Cagalli listened to music and watched the clouds pass by the window of the plane she and mother, Caridad, were taking from Vancouver to Kingston, where she would be starting college at Queen's University. More importantly, however, she would finally be reunited with Athrun, who she had secretly married back in June before he left to begin his training as a naval officer at the Royal Military College. He promised to greet her at the airport today, and while they had kept in touch as much as they could over the past few months, the prospect of seeing him in person again dominated her thoughts, which had the side effect of making her afraid of accidentally revealing their elopement in front of her mom.

"What are you thinking about, Cagalli?" Caridad suddenly asked in a soft tone that was just loud enough for her daughter to hear over her music.

"Sorry," she replied before pausing her phone and taking off her headphones. "What did you say, mom?"

"I was wondering what you were thinking about," she repeated, a fond look on her face. "You've been unusually quiet today, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh, uh, I'm fine, thank you," Cagalli tried to assure her mother. "I guess I'm nervous about starting college."

"Is that all?" Caridad affectionately teased, demonstrating just where her now blushing daughter got her own habits from. "Are you sure you're not thinking about someone in particular?"

If Cagalli wasn't on an airplane, she would've indignantly screamed at her mom in embarrassment, but that wasn't an option, so she instead tried to return her smile and roll with the conversation.

"I can't keep anything from you, can I?" she sarcastically asked as the redness began fading from her cheeks, eliciting a nod from mom. "You're right, I'm really thinking about Athrun. Even though we've kept in touch, I've missed him and I can't wait to see him again."

"I'd be surprised if you weren't excited to see him," Caridad said, unable to keep from smiling again despite being acutely aware of how close her daughter and Athrun had become over the past two years. "And I'm sure he can't wait to see you again as well.

"I hope so, mom, I really do," Cagalli replied before putting her headphones back on and unpausing her phone. An hour and a half later, the plane landed in Kingston, with Cagalli texting Athrun to inform him of her safe arrival once she was able to.


Athrun's heart began to race with anticipation as he sat in the airport's waiting area and read Cagalli's text, his fingers involuntarily twitching as he typed a response. The officer qualification training he had undergone upon arriving in Kingston, along with the impending orientation program that would push him to his physical limits, left him longing for his wife. Holding the charm of the Haumea necklace she had given him on their wedding day in his hand, he smiled before getting up and going to the escalator nearest to the baggage claim terminal Cagalli and Caridad's luggage would be delivered through. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Athrun finally saw Cagalli get on the escalator, followed by her mom, leaving him unable to keep from gleefully waving at them, which they reciprocated.

"Athrun!" Cagalli excitedly exclaimed as she reached the bottom of the escalator, uncaring of the annoyed glances some of the people in front of her briefly gave her, before bolting towards her husband and embracing him. Athrun, elated beyond imagination at being able to hold Cagalli again, suddenly lifted her and spun her around in his arms, after which he set her down and kissed her, too happy to care how anyone else might react.

"I've missed you so much, Athrun," Cagalli whispered into his ear after they finished kissing, holding him close, the sensation of finally being able to touch him again driving her crazy.

"I've missed you too," he replied, his joy giving way to embarrassment as he slowly realized that Caridad was standing nearby, looking at them with an amused smile.

"Hello, Athrun," she teasingly greeted, the sound of her voice shaking Cagalli out of her reverie as she turned her head to face her mother, refusing to let go of her husband.

"Uh, hello, Mrs. Caridad," Athrun eventually stammered in response, suddenly feeling self-conscious over visibly wearing the necklace that used to belong to her. "How have you been? And, uh, how are Kira and Mr. Uzumi?"

"I'm doing well, thank you," she answered, enjoying the embarrassment of her daughter and daughter's boyfriend, still blissfully unaware of their elopement. "And Uzumi is helping Kira move into his dorm at Camosun. They send their regards."

Despite his embarrassment, Athrun couldn't help but feel amusement as he remembered that Kira and Lacus would be attending different colleges in the same city, just like him and Cagalli. Before anyone could say anything else, though, the alert for their baggage claim terminal began blaring.

"Oh, I'll get your bags!" Athrun quickly declared before pecking Cagalli on the lips, reluctantly letting her go, and speed-walking towards the terminal, leaving two women alone.

"I think he's really happy to see you," Caridad teasingly remarked to her daughter, whose face turned red with embarrassment.

"MOM!" Cagalli indignantly pouted.


After retrieving their bags with Athrun's help, Cagalli and Caridad picked up the rental car they had reserved and drove it to their hotel, insisting that Athrun join them before he could even ask. Cagalli sat in the back seat with him during the drive, holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder, too happy to care how it might've looked in front of her mom. Once they arrived at the hotel and checked into their room, Athrun helped them carry their bags in, after which he awkwardly attempted to excuse himself.

"Do you need a ride back to your dorm, Athrun?" Caridad asked him as she and Cagalli sat down on their separate beds.

"Thank you, Mrs. Caridad, but I can just get a cab," he politely declined, not wanting to be an inconvenience.

"Still, let me see you off," Cagalli insisted as she stood up and wrapped her arms around Athrun's, making him blush as she turned her attention towards her mom. "I'll be back soon, mom."

"Alright, but don't take too long," Caridad replied, knowing what her daughter had in mind but trusting Athrun with her safety. "It was good to see you again, Athrun. Have a nice evening."

"Thank you, Mrs. Caridad, and same to you," Athrun awkwardly said as Cagalli pulled him towards the door. Once they had left the room, instead of going to the elevator, she led him to the stairs, much to his confusion.

"I know we won't be able to… well… you know… for a while," Cagalli began to pre-emptively explain as she led Athrun down the flight of stairs before he had the opportunity to say anything. "But I want to do something that will hold me over until then."

Hearing this, Athrun came to a sudden stop midway down the flight of stairs, almost making Cagalli trip. Feeling his heart thumping against his chest, all he could do was look at her for several seconds as he tried to say something.

"W-what do you have in mind?" he stammered, eliciting a sly grin from her.

"All in good time," she teased as she led him to the first floor then took him under the stairwell, which provided as much seclusion as they would probably be able to find in or outside of the hotel. "Short of a fire suddenly breaking out, I think we'll have the stairwell to ourselves long enough for me to do this."

Before Athrun could ask what Cagalli meant, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in for a kiss, savoring the taste of his lips and tongue on hers. Hopelessly in love with his wife and not caring about being caught, Athrun grabbed Cagalli's butt with both hands and firmly grasped it, prompting her to moan into his mouth as she began grinding against him.

After several minutes of kissing and grinding, Athrun, feeling his legs beginning to give out from pleasure, leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor, with Cagalli laying down on top of him, her legs interlocking with his as they continued kissing for several more minutes before she nestled against him, giving him one last kiss on his neck that left a hickey, as if to mark her territory.

"Thank you, Athrun," Cagalli gratefully whispered into his ear, wishing they could be somewhere more private. "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied, elated at the realization this was the first time in over two months she had said those words to him in person. "And I promise that once I'm done with orientation and can leave campus again, I'm all yours."

"I'm holding you to that," she teasingly remarked before kissing him on the lips again, after which the two of them got up, straightened themselves out, and walked to the front of the hotel, where they waited until the cab Athrun called arrived. With a final kiss goodbye, Cagalli watched her husband get inside and then waited until the cab had driven out of sight before returning to her hotel room.


Several Weeks Later

Orientation and the first few weeks of classes went by mostly uneventfully for Cagalli, who kept in touch with Athrun as much as possible during the first year orientation program all prospective cadets at the RMC underwent, understanding that he wasn't allowed to leave campus for the duration of it and that his communication privileges would be curtailed at times. They made plans to meet up and consummate their marriage the first weekend after his orientation was over, and that day had finally arrived, much to Cagalli's excitement as she waited at a sidewalk near Queen's and saw a cab make a stop in front of her, out of which came Athrun, who she greeted with a kiss before he closed the car door behind him and paid his cab fare, much to her confusion.

"We aren't taking the cab to a motel?" she asked him as they watched the cab drive off.

"I found a motel about a ten minute's walk from here," he explained to her, his blood beginning to race through his veins as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "And I… kinda want you all to myself right now."

"I feel the same way," Cagalli replied with a smile as she returned his gesture by wrapping her own arm around his waist. "Lead on."

Reflexively blushing at his wife's touch, Athrun obliged her by doing just that, walking in the direction of the motel he found for them.

"So, how does it feel to be a free man now, Athrun?" she teasingly asked him, happy being in his arms again.

"It's really funny you think I'm a free man, Cagalli," he answered with a teasing smile as he thought back to his orientation. "I think I'm starting to understand why my father is the way he is. Being a cadet is torture!"

"Nothing you aren't capable of, I imagine," she tried to assure him, promising to comfort him once they got to the motel. "Besides, wasn't your dad born scowling and never learned to smile until he met your mom?"

Athrun couldn't help but guffaw at Cagalli's insinuation about his father, as the man hardly ever smiled, even in the incredibly rare occasions where he was supposedly happy.

"I see being married hasn't changed your sense of humor," he joked to his wife.

"I thought that's why you married me," she joked back at him.

"I suppose that's true," he admitted in faux defeat. The two of them continued bantering until they reached the motel, where they checked into the cheapest room available, ignoring the look the receptionist gave them in regards to their lack of luggage as they took their keys and went to the room.


Athrun couldn't help but think back to the night he and Cagalli lost their virginity to each other as he held the door to their motel room open for her, a gesture she accepted with a warm smile. Feeling his heart pounding against his chest as he closed the door behind them, he then followed his wife, who had her back turned to him as she took her phone and wallet out of her pockets and set them on the nightstand in front of her.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Athrun took his chance, quickly walked up behind Cagalli, and wrapped his arms around her waist, guiltily smiling when he heard her gasp in surprise before relaxing in his embrace as he pulled her close.

"Oh, Athrun," she happily sighed as she felt his body push against hers, having waited too long for this to finally happen.

"I'm sorry, but I'm tired of waiting for this," he told her, his heart pumping blood downwards. "I want you, Cagalli. I want you more than anything else in the world."

Hearing this, Cagalli smiled as she turned around to face her husband, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"What the hell are you apologizing for?" she rhetorically asked him, impatient to have him in bed. "I want you too, now come here."

Before Athrun could say anything else, Cagalli pulled him in for a kiss, the sensation of their lips meeting erasing any doubts or feelings of guilt he might've had as he tightened his hold on her. Feeling her legs quiver, Cagalli responded by falling backwards onto the bed and pulling Athrun on top of her, the suddenness of the motion breaking off the kiss as he looked at her with a mildly surprised expression, which she couldn't help but giggle at. Self-deprecatingly smiling at his wife's laughter, Athrun was about to begin kissing Cagalli again, but stopped when she started to tug at his shirt soon after.

"Come on," she affectionately insisted to her somewhat confused husband. "I want to see how it looks on you without your shirt."

Quickly realizing Cagalli was talking about the Haumea necklace, Athrun obliged her by letting her pull off his shirt, the sight of the necklace against his chest making her feel hot and bothered.

"So, what do you think?" he teasingly asked her.

"I want you to keep it on when we have sex for now on," she requested.

"Deal," Athrun happily replied before reaching down and removing Cagalli's shirt, lustfully smiling when he saw the malachite necklace settle between her breasts. Pulling his wife up into his embrace, he began kissing her neck as he reached behind her and unlatched her bra while she wrapped her legs around him, pawed at his back, and moaned with pleasure.

Eventually, Athrun lowered Cagalli back onto the bed and started working his way downward, kissing her breasts and belly before unzipping her pants, prompting her to unwrap her legs so he could slowly pull off her pants and panties at once. Now that Cagalli was naked, Athrun briefly stopped pleasuring her so he could strip down, retrieve a condom from his pants pocket, and climb back on top of her. From there, he listened to his wife moan again as he resumed kissing her, starting with her legs before returning to her stomach, letting her run her hands through his hair as soon as she could reach him.

"I love you, Athrun," Cagalli contentedly sighed, feeling acutely aware of her body's now thoroughly stimulated pleasure centers as her husband crawled up to her. "I would've waited an eternity for this."

"I love you too," he replied once he reached her face, barely able to contain himself anymore. "And I intend to pay you back for every day I kept you waiting."

"Then you better hurry," she teased, grinning from ear to ear in anticipation. "We have a lot of lost time to make up for."

Without saying anything else, Athrun smiled as he obliged his wife, vigorously making love to her until neither of them could go at it anymore, after which the young married couple, sweating, physically exhausted, and blissfully in love, fell asleep in each others' arms.


Athrun woke up to the sound of a police car's siren blaring as it drove past the motel. Still too groggy from having sex to think about the sound, he looked over to his left, where he found Cagalli next to him, still asleep and using his shoulder as a pillow. For reasons he still couldn't figure out, whenever they slept together, he always woke up before she did, not that he minded, as he loved watching her sleep, finding it soothing to see her hopefully at peace.

"I love you," he softly whispered to her as he watched her body rise and fall in tune with her breathing. He didn't know what the time was, but he didn't even need to look out the window to know that the sun hadn't set yet, meaning he had at least a few hours before curfew, so he thankfully had no reason to wake her yet.

Cagalli woke up fifteen minutes later, pleasantly reminded of the last time she and Athrun had spent the night at a motel together as she looked up at her husband's face, correctly guessing that he was already awake.

"Hey," she contentedly greeted him, reciprocating the loving smile he regarded her with. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did," he replied before pulling her up for a kiss, wishing he could give her all the time in the world.

"Ahhh… how are we going to top this?" Cagalli rhetorically asked Athrun once they finished kissing, nestling against his shoulder again.

"Hmmm… what if I sneak into your dorm room when your roommate is away sometime?" he answered with a question of his own, not ashamed to realize he might actually try doing that in the future, provided Cagalli approved.

"Who are you and what did you do with my husband!?" she asked in faux outrage as she imagined the two of them alone together in her room, finding the transgression of it greatly appealing. "He would never suggest something so flagrant!"

"Perhaps not having sex with you for three months has made me this way, Cagalli," Athrun jokingly explained as he wrapped his free arm around her and held her close, contentedly sighing. "I really needed this."

"You and me both," she replied, wanting to savor this moment for as long as she could. "And trust me, whenever my roommate is away on the weekend, you'll be the first person to know."

Athrun expressed his appreciation with a chuckle. After spending half an hour more in bed together, he and Cagalli got up, put their clothes back on, and checked out of the motel. The two then walked back to the campus of Queen's, with Athrun accompanying Cagalli to the entrance of her dorm so they could spend as much time together as possible.

"Are you sure you can't stay overnight?" Cagalli teasingly asked her husband once they were at the front door, knowing he couldn't but refusing to pass up the opportunity to mess with him. "Surely the RMC won't notice if you're absent for just one night."

"As much as I'd love to, I'm not brave enough to risk that yet," he answered with mostly mock dejection. "But I can at least do this."

As soon as he finished talking, Athrun pulled Cagalli in for a long kiss, neither of them caring what any students passing by might've thought.

"I love you, Cagalli," he told her once they finished kissing, a satisfied smile on his lips.

"I love you too," she replied, reciprocating his smile and giving him one last hug before letting go. "Call me when you get back to your dorm, okay?"

"I will," he promised as he watched her go inside, after which he walked to the nearest street, hailed a cab, and returned to the RMC's campus.


Author's Note

I was inspired to write this one-off after I finished rewatching Gundam SEED Destiny, which, while not as bad as I remembered it being, still frustrated me with the vague note Athrun and Cagalli's relationship was left on, even if Fukuda and Morosawa said they ultimately got back together. That aside, I hope you all enjoyed this fic.