Disclaimer: All characters and specifics of "Kidousenshi Gundam SEED" are copyrighted Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and Mainichi Broadcasting. All rights reserved. This fanfiction is property of Shikami Yamino and is not intended for any monetary purpose nor an infringement of copyright laws. No one is to post/host/use any aspect of this fanfic without explicit permission from the author.
Notes: My thanks go out to everyone who reviewed, especially to Sai for her constructive criticism; and Sparrow /glomps/ for being someone who can understand my pain /grins/ Exam went fairly well... though it can never be too long before I have to look at another priority dispute /winks/.
Kidousenshi Gundam SEED: "Stay" -- Part 2 of 3
by Shikami Yamino
It humbled him, how much he'd come to depend on her; how much he needed her; how precious she was to him.
So much so, it probably would have made him feel inadequate had he not known that she needed him just as much.
Athrun smiled wryly down at the sleeping figure of Orb Council's new Head Representative.
For all that she'd been adamant they shouldn't have to bear the burden of their fathers' choices, she couldn't walk away from the legacy her father had left her. She was, after all, an Athha. The name alone carried with it the expectations of a nation.
Uzumi Nara Athha had been a wise leader. Fair, just, compassionate. Unwavering in his resolve and convictions.
Cagalli Yula Athha was now expected to fill those shoes. And she knew better than anyone how big those shoes really were.
He swallowed a wave of bitterness when his eyes landed unerringly on the dark circles under hers.
Ever since they'd embarked on the trip back to Orb a week ago, she'd been working herself to the bone. In addition to attending the peace talks, she had tracked down and offered condolences to the families of the council members who had followed Uzumi Nara Athha to the final moment. She had gathered together what was left of her father's cabinet. If there was a meeting, she'd either organised it, or wanted to sit in on it. If there were reports coming in, she wanted a copy of it on her desk as soon as it got here. Anything that had to do with Orb's rebuilding, she wanted a personal hand in.
And she was nothing if not stubborn.
For the last few days, in between the times he'd spent in the maintenance pits helping the crew prepare for atmospheric re-entry, he had watched her. Watched her come to bed later and later. Watched her get up at ridiculous hours in order to attend meetings held in a different time zone via vid-phone. Watched her spend longer and longer hours at her desk.
His numerous attempts at convincing her to rest had all been unreservedly rebuffed on account of one more file to read or one more meeting to prepare for. For his part, he'd made an effort to respect her wishes. He was a mere soldier after all. What did he know about how to run a country? Nevertheless, it did nothing to temper the growing resentment he bit back every time she crawled into bed in the early hours of the morning, utterly exhausted.
Everything had finally come to a head last night when he'd returned late from the pits only to find no sleeping Cagalli in her stateroom. Even after compensating for her long days, he had fully expected her to be asleep by the time he finished with the final preparations for re-entry.
The subsequent visit to Kisaka to voice his concerns had been met with an unexpectedly frustrated consensus from the older man. Because she was no longer simply the Head Representative's rebellious daughter. She was now Orb's leader. And regardless of how many birthdays he'd seen her go through, how many tantrums he'd averted, or how many tears he'd dried, that fact alone made Kisaka powerless to stop her obsessive endeavor to uphold the expectations of Orb's populace.
Which was what had led Athrun to be standing outside her office door with single-minded determination, his own anger simmering beneath a thin veneer of self-control.
-----
He palmed the door and leaned on the open doorway as he watched her sift through the reports piled up on her desk. Every once in a while, she picked up her stylus and made a note on the pad sitting by her elbow. The remains of her dinner also sat at her elbow; cold and only nibbled on at best. Most likely forgotten hours ago in the wake of some document that had caught her attention.
He watched the frown of concentration that seemed permanently settled on her forehead disappear as she raised a hand to cover up a yawn. That hand then immediately strayed to where her coffee cup sat steaming, automatically bringing the black beverage to her lips without taking her eyes off the page in front of her.
When his heightened senses caught a whiff of the coffee's strong aroma, he felt a frown begin to cloud his own features. Pushing himself off the doorway, he crossed the room in three strides and gently plucked the mug from her grip.
Eyes glazed from fatigue flickered up at him for the first time, brightening for a brief moment.
"Athrun!" Those eyes then darted to the chronograph and widened before she aimed a sheepish smile at him. "Ah... sorry, I lost track of the time. You can go ahead, I'll be done here in a bit..."
Athrun shook his head and adamantly plucked the reports from her grasp as well, dancing nimbly out of the way when she lunged after them with a cry of protest. "Cagalli, when you need coffee this strong to stay awake, it means it's time for bed."
She scowled at him as she made her way out from behind her desk. "Athrun! Give those back. I told you I'm almost done!"
Setting the half-full coffee mug safely on the bookshelf, Athrun thrust the hand that held the papers behind his back. "The last time you told me that, it took you another four hours to be 'done'."
In her eyes, he saw her temper flare.
"Athrun! Give them back! I need them for the meeting tomorrow!"
Casting a quick glance behind his shoulder at the title on the documents, Athrun raised an eyebrow. "Tender for building materials? The accountants usually handle these reports Cagalli."
She glared. "That doesn't mean I don't have to read them! The meeting tomorrow - "
"Is a meeting Kisaka tells me you don't have to attend." He could feel his own patience wearing thin as he interrupted her.
That froze her for a brief moment before her scowl returned darker than before. "Why have you been talking to Kisaka about me?"
He chose to ignore the note of betrayal that tinged her voice. "Because Kisaka is worried about you! And to tell you the truth, so am I!"
"I'm completely fine!"
The tenuous restraint he had on his temper frayed and eventually snapped in the face of her obstinate contempt for her own body's needs. "Cagalli, stop being so stubborn and look at what you're doing to yourself! You don't eat. You don't sleep. You drink coffee all day and when you do come to bed, you sleep a measly few hours before you're back at it!"
He glared at her. "I told you that I would protect you. That means from yourself as well!"
She glowered at him in stony silence before drawing herself up to her full height, fists clenched at her sides, and enunciated clearly, "I can take care of myself Athrun Zala. I don't need you here to baby me like my nursemaid."
Stiffly, she turned and made her way back to her desk only to be pulled out the door by a hard hand on her wrist. The documents that Athrun had withheld from her fluttered to the ground in their wake.
Struggling with his gentle but nonetheless secure grip proved futile against his Coordinator strength. Of course, that didn't mean her voice was under any such impairment.
"Athrun! Let go! Let go dammit! Athrun!!"
In his anger, he refused to look at her or even acknowledge her objections; pulling her single-mindedly down the corridor in the direction of the galley.
Eyes spitting sparks at the blatant disregard, she tugged hard on the arm he held, pulling him off balance for the mere fraction of a second she needed to sweep a practised foot between his. What she hadn't expected was that his instinctive tuck and roll would end up pulling her to the floor as well.
Athrun's combat training clicked into overdrive as soon as he felt himself falling. While he still had the presence of mind to put himself between the hard floor and Cagalli for the initial impact, it didn't prevent him from rolling them over afterwards so that he ended up braced over her in a painfully familiar position.
They glared at each other over the mere inches that separated them, in what would have been an extremely compromising position had anyone stumbled onto the scene. Fortunately, it was a bit too late for anyone to be wandering the decks.
And then déjà vu hit Athrun like a ton of bricks.
Letting his eyes flicker quickly over their positions, he could feel his anger dissipating in face of the laughter threatening to bubble up inside him. By the time his eyes returned to lock with hers, he could only smile dryly. "At least you didn't throw a loaded gun this time."
When she looked at him as if he'd just grown two heads, he gave voice to the chuckle he'd attempted to suppress. "Just don't scream."
He saw realisation dawn in her eyes and then watched her russet gaze make the same journey his own had over their tangled forms. When her eyes made their way back to his, the black anger in them had been somewhat appeased by an impish light.
"That depends," she retorted sassily. "Are you going to make a comment about me being a girl again?"
His laughter quieted into a warm smile. "I don't think I'll ever make that mistake again, Miss Cagalli Yula Athha," he murmured as he ran a calloused thumb over her cheek.
He admired the blush that stained her cheeks for a moment before his thumb strayed from her cheek to the dark circles under her eyes. The smile vanished, though the warmth in his gaze remained. "But you're mistaken," he continued quietly, "if you think I'm going to let you run yourself into the ground like this."
She opened her mouth to argue, only to be silenced by a pointed look.
"I don't think I'm the only one here who thinks they can carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, Miss Athha, wouldn't you agree? Orb won't fall apart if you're not there for a meeting on who gets to supply the building materials... But Orb will fall apart if its Head Representative is bed-ridden because she didn't see fit to take care of herself and is suffering from chronic exhaustion."
He smiled indulgently at her petulant expression; a most gracious acknowledgment of defeat by Cagalli Yula Athha standards.
"So how about I make you a deal, Miss Head Representative?"
She raised a golden eyebrow at him, interest roused.
"I get to drag you away from your work when I think you're working too much, and you get to drag me away from my thoughts when you think I'm thinking too much." He shifted more of his weight onto one hand and stuck the other one out between their bodies. "Deal?"
Cagalli regarded his hand critically before throwing her own condition out onto the negotiation 'table'. "Within reason."
Athrun's lips curved upwards in affectionate exasperation. "Within reason," he conceded.
She grinned at him and reached out to grab his hand. "Deal!"
They remained in that position, eyes locked, hands clasped, revelling in the feeling of being in perfect harmony before a discreet cough startled them from their thoughts.
Blue and blonde heads whipped around to the source of the cough to find Kisaka and Erica Simmons valiantly trying to keep down what was sure to be a pair of twin amused grins. It could be noted that Kisaka was having considerably more luck than Erica.
Like a pair of six-year-olds who'd been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar, Athrun and Cagalli scrambled into standing positions. Flustered hands tugged anxiously at their clothing as identical blushes stole slowly over their cheeks.
Schooling their features, Kisaka and Erica strolled towards them at a measured pace.
"We came to see if Cagalli wanted to get a quick bite to eat before bed, but it seems like she's already in good company," Erica said in her deceptively level professor's voice. Regrettably, she ruined it by tossing Athrun a wink as she walked past them. "I'm sure you two can find your way to the galley by yourselves."
Athrun flushed harder, forcing out a stilted "Yes Ma'am," in answer.
"And Cagalli," Kisaka called out over his shoulder. "I'm pleased that you're practising your negotiation skills, but that may not be the most appropriate method for Council Chambers."
"Kisaka!!" Cagalli yelled indignantly, a scandalised expression clouding her reddened face when she realised just how much they had to have overheard.
Erica's delighted laugh drifted back to them as the pair turned the corner. "Good night, kids."
The 'kids' stood rooted to the spot until they were sure that the pair had strolled out of hearing range. Then Cagalli ventured a quick glance at her partner in crime only to find him offering her a small embarrassed smile. She answered with a smile of her own and followed, this time without protest, when her hand was once again clasped in his as he led them down the corridor.
He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Food, then bed."
She smirked at him. "Gotta catch me first!" With that, she twisted her hand out of his grasp and darted ahead, her laughter creating a teasing trail for him to follow.
"Cagalli!" Shaking his head at her antics, he couldn't help a grin from spreading over his own features as he gave chase.
End Part 2... to be concluded.
Author's Notes: Uhhh yeah... I actually quite enjoyed writing this bit /LOL/ Your thoughts?