Chapter 38: So What? I'm Still a Rockstar! (Part 1)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny nor the characters, just the fictive plot and setting of this particular work of fanfiction.

"We're back!" Cagalli called as she entered the base. Shiho and Meyrin followed behind her with boxes of the weapons, they started setting them down in the living room of the base as the other girls gathered around.

"Woah…"

"Uh, Shiho? You're kinda bleeding…"

"Yeah I know, the boys didn't want to lose their precious shipment so we ended up in a fight." Shiho replied to Fllay.

"Ouch, who'd you get stuck with?" she asked back.

"Yzak. Cagalli took Athrun and Meyrin cornered Rey. It was a stalemate for a while, but when things started to turn we came out on top. Or, actually, Athrun was on top of Cagalli but let us win." She replied with a small smirk.

The others gasped and Cagalli tried to hide the blush threatening to bloom on her cheeks. "It's not really like that. We were in control, then the boys had us, but when Mey knocked Rey's gone off the roof of a nearby building it went off and almost hit me. Honestly, it probably would have hit me if Athrun hadn't tackled me to the ground."

"Oh really?" Milly asked with an interested look. Fllay grinned, Luna smiled, and Stellar giggled as they grouped around their leader.

"How noble of him. Are you sure there wasn't something else going on?" Fllay asked with a knowing look.

Cagalli rolled her eyes and put another box down. "I'm sure; we were literally fighting each other. We were all even and he basically gave us the win, so I allowed them to keep what they had managed to grab and didn't take their weapons."

"So since he saved your life you spared theirs? I suppose that's decent, although I'm worried how Kira will feel about all this." Milly replied.

"Yeah, and speaking of…where's Lacus? That girl just keeps disappearing every time I let her out of my sight!" Cagalli exclaimed and looked around.

"Oh, she went on a mission to woo Kira." Fllay said and looked upwards in a dreamy look as she sighed.

"She what?"

"She went to a charity because she was asked to perform, you know the Orphan organization? She invited Kira to the event so they could talk before the meeting." Luna spoke up.

"Oh, right. Well she better be careful." Cagalli said and glanced at the clock. The tense situation at the pier lasted about an hour from the time they got there to the time they arrived back at the base, so it was around six o' clock now. She hoped Lacus would be able to make it back in time to prepare for the meeting at eight. She didn't want to think of what might be happening if Kira was in a bad mood.

"I think she'll be fine. Kira seems to have mellowed out. I spoke with Shinn and he told me Kira was fine with everything. He wants to help with baby funds and even offered to set us up in a house once the baby is delivered. Shinn has to finish school though, and I think he plans on quitting Bloodlust." Luna told her.

"Oh wow…that's unusual for him. I can't believe he'd offer that much." Cagalli said in an awed voice.

"He's being awfully friendly right now, are you sure we can trust him?" Meyrin asked with a skeptical look.

"Well…maybe he'll let us know more at the meeting." Her sister replied. Cagalli knew she was hiding something, but didn't press the issue. Obviously Luna knew something that she either didn't want to tell or wasn't allowed to tell, but she knew she would get the truth one way or the other, sooner or later.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Cagalli asked instead of questioning Luna.

"Uh…"

"Stellar is confused." The other blond confessed.

"Why are you confused?"

"Are we fighting them, or loving them? One day we're capturing them, the next we're dating them. This is getting too confusing, especially since Luna is pregnant with Shinn's baby. Are we still going to fight them even though half of us are in love with half of them? Stellar does not understand."

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought over what she was saying. The war was escalating, but no one really knew where it was going. They had gone from capturing and torturing their enemies to dating and seducing them, and along the way they began to actually fall in love. They couldn't expect to fight them if they had feelings for them, that much was obvious at the shipyard. Cagalli knew Athrun was going easy on her, plus he practically saved her life, and she was going easy on him as well. If things were really dangerous, she wasn't sure if she would actually be able to seriously injure or even kill Athrun. She knew Luna wouldn't dare harm Shinn, Milly was still head-over-heels for Dearka and he probably still had a hard-on for her as well, Fllay would sooner screw Kira than fight him, and Stellar would probably try to steal Shinn away from Luna if she ever had the chance. Plus the whole mess between Lacus and Kira, Cagalli knew Lacus would surrender to him if things got messy, but she was worried on what exactly Kira would do at that point. She knew her girls, but didn't know how the boys would react. At this point, they were in a sticky situation.

The only girls that would seriously fight were Meyrin and Shiho, and judging by the action earlier, she wasn't sure how that would go if all the guys decided to attack. She even noticed some odd chemistry between Shiho and Yzak, which she chose to ignore for her sanity's sake. So it would be down to Meyrin and Rey. She didn't like those odds, especially if Bloodlust didn't feel as strong, or even return the feelings, of the Pokitknives.

"I know it's confusing, and I know things aren't very black and white, but hopefully this meeting tonight will clear things up. I don't completely trust the guys right now; they could just as well be playing us for all we know, just like we were playing them before. It was made clear that they were involved in their own Operation: Heartbreak, which they could still be running, or they could have moved on to something else. Right now, we need…" she paused as she tried to think of what their plan of action should really be. She knew this was a dangerous path they were walking, and that things could only get worse if they got caught up in love. Men, they could be so harsh and cold, cruel and heartless; it was hard to figure out their weakness.

Their weakness. Maybe the girls had already found that without even realizing it. Maybe…they needed to continue on this path.

"We need…what?" Fllay asked, looking worriedly at Cagalli.

A new light formed in her amber eyes as a small smirk began turning her lips upwards. "We need to use our most powerful weapon."

"And that is?"

"Our hearts."

Athrun sighed as he got out of Yzak's truck. They looked at each other for a moment before grabbing some boxes from the truck and heading inside the base. There was a lot of information to sift through, and Athrun wasn't even done processing half of it himself. How would they explain to Kira what went down?

First of all, the Pokitknives apparently found out about their supposedly secret job, so either the Reapers were setting them up, or someone leaked the information. Worst would be if the girls were still monitoring them somehow. Kira definitely wouldn't be happy about that. Not only did they know about it, but they showed up as well and tried to take the cargo; which they half managed to do. It didn't matter that the shipment was meant for them in the first place, he would still be pissed that they nearly failed their mission. Not only would they not have gotten paid as much as before, but even though the weapons were theirs now, they only had half. He wondered if Mwu would be disappointed in them, but also wondered if Andy had tipped the girls off, or if the Reapers had anything to do with the girls finding out.

To top things all off, Murrue was involved. He still wasn't sure how the hell that happened. Was she officially part of the Reapers, or was that a trap? Were the police on their way now, about to break down the doors and arrest them all for theft and illegal gang activities? She said she wasn't really a detective anymore, but what did that mean? Was she promoted or something? She didn't flash any badges, and for some reason she seemed different from when she was interrogating them in the hospital, but he still didn't trust this. Maybe Kira would understand what she meant, or maybe they just needed to corner Mwu and make him spill his guts on the whole situation before they all went crazy.

He entered the base and glanced around. Shinn was lounging and reading a magazine, but he didn't see Dearka or Nicol. He set the box down warily and Shinn glanced over, then furrowed his eyebrows.

"I thought you were supposed to deliver the packages to Mwu."

"Well, we had a bit of a problem, and uh…I think it's safe to say this stash was for us all along." Athrun replied.

Shinn raised an eyebrow and got out of the chair, looking over the boxes with wide eyes. "What…this is all for us?"

"Well, we only got half of the shipment…"

"What happened to the rest of it?"

"The girls took it."

"…"

"Hey guys, you're back! What took you so long? What're in the boxes?" Dearka asked as he came into the living room.

"Weapons and ammunition. Those hoes swooped in and stole half of it though. Then the freakin' detective showed up saying 'Oh this is yours guys, tell Kira I say hi!' like we're supposed to know what that's all about. Bloody surprises just keep getting worse and worse. If something else happens I'll shoot myself." Yzak grumbled as he set another box down and glared at it.

"Wait…they knew about the job? And what detective?" Dearka asked with a puzzled expression.

"I'm not sure how they found out, but they showed up, we fought it out, and they took half of the shipment. Detective Ramius, the chick who was interrogating Shinn and Kira at the hospital and paid us a visit a while back." Athrun answered.

"You mean you practically gave it to them. Where's Kira? He needs to hear how his golden boy saved Cagalli's life and then handed her half our cash load." Yzak growled.

Athrun sighed and Rey remained silent, but held a sour look on his face.

"He's…out, um, doing something with Lacus…" Shinn replied and tried to understand what the others were saying. What was Murrue doing getting involved like this? What did it mean?

Not to mention what Yzak said about Athrun saving Cagalli. He didn't even try to figure that one out.

"He's on a date right now?" Yzak asked in an incredulous tone.

"Not really, she sent him an invite to this event she's doing, she's performing for some orphan organization and he went to talk to her I guess."

"He didn't tell us that, I thought he was still here somewhere. Weren't you two talking things out earlier?" Dearka asked.

"Yeah, and then he was looking through the mail and saw the letter she sent-," as he was talking Yzak stormed over to the counter where the mail was scattered and read over the letter Lacus had sent.

Athrun and Dearka joined him, and Shinn brought Nicol up to speed on things since he was still working on what to say during the meeting and preparing himself for what was to come.

"Unbelievable. He's pissed at you for knocking up Luna, and he's probably knocking up Lacus right now. Maybe he got messed up in the head with that shark attack." Yzak said.

"Maybe this is a good thing…" Athrun murmured.

"Well if Luna and Shinn are allowed to be together, and he's hooking back up with Lacus, I say we should also be able to hook up with our ex's." Dearka said and they all looked at him with a level stare.

"What? Why can't I date Milly again if they get to have their girlfriends?"

"Is that all you can really think about Dearka?" Yzak asked angrily.

"Being stuck in here with you guys, yeah."

"At the rate we're going, this war will become a love fest." Rey grumbled.

"Maybe that's not a bad thing." Nicol said. "Maybe this is what we need to reach peace."

"I still say we should sneak in while they're all sleeping and slit their throats." Yzak sneered.

"Only you would slit a throat, the rest of us would probably sleep with them." Dearka replied.

Rey raised an eyebrow and got a weird look on his face. Athrun tried to hide a blush and was spluttering for a retort while Yzak looked mildly disturbed. Shinn chuckled and then quieted after a few glares while Nicol turned pale.

"Well, maybe except for Rey who has no sex drive, and Athrun's too much of a coward to put any moves on Cagalli. Shinn already knocked one of them up, and Nicol…would do neither."

"All you guys think about is killing them and having sex with them…is there really nothing else?" Nicol asked quietly.

"That's all they're good for." Yzak mumbled.

"I still think you play for the other team…" Dearka muttered back in Yzak's general direction.

"What did you say, playboy?" Yzak growled.

"I dunno, that little interaction with the new girl was pretty…intense." Athrun said with a smirk after recovering from Dearka's earlier statement.

"We were kicking each other's asses, how does that relate to anything sexual?" Yzak exclaimed.

"Wait, wait, wait," Dearka said quickly with a shocked expression, "she was kicking your ass? Like seriously kicking your ass? And you admitted it?"

"She managed to land some hits, but I was clearly winning." Yzak replied with a guarded expression.

"Actually you were quite even, as were Cagalli and I." Athrun spoke up.

"It looked like you two were making love, not war." Yzak countered. Rey nodded and glanced to Shinn who was oddly silent during the exchange.

"But Athrun, you were implying something weren't you?" Dearka asked and ignored Yzak's angry expression.

"Well, Yzak doesn't go for just any girl, and I think the fact that she was tough enough to fight him without totally getting her ass handed to her made an impression, at least." Athrun continued.

"You're both dreaming, you just want all of us to fall for the rest of them so we can all be one big happy family. Ugh, you make me sick." The silver haired man spat and left the room angrily.

Dearka grinned as he watched his friend go. "Oh yeah, he digs her."

"Guys, I think we should figure out what this all means before Kira comes back." Shinn finally said.

"Whether Yzak likes the new girl?"

"No, why the girls showed up, took half the shipment, and then Murrue told you to keep the rest." Shinn replied.

"What?"

They all turned to see Kira come through the door, a suspicious expression on his face.

"Too late." Dearka commented and started to whistle nervously.

Kira looked at Athrun like a hawk circling above its prey as he awaited the explanation.

"They found out about the job and showed up to surprise us. We engaged in combat but lost, so they took half the shipment." Athrun began.

Kira glanced at the boxes and back to Athrun. "Then why aren't the rest of them sitting at Mwu's right now?"

"Because Murrue showed up and told us to keep them. She also wanted us to tell you she said…hi." Athrun braced himself for an attack, leaning away from his friend and Godfather and half-flinching before a blow could even hit.

Kira blinked and continued staring at him, as if waiting for more.

"Excuse me, what?"

"We were even, winning one second, losing the next, until things finally turned when Meyrin pushed my rifle off the roof we were on. It fired off and almost hit Cagalli but Athrun here saved her, and then he called it quits." Rey told him flatly.

"Then the detective showed up and said the shipment was for us. We're not sure if she's with the Reapers or was setting us up for something. She didn't flash a badge or try to arrest us." Athrun added.

Before Kira could start yelling and shooting Shinn stepped closer. "How did that thing with Lacus go?"

Kira eyed him with a dark look and turned back to Athrun. "We need to talk."

Athrun nodded and they went into the Godfather's office. The others stood there for a moment in silence.

"Nice one Shinn, what was that about?" Dearka asked.

"I wanted to distract him…before he tried to kill us." He said and shrugged.

"What the hell happened out there?" Kira asked darkly when they reached his office.

"Everything was going fine until the girls showed up. I was unloading the shipment when all of a sudden Cagalli shows up pointing a gun at my head. The new girl had Yzak, and Meyrin was on Rey. Since we were even in numbers it came down to one-on-one fights. I took on Cagalli since she moved in to steal our load, while Yzak battled the new girl. Rey and Meyrin were at a stand-still since they were both the scouts of the groups, but then something must have happened because Meyrin shouted 'look out' and a sniper rifle was falling from the roof. When it touched ground it fired off a shot in my and Cagalli's direction, I just…acted instinctively." Athrun told him.

Kira sat silent for a moment. "You tackled her to the ground so the bullet wouldn't hit her." He stated.

"Yeah well I didn't see the point in having her accidentally die. Plus I figure you'd want that moment of glory." Athrun grumbled in an irritated tone.

"Well I'm sorry for not praising you for saving the enemy!" Kira yelled, sensing Athrun's anger. "I know you like her Athrun but damn it this is too far! I'm not saying you should've let her get shot, but did you really have to give it all up after you saved her? You should have taken advantage, she owed you her life."

"I know…I just didn't want to fight anymore. I knew she wouldn't give up that easily, so I gave it to her. It was better than losing everything."

"But you still failed."

"We still got half the shipment. We would have gotten more if she had waited longer to act."

"But she didn't, and now they have more weapons and ammunition, plus they know about the job, which is dangerous for us, because they could learn about more jobs."

"Kira, I think we need to determine whether the Reapers had anything to do with this. With Murrue showing up like that, she's either one of them now or just set us up." Athrun replied with a serious expression. He knew Kira wouldn't want to think that Mwu betrayed them, and being set up by the police wasn't the greatest news to hear either. He only hoped Kira would look past his anger and step up as a leader before things went down.

"I highly doubt Mwu would tell us about this job after offering me that advice just to send the girls over and mess things up. Now if Andy had said something and this whole thing was a test, I could possibly understand. I'd be pissed, but I could believe that. Tell me more about Murrue showing up." Kira told him.

"There's really not much else to say, she said 'Congratulations guys, you get to keep the rest of it as a reward' or something like that, then I asked what was going on and she answered that she wasn't a detective anymore and to take the stuff we saved back to the base. Then she said to tell you she said 'hi'. I'm assuming you know what that means, or that it means something to you, because honestly I have no idea."

Kira thought it over for a moment, analyzing all that Athrun had said. He could bring up their involvement at the job during the meeting, but he knew he had to talk with Mwu to get everything straightened out.

"Murrue is with the Reapers. Otherwise she would have arrested you three right then and there with a whole SWAT team or something. That explains why the cops were chasing down another false shipment; she must have pulled some strings and got them off this one so we could get it. I think this was her initiation or introduction." He finally stated.

"I guess we won't know for sure until we hear more from them. Are you planning on bringing this up at the meeting tonight?" Athrun asked.

"Of course. We might as well put all our cards on the table. Hold nothing back. We're going to flesh out the truth and get to the bottom of everything before this mess turns into a disaster."

"Do you think they know about Murrue's involvement?" Athrun asked.

"When did she approach you?" Kira asked back.

"After they left, when we were about to leave. I just wonder if they knew, since they knew about the job."

"I doubt it, unless one of the Reapers told them about the job. I won't have Nicol bring it up unless Lacus brings it up first."

"By the way…"

Kira gave him a level look, daring to ask him.

Athrun knew Kira wasn't as angry anymore, so tested his luck with a small smile. "How'd it go with Lacus?"

They were still friends, even after all this, so the bluenette wasn't worried about Kira's reaction. Plus he knew his friend would want to talk if anything had happened.

The other man was quiet for a moment until finally he sighed and leaned forward. "She sang a song for me."

"Wasn't she there to perform?"

"Yeah but, she literally sang a song to me. I think she just used the charity as an excuse to do it. She's gotten sneaky, I don't know if I like it."

"Come on Kira, tell me the truth."

"Okay, so maybe I like it a little." Kira replied with a blush and a smirk. "It was about her being lonely and every time she tries to make me smile or laugh I act too tough, stuff like that. She was trying to get my attention and let me know how she felt. Afterwards she took me aside and we uh…talked about some things."

Athrun leaned closer with a widening grin. "Oh really now? What things? And don't tell me this is none of my business, or else I might get mad at you for holding out on me." He joked.

Kira chuckled a bit at that. "Just, you know, about our feelings." He replied hesitantly. Athrun nodded for him to go on. "She said I scared her with the whole Luna and Shinn thing, she was worried about what I would do once I woke up, and didn't really know how I felt about her anymore basically. I told her what I told you earlier, about how I didn't think she cared for me anymore because I was a monster. But she doesn't think that, thought I was just doing what I needed to do, and then she told me she still loved me."

Athrun didn't know what to say to that, so they both said nothing for a while.

"I told her I loved her back."

"You did?" Athrun exclaimed.

Kira nodded and swiveled his chair a bit, his chin in his hand as he stared at his desk.

"So…are you two getting back together? What does this mean for all of us?" Athrun finally asked.

"I'm not sure, on either point. Shinn and Luna are one thing, and Operation: Lust is over and done with. I'm not about to call a truce so we can all date each other without fear of killing each other in the process, especially since it's just two couples."

"Actually, Dearka expressed that he would like to be allowed to date Milly again."

Kira stopped swiveling and looked at him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, you can take it up with him, but he said since Shinn and Luna get to date and since it appeared that you were hooking back up with Lacus he wanted to date Milly too." Athrun told him.

"I…don't know what to say to that. It wouldn't be a good idea, that's for sure, or else all hell would break loose."

Athrun put up his hands and started to get up.

"Wait a second. Athrun, are you still in love with my sister?"

He stopped and slowly sat back down. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "I think so." He whispered.

Kira nodded and seemed lost in thought as he mulled over all these things. Something started forming in his mind, a feeling overcame him, like a revelation.

"Maybe this is it." He whispered to himself.

"What?"

"Maybe this is what I've been looking for. We can't fight back without causing further bloodshed and chaos, but simply calling a truce would leave things unfinished. But if we let things happen…if we go with our feelings and our guts…maybe things could end smoothly for both of us." He continued to whisper, ignoring Athrun for a moment.

"You're starting to scare me Kira."

He finally looked up again with new determination in his eyes. "That's it. I've decided that it's time we use our greatest weapon, and this time we won't half-ass it with lust." He told Athrun, looking him straight in the eyes.

He had a skeptical look but waited for Kira to elaborate.

A smirk began to form on Kira's lips. "Love is the answer."

"Hey Cagalli, I'm back. Sorry it took so long." Lacus said as she entered Cagalli's office.

"It's okay, I heard you were on a mission of sorts with Kira." Cagalli replied with a knowing look.

Lacus ducked her head to hide her blush. "Yes, I invited him to the charity I was singing at and we talked afterwards. I sang that song for him, the one I told you about? It certainly got his attention. I also told him the truth about how I feel for him, and I think he told me the truth as well."

"Well what did he say?"

"He said he loved me too, but he thought I would think he was a monster after all that he's done. I told him he scared me, but that I still loved him nonetheless. He even apologized and gave me a hug." She continued with a smile as she relieved the memory of his warm embrace. She could still smell his cologne and feel his arms around her, holding her tightly to him.

Cagalli raised an eyebrow and allowed a small smile as she watched her friend. "Then what happened?" she asked with a slightly devilish look.

Lacus snapped out of her reverie and looked at Cagalli innocently. "Nothing, we both left after that."

"Oh come on, you can't tell me nothing else happened after that tender moment." Cagalli told her with an expectant look.

Lacus's face grew red. "I-I told you, nothing else. We said our goodbyes and then I left because I knew I needed to come back here before meeting Nicol at the bar!"

Cagalli laughed at her friend's expression and knew she wouldn't get any more out of the girl, at least not yet. Something else happened between the two, but for now only they knew what it was.

"Let's get you set up for the meeting, it's almost time." Cagalli said and stood. She took out the headset and microphone they would both be using and handed Lacus the earpiece and clip-on mini-mic that she attached to the inside of her shirt, with the line running down inside so no one would see—or so they hoped. Cagalli put her own mic and earpiece on and they proceeded to test the sound.

After noting that everything was fine they ran over topics that were free to discuss and topics that were banned, and Cagalli briefed her about what happened at the pier and warned her that they might bring it up. She also filled her in on what Shinn and Luna discussed earlier, and what Kira had said about the whole thing. Once Lacus was up to speed it was time for her to head out.

"Are you sure you don't want some of us to come along, just in case they're planning something?" Meyrin asked with a worried look.

"I'm sure. Nicol would warn me if this was a trap, and I think it's genuine. Besides, if anything happens you'll know from the microphone. Kira wanted to talk instead of attacking or giving up, so I'm not too concerned about things ending badly." Lacus replied with a smile.

"Just remember what happened the last time he tried to 'talk' to one of us." Meyrin replied.

"That was Kira himself, this is Nicol."

"And remember what Cagalli did the last they chatted as well. Every time we try to discuss things it goes wrong and someone gets hurt." Milly added.

"Well I saw him earlier and he made no move to harm me, so I think the winds have changed. But I promise I'll be careful and let you know if things are looking bad." Lacus told them.

They all nodded and gave her a small hug before she left to go to Rockstar Bar. When her car left the driveway Cagalli turned and nodded to Shiho. The girl nodded back and grabbed some gear before heading out as well.

Lacus arrived at the bar on time and picked a table in a corner, so that she had a view of the entire bar and couldn't be closed off on either side. She could be cornered, but it was better than picking some place in the middle. She made sure her mic and earpiece were on and then looked around. There weren't many people here yet, since it was early in the night despite being eight, but couldn't see anyone from Bloodlust. She waited for Nicol to arrive and felt a bit nervous for the first time.

"Is everything good?" Cagalli asked form the other line.

"So far, so good. He isn't here yet and I don't see anyone else." Lacus replied quietly.

"Keep an eye out."

She assented and then looked up when the door opened to see familiar green hair. She smiled and he smiled back when he noticed her and sat down in the opposite seat with his back to the rest of the room.

At a pool table nearby, a hat barely managed to cover the silver hair of one of the players, and outside the bar someone was peering inside a window, keeping an eye on that particular corner…

-Author's Note: Confound it I just can't seem to get to the bloody meeting! It's taken me, what, three chapters and I'm still not there? Gah! Don't worry, the next chapter will definitely hold the meeting (and probably nothing else, cough cough). Please review and tell me what you guys think, I promise I'll update again soon, I want to run through the stories I haven't updated in a while and that I have a plot for first and then I'll go back and continue. Questions, comments, ideas, etc. are welcome, just no flames please. Thirty-eight chapters with no end in sight, muwahaha! Peace out!-