Yuugiri: All right. Let's take a short break from the story line. Just this one chapter, and we'll go back to where we left off in the plot. LOL!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

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July 31, AW

The memorial ended in silent serenity with thousands upon thousands of paper flowers cast away into the western shores of Kaguya. It had been a smoldering mid-morning cooled only by the sea breeze as well as Athrun's wonderful rendition of Dawn's Carriage while Lacus sang, right after Reverend Malchio's sermon. All throughout the ceremony, Kari had forgotten of the slight ringing inside her head. But now that everything was over, the ringing was, if anything, louder and quite unbearable. She tried to hide it from everyone, especially from Yzak himself, as the boy seemed to worry too much about her since the Carnival fiasco.

Today had been such a hectic day. Yzak didn't need her to add to it. The presence of Ezaria Jule was more than enough to make him edgy.

She was a petite woman, about a hand and a half shorter than her son, with silvery-blue hair that curled over her shoulders. She looked like she was born into that crisp uniform she was wearing, her beautiful face as hard as a rock as she looked up from something she was reading when Yzak and Kari walked into her reserved sleeping quarters about half an hour after the memorial.

Kari was pleasantly surprised when the woman's icy features were broken by a warm, almost eager smile. She however, did not move from her spot on the couch. Instead, she gestured to the loveseats sitting in front of her.

"Welcome," was all she said, in a rich deep voice that suited her hard facial features.

Kari felt Yzak stiffen a bit, and for the first time that day, the light-haired boyfriend of hers looked terribly uneasy. It was as if he was unsure of what to do.

Ezaria seemed to have noticed this too, and the woman was immediately on her feet. "At ease, Yzak."

Kari's eyebrows climbed her forehead at the odd greeting, and she gazed at Yzak in the corner of her eye, seeing the boy relax evidently, and feeling his hand rest gently on her waist as if to usher her forward.

Kari had met the mother of her boyfriend earlier in the day, but none got the chance to say anything more than a word of acknowledgement to each other, as Ezaria was immediately bustled by Kisaka and Erika to talk about more important things. The older woman had struck Kari as all business, but now, seeing Yzak hurry to her side after guiding Kari to a chair, she couldn't think of it possible. Yzak actually looked... relieved to see her, and she him. Something she did not expect from this rock of a man.

"Mother, how was your trip?" Yzak asked as he kissed his mother on the cheek, then guided her in sitting down.

Kari herself took her seat in front of the woman that now brushed Yzak away while keeping her intense blue eyes on her.

She is checking me out, she thought, amused. Smiling at Yzak's mother, she bowed slightly. "Hello."

Yzak blinked a few times before settling next to her and putting a hand on her knee instinctively, as if he worried what his mother was going to say. Kari was not worried. Like Yzak, Ezaria was easy to read. She was obviously cautious, but evidently pleased to see her.

"What a lovely young lady you are, Kari," the woman said silently in her deep voice as she leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest casually. "I have heard so much about you from Yzak."

The last comment made Kari sit up straighter, startled. She had no idea Yzak talked about her to anyone, more so his mother. "As I have heard of you, Mrs. Jule. Yzak speaks fondly of you often."

This made the woman chuckle a bit. "He does, now does he? He has always been a talkative young lad, for someone who pretends to be all cocky. I hope he is not giving you any trouble about anything?"

"Mother!" Yzak hissed under his breath as he lowered his chin to his chest, embarrassed.

Kari felt her eyes widen at the revelation that Ezaria knows her son so well. "He never gives me anything but a reason to wake up the next day, Mrs. Jule. He is a wonderful person."

This comment seemed to have embarrassed Yzak even more and she felt his hand clench her knee tightly. He was always easy to embarrass. Ezaria, however, looked very, very happy at what she just said. "Really, child? How wonderful. It has always worried me that he will not find anyone he'd like to go out with. He had always scared majority of the girls up in the PLANTs. I was surprised when he told me that he is seeing someone. And partially afraid that he had picked someone that would not understand him. I am glad that he found you."

"Mother!" another hiss from Yzak.

Kari laughed. "Oh, he did not find me." She smiled up at Yzak, who was terribly pale in the face. "I found him. To tell you honestly, he could not wait to get away from me then."

This made Ezaria chuckle even more, covering her mouth with a dainty hand. "Silly child! How could anyone not like you?" With this, she turned to Yzak. "For a Natural, she sure is witty." She hurried to back up her comment. "Now don't get me wrong, Kari. I mean no offense."

This made her smile sweetly. Of course, Yzak had warned her of how his mother could be at times, but in all honesty, Kari could not see why Yzak worried too much. She was such a sincere lady. "None taken. How was your trip from the PLANTs?"

Of course the usual chitchat between her and Yzak's mother revolved mainly on politics, which seemed to impress Ezaria to no end. Kari explained that she had been reading up as her thesis required her. Yzak had remained silent majority of the time, once in a while standing to look around the room, as his mother seemed to have forgotten he was there. Kari had assumed it was because he was not worried of anything Ezaria was going to say, since the conversation didn't have anything to do with him.

The conversation swerved from politics to a more personal topic, and as soon as Yzak heard of the sudden shift, he immediately darted from the open window overlooking the busy streets of Kaguya to his seat next to Kari.

Ezaria brought about the topic about Yzak's historical love pursuits. Or at least his attempt at such.

The light-haired lady lazily looked over her nails as if they were the most interesting things in the world. "The problem I've always had with Yzak, you see, is that he had always been a walking contradiction. You would not understand if he was the strong silent type, because he wanted to project an aura of authority by being quiet, and at the same time he had too many things to say especially when his temper gets the best of him. Perhaps this is why he never got to be that successful when it came to girls. Dearka on the other hand was an expert on the category." Slightly distracted, she blinked. "How is Dearka by the way? I remember you mentioning him being taken with a Natural girl, too."

Yzak, who looked positively dead, nodded faintly. Kari squeezed his forearm gently, making him look at her and look like he wanted to throw up. "Yes... He is very seriously in love with a Natural girl."

"I could tell. He never even said goodbye to me before leaving the memorial grounds."

"I remember him telling me that Sundays are reserved for Family day in the Haww Residence."

"Really now?"

Yzak nodded. "He said they are playing Monopoly... Whatever the heck that is."

Kari felt a giggle bubbling up her throat at the apparent puzzlement in Yzak's face. Ah, yes. After the memorial, everyone had gone on their separate ways, each with his or her own excuse.

It actually had been fun to see the gang break up into pairs after the memorial. Kira and Lacus had gone off to the Yamato residence to get ready for a little excursion up the mountains after much coaxing from Cagalli. The princess had been over-eager to get Kira to take the Songstress to these hot springs in the North. Of course, as always, Lacus had been eager as well. She was always easy to please.

Athrun and Cagalli, on the other hand, had their own plans for that evening consisting of a blanket and a basket of goodies under the stars next to the sea. Kari heard of Cagalli say that they had been planning on it for days already.

Of course, as Yzak had mentioned earlier, Dearka and Miriallia were booked the whole evening for a competitive game of Monopoly with Milly's parents.

And then there was she and Yzak to spend some quality time with the woman he had been nervous about ever since he found out she was coming.

Kari blinked her eyes repeatedly as she felt the ringing in her head make her temple throb uncomfortably. She ignored it when she saw Yzak once again cast her a worried look. She gave him a reassuring smile and plucked at the small hairs on his arm. The gesture always did have a calming effect on the Duel pilot. He nodded at her and turned to his mother.

"Will you be returning to PLANT soon?"

Ezaria narrowed her eyes at him. "I just got here. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me." Kari laughed at her comment, but Yzak took it dead seriously. He paled instantly, and then shook his head. "Of course not!"

Ezaria grinned crookedly. "We will talk later about the PLANTs when Kari is not here. Right now, I wish to talk about more personal matters. Now tell me. When can I see your parents, child?"

Yzak's mouth worked wordlessly as he leaned forward to protest. But Ezaria raised a finger at him in warning. Yzak completely ignored her. "Mother, don't do this please. We've hardly been going out for a few weeks - "

"Yzak, with the rate you are going with the game of hearts, I will be ninety before I see my first grandchild. I wish to get the chance to spoil her for a few years before I die," Ezaria said seriously.

Kari's eyes darted from her to Yzak.

The Duel pilot was outraged. "Mother, don't talk that way! You – " he stopped dead in the middle of the sentence he was saying, then it was his turn to narrow his eyes. "Wait a minute. What makes you think my first child would be a she?"

Kari covered her mouth with her hand when she was a slight blush rise to Yzak's cheeks.

Ezaria smiled smugly. "Of course it will be a girl! For Kari's sake. Fortune be kind on her. Only the heavens know how much I've endured trying to raise you... "

Yzak's face turned a deeper shade of red, then blue. "Now that is uncalled for…!"

Ezaria's eyes blazed. "Do not forget yourself, Yzak. I have waited for this moment since you started to shave. I won't be staying long here on Earth as Tad Elthman cannot keep everything in order at the rate things are going up there. So I wish to make sure that when I do get things organized there, I would be able to schedule a meeting with Kari's family. Now one more word out of you when I am not asking you to talk, and it's the corner for you, do you hear Yzak?" she huffed, then muttered a few words Kari barely heard, but was sure it was about boys from the military not knowing discipline at all.

Yzak, however, was white with silent fury. Kari squeezed his clenched fist and he relaxed a bit. Just a bit.

This seemed to satisfy Ezaria Jule. "Good." She turned to Kari as if Yzak were just one of those throw pillows on the love seat. "Now tell me. When would it be more convenient for you to get married?"

Kari choked back a gasp. "Excuse me?" For the first time since she had met her, she actually felt like blushing.

This, apparently, was the last straw for Yzak. With a loud roar, he catapulted onto his feet, arms stiffly shaking on either side of him, face once again red. "I told you mother! We haven't been going out that long to even think anything about that!"

Ezaria stared at him with a deadpanned expression. "Yzak?"

"What?" the Duel pilot snapped.

"Corner."

Yzak's jaw dropped. "Aw, mother. You can't be serious – "

"Corner. Move. Now."

Kari stared at Yzak in pure amusement. It was quite hard to define the mother-son relationship at this moment, as it looked like Yzak was obeying a superior the way he wilted evidently and grumbled an incoherent 'all right' as he dragged his feet towards the corner next to a bulky shelf containing a number of glass objects. All the way from there, Kari could see him glower at his mother in disbelief.

Ezaria twirled a finger casually. "Face the wall, Yzak."

Kari watched as Yzak grudgingly obeyed. She could see his shoulders stiffen under his coat, his silvery-blue hair hiding the sides of his face from view. But Kari knew that he was still fuming.

For a brief moment there, she almost forgot about the throbbing in her head. She touched her head briefly. What is this anyway?

Ezaria pulled her back to reality. "Now, about the meeting?"

She forced a smile. She will have to worry about it some other time, this headache. She could totally see why Yzak loved her. She was such an endearing lady. Kari struck her as a person who took look life too seriously.

She loved her already.

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Looking up, the Freedom pilot was instantly captivated by a vision in the middle of his parent's lawn. It was the weirdest sight Kira had ever beheld in his life. There, standing on the other side of his father's red convertible, armed with a small sponge in one hand and a squeegee in another, was Lacus. Clad in one of his old black tee-shirts too big for her and a pair of knee-length shorts and sneakers, the songstress looked positively beautiful. Standing there with an eager expression on her usually eager face, she smiled at him sweetly.

"So where do we begin?" she asked, squeezing the sponge a few times after tilting her head to the right inquiringly.

"Well, there isn't any specific place to begin, really." Kira clenched and unclenched his hands after lathering a bit of cleaning solution in the large bucket sitting next to him. "You have your sponge?"

She waved the absorbent thing happily. "Yes, sir." She hurried to his side and wordlessly dunked it into the bucket of bubbly water. "May I begin?"

Kira had to laugh. "You may do the honors, Miss Clyne."

Now in all honesty, Kira couldn't find any other thing he'd want to do right now than clean his father's car with Lacus, who seemed to be sharing the same sentiments. With the sun casting a wonderful orange hue on the neighborhood, and a gentle breeze blowing in from the mountains, it was a peaceful afternoon to prepare for their excursion later that day. Cagalli had been awfully pushy about it, and so he couldn't help but agree with her to take Lacus to the mountains where his twin had been bragging about Hot Springs.

Not that he needed a lot of coaxing. He would love to be alone with Lacus here in Orb.

"So when will your parents come back?" Lacus asked as she squeezed the sponge before scrubbing it against the roof of the car.

Haruma and Caridad Yamato had been dragged away by Kisaka soon after the memorial had finished. The man had insisted that they have coffee together, but Kira knew that it had something to do with matters of great consequence. Grown ups always do tend to discuss too much of matters of consequence.

"They didn't exactly tell me, but my mom said that they will be back to see us off to our little trip." At the remembrance that the will be going out with just the two of them, Kira smiled crookedly.

Lacus brushed back her long hair over her shoulder and giggled. "I am excited. I have never been to a hot spring before."

"Neither have I."

This made the Songstress tilt her head to the side once more. "Oh, how wonderful! We get to experience something for the first time together."

The statement made Kira's smile widen. It was true. Although he had been adding a lot to that long list of firsts he and Lacus were having, it seemed like this was going to be the first time they were gonna be doing something in which both of them are unfamiliar with. He let his eyes travel to Lacus' face as her forehead scrunched up in the process of trying to scrub a small spot of dirt on the windshield. He bit his lower lip and grabbed his own sponge from the hood of the car. Hmm. A night under the stars while soaking in hot water suddenly seemed so inviting.

After a ten minutes of scrubbing in silence, Lacus suddenly spoke.

"So I was talking to Miriallia earlier while she was helping me get dressed back stage," Lacus said, continuing her final diligent scrubbing of her side of the car.

"Really? What about?" he asked absentmindedly, raising the wipers and cleaning the glass for the second time with patience. His father loved this car. What was weird was why the heck he never found the patience to clean it himself.

"A lot of things. Her, Dearka. You, me."

Kira grinned a bit, briefly looking at her then intently sloshing more soapy water on the hood. "About you and me? What about you and me?"

She closed her eyes, a faint blush rising to her cheeks she tried to cover with her bangs. "Oh nothing important. Just you. And me. That's all."

Kira narrowed his eyes at her, but decided that Lacus will tell him anyway if it really were important. "Okay. I'll let you go with that for the while."

She shrugged her shoulders in that too large tee shirt of hers. "Oh, and by the way. Sai also went back stage with Kazui."

"Oh, really? What did they say? How are they?"

"They are fine. Both of them are attending school here in Kaguya it seems. Both their parents don't want them too far away from home. And then Kazui handed me something quite peculiar."

Kira blinked a couple of times and watched as Lacus wiped her left hand on the side of her shirt, leaving a dark, wet trail there, then dug her dried hand into the back pocket of her shorts, retrieving a small black square thing that looked awfully familiar to him.

Dear, sweet heaven...

Kira took a deep breath and held it in because if he didn't, he knew he was going to burst out laughing. It was the tape recorder Kazui and Sai used to record Yzak's voice while he was singing in the shower!

Lacus stared at it a few seconds, then turned to Kira. At the sight of his face, she frowned in confusion. "Are you all right? You are all red in the face."

Kira shook his head vigorously, trying to shake along with it the memory of him and Athrun listening to Yzak singing 'Can't Smile Without You' in a slightly off-tune voice. "I'm all right." He cleared his throat hurriedly then leaned forward a bit, momentarily distracted from his cleaning. "You didn't listen to it, did you?"

Lacus looked even more confused as she eyes the object suspiciously. "Err... not really. Was I supposed to?"

Kira had to control himself from snatching the thing away from her. For some weird reason, he felt like defending Yzak's pride all of a sudden, thinking that he owed him that much at least. "No, no. Err... what did Sai and Kazui say?"

Lacus shrugged again. "They said I should give it to Kari."

"Give what to Kari?" Kira almost jumped when he heard a cool female voice come from somewhere behind him.

Lacus's face broke into a bright smile. "Kari! Hi!"

Kira looked over his shoulder and was slightly surprised to see that it was, indeed, Kari. Clad in her usual loose shirt and jeans, her shoulder-length hair blowing gently in the breeze, the only thing quite out of place with her was that she was riding a bike, her slender arms resting casually on the handlebars, a satisfied expression on her flushed face.

"Hi there," she greeted, waving a bit. "Cagalli and Athrun told us where you were staying for the night. We wanted to say hello before you leave for your little trip."

Kira swallowed hard. "We?"

This word made Kari smile her small smile as she looked over to the end of the street as if waiting for something. "Yzak was right behind me a while ago. Maybe he is doing it on purpose to make me come back for him and so he will trick me and win our little race. He has been quite moody ever since his talk with his mother…"

Once again, Kira battled with himself to keep his lungs from exploding. For someone who was keen with emotions and feelings, Kari sure was very wrong with this one. Everyone knew of Yzak's apparent handicap when it came to bicycles. "You convinced Yzak to race with you on a bike?"

Kari nodded, not taking her eyes away from the corner she was looking at. "Well, Dearka helped me convince him. He was a bit hesitant at first, but when Dearka whispered something in his ear, he suddenly agreed."

Kira didn't want to know what Dearka said. Everything flew out the window when Lacus dropped her sponge in the bucket and approached the Duel pilot's girlfriend. "Well, I'm glad you are here. Kazui and Sai wanted you to have this for some reason."

The Freedom pilot watched as Kari reached for the tape recorder as if in slow motion. Well, so much for defending Yzak's pride. He watched as Kari flipped the object in her hand cautiously.

"Is this supposed to mean something?" Kari asked.

Lacus laughed gaily. "I have no idea." She returned to her usual place next to the car and picked up her sponge. "They just wanted me to give you that."

Kari obviously still looked puzzled, but nodded anyway. "Well, thank you. I will listen to it later." She was about to slip it into her pocket when suddenly, a blur of silver hair and flailing limbs shot out from up the street, barreling its way down the sidewalk and missing a mailbox. It was none other than Yzak on a bike.

And he did not look happy to be on it at all.

Remarkably, he was able to hit the brakes in a loud screeching halt right next to Kari.

Lacus froze in fright at the sudden entrance of the Duel pilot. "Yzak! You scared me."

Kira could only swallow once more at the sight of the light-haired Coordinator what with his hair sticking out in every direction, his face contorted into an ugly frown, his teeth bared as if he was going to bite something. He did not look happy to be on wheels at all.

Kari, as usual, retained her serene composure. "What happened?"

Yzak half-snarled his answer. "Well, when I lost you somewhere about five blocks away, I decided to take my time and walk the rest of the way. But then, as if fate wanted me to feel even more miserable than I already felt, a dog suddenly popped out of nowhere and chased me down the friggin' road. I had no choice but to ride this friggin' bike and I tore down four friggin' blocks like a madman, with the dog right behind me! I have never been so embarrassed in my whole life!"

Kira burst out laughing, but immediately cut it off when Yzak glared at him dangerously. "Sorry. Are you all right?"

The Duel pilot scoffed and was about to complain even more when Kari touched her forehead against his temple and whispered something in his ear as if it were some secret only they could understand. The effect did wonders on Yzak that Kira could not believe it. Yzak's shoulders relaxed a bit, as if Kari's voice itself caressed his very mood. For the hundredth time that week, Kira wondered how this girl did it. She can actually tame this uncontrollable beast of a man.

"So is your mother waiting for you tonight? Or will we be eating dinner together?" Kari was saying silently, but not too silent for it to escape Kira's ear.

Yzak took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, as if to calm himself even more. "I'm dining with you tonight."

This seemed to have surprised Kari. "Don't you think it would be better if you had dinner with your mother? She won't be staying long here on earth."

Yzak muttered an incoherent sentence that had something to do with his mother insisting he spend time with Kari and that he should treat her better. He was about to say something more when his eyes caught something clasped in Kari's hand.

Busted...

Yzak's face turned a few shades of red. "Kari?"

"Yes?"

"What on Earth are you holding?"

Kari looked down at her hand, then to Yzak's face. "Something Kazui and Sai gave me. Why?"

The redness vanished and was replaced by pure bliss. Kira could almost read his mind. Finally, he'd get to snatch back that horrid tape! "Kari? Give it to me. Now."

Kari blinked and slowly pulled her hand away, placing herself between Yzak and the tape recorder. "But they wanted me to have this," she said teasingly.

Kira stared at the couple with utmost awe. The two were actually flirting with each other! And Yzak actually looked like he was enjoying it! He laughed as Kari hopped onto her bike swiftly. It was strange. She had never struck Kari as someone who could move that fast. But right now, watching her turn to Lacus and him for a final wave before zooming down the street, leaving Yzak in a stupor, he was really impressed.

"Kari! Come back here!" Yzak hollered as he clumsily tried to hop onto his own bike, staggered a few times with the pedals, then was off to a wobbly start but was able to regain balance after a few pumps on it. Kira, in all his amusement, stared after them as the couple disappeared around the corner. Yzak looked as happy to be with Kari as he was happy with his Lacus...

"Now wasn't that so cute?" He heard Lacus say from behind him.

He turned around and nodded in agreement. "Yzak seems happy with her."

"And Kari, too." The songstress grabbed the bucket of soapy water and poured some of it on the hood. "There! All clean!"

Shoving the image of Yzak and Kari playing Tag out of his brain, he pointed over to the hose coiled not a few feet away from the pink-haired girl. "Can you get that for me?"

Lacus looked over her shoulder, and her face immediately brightened. "Oh, are you going to hose the car down?"

"Well, yes. Why? Do you wanna do it?"

She was ecstatic. "Oh, can I?"

Kira could still not get over the fact at how easily this person could be pleased. Shaking his head ruefully, he nodded. "Be my guest. Just don't turn the water up too much or – "

The words were immediately knocked out of his mouth when he was caught off-guard by the sudden wet spray right into his face. It was gone right after he heard a squeal from somewhere in front of him.

Coughing, trying to gag out the water that had entered his mouth, he felt a warm hand cupping his face on one side and no sooner were two huge blue eyes worriedly peering into him.

"Oh dear, are you all right?" she asked as she continued to look into his face as she held away the hose spouting water with her free hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't know the pressure here was that strong..."

Kira sniffed hastily, forcing out the water that had shot up his nose. At the sight of Lacus' worried face, he could not help but laugh. "It's just water, Lacus. I'm fine. Now give me the hose."

She meekly did so, gingerly handing him the hose, careful so that Kira didn't get even more wet as it is. Too bad. The Freedom pilot was not as careful. As soon as his fingers gripped the hose's snout, he immediately pressed a finger on the hole and sprayed and unsuspecting songstress at her side. She squealed loudly at the coldness of the water that soaked at her shirt, making the fabric heavier, clinging to her skin.

"Kira!" she protested, trying to make a getaway. But Kira was not naturally naughty. Unfortunately it was one of those days when he felt like goofing around.

Today had been such a good day. For the first time since Lacus had said yes, he honestly felt like there were a lot of things to look forward to... Aiming the hose at a running Lacus who tried to take shelter at the other side of the car, he laughed. "Hey Lacus."

The songstress peered cautiously at him from the window of the driver's seat. "What?"

"Can you make hot chocolate later for our trip?"

He saw Lacus bite her lower lip anxiously, slowly edging out of her cover. "Well, all right. But only if you – eeeeeeek!" Kira sprayer her again with the hose.

"Kira!"

0 0 0 0

"Ooh! Hot! Hot!" Dearka hissed as he plucked the bag of freshly micro waved popcorn into the counter. Miriallia rushed to his side with a disapproving glare and a pair of pink mitts in her hands.

"That's why they made oven mitts, sweetie." She ripped the bag easily and poured the popcorn in the waiting bowl sitting next to the microwave oven. "Can you pop those watermelon slices in the blender?"

Dearka watched as his girlfriend deposited the popcorn in the bowl with a small smile. Sundays were reserved for Family Days in the Haww Residence, and what with Miriallia leaving tomorrow, this specific Sunday was special. The parents had insisted on a competitive game of Monopoly. Now the good part about this is that he loved to hang out with the Hawws. They were really cool people that loved to laugh.

The downside of this is that he sucked at Monopoly. He could not even guess how people can actually strategize in the game. IN the past two Sundays he'd spent with them, all he ever did was buy every property he landed on and hoped for the best that other players landed on it in order to get rent. Unfortunately, nature made him to be a great soldier but not a good businessman. By the time they were in the middle of the game, he was technically broke and survived mainly on the two hundred dollars he got every time he passed Go!

What was worse was that it seemed like all luck would turn against him and he would always land on the Go To Jail square. But then again, that was better than running around on the board and losing more money that way. Jail was most definitely safer.

Rushing over to the blender on the other side of the kitchen, he smiled at the sight of a big bowl of freshly cubed watermelon sitting next to it. Looking over his shoulder to check if Miriallia was not looking, he plucked one cube of the fruit and popped it in his mouth. Man, did he ever love watermelon!

"I saw that, Dearka," Miriallia said.

The Buster pilot choked on the nabbed fruit and whirled around to see her giving him another rueful look, all the popcorn transferred to the bowl. "It was just one tiny piece!" he explained, quickly, somehow finding the humor in it all.

Miriallia shook her head. "Whatever am I going to do with you?" She went to his side and shooed him away. "Now go take the popcorn to the living room. I'll follow shortly with the juice."

One thing that Dearka appreciated in the weeks he had spent with Miriallia's family is that he got to experience working with Miriallia in almost anything she did in the day. Jogging in the morning, setting up the table, working in the kitchen, reading before bedtime... He sure as hell knew that he would be missing these days the moment they return to Abashiri, so decided to enjoy this last day with her and her family.

Slowly, he brushed back the hair covering the nape of her neck and touched his lips ever so lightly on her skin. "Okay."

His girlfriend giggled at his kiss. He had discovered this just yesterday, her tickle spot. And he enjoyed the discovery. With a dignified grunt, she swatted him away. "No more watermelon for you! Now get out of here."

Dearka laughed good-naturedly. Everything was going so well for him right now. If it weren't for Fallon, who he knew would be coming with them to Japan, his life would have been perfect. At the memory of the annoying fifteen-year old, Dearka frowned. Where the heck did she go to anyway? He hadn't seen her anywhere in the memorial earlier. Not that he was complaining. But it sure was a shock to him to discover she did not try to torment him the rest of the day. Grabbing the bowl of popcorn and leaving Miriallia with the blender and fruit, he made his way through the residence as he sighed. He was going to miss this house.

"Are you all right, dear?" A voice came from the living room the moment he entered.

It was Emmy. She was sitting on the broad, carpeted floor, her legs tucked under her. Typical, loving and caring Mrs. Haww. She sat there with her hair held back by a blue kerchief as she opened the rectangular flat box holding the board game they were playing that afternoon, but she momentarily paused when she saw the tan boy enter the room.

"Of course I am. Why shouldn't I be?" he asked with a grin, setting the bowl on the floor next to the kind lady and sitting across from her on the floor. "Need help with that?"

She shook her head. "Oh, no dear. I can do it." Managing to open the box carefully, she spread out the board on the floor and started to distribute the denominations into four. "You had a blank look on your face when you came in. I thought you weren't feeling well."

"Well, aside from the irrational fear of getting owned for one final time in this game, I'd say I'm feeling all right."

This made the lady laugh. "You are not really very good at this, are you?"

"Not a bit."

She eyed him with a strange look. "What I meant was saying goodbye."

And with this, Dearka blinked back at her. You just couldn't hide anything from a mother. He nodded. "I'll miss staying here in Orb with you guys, Emmy. I wish I could stay longer..."

She continued to distribute the play money as she smiled. "Well, you can always visit us whenever you can, dear. Our door is always open to you."

The statement made Dearka's heart tingle. "Thank you."

"Please take care of my little girl for me. She tends to get quite attached to people easily." Finishing the distribution of the money, she started to arrange the title deed cards neatly by color. "She loves you very much. Please watch over her for me. A mother can't help but worry..."

Not knowing how to respond to absolute trust the woman was giving him, he scratched his head in embarrassment. "You didn't have to tell me, Emmy. You know I will watch over her."

Another glance from her. "Thank you, dear. That makes me feel a lot better to know someone will take care of my little girl."

It was starting to make Dearka uncomfortable, the way the Hawws automatically trust him, and so he was glad when Albert Haww stumbled inside the living room from the patio and chuckled his rich chuckle when he saw the game and the popcorn all set for their round of ass-kicking. Miriallia's father was good at the game.

"Ahh, another Sunday," he boomed, taking his place next to his wife and grabbing a handful of popcorn. "Are you ready to lose again, my boy?"

Dearka laughed at his confidence. "I'm sitting here, waiting to be shot, sir. As ready as I'll ever be."

"Oh, don't talk that way, Dearka," Milly said as she came swept into the room with a jug of iced watermelon juice and four tall glasses set on a tray. "Let's kick Dad's behind because he always wins."

The older man sniffed. "I'd like to see you try, Miriallia. I'd like to see you try."

Dearka got to his feet and took the tray from her. "Well, I'm going down fighting. Even if I have to fight in Jail... " The thought made him grumble. "I hope I don't go to jail today..."

In ten or so minutes, however, Dearka found himself forlornly sitting out two turns in jail, right after paying an income tax to the bank, and he only had two properties! When it was Miriallia's turn and he saw her land on the square that says Go To Jail, Dearka almost bolted to his feet, almost knocking down his half consumed glass of Juice.

"Hah! Finally! You get to go to Jail with me!" He pumped his fist into the air.

Miriallia grinned evilly and brandished a yellow card she had gotten when she got the Chance Card. "Read 'em and weep, rookie."

His eyes widened when he saw it was the ever precious Get Out of Jail For Free Card. He felt all the blood rise to his face. It was then he decided that he utterly hated this game. They played for about an hour or so until the end, Mrs. Haww won. Albert was actually asking for a rematch, much to Dearka's horror, but was immediately relieved when Emmy said she was going to start cooking dinner. Goodie. He didn't have to endure another humiliating defeat in the hands of anyone that night.

So the family had to go on and continue with whatever they were doing. Mrs. Haww off to cook dinner, Mr. Haww to change that annoying light bulb blinking in the back porch, and Dearka and Miriallia to clean up on the mess they had made in the living room.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" she asked as she folded the board into its box while Dearka gathered all the play money.

"Well, I'm used to losing, so I guess I'm not that bothered." He laughed a little as they finally managed to put away the game under the table where they put all their board games. After brushing his hands together, he crashed on the couch and sighed. "Damn, I'm glad that's over."

Miriallia took her seat next to him and poked him in the sides. "Aww come on. Admit it. You enjoy these games."

The Buster pilot grinned. "Well I like it when I earn money even while I'm in jail for some weird reason."

She chortled happily as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'll miss doing this when we go back to Abashiri tomorrow," she said sadly, cuddling closer to him.

The Buster pilot touched his temple on her head and inhaled her strawberry scented hair. Finally he was getting used to having her snuggling up to him without freaking out. "Me, too. I think I've fallen in love with your family, Miriallia... "

Somehow, this made the girl very happy. "Well, they have, too. At least I won't be having problems with you guys getting along. Thank you so much for being you, Dearka... even if you are such a loser in Monopoly."

He grinned crookedly. "Say. When we get to Abashiri, what say we buy our own Monopoly board game and challenge Cagalli and the rest to a friendly game?"

"Hmmm... " she murmured. "Not a bad idea... Maybe going back to Abashiri wouldn't be so bad after all... "

Ruffling her orange-brown hair, Dearka nodded and closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the couch and breathing in. He might as well enjoy every minute of it while he was still there.

Ah, yes... maybe going back to Abashiri won't be that bad at all...

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"So Princess Cagalli Yula Attha. In your stay in Orb, you have eased the tension out of your people, held a beautiful memorial, you made me feel a lot better than I ever had felt in months since the cease-fire, you convinced Kira to take Lacus out to spend the night in the mountains and you forced Yzak tocome here. Tell me. Is there anything you can't do?" Athrun asked as he shifted his position on the blanket he and Cagalli had spread over the sand in the beach where they had planned their picnic.

Nothing could have been more beautiful than that night. What with stars popping out one by one in the darkening horizon above him, a basket of food near his head, and the love of his life lying down next to him on the blanket, he decided that if ever he would die tomorrow, he would be happy.

Cagalli lazily pointed to the star that had just appeared right on top of her. She had been awfully tired the moment the memorial ended, and she had crashed on the blanket the moment Athrun had fixed it. "A lot of things, you would be surprised."

Propping his head on his hand and lying on his side to look at his girlfriend, the Justice pilot smiled. The faint lights of the lamp posts at the edge of the beach cast lovely shadows on the princess' tired face. Yzak was right. Cagalli did look thinner. But still beautiful... So beautiful to his eyes... He will have to fatten her up a bit when they get back to Japan.

"Are you all right? You don't look too good."

She laughed at this, letting the hand that was pointing up at the stars drop to her side. "Yeah. I'm just happy everything turned out all right. For me, for you. For everyone. Everything is going so well that it's too hard to believe it's really happening." She closed her eyes, then opened them again. "And tomorrow, I get to relax."

The Justice pilot followed her gaze, up into the cloudless night. "What are you thinking about?"

"Me? Oh, just wondering where we were up there... floating in space... aimlessly..." she yawned loudly. "Excuse me."

Athrun laughed a bit. "You sure you're okay?"

Cagalli brushed his question aside. "Of course." Rolling to her side, she shoved Athrun onto his back and rested her head on his chest. "How about you? What are you thinking right now?"

"Ah, nothing in particular. I'm just a little worried about you."

"Stop it. I'm fine."

"Well, all right." And for that brief moment, Athrun did not move. This was one of the times when Cagalli actually got to relax, and if she found it relaxing for him not to worry about her, then so be it. Gingerly, he ran a hand though her blond hair, easing out the knots and tangles in them. "Cagalli?"

"Hm?"

"I love you so much."

With this, Cagalli raised her head to look into his face. She eyed him weirdly. "That was sudden." She rested her head back on his chest. "I love you, too. Now shut up and let me sleep."

Athrun blinked and kept still, his eyes roaming the endless sea of stars above them. "So you are going to sleep on me, are you?"

"What else is there to do than to sleep?"

He laughed. "All right. Sleep well then. I'll just lie down and… err… pretend I'm a pillow."

She pinched his side, making him jerk a bit. "Okay, okay. I'll roll off of you." She was about to move away, but Athrun slinked his way around her shoulders, pinning her to him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Off my pillow," she muttered, trying to break free of his embrace. "Now let me go."

Athrun shook his head. "I didn't say you have to get off. Just stay here. I don't mind."

Now in normal circumstances, he knew that Cagalli would have put up a fight, even if she will lose. But right now, what with her energy pretty much drained from all the activities of the week, she struggled for a few seconds then finally gave in, keeping her head on his chest and her hand draped over his stomach.

"Athrun?" she murmured after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah?"

"You smell like a ham sandwich…"

Well, of course he knew the reason to that. He was the one who made their snack while Cagalli was talking to some of the representatives. It was the least he could do to her. She had been so good to him. He knew that he couldn't repay her for all the things she had made him realize. Ever since they first met on that island… She had done so many things for him…

It was weird, the way people would know once they meet a person, they would automatically know that the person would be important or not. He breathed in Cagalli's hair and chuckled. "Why thank you. You smell like apples to me."

"My shampoo…" Cagalli explained lazily in a weak voice. She yawned then continued. "I like ham sandwiches… "

"Me, too. Would you like some? I have a bunch in the basket."

She didn't answer him, but instead snuggled closer to him, throwing one of her legs over him. It was one thing he had observed with Cagalli before she went to sleep. She always had this long pillow she would throw her legs over. Without it, she would be cranky waking up the next day. So he automatically knew that she was getting ready to sleep. "What did you put in the sandwich…?"

Puzzled, the Justice pilot shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Well, I put some ham in it of course."

"Ham… " Cagalli repeated dreamily.

"And pickles…"

"Pickles…" she murmured again.

"Mayonnaise…"

"Mayo…"

"some relish… "

"Hmm…"

Athrun felt his stomach growl loudly. Feeling his face heat up, he looked down at her to see if the growling had disturbed her, but was slightly pleased to see she had fallen asleep… She deserved to rest… She was such a hard worker…

Letting his eyes once again gaze up at the millions upon millions of stars up in the sky, he grinned to himself. Everything that he needed to live was on that blanket… He was glad that tomorrow, she would get to sleep all she wanted… They were going back to Japan tomorrow, and Cagalli could finally stop growing up too fast.

Planting a kiss on top of her head, he leaned his head back and watched a small thin light streak through the darkness. He will have to make sure he would stay awake. That wouldn't be much of a problem. He loved to watch Cagalli sleep…

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Yuugiri: Just an interlude. Enjoy it while it lasts. In the next chapters, we will be getting back on track with the plot that some of you might not like…

Anyway, some of the characters mentioned in the past chapters will also be making an appearance somewhere in the next three chapters. (grins evilly) Enter Kian! (watches as Yzak grabs him by the hair and slams his face against a tree) Nah, I don't think that will be happening anytime soon. LOL!

Thank you for the reviews! Me likes all your support!