I just finished watching Destiny 1-6. I had to, before I wanted to continue on with this fic. So, sorry for the long wait. Now that I've seen a bit of Destiny, I don't know how to rectify the details in the past chapters. Those details are 1.) Athrun being in PLANT. - Well, actually, I don't really plan on letting him stay there for long. I just wanted him to be there for a while. 2.) Gilbert knowing right now who Athrun is.- This fic is supposed to happen a year before Destiny, meaning Gilbert hasn't met Athrun in the two-year lapse that the Clyne Faction defected from ZAFT. 3.) Yzak's OOCness. - I've seen episode 5 and 6, and from what I see, Yzak's attitude pretty much hasn't changed. When he and Athrun reunited, he burst out just like the time Athrun came back in SEED's Episode 31 (or was it 32?).
Aside from those things, all's well with the fic. Well, here I go.
WARNING: Some elements I'm going to use might be spoilers.
-----
Gundam SEED: Afterwards
Chapter 5
Contemplations
-----
C.E. 72, Earth, Marshall Island
The serenity of the lulling sea does not fail to put anyone at ease. It gave an illusion that all was right with the world. Here, by the seaside, people forget their troubles. They put their worries in their pockets and wear happy thoughts. For everyday that passes in that calm and peaceful world, one's sense of reality is repressed. It was like a dream that was hard to wake up from.
Right now, a lady with peach tresses was enjoying this surreal yet lifelike moment. She stood by the seashore, an endless quietude seemingly enveloping her entire being. The young lady had her eyes the whole time, as if that moment would vanish if she opened them. All she did was listen to the sounds of nature: the coming and going of the water, the call of the seagulls...
From afar, a brown-haired young man slunk behind the figure standing so peacefully in nature's abode. His steps were stifled but the lady knew he was there. Still, she continued to commune with the natural elements.
Kira came to stand beside Lacus and took her hand gently. Unsurprised, Lacus smiled tenderly with the action. She dropped down on the sand, Kira following suit.
"So, this is peace, huh?" Kira said, looking at the horizon.
Lacus leaned on Kira's shoulder. "Isn't it wonderful?"
"If only it would last long."
Lacus mumbled an incoherent reply and snuggled even closer to Kira.
"Lacus?"
"Yes, Kira?"
"Don't you regret living like this with me?" Kira asked.
Lacus looked up at Kira with fond blue eyes. "Didn't I tell you that I can live with you like this for all eternity?" she simply answered.
The two shared a kindred smile that might have meant nothing to others but already meant a thousand words to them.
It was almost six months since Lacus came with Kira to earth. There were no words of affection exchanged about what they felt for each other. They were not needed. Lacus and Kira were contented to live with Reverend Malchio and the war orphans. All that time, they just stayed there, helping the blind man with the children. From any other person's point of view, that life may be dull. But, no matter how ordinary it seemed, even though it was the same old daily living everyday, Lacus and Kira did not tire of it.
Many coordinators on PLANT would have wondered why Lacus, a pop idol of great beauty, would choose to live her life this way. But Lacus knew herself best, and in her heart, this was what she wished for the most -- that was to stay together with the people she loved, Kira especially.
Most people did not openly know the whole truth about the Clyne Faction and its defection from ZAFT. They could not possibly imagine how Lacus Clyne was moving on with her life and understand why has been so.
"Will you sing for me, Lacus?" Kira whispered into Lacus' sea of hair.
For a while, Kira vividly heard the rush of the tide coming into the shore and the cry of the seagulls answering to each other. They were soon dominated by a soothing melodious voice. The pleasant sounds of nature lent their strength to the weak and untainted. Lacus' voice gave them hope and courage.
"Shizuka na kono yoru ni anata wo matteru no...
ano toki wasureta hohoemi wo tori ni kite
are kara sukoshi dake jikan ga sugite
omoide ga yasashiku natta ne
hoshi no furu basho de
anata ga waratteiru koto wo itsumo negatteta
ima tookutemo mata aeru yo ne..."
"Wow! Lacus-oneesan has such a beautiful voice!" a high-pitched voice suddenly erupted, ruining the moment of the couple.
Lacus broke off from Kira and the two turned their heads to catch two children, a boy of nine and a girl of seven, grinning at the couple with impish expressions on their faces.
Kira hoisted himself up, giving Lacus a boost as well.
"Sarah! Kenjiro! How long have you two been there?" Kira looked suspiciously at the imps. And from the tone of his voice, he seemed to be a tad angry and reproachful.
"Well, you two were all lovey-dovey and stuff that we didn't want to cut in right away!" Sarah said, still smiling.
"Yeah, and Lacus-oneesan was so heavenly! Kira-oniichan, it's not fair that you listen to Lacus-oneesan all by yourself!""
"Ara ara. It's not nice to sneak up on people minding their private business," Lacus reproved in her mild manner, returning the smile, which definitely stopped the children from overstepping their boundary. The teasing remarks were dropped right away. They deemed to deliver the message they were supposed to relay.
Sarah elbowed Kenjiro, hissing to him, "You tell them what Auntie Calida said to us!"
"Auntie Calida was looking for you, Lacus-oneesan! She wants you to help out in preparing dinner."
Lacus put a hand to her cheek, as that of a distressed person. "Oh dear, I forgot about that. Thank you very much for reminding me, Kenjiro-kun, Sarah-chan."
"No, no. You don't have to thank us--"
"--It was our pleasure, Lacus-oneesan!"
Lacus giggled. "How obliging. Don't you think so, Kira?"
"Well, they may be the most mischievous of the bunch but they do what they're told to do and what they're told not to do," Kira commented, punctuating the word 'not'.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kira-oniichan," Sarah said, playing innocent. "Did we ever do anything we were not supposed to do?"
Kenjiro shook his head. "Nuh-uh."
"You rascals...," was all Kira could say, unable to make a comeback.
"C'mon, kids. You two can lend me a hand in the kitchen, " Lacus told the little ones. Then, turning to Kira with a smile, she planted a kiss on his right cheek before going off towards the direction of the house.
Kira saw the pink-haired coordinator and the children disappear into the distance, after which, he turned his gaze back to the crystalline sea. The sun was about to set; a blanket of orange and gold spread over the entire sky. Kira basked himself in the warmth and comfort of the mellow shades of the sky.
-----
"Why does everyone want me to wear dresses...?" grumbled Cagalli, complaining to her golden-haired self in the full-length cheval glass inside the room. She studied herself, up and down. She looked so much like a...lady, there was no mistake.
Cagalli examined all the other articles of clothing in the wardrobe. Sadly, the taste of the previous owner of these dresses differed a lot from hers. The teenager had no choice but to put up with the dress.
Hmm, the fabric is thin and soft. I wonder who owns this?
Cagalli studied herself in the mirror for a little longer, trying hard to discern the ladylike princess from the tomboyish teenager. Wherever the tomboyish teenager was to be found, it certainly was not there right now. In the end, Cagalli gave up thinking any further about it.
The girl's eyes fell on the door and she felt a sudden interest in exploring the Zala mansion.
"I hope Athrun wouldn't mind," Cagalli told herself as she left the room.
-----
As far as Cagalli could tell, there were far too many rooms to count and too many corridors that lead to even more rooms. The mansion was too big for a single person to occupy and easy to get lost in, as well. Cagalli herself, she hated to admit, was lost. Big wonder that the majordomo did not provide her with a map or that the Zalas did not think of putting up a directory for wandering guests.
Amidst her confusion, Cagalli found herself inside a room that seemed to be a nursery. There were a few boy's toys arranged neatly on the second and third level of a shelf, and storybooks on the first level. At one corner, there was a small bed without a coverlet. A low cabinet with knobs for handles stood at another corner.
"This must be......Athrun's room," Cagalli murmured, pausing in the middle of the room. The place was barely furnished with anything else. It felt cold and unfit for a child, who could only suffocate in staying in such a place. Hugging herself, Cagalli stood motionless there.
"So, here you are," spoke a voice behind Cagalli.
Cagalli started. She snapped out of her reverie and spun around.
"Athrun!" Cagalli exclaimed, looking like a thief caught in the act of stealing something.
Athrun smiled. "What are you doing here?"
Cagalli shook away her unsettling feelings and walked towards Athrun. "I was inquisitive?"
"Is that the best answer you could come up with?"
"I was lost, okay? Your house is so enormous that when I wandered along a few hallways, I couldn't find my way back anymore. You should have a cartographer make a layout of this place. I know that I shouldn't poke my nose into places I'm not supposed to enter, but it was too tempting and..."
Athrun's responded with a hearty laugh, which made Cagalli stop rambling to glare hard at him.
"You should have waited for me in your room and I could have showed you around," Athrun said, after his good laugh. "I didn't know you were such a cat."
"I'm sorry!" Cagalli abruptly blurted out.
"It's alright. You're free to roam around anywhere you like. But I doubt if you'll remember where your room was after--"
Out of the blue, Cagalli embraced Athrun tightly.
"C-Cagalli?!" Athrun stared at the mass of copper hair.
"No, I'm not apologizing for that. I meant I was sorry for coming into this room. I was thinking that you didn't want to remember the memories you had here when you were a child; that you wouldn't want people to--"
"It's alright. I've forgotten about that, the moment I entered this room and saw you."
Cagalli let go of Athrun. She had nothing else to say, nothing else to do but avert her eyes and blush strongly.
"Want to go outside for some fresh air?" Athrun suggested, breaking the silence.
"Huh?"
"Outside the garden. Come on!" Athrun grasped the hand of the teenager, leading her out of the room. Cagalli had no other option but to get dragged off.
Athrun lead Cagalli through the hallways and down the stairs, knowing his way very well. He did not stop until they went through a French door and came outside unto the patio. Here, Athrun dropped Cagalli's hand.
Cagalli stepped forward and stretched her arms. "It is nice to be outside," she remarked, an enlightened spirit growing in her.
"It also looks nice on you," Athrun said all of a sudden.
Cagalli cocked her head to the side. "What?"
"My mother's dress."
Cagalli instantly felt self-conscious. "Oh! This dress? Mister Renardo handed it for me to wear. I didn't know it was your mother's. Wait! Does that mean your majordomo gave me your mother's room?!"
"That's right."
"Is that okay with you? I mean, that room must be important to you and this dress too..." Cagalli trailed off, a sheepish expression on her face.
"I don't mind at all." And to show it, Athrun smiled that same smile that he always seemed to reserve exclusively for Cagalli.
The French doors swung open. Renardo, the majordomo, appeared pushing a cart.
"Tea, Master Zala?"
-----
"I'm not really a model for sophistication, but I think this is the way a teacup should be held," Cagalli said, demonstrating by lifting her teacup with only her thumb & forefinger and letting the rest of her fingers stick up. Then, she pretended to sip without slurping.
"Those are just one of the stupid things those finishing school instructors taught me....but I never follow them." Cagalli shrugged and drank her tea for real.
Athrun chuckled, amused at Cagalli's sense of humor, which he did not really discover until recently.
"They call me princess and treat me as one. And since I am a princess, my father forced me to learn about etiquette: what to do and what not to do. I suppose some things were useful, but I hated it a lot. I didn't want to be dictated on what I should be doing. What about you, Athrun?"
"I used to be like that with my father. When he wanted me to enter the ZAFT military academy, I obeyed him without a word. After seeing Kira on the opposing side, I began to think. In the end, I had to make a judgment between following his orders or going against him. And since father saw things in a different light from me, I went against him. If my mother was still alive, I'm sure she would have supported my decision. She could have persuaded my father to stop his madness. The war could have ended without that much casualty, without all those lives being snuffed out."
Cagalli got up from her seat and came behind Athrun.
"--Cagalli?--"
From behind, the leader of ORB stooped low and threw her arms around the blue-haired coordinator. Athrun found himself gazing up at flame-colored orbs full of sympathy.
"Tell me more about your mother," Cagalli said.
Touching Cagalli's hand, Athrun tried to remember things about Lenore Zala.
"During my parent's first few years of marriage, they were very close. But, since father became more and more engrossed with politics, mother just sort of drifted apart from him. She and my father lived on separate PLANTs. Still, they were not divorced. I was born on Junius-7. The time of my early childhood days, I spent happy days with my mom. Lenore Zala was, as far as I can remember, a caring and loving mother. If only father didn't let her go, he would have had a caring and loving wife as well by his side. Mother let me go to a lunar prep school. That was where I met Kira. As the years passed, I saw very little of my father. Occasionally, mom would send me to the PLANT he was on. I would stay in this mansion for a month or two. Other times, he would visit us, yet that was only for propriety. Then, war broke out......you know the rest..."
"Cagalli?"
Cagalli forgot how she had her arms around Athrun. Releasing him, she shuffled back to her seat, face flushed. "S-Sorry..."
And in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, the young lady took a long sip of her tea, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible.
Athrun squinted at Cagalli, a corner of his mouth lifting up. "If I'm not mistaken, you must have fallen asleep in the middle of my story and in such a position. I'm in shock."
Cagalli replaced the teacup on the saucer, said, "No, I wasn't," as pointedly as she could, and popped a biscuit into her mouth.
Athrun watched her silently as she finished the biscuit.
"What?" Cagalli asked, noticing him.
"You have a few bread crumbs on your cheek," noted Athrun, pointing to his own cheek.
But before Cagalli could react, Athrun had already leaned across the table and whisked the bread crumbs himself.
"Th-thank you." Cagalli shivered a little from the electrifying touch. Haumea, I still don't know how to act in front of him.
On the island, in ORB, in outer space, now here...Cagalli did not know at all. One second, she was being perky and assertive. Then, another second, Cagalli felt at a loss.
Athrun went on with his business as if nothing had happened. Cagalli was not sure whether to be grateful or not. Right now, she was so muddled with her feelings.
How can I understand you? Cagalli yearned to ask him as she quietly studied the person across her.
"Cagalli? Is something the matter?" Athrun looked quizzically at her, his teacup in mid-air.
"Oh nothing. I was just thinking that you might have made a better girl than me if ever you were born as one," Cagalli said, smiling. She sprang up from her seat.
"Huh?" Athrun was nonplussed. This was certainly the first time someone ever made such a statement to him.
Cagalli began to pace back and forth slowly.
"Forget about it. That was just my weird brain thinking silly thoughts."
Athrun felt curious. He wanted to pursue the topic more.
"Is that what you're always thinking of whenever you look at me?"
Cagalli stopped pacing. "O-Of course not!"
Face glowing bright crimson, Cagalli turned away from him. She dared not reveal the true reason. How could she tell him that watching him made her feel greatly at ease; that it was one of the things that made her like him so much? So, she stirred away from the topic by saying, "Hmm, the Junius Treaty. Didn't the Earth Alliance and PLANT have an agreement just like that before the war?"
Athrun didn't fall for it. But he decided to cut the lady some slack anyway.
"Not really. This treaty does state the ban of using Neutron-Jammer Cancellers and Mirage Colloids. But it also sets a quota restraint on the size of mobile suit forces."
Cagalli heaved herself up on the balustrade enclosing the area they were in. "And that treaty is going to be signed in the next few days?"
"Yes, just as ZAFT and the Earth Alliance agreed in the Peace Conference."
"Why did they have to invite the neutral nations like ORB?"
"I guess they want ORB and the other neutral countries to be witnesses."
Cagalli was thoughtful as she digested this. Then, in a serious tone, "Athrun. I want your honest opinion."
Athrun nodded. "Go ahead."
"Do you think this treaty will work out?"
Athrun was silent for a while. Finally, he said, "I think it will, on fair and equal grounds. But--" Now, he had to stop there. It was his own opinion. But he did not want Cagalli to worry about it. Still, he had to be honest. The way Cagalli stared at her, her flame-colored eyes said it all -- that she was intent on knowing what he was thinking.
"--It also won't last long." Athrun succumbed to the willful flame-colored eyes.
Cagalli somehow knew he would say that.
-----
Earth, Marshall Island
Though it was a remote island miles away from civilization, the inhabitants of Marshall Island were living happily and harmoniously. When Reverend Malchio first came to live there in his fairly large house, he took in his charge children who had lost their parents in the war. Now, as time passed, the numbers grew. Lacus, Kira, and Kira's mother came to live there and helped rear the young ones. Even if, at first, the children felt like they were in a stranger's home -- unfamiliar with the new faces and the surroundings. But soon, they would come to embrace their new family and home. Especially, now that there was such a big sister as Lacus to take care of them, who would not be able to resist the charms of the pink-haired princess?
Like all the other days, Lacus was busy in the kitchen with Kira's mother. Outside, the children, being booted out of the kitchen, with Kira somewhere in the fray, were having fun chasing the mechanical Haro. Inside, in the spacious and homey living room, Reverend Malchio was reposing on a recliner, watching the news.
"Just this morning, a convergence meeting was held in Aprillus One, the administrative capital of the PLANTS. Delegates from the Earth Alliance and neutral countries were warmly welcomed by the PLANT's newly-seated Chairman of the Supreme Council, Gilbert Dullindal. As we can see from the footage, PLANT and the Earth Alliance have come to favorable terms in the Peace Conference. In light of the meeting, the Junius Treaty has been agreed upon, to be signed by representatives of PLANT and Earth Alliance two days from now. The conditions of the treaty are yet to be revealed," blared the t.v.
"Malchio-sama, dinner's ready," came Lacus' voice from the doorway. Untying her apron, Lacus approached the blind man. "Is that the Peace Conference Cagalli-san went to?" she asked, attention falling on the t.v. screen.
"Yes," replied Reverend Malchio. "A treaty was mentioned, the Junius Treaty. The Earth Alliance and PLANT have come upon an agreement by means of this treaty. But it will be signed two days from now."
"That's good. Kira will be very glad to hear that, I'm sure."
"So will many."
"Speaking of Kira, I better call him and the kids. Malchio-sama, why don't you go on ahead? Kira! Kids! Dinnertime!"
-----
Somewhere in space, aboard a ship
"Nibel Cain reporting, sir."
"Well, well, my representative. How fares the peace talk?"
"More like trash talk. Dullindal is a pacifist as sickening as Clyne."
"The idealistic type huh?"
"Those coordinators are getting good at making Utopian visions. They're trying to extend the olive branch of peace, asking to share our pure and blue earth with them. But those damn freaks won't get what they want."
"Let them dream all they want. This illusion won't be lasting long."
"I agree...Lord Jibril."
to be continued...
-
The last part was kinda done sloppily cause I was in a hurry. I might revise it later. By the way I write, I hate super-mush. So sorry if the interactions are not romantic enough. Anyway, I'm starting to run out of ideas on what to do for the next few chapters. Need help... Please review. Also, I'm planning to write another fic that's an alternate scenario of what might have happened after SEED's last episode.
Notes:
Marshall Island - is the place where Reverend Malchio and the orphans stay.
Calida - is the name of Kira's mother. I put her in because I saw her in Destiny. I assumed that Kira had already reconciled with his parents. Isn't that nice?
Aprillus One - it's the PLANT where the Supreme Council hold their meetings in SEED.
Junius Treaty - there really is such a thing in Destiny.