Disclamer: I don't own anything related or have to do with GS/D. Only thing I do own is this plot and the characters that are not in GS/D. Enough said.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews!
Summary: Flay was brought back to life by scientists in the middle of the second war. No one knew about this until it was over and Chairman Durandal was gone. Lacus finds out that Kira is slowly opening up to her and she is happy for it. But what happens when Kira suddenly meets Flay? Will he fall for Flay again and leave Lacus, or will he realize that the one who he loves is truly Lacus? And on top of all this madness, the third war arises. KiraxLacus Rated T to be safe
It's Either Her or Me
Chapter 21
Kira entered the infirmary and noticed that Lacus was awake and now staring at the ceiling. He sat down on the chair beside her and took her hand in his.
"Lacus, are you all right?"
"I just woke up… How is everyone?" she smiled.
"Everyone's fine. They're discussing things on the bridge, some people already went back, but everything's fine right now."
"That's good," she said.
"Hey Lacus..." Kira started. Lacus turned to him slightly.
"I know this is not the exact right time to be saying this... but I had a talk with Flay." At the mention of that, Lacus turned away.
"Wait, it's not what you think Lacus…" he waited a few seconds but Lacus did not budge. He decided to continue anyway. "It's not like that... I told her, that the person who I need is really you, that the person I really love is you." He waited once again to see her reaction. After a few seconds of no response, Kira's image of Lacus' reaction was the total opposite. She started to scream in agony and she was tossing about in bed. Kira grabbed her hand to try and calm her down but little did that do.
"Lacus?! Doctor! Help!" Kira cried out in fear.
Space -- Lunar Base
Hellding
After that little confrontation with the Orb representative, Chelsea felt like a little weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had prevented an attack from the Orb fleet and therefore did not lose any more numbers. Of course, the Alliance will be really angry with her if something did happen. After all, they had to reach the Lunar Base with as much ships as possible.
Chelsea was sitting in her office, looking through documents and past battles that have been copied into their database. Right then, her intercom turned on and a voice was heard.
"Captain, this is Jeffrey. May I come in?"
Chelsea sighed and put away her stuff. "Yes, come in."
The door to her office opened and in stepped Jeffrey. "What is it that you need?"
"Uh... ma'am, I wanted to talk to you about... things concerning the war," he said. Chelsea leaned back.
"Very well, take a seat."
Cafeteria
Vincent and Vanessa were sitting opposite of each other and eating. Vince stole glances of Vanessa at times but she just kept on eating. He looked down at his own food and found out he hasn't been eating much.
"Hey... you're hungry enough," Vincent said to her. He saw her look up at him.
"Yeah, and you don't seem to be eating at all. Don't you at least get hungry after a battle that crazy?" she asked him, her mouth full. Vincent just shrugged. Vanessa went back to eating while Vincent just watched her. He couldn't believe how a girl like that can eat so much, whether or not it was after a battle.
'I should apologize... for acting the way I did but...'
"Hey Vince, can I steal off your plate?" Vanessa smiled, her plate cleaned off of food. The cafeteria service closed down recently and she did not want to bother anyone. Since Vincent wasn't eating, she thought it'd be a good idea to not waste the food. Vince looked at her weirdly. He picked up his food and then ate it. Vanessa just sat across from him, pouting like a little girl.
"Vince!" she started to whine. Vincent just kept on eating in front of her face, enjoying her every emotion she's exposing across her face a the moment. Vanessa reached across the table and picked up the food Vincent had on his plate and threw it at him. She then started to laugh out loud with Vincent's food all over his face. He watched her as she laughed and tried to get it again. This time, he was ready as he grabbed onto her arm. Vanessa stopped and looked at his serious face.
"What, you mad?" Vanessa asked. Vincent just continued to stare into her eyes.
"V-Vince? What's wrong with you? You okay?" Vanessa started to get worried. Same as before, Vincent didn't do anything except staring at her.
"Vince!" she yelled and pulled her hand back to her. She looked away from him as a slight blush came across her cheeks. Little did she know that that was what Vincent had on his face as well.
'What the hell did I just do...' he thought to himself. He then resumed to eating his food. Vanessa stole a glance of him while he was eating and then started to giggle. Vincent looked back up at her.
"What?" he asked with his mouth full. Vanessa smiled at him.
"I like you when you're not too grumpy, you know?" she told him. Vincent's cheeks slightly became red as he listened to her little talk.
"Back on the battlefield, I was scared. I thought you would've done something that would cost you your life. I didn't like the 'you' when you were out there. I... just thought that I should let you know..." she said softly. Vincent just continued to look at her.
"But it's okay to be grumpy at times, like I'm not saying it's a bad thing but... you know, just limit your grumpiness, all right?" she smiled. Vincent looked away and cleared his throat.
"Fine," he said. He got up from his seat and put his tray away. He then left Vanessa in the cafeteria, walking out towards his quarters. Vanessa stared after him.
'What am I to do with you?' she thought to herself.
Corridors
Vincent walked through the corridors of the ship thinking about his behaviour in the cafeteria with Vanessa.
'What... was that feeling that I had?' he shook his head. He stopped by a window and looked out the ship into space. His thoughts always raced back to the time where he grabbed a hold of Vanessa's arms.
"So how was the food in the caf Vince?" a voice spoke up out of the blue. Vincent turned around and noticed it was Jeffrey. He looked back outside.
"Good... Where were you?"
"I had a talk with the captain. Vanessa seemed to have everything under control, doesn't she?" Jeffrey asked, while looking at him.
"Hm."
"You can tell her, you know. There's nothing to be afraid of," Jeffrey smirked. Vincent quickly turned his head.
"What are you talking about?!" he yelled. Jeffrey smiled as he turned around, facing the opposite way.
"I mean about Vanessa. How you feel about her? What you want to say to her? Just by looking at you and your troubled yet embarrassed expression, I can see that you have a lot on your mind and I'm sure it's about Vanessa. Am I wrong?"
Vincent replayed the thoughts over again and again. Something that little had a huge effect on him and he's beginning to get frustrated with it.
"Just to let you know, I don't fall in love." With those word said, Vincent walked off.
Space -- Meteor Hideout
Eternal -- Infirmary
After Kira's cry for help, the doctors and nurses quickly rushed in. Lacus was still thrashing about in bed, screaming out in pain and Kira had no clue what had happened. He wondered if what he said had an impact on her at all. Maybe Lacus already gave up on him? He didn't know but the priority thing right now is to tend to Lacus.
"Excuse me, Mr. Yamato," the nurse said. She went up to Lacus with about five other assistants and tried to restrain her. Kira never thought that he'd see the day where Lacus would actually be strapped onto the infirmary bed. He watched in shear heartbreak as someone he treasured was suffering like that. The doctors pushed the needle into Lacus' arm as she slowly fell back to sleep.
"Mr. Yamato, but I hope you don't mind me sending you out for awhile. We need to take tests and samples of her still and find out what caused her to have a sudden attack." Kira nodded as he took one last look at Lacus before leaving the infirmary.
Corridors
Athrun ran down the corridors after hearing a scream coming from the infirmary. It had to be Lacus, he was sure of it. Once he got there, he saw Kira sitting across from the closed door, with his head down. Athrun slowed down and sat next to him.
"Kira…" he started. The boy did not budge. Athrun sighed.
"I'm sure whatever it is, Lacus will be fine," he continued, trying to comfort him. There was still no movement from Kira. Athrun decided to remain quiet and wait with him and maybe wait until he's ready to talk. After a few moments of silence, Kira started.
"I… told her about what I told Flay. She thought I was going to say something negative so she turned away. I thought she would be listening, and so I continued and told her how I really felt about her. And then, she started to scream in pain. I don't know what I did… what happened to her? I'm scared for her…" Athrun listened intently. Sure enough, he let out his feelings for her. Yet the girl didn't even hear a thing. Athrun sighed.
"Let's wait for the results, okay? Lacus is a strong person. She can handle it. I know she can." Kira nodded in response as they sat together in silence, waiting for the doctors to come out with the report.
A Few Minutes Later
The door across from the two boys opened and out stepped a doctor. Kira and Athrun quickly stood up to hear what the doctor had to say.
"Well according to the tests and everything we've done, she seems to be okay. However, the reason to Miss Lacus' sudden reaction was probably due to her emotions alone. I'm not quite sure what happened, but it was probably stressing her a little and that caused her pain and agony. Like I said, her head injury was pretty serious and not fatal, but she still can get unexpected reactions once in awhile. Try to keep her calm and don't let her think too much."
Athrun thanked the doctor as the doctor left. Athrun nodded towards Kira as the two of them went inside the room. Lacus was once again sleeping peacefully on the infirmary bed. The straps, however, were still on, in case something else happens. Kira hated seeing her put into this situation. It felt like she was an enemy that was aboard this ship due to injuries. He once again sat down at his normal seat and watched Lacus.
"It seems that Lacus is fine right now. I'm going to go back to my room, all right Kira?" Athrun spoke up. Kira just nodded, his eyes never leaving Lacus' sleeping form. Athrun turned around and left the room, leaving the two alone once again.
Archangel
Flay lay on her bed, thinking about what Kira had said. 'So he did choose her... My intuition was right, I guess...'
"I... Flay, you should know that I care about you very much. And I've been so much happier ever since you came back. However, you coming back meant that you were actually revived by scientists. I'm not saying that I don't like your existence right now. It's not true, I actually do love the fact that you're back here, in person. I realized... these past few months... that, I don't really love you that way Flay."
She knows that he still loves her, but not the way that she hoped he would. Ever since getting revived, her goal was to see Kira again and surprise him. She thought that throughout the years she's been away, that he'd be miserable. The least thing she'd suspect was to have a girl he'd already care for.
"I love you... but not in a way where I can truly give you my heart. Before, it was just a crush. I thought I can actually handle a relationship with you, but I ran away from it. In the first war, I ran away and I never saw you again, besides the time in the final battle. I thought that everything was over, that my life has been shattered because of that one thing. It's true that I love you... but maybe as only a friend, a little sister. I had mixed up my feelings then."
She was hoping that he'd still be that same boy that she met on the Archangel, the same boy that she knew in high school. He changed so much ever since her supposed death, and it was for the better. He seems much more stronger, much more confident in things, rather than that shy boy who looked so helpless.
"The thing is... the person I really do care about, that means a lot to me, is currently suffering because of me. I've made someone I care about so much suffer, and that isn't right at all. I also made you wait and I'm truly sorry for that. I always have this urge to protect you, but that's like a brother's instinct, you know? When Lacus gets hurt, even if it's something really little, I freak out. I don't think I've ever been like that before. And my little incident today proved to me that Lacus means the world to me. Even when Lacus gets on a little journey or mission, I find myself always thinking about it, thinking about how she is right now. I always get this feeling whenever Lacus gets hurt."
She had seen it before. She had seen his reactions whenever he heard that Lacus was in trouble. When Lacus went up into space, Kira always seemed so distant. She could tell that he was always thinking about her. If not her, he would be thinking about how screwed up this world was. He rarely ever thought about herself, and she wondered, why she was still a little shocked from hearing Kira's responce back in the Eternal. She wiped her tears that unconsciously fell from her eyes and got up.
"I need more air." She walked out of the room, hoping to see someone she could talk to, preferably Miriallia.
Observatory Deck
Oddly enough, Flay found Miriallia standing at the observatory deck, looking out into space. Flay went and stood beside her.
"What are you thinking?" She asked Miriallia.
"Just how much I've missed being up here, you know?" Miriallia replied. She looked at Flay, whose eyes seemed to be red from crying.
"What's up with you?" she asked. Flay looked at her and sighed.
"I had a talk with Kira... on the Eternal. He finally decided."
Miriallia understood. Flay did not have to say everything for her to understand who Kira had chosen. But of course, Miriallia could see that as well, and she really do kind of prefer Lacus over Flay. However, Flay's changed over the past year and Miriallia has grown to like that a lot.
"There are many other guys out there. Don't think about it too much, you know?"
"Yeah... but there isn't going to be another Kira..."
"That's true. But you'll find other good qualities in other guys. And they won't have to know if you have died already, am I right?" Miriallia smiled. "I mean, when I lost Tolle... I thought everything was over. But when I met Dearka, I realized that things happen for a reason and you just have to move on. In your case, Kira just decided on someone other than you and you just got to deal with it and move on. Sulking about it won't get him back to you. Right?"
Flay nodded. "You got a point there, Mir. But you know, it is kind of my fault for falling in love with him in the first place. But whether or not I'm with him, I'm still going to be by his side during this war. And not only for him, but for the world!"
"Now that's the spirit! Now how about we get a snack? I'm starved!" Miriallia said. She grabbed Flay's arm and dragged her towards the cafeteria.
Minerva
Luna was walking around the ship, just for the heck of it. She had nothing to do, and due to her un-healed injuries, she couldn't do much. During the battle, she felt pain and although she rested a lot, there were some wounds that reopened. She didn't let Shinn know about this because she knew he'd have a fit. Therefore, she went to the infirmary right after to get her wounds patched up once again. It's been probably an hour after that and although she took pain-killers, she is still feeling minor headaches.
"God, this is so annoying," she mumbled as she continued to walk and clear her head. The battle was over and she hoped that by the next battle, her wounds and everything would be healed fully. Although she is hoping too much, she'd rather fight in a healthier state rather than a not so healthy state.
She walked by Shinn's room and decided to go in and check on him. After the battle, he told Luna he'd be going to take a rest. That was how Luna got into the infirmary without Shinn knowing. Right when she was about to press the intercom button, she heard a voice. 'Must be Shinn talking in his sleep...' She thought. She was just about to leave when she heard a name she really rather not hear.
"... Stellar... It's my fault..."
Luna became rather curious as she entered the room without his permission. Yet again, he failed to lock the door to his room. She got in and sat on his bed. He did not stir but just kept on mumbling in his sleep.
"Stellar... you... didn't deserve... this..." he mumbled. Luna looked at him sympathetically. 'You still have feelings for her... do you?'
"You... should've... been free... from all these... battles... Neo promised... but failed to... fulfill... what I wished... for... you..."
Luna thought that she had heard enough. She had nothing against him, of course he'd still love her. After all, she was the first person he actually loved during the war, after his whole family was wiped out at the battle of Orb in the Great War. She got up and was going to the door, when she heard her own name.
"Please... don't let... Luna... ever be in... your... situation..." he continued to mumble. Luna froze as she listened to his words.
"I... thought I... lost her when... her suit... was practically.. destroyed... It gave me... so much memories... of... what... happened to... you... Stellar..." Luna's eyes began to water as she continued to listen on. She knew it was wrong, but she wanted to know what he thought of her.
"I... don't want... to go through... that again..." Luna was wondering why it seemed like he was talking to her in his dreams. She turned around and noticed Shinn started to toss and turn on his bed.
"NO!" he yelled. Luna began to worry. She quickly went to him and held his hand.
"Shhh... I'm here... Relax Shinn..." she said quietly to him. He just kept on screaming no. That was when she also heard her name.
"Luna... Luna no!"
Luna started to cry even more. Was his nightmare about her? What exactly was it about? She began to question herself as she continued to stroke his hand with her thumb.
"Shinn... it's okay..." she said through tears. Shinn then started to toss and turn more violently this time. Luna had to stop this, she didn't want him to see anymore of it.
"Shinn. Shinn wake up!" she yelled. She shook him and he slowed down his movement and slowly opened his eyes. Everything was a blur, but he could tell the color of magenta.
"Luna...?" he asked slowly. "What..."
"You... apparently had a --"
Shinn quickly jumped up and held Luna in his arms. Luna was shocked of his reaction all of a sudden but slowly gave in. Luna heard sobs coming from Shinn and realized then that he was crying.
"Shinn..."
"That... that seemed so damn real... I... was so scared..." Shinn said quietly as he continued to hold onto Luna. Luna just smiled at him and returned his embrace.
"I'm fine... Don't worry, nothing's going to happen to me," she said, full of determination.
"Wait... did I..." he quickly let go of Luna and looked downwards. There was a tint of red on his cheeks as he thought of what Luna might've heard.
"Yeah, but it's fine Shinn. I'm okay with it. Do you want to grab something to eat?" she asked politely. Shinn just nodded his head. They both got up and went to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat.
Space -- PLANTS
Radiator
The ship had just made it to port to get repairs done for the ship. The Endanger was lost to the Eternal. Robert didn't mind, however. He wanted some way to get rid of the suit because he had one of his own. He purposely wanted it to be handed off to the Eternal. Therefore, there is a chance that he'd see Alex on the battlefield and defeat him then and there. He also wanted to try his pilots, to see what they would do in a time like this. However, right now, he was disappointed in the outcomes of the battle. The Eternal was definitely losing, but somehow, they gained the upper hand in just a few mere minutes.
Hangars
Michael was helping the mechanics in the hangars fix up his mobile suit. It was damaged pretty badly and he surely wasn't concentrating much on the battle. He was still troubled by his sister leaving and that was also another cause to why he wasn't concentrating so much in battle.
'Aya, I hope you're doing okay. No matter what that damn commander says, I will not destroy the ship that you are in. You're my sister, and I would even give up my life for your survival, I'm sure of it... But I can't let anyone know. I'll try my best to keep you alive, and I'm sorry to not let anyone else know about this...' he thought.
"How's it going?" Michael turned around to find Shauna coming towards him.
"Hey," he smiled. Shauna returned the simple gesture and looked towards the machine.
"You sure have a knack for fixing up machines like these," she said. Michael shrugged.
"Where's Souta? Is he okay?"
"Yeah, I guess he's fine. He's just taking a rest in your room right now. I'm sure when he wakes up, he'll be full of energy... or maybe not..." Shauna said the last part quietly. Michael looked at her.
"Something the matter?"
"About... About Aya.. you're seriously going to shoot her down? I mean... she's your sister!" she said rather fiercely. Michael just went back to his machine. He then went up to the cockpit and sat inside, with the cockpit doors open so Shauna can talk.
"I'm talking to you, Suzuki!" she yelled. Michael looked up at her.
"What the commander says goes... aren't we the ZAFT forces? Shouldn't we follow orders? The chairwoman also wants her dead, so might as well right?" he said without emotion, his eyes on his cockpit screen. Shauna scowled.
"You... you have no heart. You... you don't deserve to live, you damn bastard!" she yelled as tears came flowing out her eyes. "You don't care about your sister and here I am, stressing about it every single damn day and all you do is just sit there in your damn machine like you're some killing monster! I hate the way you are right now..."
Michael had just about enough. She didn't know how he felt about this situation, and it wasn't like Aya was her sister. He looked up at her, with a scowl on his face. He got out of his cockpit and grabbed her shirt. Shauna gasped at his sudden action and just waited.
"You don't know anything so I suggest you leave me the hell alone." He threw her across the hangars and went back inside the cockpit, this time closing it. Shauna was flung towards the wall of the hangars as she hit against it hard. The impact made her side hurt as she looked at the Lightning. She floated down towards the hangars floor as she sat there and started to cry.
Inside the Lightning, Michael was now regretting what he had done to Shauna. But part of him felt relieved. She wasn't there to nag him anymore. If anyone finds out that they would be disobeying their orders, then something serious is going to happen and he didn't want that at all. He would rather die on the battlefield, knowing that his sister is safe, than to be executed before a final battle where there is a chance that his sister might die in battle. He opened the camera on his machine and looked around for any sign of Shauna. He sees her sitting on the ground, crying and shaking. He must've hurt her so bad.
'I don't care... it was her fault anyway,' he thought rather bitterly. He continued to look through his database and fix up his machine, so he'd be ready for the next battle.
Back down at the hangars floor, Shauna was left crying to herself. She couldn't believe Michael would ever turn out to be the person she knew now. When they were still cadets and training to be accepted in the military, she knew of him as a best friend. Now, ever since the war, they have been drifting further and further apart form each other.
Flashback
Michael and Shauna had just finished their simulation with the mobile suits. Shauna wasn't doing that well in the combat and surely enough, Michael won over her. He decided to cheer her up when she was sitting alone thinking to herself.
"Shauna, you were pretty cool in there, you know? Why do you look so down?"
"Stop lying to me, Michael... I know I was the worst one in there. You don't have to lie to me to cheer me up."
"If you want, I can help you!" he said happily. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She followed his lead into the simulater once again.
"It's all because of your lack of concentration. You're focusing too much on your surroundings. Just focus solely on your opponent, and the rest will come to you. I'm sure of it. Heck, we're coordinators, are we not?" he smiled at her. Shauna nodded as their simulations began. Sure enough, Michael's suggestion was perfect. Though she was not an expert like Michael was, she was getting there. Each night, she would go practice in the simulator, remember what Michael had told her.
Slowly and slowly, she began to catch up to Michael and their simulations would last longer than anyone else's. Michael was really proud at Shauna's improvement throughout their training.
There were a few times where many of the other male cadets had picked on her because of her low status. Everyday, he'd see her so upset, sitting alone, or sometimes being made fun of by other boys in the class.
"Aww, what's wrong wittle girl? Can't live up to our standards?" what seemed to be the leader had said. The rest followed his laughter. Michael, that day, had had enough and went up to the boy, ready to sock his face. However, the boy caught on his wrist and threw him across the room.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, wimp? How dare you try and lay a hand on me!" He slowly walked up to him. He was slowly beating the crap out of him. Shauna had seen enough as she ran up between the two to stop the reckless fighting.
"Enough! Stop this! Leave him alone!" she said angrily. The boys looked at each other and laughed.
"Oh no you don't. A sissy trying to talk big eh?" they laughed. Michael, who was now behind Shauna, was getting extremely angry. He got up and while the boys weren't paying attention, he used his skills and knocked the lights out of the leader. Everyone else was shocked. They looked back from Michael to their leader, and then ran away. Michael took Shauna's hand and led her away.
"Michael! You're--"
"I'm fine. Are you okay?"
"Duh! I'm bringing you to the doctor. You're bleeding!" Michael stopped her. Shauna looked back at him.
"What?!" she began to ask angrily. Michael pulled her into a tight hug. The action he did just now shocked her.
"You can always depend on me... okay? Whenever you need help, always come to me. I will always be here for you..." Shauna smiled as she returned the embrace. After awhile, she pulled out as she started to get agressive again.
"Now you're coming with me to the doctor's office!"
End Flashback
He had once said that he'd always be with her, always be by her side and being there for her. What happened now? Why, all of a sudden, would he just hurt her like that? After all he had said to her, he leaves her like this, all alone. She got up and decided to leave the hangars and go back to her room. After all, she was sore from the impact against the wall and decided to take a rest.
PLANTS
After a few minutes of waiting, Robert got a chance to see the Chairwoman once again.
"How are things going, Mr. Johnson?" Elena asked him as soon as he came in.
"I've gotten rid of the Endanger. Surely enough, Alex is bound to come out."
"Very good," Elena said. "Now follow me, I'll show you your new suit. You can bring it to the Radiator whenever you want. It's yours now. I believe it is in a better quality than the Endanger and it matches you perfectly."
Robert followed Elena below ground until they reached the bottom. Elena stepped out, with Robert following her. Inside the room, was a big mobile suit, connected with wires and a few mechanics putting finishing touches towards it. Robert smiled at the creation.
"It's beautiful," he smirked. Elena nodded.
"I'm sure you'll accomplish great tasks with this," she smiled.
"Very well, what's it called?"
"It's known as the XX1 Darkness Gundam."
"Suits it pretty well, given the black towards this machine."
"So you'll get the rest of them with this, will you?"
"Yes... Anything for you, Chairwoman."
Space Meteor Debris
Eternal -- Infirmary
The room wasn't much different, given the fact that all they did was test Lacus and put her to sleep. Kira took his seat in the chair near Lacus' bed. He took her hand and held it for comfort. He was afraid of what she might think when she wakes up. She was strapped in, and everyone would've thought that it would be impossible to ever strap Lacus to something. She was so delicate and kind-hearted, no one would've even thought about that. However, that day had come, and Kira despised every bit of it. He had every urge to pull the straps off of her and leave her be, but he couldn't. The doctors had specifically told him to leave her that way, just in case another reaction does occur again and she injures herself even more to that of a fatal injury. He decided to stay with her until she wakes up. He needed to talk to her, to apologize to her.
After a few minutes, the door swished open. "Kira... I need to talk to you." Kira turned around and noticed Andrew Waltfeld standing at the doorway, with Athrun close behind. Kira stood up and went right in front of him.
"Yes, Mr. Waltfeld?"
"Come with me... it's time you should know about this. I've brought Athrun along too because I'm sure he need to find out as well."
Kira nodded as he took one last look at Lacus, hoping she wouldn't wake up anytime soon, and walked out the door with Andrew and Athrun. Andrew led them towards the hangars. Kira and Athrun were just about to wonder what was going on when Andrew led them off to a dead-end; a wall.
"Mr. Waltfeld... what is this?" Kira asked.
"Wait right here," he said. He walked over to the side of the wall where there was a control panel. He entered a few digits and the wall opened up. Kira and Athrun were shocked. In the few years they have been on this ship, they never even knew that a secret room aboard the ship like this existed.
"This..."
"This is the extension of the hangars. Of course, we had to close this off because we didn't think we need it." They entered the room and inside was a mobile suit. It had the features of both the Justice and the Freedom and some other new technologies. However, it did not really look like a machine that would be destroying other machines. It was the colour of pink and white and on the chest of the mobile suit had a flower symbol. Kira and Athrun were amazed at what they just discovered.
"Kira, Athrun... this is the ZGMF-X21A, Hope Gundam."
"Wait... who's this for then? I'm sure everyone on this ship does not need an extra mobile suit... right?" Athrun asked. Andrew nodded in response.
"Correct... however, there is just one person who doesn't think that she's doing enough on this ship, for the war. She wanted to be more involved and therefore requested that this mobile suit be made just for her."
"Then... you mean..." Athrun began.
"That the pilot of this suit would be..." Kira continued.
"Lacus Clyne herself."
Infirmary
Everything was blurry. Fuzzy. Nothing was really clear to her: where she was, what happened before. The last thing she remembered was Kira telling her that he had talked to Flay. She felt this pain in chest and then the next thing she knew, immense pain dwelled on her head, making her scream in agony. Slowly, her vision became more clear as she tried to look around the room. She also tried to lift her arms up a little to rub her eyes maybe, but found that it wouldn't budge. She looked downwards a little and noticed that she was indeed strapped into the bed. Nothing came to her though. No feelings of shock or being scared. She looked around and noticed that she was the only person in the room.
'I thought... Kira would've at least be here...' she thought. 'What if...' She didn't want to think too much. If she did, what would be the result of her again? What if that pain in chest resurfaces and she would have to suffer that immense amount of pain once again. She didn't want to experience that, whatever it was. She just decided to lie there, maybe until someone comes in. Then she would kindly ask them what was going on, with her strapped in like she was from an enemy ship.
A few minutes passed and the door did not swish open at all. Her eyelids were getting heavy and she wanted to go back to sleep. However, she also wanted to know what had happened to her or how her condition currently was. After all, she was the commander of the ship and wanted to get back to her job as soon as possible.
She already felt like she didn't do much in the ship, not to mention the entire war itself. All she did was give inspirational speeches, and that didn't help too much this time, given the fact that it was due to "her own self" that this war started. No one would've have listened to her anyways. On the ship, all she would be doing would be sitting in her commander's seat, watching Andrew Waltfeld command the ship in battles. During their time in space, Lacus figured out that there must be something that chairwoman is planning to do. She wasn't quite sure as to what exactly it was yet, but she knew that it would be something serious. After all, the chairwoman had shown her face for awhile either. In the middle of her thoughts, she heard a swish at the door and she slowly turned her head towards the sound.
A brunette boy walked in and didn't even look at the bed. She didn't know how long he had been away. He didn't look quite happy either, rather, he was quite worried. She noticed a glimpse of a blue-head right outside the door before it closed shut again. She decided to call him.
"Kira?" she said quietly. Kira looked up at her and then smiled. He walked up to her and sat down.
"Are you okay?" he asked. He took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly. Lacus just nodded.
"I'm fine. I hope you don't mind but could you tell me what happened?" she asked, confused.
Kira chuckled. "Sure Lacus. But first, I'm just going to get the doctors back in, okay?" Lacus nodded in approval as Kira stood up. He went towards the intercom and called the doctors to come in. After a minute or two, the doctors came in and started to take off her straps that bounded her tightly to the bed. Lacus finally felt like she has been free. The doctors left soon after taking a few tests.
"So, you want to know what happened?" Lacus nodded in response. "Okay then. You see, I was talking to you about... something... and then all of a sudden, you just started to scream. I got so worried and I went to call the doctors for help. They kicked me out so they could do tests and see what was wrong. They had to strap you in just in case you hit something and injure yourself even more. When I came back in, the doctors told me that you were just stressed out since your head injury was pretty serious, although not fatal."
He looked at her in her eyes and smiled as she just looked back at him, clearly showing that she was listening. She smiled as she couldn't really nod back.
"Thank you, Kira."
"Now... it's my turn to ask you something..." he said. His face etched of worry once again as he thought back to a few moments ago.
Flashback
"Then... you mean..." Athrun began.
"That the pilot of this suit would be..." Kira continued.
"Lacus Clyne herself."
Kira and Athrun looked at each other in shock. Andrew took that as a sign to continue onwards.
"When Lacus came up here near the beginning of the war, she told me that due to the fact that it was her fault that this war had happened, she wanted to be involved more. I was, at first, confused at what she meant by that, but then I realized that she must mean she doesn't do much at all. I told her she is a big part to bringing peace to a war but however much I try to persuade her, she wouldn't listen. At first, all I thought was that she was going to express herself to me because of all the emotion bottled up inside her. You know her, she wouldn't exactly show her emotional side to everyone. Well anyway, afterewards, she said she had one request to make and hoped that it wouldn't be too big. And she told us it was to get her a machine that does not necessarily fight mobile suits, but has those features just in case. She wanted features that would help destroy machines that will be a threat to the world. At first, I was confused at what she was implying. But then afterwards, she told me that the chairwoman probably had something to do with this. Even before her confrontation with her, she knew and had an instinct. No matter what I tried to do, she wouldn't change her mind. So I had to abide in her wish and we started to build a new suit up here."
Kira and Athrun just listened in shock at what Andrew had said. Kira was wondering why Lacus hadn't mentioned this to him at all.
"So therefore, the mobile suit was ready for quite awhile, but Lacus didn't want it to be exposed of yet. Just before the battle, she talked to me. She told me to let you know about the mobile suit whenever it felt like the time to. She didn't exactly wanted to bring this subject up, just in case of your reactions. She was afraid of the both of your reactions. Therefore, I decided that this was the right time. Please don't get mad at her, it wasn't her fault. Just try and support her the best you can, especially since the condition she's in isn't all too well."
Kira and Athrun nodded in agreement, amazed and shocked at what they had just discovered.
"I... can't believe she would do this. Lacus Clyne... I didn't think she'd ever want to be fighting in a mobile suit," Athrun mentioned. Kira nodded in agreement.
"Although she did pilot the Justice for awhile, it wasn't like she was fighting in it. Maybe she felt like she should join in after the Justice," Kira wondered out loud.
"Whether or not it was, we still have to let her do what she wishes. I'm sure she would be really careful though," Andrew smiled. The two nodded as they all decided to leave the hangars.
"Athrun, I'll talk to Lacus, for the both of us." Athrun agreed as Kira then went back towards the infirmary to check on Lacus.
End of Flashback
"Mr. Waltfeld... Actually, I was at the hangars right before I came back. I had to go down there... because Mr. Waltfeld wanted to tell me something. He said how it was time to find out. Athrun and I were brought down there... and what we found out was, the Hope Gundam."
Lacus smiled. She knew this was coming. After all, she knew Andrew would tell them at any time since she was injured.
"I'm sorry I couldn't let you know. I was afraid of what you might think," she started off. Kira looked at her.
"Of course I don't approve of this, you know I don't. But, I guess I shoudn't oppose you. But just to let you know, I don't like this idea Lacus. What would everyone think of Lacus Clyne now?"
"I'm sure Mr. Waltfeld already explained to you. The Hope Gundam isn't designed for anti-mobile suit combat, but for being able to destroy machines that poses a threat towards us. I won't be using it too much, however, it would be there when I need it."
"But Lacus... I'll --"
"I know you'll be more worried and wouldn't concentrate too much in your battles. But about the conversation you had with me before I... subdued in pain..."
"No, don't say anything Lacus. You passed out before I even finished telling you what happened!" he protested. Lacus smiled.
"Then I'll listen to what you have to say now."
"I... All right Lacus. What I had talked about with Flay... I've decided of whom I've chosen. And I realized, that that person is truly you, Lacus." Kira looked downwards, with a slight tint of red on his cheeks. He knew Lacus was looking at him right now.
Lacus, on the other hand, felt like her insides had just been cleared of that foggy smoke that crowded around her heart. Everything had lifted and she now felt like something had been lifted off her shoulders. Her eyes slowly started to glisten with tears as she looked at Kira's now pink cheeks. She smiled back at him.
"I love you too, Kira."
A/N: And the now long awaited chapter is finally up. The two have finally confessed to each other, and I'm so happy for the two of them. Anyway it's really late and now I've got to go to sleep. I'll update the next chapter AS SOON AS I CAN.
And with Lacus and the mobile suit... I'm so sorry, but I feel like Lacus should also be able to pilot, don't you think? I don't know, I'm sorry if you guys don't approve of it. But I'm going to do it like this.
Until next time...