, even if I wanted to," he laughed throwing an arm out to the side. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you are trying to kill me. Now concede, that was better than some silly dream."

"It was," she agreed, snuggling into him. They laid there quiet and content. Both lost in their own thoughts. "Dearka?"

"Hum"

"You won't be gone long will you?"

"As long as the High Council needs to talk to us. Why?" he asked propping up to look at her better.

"No reason. I was just curious. I guess I will spend the day in Yzak's office looking for more information on the chairman's plans."

He reached out and placed some of her hair behind her ear. "I would rather you stay in your room or mine."

"Why?" she questioned sitting up.

"Because I have a bad feeling about today. And if you stay here, then no one knows you are here. I just think that someone is keeping tabs on you." His face was serious and worry etched lines around his eyes.

Miriallia ran a finger over his troubled brow, smoothing the creases there. "Dearka, everything will be okay. I will keep your gun with me and stay out of sight. Besides, I have to go to Yzak's office to work. The documents I need are all there."

Dearka did not like it one bit, but he relented. "Fine, but promise me that you will keep your gun on you."

"I promise. Though there isn't much room inside mine uniform. Maybe I should strap the gun to my leg. Or maybe you can think of another place to put it. Or better yet, you could strap it to my leg for me," she teased trying to make him smile.

It worked but not by much. He was determined to be worried and not much was going to distract him from it. Settling down against him again, Miriallia felt some of his apprehension seep into her, but she refused to give in to it. If she did, then there was no telling what Dearka would do, once he caught on.

8-8-8-8-8

Yzak was feeling more agitated by the moment. He had not gotten much sleep the night before. His mind had been consumed with the meeting with the High Council in the morning. Most of his time had been spent trying to figure out what the Council wanted. They would not know about Mira unless told about her presence, but that still seemed unlikely. Having gone through the computer files time and time again, he could not find anything tampered with. Nothing that showed someone knew about the fake files. This would be why he was feeling so frustrated. Because everything he did lead to a road block. Not one damn thing he did, alloted a clue to the council's intentions.

Slamming his hands down onto his desk, Yzak swore violently. The line on his communicator rang, interrupting his thoughts. Hitting the button, he opened the line. "What?" he barked.

"I'm sorry sir but there is an urgent message for you."

"Well, who is it from?" He asked still yelling at his secretary.

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know. The exact location is not known, it is coded but the only thing clear is that it is for you and very urgent."

"Fine send it to me."

"Yes, sir."

Yzak sat down in his chair waiting to see what this message was and who it was from. His secretary had been right the damn thing was coded. It took him several minutes to break the code and then several more to set it up to play. By the time he finally got everything set up, his mood had darkened. The face that popped up on his screen did not help matters.

"Yzak. There have been some change in plans. The Supreme Chairman caught on to me. And tried to have me killed. I finally found the Archangel and am currently stationed there. I'm sorry to just now be getting this to you, but things have been rather complicated. I received your last message, and I agree he is planning something big. Please watch your backs. We are currently in Orb. Dullindal had it burned. I am only glad Cagalli isn't here to see what has happened to her country." At this part, Yzak watched as the image of Athrun faltered and pain grew in his emerald eyes.

The message continued playing after a moment of silence. "I'm not sure how long we will be here. The Eternal is still in space and it has launched. Lacus had some people develop new suits since Kira destroyed mine and Shin destroyed the Freedom. The new suits are identical with some new modifications to the Freedom and Justice. Code names Strike Freedom and Infinite Justice. I know that you could probably careless about this, but I felt you needed to know. Kira wants to get back to space to protect the Eternal, so you can most likely find us there. If you need something send a message to the Eternal. Commander Waltfeld is there and will assist you."

At this point, Yzak was feeling incredible unease seep into him. Athrun was found out. Does that mean that Dearka and his own role in this is known? And how was Athrun found? Damn this was more than he needed today. He already had enough to worry about without this added bit of information. Everything happening at once, helped him to be not be angered by the fact that Athrun was once again butting in and telling him what to do.

"Okay, I know you are probably impatient for me to get to the point. And here it is. I found out that the Supreme Chairman is behind the disappearance of Eileen Canaver and several other moderates from the old High Council. I'm not sure why he got rid of them, but he has. He is also the one who pushed the leader of Logos, to destroy Brazil, with that monster of a Gundam. He seems to be focusing on something big coming up. I'm not sure but it seems that he is working on a secret project to destroy anyone who gets in his way. If I get more then I will send it to you. The Archangel should be moving to space soon. From there I will contact you. Please tell Miriallia that everyone else is fine. Also one last thing Yzak, there was another traitor on the Minerva that turned me in. That means Dullindal could have one or more on the Voltaire. Please watch your backs."

With that, Athrun's face disappeared from the screen. And Yzak was left with an unspeakable amount of dread.

8-8-8-8-8

Creeping into the room, traitor watched as its accomplice loaded their gun. "So you are sure about this?"

Turning around to glare at the person that entered her room, the gunman simply replied, "Of course. Now leave me. I have to make sure things are set up to go according to plan. I want you to keep on eye on the girl. Don't let her out of your sight. If something happens then contact me. Don't do anything brash. Do you understand me?"

"Of course. But just remember I'm the one in charge here. You are suppose to be following my orders."

"Don't make me kill you," the gunman replied pointing their gun at the second person's head. "Now get out. And stay out of Elsman sights. The last thing we need is for him to think something is up with his precious Natural."

The traitor glared at the gunman, but left just the same. That had been no idol threat.

8-8-8-8-8

Yzak rubbed the tension out of his shoulders and began destroying the message from Athrun. It would not do them any good if someone were to find this. Thought the only one that had access to his personal files was himself and Mira, since she had proved that she could hack into his account no problem. He had tried changing his password, but the crazy witch had gone right through that.

Right in the middle of deleting it, a knock came at his door, and Shiho entered his office. Looking up, he found her to be tense. That in and of itself, confused him since she should have nothing to be tense about unless she was the traitor like he was starting to fear she was.

"What is wrong, Shiho?" he asked softly watching as she stiffened at the sound of her name. "You look worried," he continued trying to force something out of her.

"Don't talk to me like that, Commander. And I am worried. It seems unnatural that the High Council would call us back. I'm asking you one last time, please tell me the truth about that girl. If this has anything to do with her, then I will help you," she begged him.

"I've told you before, Major. There is nothing going on with her. She is who she is."

"Fine. You just signed your death warrant."

8-8-8-8-8

I know, I know. I didn't get anywhere else and I said that they would be at Aprilius One. But this was just to great a place to end it. Evil Cliffhanger! No killing the author. What did Shiho mean by that and will the traitor(s) every show themselves? What's up with the disappearance of the older High Council members?

Please read and review.
C-town Chica