Athrun's Betrayal
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 14 Tug of Hearts
The Archangel finally made it to the Red Sea. Everyone stared at the wide expanse of water in front of them in awe.
"For a short time, I will allow off-duty crew members to take turns above deck," Captain Ramius announced. She smiled. "Please relay the message to everyone on board."
The students in particular were very happy to hear this. They were some of the first to run up to the outer decks on the Archangel. Kuzzey was slightly seasick, though it wasn't anything too bad.
Kira and Athrun stepped out onto one of the other decks, both of them taking off their outer jackets so they'd feel much cooler. Kira blinked as the harsh sunlight hit his face and tried to adjust his eyes. There wasn't really a view, but that wasn't why they had chosen this deck. They wanted to get away from everyone to be able to have some time to think. And to be together, of course. Kira sighed softly as he remembered the Desert Tiger.
Deep within the city of Banadiya, Cagalli and Kira had just finished their shopping trip and were now sitting down to enjoy a relaxing meal, giving Kira a chance to sample the local cuisine. Today's special was what Cagalli called Doner kebabs though they honestly looked nothing like kebabs in Kira's personal opinion. She was just instructing him on what sauces he should use when a strange man in a hat and sunglasses randomly sat at their table and told him the opposite. An argument ensued which resulted in both kinds of sauce ended up on Kira's kabobs.
Cagalli shrank behind Kira and he stood in front of her protectively as Waltfeld produced a gun. "So how do you determine the winners and the losers?" Kira gasped softly. "At what point do we put an end to it?"
"At what point?" Kira asked quietly, not comprehending the Desert Tiger's words.
"When every single one of your enemies has been destroyed?" Waltfeld asked, pointing the gun at the two teens. "Perhaps then." Kira tensed up.
The Mobile Suit charged forward. Kira hailed the Desert Tiger over the radio, begging him to surrender, but he wouldn't listen.
"Don't do it Mr. Waltfeld!" Kira begged.
At that moment, the Strike ran out of power. Waltfeld's Mobile Suit's cockpit was full of sparks.
"There's no way to determine the end to this war. There's no choice but to fight. I'm not going to quit! Not until one of us is destroyed!"
Kira thought fast. He got rid of the extra armor and took out the two knives. He charged forward and slammed them into the other Mobile Suit. He stumbled backward and fell as the Mobile Suit exploded. He weakly lifted his head, staring at the bright explosion. Tears streaked down his face.
"It didn't have to end like this!" he cried.
"Kira? Are you okay?" Athrun's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He turned his head to the side so he could look at his lover. He realized that he was shaking badly and his hands were tightly grasping the rail. Athrun gently eased his grip and took his hands within his own, hands that were already stained with blood. "You were thinking about the Desert Tiger?" It wasn't an accusation, but a mere question.
Kira nodded. "I can't stop thinking about what happened. The scenes won't stop replaying in my head. No matter how hard I try, I can't get rid of them." He fought back his tears.
"No matter how much you want to, you can't forget the screams," Athrun murmured. He completely understood what Kira was going through. He didn't think he would ever forget watching Rusty and Miguel die. He wrapped his arm around Kira comfortingly. They stood arm in arm, staring at the sea.
Flay came out, her Earth Forces jacket gone, and her shirt tied up so her naval was showing in what Kira guessed was an attempt to seduce him.
"Kira!" she called. She brushed her long red hair back. "It's so hot out here! You should have told me that you were going to be out here!"
She latched onto Kira's other arm and started to pull him away from Athrun. Athrun growled softly under his breath and held on tighter. Flay pulled harder. Cagalli came out and saw Kira in the middle of a tug-of-war between Flay and Athrun and decided to intervene on Kira's behalf.
"Stop it, both of you," she scolded, stepping forward. "Kira's not a yo-yo. Come on. Let go of him."
Athrun scowled at her. "Tell that…slut to get her hands off my boyfriend and I'll be happy."
Cagalli turned to Flay. "You heard him. Hands off. Kira and Athrun are together now. You can't go around trying to steal someone else's boyfriend."
"You can't tell me what to do," Flay snapped.
"Flay, get off," Kira said angrily. "Leave me alone!" He shook Flay hard until she let go.
"Kira…" she murmured.
"I'm sick of you clinging to me. I don't like you," Kira snapped.
"Fine. I see how it is." Flay stalked off.
Kira turned to Cagalli. "Thank you. I thought she'd never leave."
"You're welcome." Cagalli smiled.
"Where's your friend…Ahmed right?" Kira asked.
"Ahmed is lying down," Cagalli answered with an even bigger smile. "He's feeling seasick."
"Oh I see. I guess he's not used to the water, huh?"
"No." Cagalli shook her head. "He grew up in the desert so he's never seen so much water before."
"You can't blame the guy." Kira smiled.
The three of them sat on the deck.
"You know, you're a really strange guy," Cagalli told Kira. "Like when you totally freaked out the other day."
"Oh. Sorry." Kira blushed, remembering that incident quite well.
"Well, it's not that I'm really mad," Cagalli said slowly. "But I wonder sometimes why on earth you're a Coordinator in the first place." Kira and Athrun stared at her, shocked. Her hands flew to her mouth. "That totally came out wrong! I mean…why are you siding with the Earth Forces if you're a Coordinator?"
"You probably think that's strange." Kira sighed softly. "I get that a lot."
"Whether or not people think you're strange isn't the point. We're at war because Coordinators and Naturals are determined to exterminate each other no matter what the cost. I mean, don't you have strong feelings about that?"
Kira looked at Cagalli. "What about you?"
"My feelings towards someone have nothing to do with their being Coordinator or Natural."
"Same here." Kira smiled.
"But I also think that when someone attacks you in a war, you have no choice but to fight back."
Kira sighed softly and rested his head against the side of the ship. "I know."
They talked for a while longer before Cagalli left. She claimed that she was going to check on Ahmed but Kira knew that she really wanted to give him and Athrun some time alone and he was grateful for that. The two of them sat silently on the ship, Kira resting his head on Athrun's shoulder. They let the gentle rocking of the ship lull them to sleep.
Miriallia found them later when she walked out on the deck to see if there was a view. She felt bad about waking the two of them up, but she didn't want them to get burned by the sun. Fortunately, they were as pasty as ever. They were grateful that she woke them up because they did NOT want to have to battle while sunburned.
To be continued…
A/N: Poor Kira, huh? Stuck in the middle of a tug-of-war between Flay and Athrun. I HATE that scene where Flay takes her jacket up and ties her shirt up. The first thought I had when I saw this was, 'what a slut'. Ah, what a lame ending. And the chapter was really short too. Hopefully the later chapters will be much longer. Reviews help me update faster!!