"How was your trip?"
Not a moment after Kinue had managed to open the door to Garma's office was she greeted by him from his desk, the woman smiling as she eased into things back on Earth. She had been invited to interview none other than Degwin Zabi through the manipulations of Dozle and Garma, and so she had been away for some brief window while Garma remained on Earth. As much as he had wanted to go as well Garma knew that he belonged here and that he had a duty to his people to do his very best to win this war on their behalf, and so he let his fiance of sorts visit his homeland without him, though not alone.
Amir and Emmerich had been given a small 'reprieve' from normal duty that had seen the two working every shift they possibly could to assure her safety, this being both Garma's way at the time of assuring Kinue's safety and also punishing them for spilling the news of his relationship to Dozle. Along with them were some other soldiers known for their service and loyalty, all to make Garma feel more reassured about allowing her to leave his side and to travel all the way to Side Three and back when a war was going on. Surely enough Kinue had left and returned in perfect health, and Garma was looking forward to the unedited interview when it was released soon since he had heard from various sources that it had gone well. Kinue getting along with his father was important to him, so a part of Garma was hoping that it was not merely appearances and that it truly had been a successful endeavor to arrange.
After closing the door behind her Kinue made her way over to Garma's desk, leaning over it to kiss him and greet him warmly too, "Surprisingly not as fast when I book my own arrangements to get to Side Three...you really didn't have to go to the trouble of arranging so much security, you know."
Garma almost scoffed as he watched Kinue cross the room to take a seat on the couch, all the traveling apparently having had its effect on her. Ironic the effects travel had on the body, as while Garma had been the one working all day and night it was Kinue who seemed more exhausted of the two of them, but Garma was no fan of jet-lag or other such maladies of travel and so was grateful it was not him to be suffering through them at the time.
"Of course I did. You are a part of my sister's forces and happy to be my very own assistant, so it is the least I can do to make certain that you arrive at and return from my homeland safely."
That was the official reasoning anyways. The unofficial reasoning was that Garma was falling more and more in love with her and could not now imagine a life without her, meaning that since others had tried murdering her once he would not dare take the chance of leaving her at their mercy again.
Once she was situated on and laying across the coach Kinue looked back over towards Garma with a smirk, recalling a bit of her conversation with Degwin that concerned Garma, "Your father and brother asked me to pass along their regards."
Such a mundane family greeting actually held greater meaning to Garma at the time, as he doubted that his father would have asked such a thing of Kinue if not for her leaving a good impression. Perhaps, in spite of her Earthnoid origins, Garma could make his relationship with Kinue public in time...after all, if Degwin Zabi supported it then few would be lining up to oppose him. Still, there remained a gap between Garma's father liking Kinue on her own merits and seeing her as a worthy wife for his son, so one step at a time...and, what's more, getting Kinue to accept Degwin as a father-in-law could be a task of its own.
"How was it meeting with him? It is not every day one gets the chance to interview the founding leader of Zeon."
The wry grin she formed gave Garma a good indication he was about to receive some light-hearted ribbing towards his father, and so he braced himself for it.
"He was surprisingly kind and considerate for a man who used political upheaval to seize control of his nation and turn it into a dictatorship which worships his family. It was kind of off-putting if I am honest."
If Kinue did not speak her mind she would not be who she was, so Garma just found himself grinning then in response since he really should have expected as much from her, "My father may have the mind and strength for politics, but in his soul that is how he has always been. If you notice, Zeon has done well under his careful curation these past years."
Having spent days dealing with the subject of Degwin and little else, Kinue indicated through gesticulation she didn't care to discuss the matter more...for the time being, that was. Perhaps after she got the chance to rest she could muster the energy to talk about Degwin again for the thousandth time in the past few days after all Emmerich chewed her ear off about it.
"That's enough about work...I didn't get much of a chance to actually do anything but travel from point A to B and then back to A after an interview, so I need some time to re-adjust to things back on solid ground."
Garma's wry grin told Kinue that she was in for something as well, for he seemed quite pleased with himself as he stood up from his desk and moved over to the room's communication monitor, "I hope you're not too tired. I arranged a gift for you that I was hoping you would be awake for."
"A gift?"
It took her a moment, but Kinue realized that with all the time she spent away from Earth it had in fact become her birthday. She had recently woken from a nap on the most recent leg of her trip, and so had forgotten that just prior she had received some gifts from Emmerich and Amir celebrating that very thing but now it was all coming back to her.
Given Garma's willingness to try and spoil her with gifts on any occasion, the fact that it was her birthday actually made Kinue worry for a moment that she was about to hear some news along the lines of "Oh, by the way, while you were in Space we were thinking about you, and thus Japan, so we took over Japan."
Fortunately that would not be the 'gift', and once Garma set up the monitor he made his way back to the couch to further explain himself and it. Leaning over it, Garma brushed some stray hair out of Kinue's face and moved down to kiss her gently, a kiss which she returned after having been deprived of such physical touch these past days.
"It is your birthday after all, so to show you that I care I did some favors for Kycilia for some in return."
When the kiss ended it was not in Kinue's expectations for him to reach down and scoop her up into his arms bridal style, picking her both up with a mixture of grace and force as the slight man lifted her into the air.
Naturally Kinue was scared that he might drop her, not from fear of her weighing too much but rather from how skinny Garma was that he looked like a twig compared to most others. She might just be a hundred pounds, but Garma barely looked like he weighed any more than that himself...
"Uhh...Garma, are you sure you can..."
"Don't let my appearance fool you. I came second to Char in the academy in physical drills, but I still came in second out of an entire school of military trainees. Lifting you up is as easy as it is for me to find it in my heart to grant my beloved a gift worthy of her and my love for her."
The feeling that he did in fact have a solid grip on her and the confidence and pride in his voice helped put Kinue at ease, now seeing that Garma was not biting off more than he could chew. He was being his sweet, overly romantic self and he wanted to carry her somewhere to which Kinue had no objections...unless he intended to carry her off to his room, at which point she would remind him most painfully that they were not in fact married. Anything else though should be fine, so long as no-one saw it.
"Thank you, Garma...I didn't even expect you to know or remember..."
Her sheepish expression as he carried her made Garma smile back at her in reassurance, his intention being to prove to her that she both meant the world to him and that she deserved the affection he showed her, "Emmerich and Amir were nice enough to get you something, so what kind of man would I be if I did not do the same for you?"
Kinue could not help but smile back as Garma gently set her down on the seat in front of the monitor he had turned on for some reason, "They bought me those Mobile Suit models your father came up with, so I'm curious how you're going to top a Gouf with a mini-Garma figure and a Zaku with a to-scale Dozle figure."
"Far be it for me to one-up others, but I believe I have," with a fleeting peck to the cheek, Garma left Kinue where she was before tapping a key on the system and moving to leave the room, "Enjoy. I'll be using your office until you're done."
Curiosity piqued, Kinue turned from Garma to the screen just in time to see none other than her brother Saji Crossroad show up on it.
"K...Kinue?"
Garma had gone out of his way to get her in contact with her brother in spite of him being in Federation territory and no doubt under watch by the Federation.
In Kinue's mind Garma was officially the best boyfriend/fiance a woman could ask for, and she almost found herself crying as she looked at a face she once worried she would never see again.
"Saji..."
True to his meek nature, Saji chuckled a bit as he shifted nervously in view of the camera. He obviously had not really been expecting this just as Kinue had not been, so he was taking a moment to adjust to the fact that his sister was in front of him now.
"Hey Sis...long time no see. Happy birthday, I think...time zones and all, not quite sure where you are right now."
Seven months without any form of real contact...it was longer than Kinue had ever been away from her brother, and she hoped to never be apart from him for that long again. Circumstances might demand it, but if she could she would try and make certain it wouldn't. He seemed to be well physically, and he had grown a bit from the last time she had seen him made obvious by how he was sitting in their house in view of things Kinue could remember the size of in comparison to him. Saji was an adult now she realized, as March 10th had been his birthday, the first she had ever missed...it was difficult in a sense since she had spent the better part of a decade substituting for their parents and playing such a role to him, so to see him now sent a surge of emotions through her.
"Saji..." smiling to herself, Kinue let herself just enjoy the moment, "It's such a relief to see you...how are you doing? Are you eating well?"
"Well-enough I suppose...I kind of didn't believe it when some guy said I'd be able to talk to you if I used this monitor they gave me, but I was so worried about you that I gave it a chance anyways. Didn't expect Garma Zabi to pick up the phone at first, but that was the part that really convinced me that this was real."
Of course Garma had spoken with him...he could have pawned it off on someone, anyone, even Urabe, or that moron Darota, but he had taken the call himself and spoken to Saji. Kinue wished she had been there for that just to bear witness to what the two could have possibly spoken of, but she would have to inquire about that more with Garma some other time since she doubted she could speak forever to Saji and using what time she did have just asking about another conversation would cut into whatever time she did have.
"It's thanks to him that this happened...a birthday present from my boss."
Proper credit given without getting into the specifics of Garma doing this because he was courting her...given that Saji's first words had not been 'Kinue, I'm sorry, but what the Hell?' she was fairly certain that Saji was unaware of that fact and Garma had left it up to her to tell him or not.
"About that, uhh...why are you helping Zeon again?"
Kinue blinked for a moment as she came to realize how out of the loop Saji actually was.
Oh. Great. That.
"The Federation tried killing me, Saji, while Zeon saved my life, so if I have to pick and choose where I am going to do my work there really is only one option."
Saji still ended up frowning in spite of the explanation, for from the outside it still seemed like a betrayal of their nation for one that dropped a colony on Earth.
"Yeah, I know, but they do teach us some history at university and they remind me an awful lot of Ancient Japan. Some of the other students were even comparing Gihren Zabi to some ancient dictator known as Adolf Hitler...so I mean we're not exactly talking about good people here."
Kinue could forgive some ignorance, but Saji acting like Garma was equivalent to Gihren in any way did not sit right with her. She had always tried teaching him to think for himself and not to believe just what anyone said on the television, but here he was doing just that.
"Saji."
Her glare had an effect on Saji, somewhat scaring him out of being confrontational but not entirely taking from her brother the desire to figure out what was going on.
"What? It's not every day your sister leaves home and ends up joining the other side in a war, so help me put some pieces together. Your broadcasts are banned here, so I don't even get to see you that way like everyone else..."
The realization that he was being starved of any information but Federation propaganda softened Kinue's look immediately, for now she realized that Saji even bothering to ask her without accusing her of being some Earth-hating traitor was a sign that he was keeping an open mind even if things looked horrible from his perspective. Given this Kinue let out a long breath and came to try and think about how she could explain things to Saji simply.
"You're not entirely wrong...Zeon has a lot of issues, that I can't deny, but right now I am surrounded by people within Zeon who I trust and can believe in. Garma may be the leader of the Earth Invasion force, but he is a great man and I am proud to be able to support him."
"But he's a Zabi..."
The way he said it was like a child being denied dessert...and if she was to be honest it made if hard for Kinue to not keep from cracking a grin. He always was a bit of a whiner...it was part of his near perpetual childishness and innocence that the worst Saji ever really did was whine rather than yell or get angry. Still, Kinue fully expected that if others knew her brother the first or second search result online for his name would be auto-completed with "annoying". While not immune to it, Kinue found her brother's innocence endearing and so smiled instead of getting angry at his pouting face, her brother obviously upset she was working with Zeon and more specifically a Zabi but not knowing how to properly convey such a feeling.
"You spoke with him. What impression did you get?"
Just as Garma had hoped to help foster a relationship between her and Degwin, Kinue hoped perhaps Garma and Saji could get along...but like with Degwin it may not be an easy task. Still, the fact Saji had at least briefly spoken with Saji was a good first step.
"I...uh...well, he seemed nice for a guy trying to take over the world and whose father used a period of political turmoil to take over his nation. He seemed to know a lot about me actually...even asked how Louise is doing when we were talking..."
That was good in Kinue's book. It wasn't a glowing review, but it wasn't "why are you helping this monster, Kinue, he's evil!" like Saji could be complaining about. In addition it showed that Garma was sincerely trying to get to know Saji, further showing how seriously he was taking this 'courtship' period.
This all said, Kinue was left with some curiosity about how the blonde harpy she unfortunately left her brother with was doing. From Saji's tone they sounded like they were still together, for better or worse...
"How is Louise?"
Saji seemed happier to talk about his dear girlfriend than he is Zeon or Garma, though he does seem hesitant still since he no doubt remembered Kinue's less than favorable opinion of her...though he was unaware to the fact that his sister was now dating a person who could share a few of the same descriptors as Louise: spoiled rich kid being the primary example. Fortunately for each of the Crossroads dating well above their social class and economic brackets that Garma and Louise could each be described as spoiled sweet rather than rotten, though Kinue would argue on Louise's inclusion in the former category rather than latter. Louise still was Saji's girlfriend though, and so Kinue felt the need to inquire about her well-being since she very well may become a permanent part of the family.
"Fine I guess. Her mother was visiting when the war broke out and now is stuck living with her, so that's been a bit stressful, but otherwise everything is okay...but wait, have you been telling your boss about me?"
Kinue could no longer hide her grin then, instead thinking to herself smugly as she beamed at him.
More than you know...
"Of course I have. I care about you, and Garma is a friend of mine, so you have come up a few times."
"I...I don't really know how to respond to that if I'm honest."
That was fair in Kinue's books, as it was not often one heard that they were a topic of conversation for the son of a nation's leader who happened to be in the process of conquering the planet.
"It's okay, I understand if it sounds weird, but it is true so I wanted to be honest with you. I owe him and the others my life, and I owe him for giving me this chance to speak with you at all, so please try to understand things from my perspective."
Saji nodded, accepting that and in part actually being grateful that others had saved his sister's life even if she was now so far away, "Word is you have said in broadcasts that you support him basically because he's not his brother Gihren...I kind of guess I saw what you meant when I spoke to him, so he doesn't seem all that bad. Just wish he wasn't a, you know, Zabi..."
"My hope is that by supporting Garma change can happen within Zeon to edge away from the fierce racism Gihren is stirring up to fear-monger and drive a wedge between the people of Earth and Space. Garma is most definitely his father's favorite child, so if Gihren can be discredited or removed somehow then Garma may get to take his place...and if he does the war will most likely come to an end and we can begin repairing the damage left in its wake."
That could probably get her killed if the wrong person heard it, but Kinue took it on faith that Garma would have told her if there was any danger of them being overheard. He had gone to such an effort to arrange for this that she honestly had no fear of repercussions of just being herself now.
Her brother cracked a grin at hearing that his sister was indeed still his sister, even if her job had changed quite a bit, "I'm glad you haven't become some Gihren-supporter...maybe I can learn to live with you helping Garma if it does help end things."
Kinue smiled back while speaking to him in a voice which matched his own amusement, "I had to learn to live with you dating Louise, so learning to adjust to things we don't like is a part of living."
"She has been really helpful these past months...she's a lot sweeter than she used to be if I'm honest. You might even like her now."
The fact that he said it so earnestly actually made Kinue believe him, since normally he was so exhausted and prone to whining about how Louise dragged him around like a ragdoll...but not now. He was actually grateful to her, and so Kinue got a sense that he did see more in Louise than her cup size. That made Louise certainly more of an appealing choice for Saji than she had been before, and so Kinue took some comfort in learning that Louise actually had redeeming qualities.
"If she has stood by your side all this time, then I'm sure I would. With all that is going on, and how much I'm sure our name has been dragged through the mud thanks to what has happened, I am actually proud of her. Maybe I was wrong about Louise before..."
Saji's eyes dulled as they narrowed at Kinue, remembering well one of the last times his sister and Louise had been together, "Telling me you didn't think she was right for me right in front of her was kind of mean..."
In Kinue's perspective and self-defense, she had literally no indication that the girl was not just using Saji as anything but a toy and bank account, so she had reason to doubt Louise's seeming sweetness at the time.
"Well she was your pushy upper-class girlfriend who always was nagging you and forcing you to do whatever she wanted, acting like a spoiled brat more often than not...tell me, what sister would want her brother to suffer through that? Sure, she looked nice, but that's secondary to what's on the inside."
There was not much Saji could do or say to counter her prior perspective and so instead he just shrugged his shoulders while smiling about how much his girlfriend had improved since then, "I guess...but I mean it when I say she's changed. Perhaps not as much as you would like, but I think months of no real luxuries or expensive things has helped her see things from our perspective for once. She works hard, and she is helping make sure we can achieve our shared dream of one day working out in space..."
As he spoke Saji's eyes sort of drifted away as if he were contemplating something, and so as his voice matched his eyes and drifted away Kinue spoke up.
"What is it Saji?"
Her brother looked around as if to confirm no-one was in fact listening in on them and that Louise could in no-way hear what he was about to say, "I...I, uh, have been working extra shifts when I can to save money to buy Louise some rings she wanted way back so I could show her how much she means to me. Thing is, if she accepts them it might kinda be like getting engaged or pre-engaged...I don't really know, but a girl asking you to give them a ring is like asking to get married, right?"
That...was most certainly not something Kinue knew almost anything about on a personal level since she not only did not talk to others about their love lives, her own love life consisted entirely of going on one date and being proposed to (in a sense). Still, her brother was genuinely contemplating buying Louise expensive rings Louise asked for and so there definitely was something between them, since he had gone to the effort of saving up for them at his part-time job and Louise had been bold enough to ask Saji to purchase them. Kinue could imagine it happening with Louise acting like a brat, but hopefully it was more graceful than that...hopefully.
If Louise was making Saji happy though and supporting him in his goals and dreams...then how was she all that different from Kinue herself though with how she supported Garma? In that line of thinking Kinue found that she could not stand opposed to Saji pursuing a more serious relationship with the rich Halevy girl, not without feeling like a selfish hypocrite. Saji might deserve someone as sweet and innocent as him, but Kinue had to admit he likely never do as well as getting someone like Louise with how she was sounding now...just as Kinue was counting her own blessings she had managed to end up with someone like Garma. Not just for his fame or money, things that were more unattractive to Kinue than they were genuinely attractive at the moment, but rather for how great he could be as a person to her. Sure he was prideful and had his personal flaws just as Louise or anyone else did, but the positives were what one could love...and if Kinue were honest she could not imagine Garma without his personal pride as troublesome as it could be.
"If you care about her enough to buy her them, then you have my support Saji...Louise is the one picking up the slack I left behind, so I'm grateful she has been taking care of you."
"Thank you Kinue...it means a lot to hear that. I'd hate it if you two always argued, but now I'm actually looking forward to you both seeing one another again..."
He was being quite honest and sincere about his relationship, and as such Kinue felt horrible. Horrible was the word for it because here her brother was talking about how much he cared for his own significant other, and Kinue had not even been honest enough with him yet to tell Saji she too had someone in her life...
"Can I tell you something, Saji?"
He blinked in response, Kinue's tone shift surprising Saji, "What, like a secret?"
"Yeah, sort of..."
Seeing how nervous she had grown all of a sudden made Saji grow concerned, but he loved his sister and so wanted to make her not be making that face any longer. He wanted her to be happy and if she needed to tell him a secret he would hear and keep it...as best he could. If he were to be honest Louise could probably for it out of him, but depending on the severity of it he might even have to stay resolute against the woman he loved and could barely say no to.
"Sure. I won't tell anyone, don't worry about that...not even Louise if you want."
With his acceptance came the moment Kinue was dreading ever since she realized she would one day have to tell Saji about her relationship...but that moment was now, and so she began to ease him into it.
"So, you know how we are able to talk because Garma arranged for this conversation?"
Simple enough by Saji's standards. What was the secret?
"Yeah?"
Kinue struggled to actually look at him then, instead glancing aside as she finally mustered the courage to admit to her only living family member that she was dating a foreign prince...who happened to be conquering Earth and was in a room nearby tending to documents working towards that goal.
"He did it because we are...together, and he wanted to give me a gift to show me how much he loves me."
It took a moment for Saji to digest what he had been told, and another to not just blink at Kinue as he waited for her to explain that it was just some kind of practical joke she was telling.
That explanation never came, prompting Saji's eyes to widen in fear and his voice to return to nervous stammering.
"Wh...I...you...you're j-joking, right? You're joking."
The bombshell was dropped, allowing Kinue to take a breath and shut her eyes to try and concentrate rather than look into her brother's puppydog eyes.
"No, I'm not, but you can't tell anyone, okay? I just felt that since you were being honest about your relationship, I should be honest about mine."
This revelation was not something Saji could just brush over however and so Kinue served as the sounding board for his shock.
"Sis, you haven't dated anyone ever, and now you're with not only your boss, but the person leading the army that is taking over our planet."
Well, when he said it like that...yeah Kinue felt she had every right to be concerned with how he would take the news. That, and it sounded like a forbidden sort of romance and love...which actually made her like it all the more. It was a twisted kind of Romeo and Juliet, and she had already sold out the Federation with the promise to join Garma in Zeon so she couldn't lie and say she was conflicted. The Federation had tried killing her, and Garma was her personal knight in shining armor (never-mind the two pseudo-knights by his side who had actually saved her), so it was an easy trade to make on a personal level even if on a more cerebral one she had reservations about what the faction stood for.
If others couldn't understand their love, then Kinue didn't care about them...but at the same time she hoped Saji would not be one of those people.
"Believe me, I'm just as surprised...but some months ago I started falling in love with him, and eventually...well, he started to care about me the way I did him."
Saji was just looking forward blankly as if he was a broken computer, his young mind contemplating the fact that for all he knew his sister was 'with' the son of a dictator and that she was seemingly unapologetic about this fact and claiming to love said man. It was a lot to take in one might imagine, and so Kinue spoke up again since she doubted Saji would reboot anytime soon.
"I'm not going to ask you to understand, or even like it...I just felt like you were one of the only people I could actually tell because I know I can trust you," she admitted nervously before moving on to yet another important yet touchy subject, "I...the next time I get to see you in person I may not even be Kinue Crossroad anymore, but Kinue Zabi, since Garma and I were clear about how both of us only were interested in pursuing a real relationship rather than some temporary thing for fun."
That jolted some life back into Saji, who gawked at his sister in return.
"Wait, you're getting married? I must have just heard that wrong..."
While admitting all of this was eating on her nerves, Kinue had to admit that in that moment she was enjoying herself, "Your ears are working, Saji. Garma and I may not be getting married yet, but it's in the cards and could happen sometime in the near future, so I felt you deserved to know."
"I..." Saji began, only to realize he didn't know what to actually respond to that with, "What...what do you want me to say?"
"If I marry Garma, will you still consider me your sister?"
A simple question, but something Kinue wanted to make sure of...being disowned for her choice in spouse by the brother she rose like a son would be quite crushing, and while she may be able to live with it she would really rather not. She wanted him to be a part of her life, however that came about...she loved Saji just as she loved Garma, albeit in different ways, so to be caught between having one or the other in her life was an actually frighting prospect.
"Of course Kinue...nothing would change that. I owe you everything...but, still..."
That eased a great deal of tension from Kinue, who wanted to hug her brother right then even if she couldn't thanks to him being on the opposite side of the world.
Still, she wasn't done...there were some things she wanted to make clear, even if she might not like the answers. She had always been honest with her brother, so she intended to remain honest with him and wanted honesty in return.
"Thank you Saji...now, would you love and care for whatever nieces or nephews you have, even though you disapprove of the father's family?"
It was one thing to accept his sister marrying a Zabi, but to then bring up the possibility of said union resulting in children...that made Saji sink a bit in his seat.
"I..."
As much as he was horrified by the prospect of his sister marrying a dictator and possibly becoming their 'queen', the thought of her having children with him put Saji as a loving brother in a rough spot since that was something he just normally wouldn't want any part of thinking about. However, it was an important subject, and it very well could become reality and so as he sunk in his seat he came to the realization that he did not possess in his gentle body the hatred to despise children in his own family, not even if they half came from a family he was in no way a fan of.
"Yes."
That left them with one last piece to the whole 'marrying Garma' puzzle to solve, and so Kinue took this good news and pressed onward with the final part to her line of questioning...questioning meant to make Saji actually think about what their relationship would be in the future, no matter what happens.
"Could you try to see what I see in Garma and give him a chance, rather than listen to the lies and propaganda the Federation spreads about him?"
It took him a moment, but Saji eventually shrugged as he averted his eyes from Kinue, his face looking as if he was talking about something vile and unnerving to him, "If that is what you want...yes. Just...don't expect me to be happy about it, okay? His brother is to blame for so many people dying, I..."
He was still the sweet, innocent Saji she had left behind...perhaps a bit woken up to the world's true nature by the war, but still himself at his core, and for that Kinue was forever grateful. If she lost him just as she once lost their father and mother, neither of whom Saji remembered all too well, then she would feel truly alone in the world even with so many others around her now. As such she tried to give him a reassuring smile to show him that everything would be okay, having always been the one who had to tell him such things and make him feel better all these years until the past half-year.
"I know Saji...that's why I'm doing my best to help Garma get to the point where he can replace Gihren some day. I'm not happy about Gihren's actions, and if you somehow catch my interview with Degwin Zabi from the other day you will see that he isn't a fan either. Zeon may actually get to change from within if the right people are in the right places, so I want to make certain Garma can do the good I know he is capable of."
Saji softened up and slowly came to smile, as if he was finally beginning to piece things together about how his sister was doing and feeling now, "I...I think I understand. Whatever happens, I love you Sis...just come home, okay? I miss you, and I want this meaningless war to end."
"I love you too, Saji."
The two Crossroads sat in silence for some time with their quiet admissions of familial affection for one another, having long shared a deeper bond than most brothers and sisters tend to. It was a nice moment for them both, Saji able to speak to his sister he has worried for all this time, and Kinue able to spend her birthday speaking to her little brother she had feared might become a casualty of war any day...
But as with all good things it eventually came to end, its end specifically coming when something came back into mind for Saji who gave his sister a concerned look.
"So...what was that about nieces and nephews? You're not...expecting, are you?"
If he thought her glare before was threatening, Saji felt the sudden urge to ask for the police to come and save him from the one he got from her in return for his simple question.
"Eeee, yeah, forget I asked."
Kinue continued glaring at him, taking on her stern 'Tiger Mom' persona she rarely had to use these days once again just to whip Saji's manners into shape, "Garma and I are not married and, if you know what is good for you, you won't dare try anything funny with Louise before you marry her. I raised you better than that."
Saji was holding his hands up in surrender, realizing that curiosity be damned he had gone a bit far in his questioning and now wanting Kinue to do anything but look at him with such cold fury, "Well, like Louise once reassured you, I wouldn't even know how if I tried so you don't have to worry..."
To settle down from that Kinue smiled at him and leaned back a bit, though this was all to mask the fact that she was about to calmly make her brother desire mind-bleach, "Good. Glad we cleared that up. Now, because you dared to ask, yes, nieces and nephews. As in multiple of each. Now, if you don't want to think about that whole situation, don't pry again. Ever."
If he was surrendering before, now Saji was in full-blown concession mode, trying to do anything to get his sister to stop as he clasped his hands together and bowed his head as if in prayer, "Prying done, prying done, please stop, I beg of you."
The conversation settled down into casual discussion into their respective situations, Saji explaining how Japan was faring under the Federation's military rule while Kinue got to tell her brother about the people she had gotten to know in Zeon. Eventually though Saji noted that he was told they could only speak so long before the transmission would become compromised, and so he apologized that they would have to go. Kinue was just happy to get to speak to him at all, and so thanked him for taking the risk of actually reaching back out even with Garma's aid in arranging it all. The two siblings parted on good terms, promising one another to do what they could to reach out to the other in the future if at all possible, and when the call ended Kinue found herself quietly sitting in her chair contemplating the fact that her brother might be getting engaged...that he was happy, and that Louise was looking after him now that Kinue wasn't there...and that Saji actually had come around to accepting her own engagement with Garma.
It was a lot to process, but Kinue felt even better than she did when she realized she had the opportunity to interview one of the most powerful people in the world the other day...and in this elated mood she eventually decided to get up from her seat, go over to her own office, and kiss Garma where he sat signing forms to authorize various invasion plans to conquer the world.
Sure it was just a phone call of sorts, but it was better than anything she could have asked for on her birthday, and so Kinue resolved to try and make Garma's birthday in December even better than hers just to pay him back...and she already had a few ideas how.
"I love you, Garma."
A/N: Kinue's birthday is July 22nd, today in fact, so this was too good an opportunity to pass up! I was sick this past week so I swapped the order between this update the the Degwin interview, but I hope you guys enjoy the fun timing coincidence of the update being also on the character's birthday. Thank you for reading, and I hope you will let me know your thoughts in the reviews below!
Also, special thanks to Echowarrior and TheTypo for your reviews on the last update, and I hope you continue to enjoy and/or lend me your thoughts!
