What If...
Disclaimer: Seed and Destiny never belong to me. Other than the plot of the story, nothing is mine.
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Author's Note: I have bad news to tell you. I think the forum has undergone some changes, so when I went to check for my old stuff... they are kinda gone. So, although I lost the latest part (damn me for not saving my work), I decided to post this one here anyway - and probably I might change everything from here, too. (sigh) Now, I have to start from square one with the fic for Cagalli and Alex again... (cry) ...why me?
Anyway, I really didn't expect to have this many reviews, so thanks so much, guys!
By the way, since this is only one chapter (the first one consists of three short chapters), I hope you won't hate me for it.
As always, please don't flame me if you don't like what you read.
He hated tears. He hated them even more when these tears...tears that would not stop falling...were hers.
"Cagalli..." he whispered almost helplessly as he watched more tears rolling down her cheeks. His hands trembling, he gently brushed them away. Please... Please, don't cry. Please don't...hurt yourself anymore.
Hazy amber brown eyes looked up at him. They looked at him but they never saw him. What is it that you see? What is it that hurts you so? Please...will you not tell me? Let me help you... I want to help you...
Please.
She put her hands over his and brought them to her lips, kissing them softly.
Athrun felt tears came to his eyes as he watched her.
"Will you be able to forgive me?" she asked, her voice a sad whisper of the wind. "Will you... Athrun?"
Forgive you? he asked silently, his mind not understanding, his heart screaming. Forgive what? And why are you saying this?
She sighed and let go of his hands. "Do me a favor...?" she asked.
"...What is it?" he whispered, his voice hoarse, his green eyes reflected the torment of his soul as he gently pulled her up to her feet.
Her brown eyes met his, and the pain and sorrow in them echoed the ones which had been tearing him inside.
"Wear your red ZAFT uniform again, Athrun."
His eyes widened at the request.
"Just for tonight," she said, brushing dark strands away from his face. "Only for tonight. Do it for me. Please."
He gazed into her eyes for a long moment, searching, asking.
She braved a smile. Tears kept falling from those eyes.
"It is nothing," she replied to his silent questions. "It is nothing at all..."
Athrun looked at her a while longer, then sighed. He wiped the falling tears away. How he hated tears. How he hated them so much when they were her tears...
"I will, then," he said, his green eyes never wavered from hers. "For tonight. Only for tonight."
She smiled, sadly. "Thank you."
Fate...how cruel She could be.
She kept asking herself if it was truly right. What she did, what she was doing, what she would do...
Giving the green ribbon one last tug, Cagalli turned to look at herself in the mirror.
Nothing had changed. None at all.
Other than her hair which had grown a little longer than before, she hadn't changed much. The same green dress, the same green ribbons, the same white slippers... they looked the same on her as they were the last time she had worn them.
A year ago.
She sighed, and paused, then she shook her head ruefully. She had been sighing too often tonight. It's unlike her to sigh at every little thing. It's really unlike her to think of the past and cry like she had done in the room earlier. It's too unlike her...
But then who was she? Who was she really?
It doesn't matter, she thought, brushing the old fear and doubt away. It doesn't matter now. Not now. Not right now.
Straightening herself, Cagalli took a deep breath and looked at the door of her room. She would never be able to return to what she was again when she stepped out of that door tonight. Nothing would be the same again. Not for her. And not for him.
"I'm a ZAFT pilot. I will not allow you to touch my machine. If you insist on using that gun, I will kill you."
"I am sorry... It's just that, I'm sorry."
"I will protect you."
"But... this may be our way to make up for things. It never ends... because we shouldn't let it end. The world."
"And don't you dare forget it," she whispered in a fierce voice and walked to the door. "Don't you ever forget it."
Destiny...how cruel He could be.
Leaning lightly against the window, Athrun Zala, the former one of ZAFT's elite pilots, part of the Klueze team, and the only son of the deceased Chairman of PLANTs, Patrick Zala, once again donned the red uniform that marked him everything that he once was.
He absolutely hated it.
But...he did this for her. Because she wanted it…because he would do anything that would make her happy… because this would make her happy… because of that he would do it. Even though he didn't understand... even though it meant he had to go through all the pain and sorrow… even though, doing this, he would have to be reminded of the mistakes and the bitterness of his past again…
"Just for tonight," she said, brushing dark strands away from his face. "Only for tonight. Do it for me. Please."
Just for tonight... Only for tonight... he would do it for her.
The door opened soundlessly and someone quietly stepped inside.
Athrun turned to the door. His breath was caught in his throat at what he saw.
Dear god…
She stepped into the pale light of the moon and stood there, looking at him soberly with her calm solemn brown eyes.
This was not the same Cagalli he had met on that deserted island. This was not the same Cagalli he came to know later. This was not the same Cagalli who had looked so sad and so lonely, playing piano in this room earlier.
This was Princess Cagalli Yula Athha of Orb, the proud daughter of Uzumi Nala Athha, the Lion of Orb.
She sank down in a graceful curtsy and said in a dignified voice of a true princess, "I am Orb's princess, Cagalli Yula Athha. I believe this is the first time we meet. It is an honor, Athrun Zala."
He was not quite sure why he did what he did next. It just seemed natural that he did it at that moment, so he just did it.
Athrun pushed himself from the window and walked to her.
Cagalli watched him calmly, waiting patiently. She played the role of a princess perfectly.
Athrun stopped an exact couple of paces away from her then he bowed as he would to any other princess.
"Athrun Zala of ZAFT," he said, and straightened up. He played the role of a prince impeccably when he smiled at her an expressionless but perfectly polite smile. "The honor of this meeting, princess, is all mine."
Fate...Destiny... They were truly cruel.
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