Dusted

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own anything, except my own plot.

Author's Note: Although I have said before that "Dusted" is a collection of old work at the forum I did back then, I decided to add also recent work I just finished now and again. "Another Random Very Happy Birthday" is one such, considering that it's done yesterday night as a thank to "asga", a friend I met in Seed Genesis. Anyway...I hope you will find this one all right, too, though I have to warn you that this one has NO solid plot whatsover. It's written out of pure impulse, as well as because I just wanted to see AsuCaga moments more, is all. Therefore, as I always said, DON'T flame me if you don't like what you read, thanks!

By the way, many many thanks to those who reviewed!

Yun Fei - Cagalli could pilot Freedom because...(grin) I said so. It's just so convenient that she got to dress as her twin, too, ne?

asga - thanks! Since you've already read this one at the forum, though, I will just say that thanks for sticking with me this far, here and there.

ANONYMOUS - haha, you think so? Thank you. As for my inspiration...(laugh) it's all because of "Kira-double" and my wish to torture Kira, the character, because at one point in Destiny, he did act a little mean to Cagalli and well (shrug) I just didn't like it, so...

Book 3...

Another Random Very Happy Birthday

What do you do when you love someone - really, really love that someone - and you want to throttle that so very important someone so much at the same time?

She said five minutes, but it's already half an hour.

Alex Dino, otherwise known as Athrun Zala among his friends, glanced at the clock on the wallfor the twenty-third time then turned to glare darkly at the handsome mahogany door of the Chief Representative's office room. His green eyes held such hatred for it that it's quite a wonder the door was still there and not removed and burned to dust yet.

Earlier, right after a long and very tedious conference, Cagalli told him that, before she called it a day, she needed to have a look at a couple of reports in her office first. She even promised to have dinner with him tonight, too, actually.

"Just five minutes!" pled Cagalli. "Please. It's really important, Athrun!"

"Cagalli, you promised that you would rest as soon as this finished!"said Athrun unhappily. "You haven't had a wink of sleep and you haven't had anything besides coffee and bread for three days straight. You said you would stop doing everything for the rest of this week as soon as you were done with the conference!"

"I know, I know!" she pulled her hands away from his gentle grasp. "I will rest, I promise you. I will have a proper dinner tonight, too, if that will make you happy. But let me have a look at them first. Please?"

Athrun looked at her for a moment, then sighed. "All right then. Only ten minutes, though."

Cagalli smiled triumphantly, albeit tiredly. "It won't take that long. Give me five minutes, Athrun. Oh, you can wait and do something else outside. Give Kira and Lacus a call. Tell them we will visit them this weekend."

Before he could reply she already flew into her office, closing the door behind her with a sharp, decisive snap.

Athrun knew very well that Cagalli, for some reasons, really hated to be interrupted when she was working. She had gotten quite angry with him once when he tried to pry her away from mountains of work that more than half of them weren't quite her job at all.

Who could have thought that she was a workaholic? thought Athrun, walking toward the door. He pressed his ear to the smooth surface and listened. Although she seems to become a little more vicious the past couple of weeks if the incident with that purple hairball earlier this week. It is almost worth it to see him got kicked out with his precious roses shoved down his mouth like that, though. Almost. Athrun smirked at the memory as he recalled Yuuna Roma Seyran's face then.

Athrun frowned when his keen hearing sense could dectect neither the usual sound of papers rustling or the brisk noise of her re-arranging things on her table. He could hear faintly the sound of the recorded report from the computer, but he couldn't hear the sound of typing, which suggested that...

Turning on the doorknob, Athrun slipped into the room silently. His expression softened, his green eyes chagrined, as he looked upon the frail form of the Chief Representative of Orb, Princess Cagalli Yula Athha, who had fallen in her battle against exhaustion finally.

Sighing, Athrun made his way to the table and, very gently, loosened the determined grip she had on her pen and papers before he gathered her in his arms, ready to leave the gloomy office at last.

Cagalli opened her eyes sleepily when she felt herself being lifted and held in a familiarly warm embrace.

"Ath...run?" she murmured, blinking drowsily at him.

"Go to sleep, Cagalli. It will be a while yet before we get back to the house."

She muttered something not too intelligible and made a weak attempt to fight against him, struggling to be put down.

Athrun, a little surprised and a great deal confused, didn't let her down, no. Well, for one obvious reason, she would fall if he did, and it would hurt her. He didn't want her hurt, so, of course, he didn't let go and it didn't take her that long to give up anyway, given her current condition.

Defeated, Cagalli, scowling, rest her head on his shoulder tiredly and said in an unhappy voice, "So I really can't finish it in time..."

"You mean the report?" asked Athrun. "You should ask Kisaka to help. I think I might be able to help you, too, if you will let me."

She shook her head. "Not the report." A frustrated sigh. "Never mind. This will have to do then, finished or no. Athrun, put me down for a second."

He thought for a moment but then complied. Putting her down, he kept one arm around her to steady her as she moved, a little clumsily, to the table.

Cagalli pulled the right drawer out and---Athrun's eyes widened---she presented to him, shyly, a hand-made red scarf.

"I wanted to finish it by tonight," said Cagalli ruefully. "I just need to work a little more at the ends of both sides but..."

Athrun took the scarf and felt its softness in one hand, then he looked at her appreciatively, as well as very cluelessly. "Cagalli, I---Uhh, this...why are you giving me...?"

Cagalli stared at him, incredulous. "Athrun...it's your birthday today. You don't...remember?"

He blinked. The 29th of October... today? His birthday?

Oh.

Athrun blushed, embarrassed and feeling a little stupid. "Aa...I guess I did. I haven't thought about anything much lately except..." he broke off abruptly.

"Except what?" asked Cagalli, drawing closer to him.

He looked at her and couldn't help but noticed the fatigue and strain on her features. He felt then,for no reason at all, very guilty.

Cupping her cheek gently with one hand, he told her."I have been thinking about you. I have been worried about you. Yet, I couldn't do anything at all to help you, not even a little. I'm sorry, Cagalli. I'm sorry and..." he smiled a sad, helpless smile. "With all the work you still find time to think of me and do this... I don't know but, I don't think I deserve this at all."

"Don't be ridiculous," Cagalli snapped sharply. Then, her expression softened. "Actually...maybe I should be the one who says sorry. After all, I have been too occupied with my work too much lately and I haven't talked with you or anyone properly for a long time, it seems. I..." she sighed, looking miserably disappointed. "I...actually planned something for us tonight but now it was all ruined because of the stupid conference today that dragged on and on. I didn't mean to fall asleep last night, or today, when I knitted..."

Athrun chuckled at her honest confession and he drew her into his arms again. "...Thank you."

"Thank you, too." Cagalli took the scarf from his hand and put it around his neck."Thank you for worrying about me. Thank you for protecting me. Thank you for always being here for me, Athrun."

He smiled down at her tenderly. "Thank you for caring about me at all, Cagalli."

She smiled back. "Happy birthday, Athrun."

I keep saying that I'm choking and dying of fluff but now...(shake head)...I seem to for-ever contradict myself, huh? Oh well.

Please review!