Pairing: AthrunxKira (AsuKira)

Rated M for multiple explicit scenes.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely no rights to Mobile Suit Gundam Seed or any of its characters nor do I make any money off of this.

Warning: The last scene of this chapter contains some extremely explicit sexual content.

Chapter 14: Taking Up Lost Causes

C.E. 71: June 15th, Space, Archangel Lounge Room, 24:00

The Archangel had just switched over to its third shift when Yzak reached the doorway to the lounge room.

A sick feeling swam in his gut as he pressed the button for the automatic door, moving through its threshold into a room far too intimate, now too alien to him. A huddle of couches, his former commander lain half asleep and stretched out on top of Kira's crossed legs. Cagalli in an adjacent couch with blankets drawn up against her.

Quiet, whispered conversations stalled with his first steps into the room.

Why was he here again?

Cagalli's shoulders squared and the blankets she was holding fell to the seat around her. At the same time, the softness in Kira's face cemented and lazy fingers stroking through the blue strands of the boy asleep in his lap stilled.

Yzak hesitated, and a thick silence spilled out all over, straining several beats past inconspicuous.

"I need to speak with Athrun."

There was a stilted nod from the Freedom's pilot, and Athrun was being lightly shaken. The bluenette squinted the sleep out of his eyes. Yzak tried not to notice how different he looked like this. The foreign boyishness of his face was unnerving. Beautifull, and light in a way that Athrun Zala Soldier of Zaft never could be. Everything as it would have been if he had not been molded into a warrior.

The stranger was there and gone in an instant as emerald orbs rested on Yzak. It was a switch so fast and severe it sent chills up Yzak's arms.

He was pinned with an expectant look that had him wanting to shift his stance uncomfortably, he would really rather speak with Athrun alone, but the stubborn part of him refused to be affected. "Look, we haven't made attempts to sway the opinions of anyone else on the council. It's a mistake to take further action without opening up more communication."

Athrun's lips parted, words ready to be spouted out. Yzak cut him off before he could speak against the appeal. "I know who my mother is, but even if she can't be swayed, Elsman, Canaver, and Jesek can be. All we need to do is gain a majority," he pressed.

"You're kidding yourself, the likelihood of gaining a majority in this climate is madness. There were only five moderate members of the council before Clynes death. Now the chances are even slimmer," the bluenette reasoned.

Yzak's chest was pounding; he couldn't stay silent, his body trembling with incredulous rage, "But, you admit there is a chance!"

Athrun went quiet, all the confusion of the past few days rushed back in. Yzak knew he was thinking about it. Even if he didn't want to, it was in Athrun's nature to test every angle of a problem before admitting failure. It had made him an excellent student.

"Wait! No, are you insane?" Cagalli demanded. Her face was stricken with furry, though, the tremble of her mouth hinted more towards fear. "None of that even matters because going back to the PLANTs now is just asking for a death sentence!"

Bursting out before she could stop him, Yzak spat, "This has nothing to do with you, Natural." The moment the word dropped from his mouth, he regretted it. Not that he hadn't wanted to shut her up, but that he had said that. That word that stood for ideas which he no longer believed in, which he too looked down on now.

Kira's jaw set. When he spoke, it was as if he was forcing the words out. "You should leave." The look on Kira's face alone was enough to crush any hopes Yzak would have had for support, not to mention the stiffness of the brunette's voice.

He wanted to protest. Or scream. It seemed as if the shadows in the room deepened around Kira, putting him in starker focus, but that was impossible.

When the Zaft soldier didn't move, Kira's glare sharpened. "Now," he demanded.

"Tch, cowards," Yzak scoffed, giving in to the pilot's request, but not without giving the keypad on the door a harsh blow.

C.E. 71: June 16th, Space, Soldiers Quarters, 16:20

The clicks of Kira's keyboard were the only sounds in the room. Athrun leaned against the wall of Kira's recently reclaimed bunk, with the smaller boy seated between his legs typing vigorously on his computer.

The bluenette's mind drifted to the night before, as he thumbed thoughtlessly at the blue stripes of Kira's boxers.

Athrun knew he was right to believe that his father was beyond persuading. He knew he was. Compassion was a language Patrick Zala had forgotten how to speak. The majority of the council would likely be the same as well.

However, as his son, didn't Athrun have an obligation to try? Perhaps Yzak was right to assume they could make a difference. It was possible that hearing things out of the mouths of fellow Coordinators and accomplished soldiers could introduce enough doubt or support to stall further acts of carnage. And if it was a question of trying to make his father see reason, the weight of that responsibility could hardly fall on many others.

Getting to the PLANTs in order to speak with his old man without being immediately locked up was a huge ordeal in it of itself though.

Still.

There must be a way...

The computer was pushed off to the side, and Kira was pressing small kisses to Athrun's neck. The brunette's nose brushed against the edge of Athrun's collarbone. Nuzzling midnight the blue tresses falling under his ears, doing wonders to soothe his frayed nerves.

"Your thinking about what he said."

Athrun stiffened.

A dry chuckle sounds from the back of his throat. "How could you tell?"

Being together again had brought them so much. A sense of united strength, mutual understanding, and the undoing of their loneliness. Though, all the subtle hints Kira had studied from him over a lifetime made it difficult to hide much of what he was feeling. Athrun's lover had a dark faraway look in his eyes, and defensive arms wrapped around his torso.

Athrun sighed, defeated. "What if he's right, and he could make a difference by speaking with his mother?"

"Don't do that, don't lie to yourself." Kira smiled like he was forgiving him for something terrible he'd done. Athrun was already feeling the dread settling deep in his gut.

But… why did this choice feel like he was being pulled apart from the inside?

"He's your father." While Kira probably meant for it to come out as a plain statement, a quiver of uncertainty followed it and made it a question.

Fear and doubt squeezed tightly around his heart, but the press of Kira's back to his chest was everything, and soon there was only the consistency of his lover's heartbeat, the rhythm of Kira's rising and falling chest. Athrun was filled with such a tremendous feeling of domesticity it nearly frightened him because he knew he would do anything; give everything to hang onto this feeling. This was it, Kira, half-naked in nothing by a pair of blue and white striped boxers and white socks, this was his home.

And when Kira parted his lips for him and let out a quiet, pinched little moan, Athrun answered with one of his own and moved a hand to cradle the back of Kira's head, tying him into the kiss.

He tasted him when he opened his mouth, just slightly salty, Athrun dropped one of his fingers from Kira's cheek and ran it down his turned spine, enjoying the way his lover shivered.

His hands slipped up the white cotton of Kira's shirt to glide his fingers along the surface of his lover's chest. Fingers dipped from the firm muscle of one pec to the bottom of his breastbone, only to rise again on the opposite side.

Athrun could swear this was something like a memory; he knew the shape of these lips. Years spent wondering if Kira wanted all the same things Athrun did. Watching how they moved, entranced by their smooth texture and pink shade. Now, touching them, tasting them.

Now that they had tightly fastened the threads of fate which held them together, how would it be to part again?

There was something he needed to know. Needed to understand before it would be safe to leave. Becuase when he came back, Kira had to be waiting for him. If not, … Maybe it wasn't logical, or he should know better by now, but the thought of leaving again had brought in too many old feelings of ardent unrequited yearning. "When we were separated, did you think of me?"

"Athrun? Of course, you know I..."

"No, I mean, when you were alone." Kneading the sensitive area of Kira's thigh, eliciting a hitch in the smaller boy's breath. "Like this..." Athrun's hand strayed to the front of Kira's cottony boxers. He palmed the growing hardness there, still pressing kisses into the nape of Kira's neck. "Did you ever imagine me?"

"A-athrun...mnn..." Kira nudged his hips forward, so wanton and too perfect, too trusting. Kira sought more contact with Athrun's touch.

None was given. Only an insistent hum. Athrun bit his shoulder, "hold still," he warned while slowing his touches so that Kira could catch his breath.

Kira squirmed uncomfortably, shame and need lighting his face. "Yes…I did," he breathed out, face the color of fire. The bluenette rewarded him, by sliding his hand beneath the waistband of the boxers, wrapping his fingers around Kira's heated erection and starting a slow stroking pace.

"Tell me." The bluenette ran his thumb over the head of Kira's cock, rubbing the sensitive flesh there, nipping lightly at Kira's left earlobe.

He blushed so deeply Athrun could see the red tinge on the back of his neck. Athrun repaid him with a gentle kiss on the top of his left shoulder, sucking the place he had bit apologetically, still massaging his cock in his hand.

Moving to lick the skin right over his pulse point Athrun asked his next question. "What was it like?"

"I thought about you h-holding me and keeping me safe." Kira's lips quivered slightly as he tried to craft audible words. "If things were bad, or just–" Kira swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't know..." he retreated.

The bluenette flicked his tongue disapprovingly on Kira's collarbone. "Go on."

A soft sound of protest quaked in Kira's throat. Athrun could feel his lovers adam's apple bob as he swallowed. "I'd pretend I could go home, somewhere we lived together, and you would be waiting for me." For a long second, Athrun thought Kira still hadn't understood his question. "You would wrap me in your arms, and– take... care of me." Something in the shuttered pronunciation of his last words makes Athrun take pause.

His hands continued to move as he considered the true meaning of Kira's words. His lover's cock was red-tipped and slippery with pre-cum, making it easy to handle.

The bluenette pressed his forehead against Kira's trying to calm his racing heart, and gather the meager strands of control that he had left together. He needed to hear all of it. "How?" he found himself asking.

Kira panted, his cheeks were streaked with vibrant dusky scarlet. "You would tell me what to do, and I'd...uh, listen." Kira's averted violet gaze shifted devotedly towards Athrun.

Being looked at that way set every nerve in Athrun's body on fire. He would not do anything to Kira that he did not want, not really. But the urges were there; dark and undeniable.

His eyes lost focus as the fantasy collided and began to merge with his own. "Sometimes you would touch me until I...uh." Athrun would have shown his approval if he could, only he had forgotten how. Face buried in the crook of his lover's, neck Kira groaned.

"Or, you would tell me only to touch you…" Freehand skimming over Kira's ribs, Athrun could feel the shallow pants as they formed in his lover's lungs. Though, the thought of having Kira, either way, made Athrun even harder against the brunette's spine. "To–to please you."

He was understanding.

After everything, it was clear.

The signs he had been reading but only half deciphering. He could see what Kira wanted, and thoughts of him truly belonging to Athrun did things to him that he just couldn't understand. He wanted Kira to let go completely in his arms, believing in a promise that he would be taken care of. He was near ready to cum in his own pants just thinking about it.

"I–it's not just me... thinking about...that... is it?"

"No," he rasped. Athrun's one hand quickened around Kira's length, wringing over the crease below his head again and again. The other, gripped Kira's jaw, twisting him to give him another fierce kiss, finding the boy's face wet with streams of tears. "I want you, all of it." Kira mindlessly rubbed his cheek and jaw firmly against the palm of Athrun's hand.

"The things I want to do to you..."Athrun's speech was ragged. The uncertainty which had held him back before felt vague now. Something was waking up inside Athrun. Like suddenly, there was no more questioning, he knew what to do. "I want you to surrender to me."

Athrun watched with a dry mouth, never ceasing his touches, as Kira's eyes glowed the way they did when he was sure beyond reason, he dipped his head in a nod, looking right at Athrun.

Kira's body told Athrun everything he needed to know about what his lover was feeling. His muscles were seizing up and releasing sporadically, back slouched helplessly against Athrun's chest, but his legs were twitching with curled toes. Kira's head lolled back and to the side, and he cried out in bliss, his lithe body going rigid in Athrun's hands as he came in his boxers, splattering Athrun's palm with his thick, white cum.

Athrun caught the back of his head with his hand and kissed firmly into his hair, pulling his hand from Kira's boxers and wrapping his arm tightly around the boy, twining his fingers through Kira's in a reassuring squeeze. Every touch was composed of the things that made up home. Kira yielded entirely to his lover's touch, seeming to have lost focus on everything that wasn't Athrun. And the bluenette privately enjoyed the way his hands were just large enough to fold Kira's inside of them.

Athrun, reached out to trace his lover's mouth. The brunette leaned in and brushed his lips against Athrun's knuckles. Trailing kisses all along the palm of Athrun's hand until he came to his fingers, kissing each one affectionately. Athrun turned his hand, Kira followed obediently, making small licks along as he went.

When Kira moved lower and arch down, knees extended, Athrun's heart started to pound.

He knew he should be embarrassed by how hard he had become, how much he wanted. Pre-cum was weeping from his tip, a glistening drop falling down the length of his shaft.

Kira was staring, his cheeks pink and warm and his wet lips parted as he took in short, shallow breaths. Athrun too held his breath as Kira's rosy tongue poked out of his mouth to touch the wet, spongy head of his cock. Kira's lips were soft. Something deep and dark and hungry throbbed inside Athrun, thinning the air in his lungs.

His Kira, on his knees, to please him, pink tongue was dragging up the underside of his erection swirling around the swollen rim; tasting.

After so much time dreaming about this that it was almost familiar already. A picture imagined, but never seen. Every subtle movement of Kira's body against his new. Every lick and hitch of breath sent shivers racing down his spine, life igniting him from the inside.

It felt so fucking right that Athrun refused to fight it any longer. Grabbing one of Kira's hands, he placed it on his abdomen, needing that skin on skin contact.

He gripped Kira's chocolate hair, pushing his cock in deeper. His own breathing was harsh in his ears, giving way to choked moans as he thrust inside Kira's heat, over and over, his own breath gasping out of him as he got closer. He wanted so much, to claim him, and open him up right there in this bunk.

He ground his hips into that sultry, devastating mouth, resulting in wet exhaled moans vibrating around his cock.

With one more thrust, he let it go, growling the word that has been harbored in the back of his mind, untouched, refused; until now. He growled it lowly with the certainty of a tiger biting into its prey: "Mine."

He came hard and violent, emptying himself into the slender teen's mouth, his cum spilling front the sides and drooling down Kira's chin.

There was nothing left to fear. Their feelings were the same, Kira would still be here when he got back.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has stuck around for this chapter, especially ben4kevin and SmokeyShinobi who have reviewed virtually every chapter of this fic.

This fic was the first and has been the longest thing I've ever published anywhere, so I feel like I've grown a lot through writing it. I'm always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow as a writer. So, please let me know what you like, or don't like about this fic and why.