JC: Chapter 13 is here. Thanks for the reviews by the way. Okay in the previous chapter Kira and Cagalli finally know that they're twins. The picture and pendant gave it away so easily. Shinn and Stellar relationship is blooming… Meyrin seemed to be attracted to Jean.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed. I only own Kai and Jean and that's all.

Athrun and Lacus' engagement problems

High School Life

Phase 13: Decision

Cagalli was sitting quietly at a bench in park, all by herself. It was a bright Saturday morning but there she was, looking very depressed. She kept thinking about her parents who left her. She clenched her fists as she remembered every single word her brother's foster mom told her. "Your parents have already died" it gave her the shivers at the same time pain in her fragile heart.

The wind blew pass her carrying the scent of the fresh green grass. It somehow refreshed her. She glanced at the children playing at the swings. A smile came to her face. The children reminded her of herself and Lacus when they were still in elementary. Memories came flowing into her head, the precious memories of her meeting with the pink princess.

Flashback

A little blonde girl was playing in the swings, swinging higher and higher. Her golden brown eyes were set on the blue skies, admiring every bit of it. She just loves staring at the sky it makes free. She stopped as she saw a pink-haired girl pass by.

The pink girl had a little stuff teddy bear in her arms which was rather cute. The girl went straight to the bench and sat down. She placed her bear at her side. She faced the sky and gave a deep sigh.

Cagalli-Chan noticed the sad look on her face. She felt really concern all of the sudden that she actually wanted to walk up to the pink girl and talk to her. But she hesitated when she saw two girls about the same age approached her.

"Must be her friends…" Cagalli-Chan thought.

However, Cagalli-Chan was dead wrong for those 2 girls weren't friends but trouble-makers. One of them grabbed the pink girl's teddy bear while the other one picked on her. The pink girl pleaded to give her toy back but since they were mean… well you get the point.

Cagalli-Chan couldn't stand it anymore. She immediately marched towards them. She grabbed the bear from one girl.

"This isn't yours so you have no right to take it!" Cagalli-Chan said.

The two bullies glared at Cagalli-Chan but she wasn't even intimidated about this. Cagalli-Chan even gave them a dead stare. One of the girls tried to snatch the bear back but she backed away at once while hiding the bear behind her back.

"Why you little! Give that back." The other girl demanded.

"I won't so there. This bear belongs to that cute girl over there and not to you losers!" Cagalli-Chan said.

This only angered them more. One girl tried to punch her but Cagalli-Chan immediately ran away while insulting them.

"You losers can't catch me!"

Okay now they were freakin' mad so they ran after Cagalli-Chan trying to capture her but the blondie was too fast for them. Soon they got tired and decided to leave. Cagalli-Chan threw the bear as high as she jumped up for joy. She managed to catch the bear and quickly turned to the pink-haired girl. She smiled.

"Here ya go…" Cagalli spoke.

"Thank you very much not only for ridding those bullies but for returning my bear too." The pink girl said.

"You know you should really learn how to defend yourself. You can't be girly and kind when you're alone in the playground."

"I'll keep that in my mind. By the way my name is Lacus… what is yours?"

"Cagalli! Nice to meet you Lacus."

Cagalli-Chan held out her hand to Lacus-Chan. The pink girl glanced at her hand for a while and blinked several times. She turned back at Cagalli and smiled.

"Nice to meet you too Cagalli. If it's okay with you can you be my friend?"

"Sure… I'd love to."

Lacus-Chan shook hands with her new blonde friend.

END of Flashback

Cagalli let out a deep sigh. She took out a picture of her best friend dressed in a blue-performance dress. Cagalli would always be amazed on how pretty her friend can be in any kind of dress. She remembered the time she used that blue dress when Lacus sung Mizu no and won 1st place. Of course Cagalli would always give her fullest support to the pink princess.

Suddenly a large amount of green leaves fell on her, enough to cover her whole upper body. She immediately stood and shook the leaves from her.

"Ack! What just happen?" Cagalli asked.

As she got the last leaf off her she glanced around the area and noticed someone up a tree. She approached the tree and looked up. There she saw a familiar red eyed guy laughing his heart out. With a full force she kicked the tree which caused it to shake so much that Shinn actually fell flat on the soft grass. Still it was rather painful for Shinn's part but Cagalli doesn't care a damn thing for him.

While Shinn was still lying on the grass, Cagalli stepped on his chest and pressed hard so he couldn't stand up or even move. He struggled.

"B get your shoe off of me this instant!" Shinn demanded.

"Calling me names will just make matters worse Asuka!" Cagalli told him.

"You're hurting me Athha! Get off!"

"Say pretty please with sugar and cherry on top!"

"No I won't!"

"Quit whining and just do what I say!"

Okay! Pretty please with sugar and cherry on top! There I said it now get off!"

"Good!"

Cagalli removed her foot off of Shinn. He stood while rubbing his chest. He turned his furious red eyes at the blonde.

"You're going to get it this time, Athha!"

She made a sly grin on her face while staring so intensely at him. It made Shinn nervous for some reason.

"Do whatever you want me with… Don't let me stop you. If Stellar asks what happened to me then I going to blame you."

"What! Hey not Stellar… Okay I'll let you off."

"I knew it… You love Stellar don't you? I just knew it. Asuka's in love! Wait till everybody in school hears about this."

"Oh no… Athha please don't tell. I'm… erm… begging you."

"Now you're being polite. Wow…"

Cagalli knew that Shinn was famous for his mischief and fights. She has seen him a couple of times fighting some of students from her school. She glanced back at Shinn who was unusually quiet.

"What's with silence?"

"It's none of business Athha. I'm going now."

Shinn turned and walked away. Cagalli immediately ran in front of him. He gave her a fierce glare and demanded to let him through but Cagalli didn't budge. She quickly held his shoulders and looked straightly into his red orbs.

"If you want I can help you with your love life."

"What are you saying Athha? I don't need help from you!"

"Stellar's my friend and I know her very much."

"All right… Wait a sec… I'm sure there's a catch."

"No! Hey I'm being nice to you at least you could trust me."

Shinn crossed his arms and thought about it. After a while he turned to her and nodded his head. Cagalli smiled and gave a hard pat on his back.

"Good… Then here's what you should do…"

"First could you please stop hitting me… It hurts."

"Oops sorry about that Asuka."

"Um… Just call me Shinn…"

"Shinn… okay then just call me Cagalli."

Cagalli started whispering her plans to Shinn. From the point on they become sort of friends at least that what Cagalli believes but for Shinn, he still plans of pulling a fast on her.

Clyne Mansion

Lacus was in her garden watering her precious white roses. She just adored those roses and it reminded a lot of her dear mother. Unexpectedly, a mechanical bird perched on her shoulder. She smiled and greeted the little bird.

"Hello there Birdy… If you're here then Kira must be…"

"Right here Lacus." Kira spoke.

The brown haired guy entered and approached his girlfriend. Lacus immediately hugged him and lightly kissed him on the cheek. Kira blushed slightly.

"What brings you here today Kira?" Lacus asked.

"Just to see you of course." Kira replied.

Lacus giggled. She took Birdy from her shoulder and handed it back to Kira. Birdy hopped around his head- then it flew away. Kira sat down on the bench. He glanced back at his girl friend.

"Sit with me Lacus."

She quickly seated beside Kira. She noticed that Kira was wearing the blue pendant. She pointed a finger at it.

"That's a cute pendant." Lacus said.

"Yeah… Because of this pendant I… I found my sister." Kira told her.

"Are you happy that Cagalli's your sister?"

"Of course I am… I'm really lucky."

Kira sighed in relief. He turned to the sky as he thought about his twin sister. He clasped the pendant in his hand. He leaned his head on Lacus' shoulder. A tear fell from his eye.

"Kira, what's the matter?"

"I'm just happy that's all… I would have never guessed that…"

"That the family that took care of you wasn't your real family?"

"I also think of it that way at first but later I realized that the family that I have now is my real family and I love them very much. I'm very grateful that they took me in, gave me a home, and nurtured me all the way. They considered me as their own child. I'm so glad that mom and dad are my parents."

The pink princess brushed through his hair as her hand slowly ran on his face. Kira gently grabbed her hand from his face. He deeply stared into her crystal blue eyes. He lifted her hand and placed a kiss. Lacus' cheeks were burning hot. Her heart pumped like crazy and yet she had a sweet smile on her face. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

"I love you Kira." Lacus whispered.

"I love you too…" Kira replied.

Kira held her face and pulled her towards to him until his lips met hers. The engaging passion crawled through their body. They felt each others warmth and love. It was a wonderful feeling for them.

Minerva High

The class of 1-D has just done their endurance run with Cagalli finishing first as usual. The teacher commented on her excellent speed. She just smiled. She quickly turned to a tree and leaned against it. Even though she has gotten used to running she still felt a little tired. She grabbed her towel and wiped the sweat of her face and neck. She took a deep breathe and gradually lets it out.

"That was a good run." She thought.

Suddenly something cold came to her face. Her eyes widened as she felt the chilling temperature of the water bottle. She glanced at the person who was holding it. She smiled at him.

"It's you Athrun… It's so cold." Cagalli said.

"Sorry about that… Here you go." Athrun handed the water bottle.

"Thanks." She replied.

Athrun sat down. He rested his back on the tree behind him. He opened his bottle and started drinking it. The cold water felt really good for his tired body. He lets out a refreshing sound.

"Much better…"

He glanced at Cagalli. He grabbed her hand and slowly pulled her downwards. Cagalli had no choice but to sit so close to him. She silently drank the water as she tried to hide her burning red cheeks.

"You're going to be competing tomorrow in the finals right?" Athrun asked.

Cagalli turned to him and nodded her head. She arched her legs and stared straightly at the ground. She gave out a big sigh.

"Yeah… And I've been training like in hell." Cagalli said. "But it's okay…"

"Good luck." Athrun told her.

She patted his shoulder, assuring him that she's going to do her best for tomorrow. The team, no the whole school, was counting on her effort. This sometimes pissed Cagalli since for her it's just a whole lot of pressure. But for the sport she's ready to compete anytime.

Athrun rubbed her head like Cagalli was a little 7-year old girl. It was totally messing up her unruly hair. She told him to stop but he wouldn't listen. Soon she felt a slight tickle in her body. She noticed that Athrun was totally tickling her. It made her laugh so hard. Athrun giggled at her reaction. He would have never guessed that the toughest girl in school was actually ticklish. He continued on doing so until tears fell from Cagalli's eyes from all that laughing.

"Stop it Athrun!" Cagalli demanded.

"No way this is so much fun." Athrun said.

The other students watched them in their called "fun" session. They thought it to be very cute seeing them like that. One guy started teasing them like "You two are so sweet", "You're a lucky guy Athrun!", and other stuff related to that.

When Cagalli and Athrun heard them teasing they immediately stopped. Their faces turned red so furiously. They faced each other and noticed the blushes. They couldn't help but to laugh at each other. It made them realized that they do have feelings for each other but didn't have the guts to admit it yet.

Cagalli's House

Cagalli brought Kira along with her when she got home. She planned on introducing him to her parents. Kira was kind of nervous but his sister assured him that her parents are not scary.

"My parents will be home any minute… I'll go fix some snacks while we wait."

The blondie went into the kitchen to fetch some snacks for Kira. He glanced around the room and spotted a picture of a little Cagalli, smiling widely while holding a red balloon on her right hand.

"Cagalli is really cute."

All of a sudden the door broadly opened. Kira peeked to see who that was. To his surprise it was the Athha Family. He quickly stood and greeted them properly.

"Good afternoon! I'm Kira Yamato, a classmate of your daughter." Kira said.

"Yamato? That sounds familiar." Mr. Athha said.

"He's more than a classmate dad, he's my brother." Cagalli suddenly spoke as she came out from the kitchen with a tray of cookies in her left hand.

"You mean this Yamato is your brother? Well now that you mention it you two do look alike." Mr. Athha said.

"Kira Yamato… I can' believe it… You've grown so much." Mrs. Athha spoke.

Cagalli's father surprisingly gave Kira a big manly hug. He held Kira so tightly that he was starting to plead for oxygen.

"Father… Kira can't breathe anymore." Cagalli told him.

The father released Kira. He rubbed his head and smiled. Cagalli's dad was quite surprise to see him again after a long time yet he was very happy.

Mrs. Athha noticed the blue pendant that Kira was wearing. A slight grin came to her face as she turned to Cagalli. She examined the two pendants very well and proved to be identical. From the observation she knew that Kira and Cagalli were siblings.

Clyne Mansion

Lacus was getting ready for dinner. Her father invited Patrick Zala and Athrun. She really wasn't in the mood since she knew that the fathers were going to talk about the whole engagement thing again. She moaned a bit. She sat down on her bed. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly as if she was hugging Kira.

"I'm not going to let this go any further… Tonight I'll tell my father."

After getting dress Lacus went downstairs. She saw her father sitting on a couch watching TV in the living room. She slowly approached her father. She seated beside him. She faintly smiled at him. Lacus was really nervous about telling him but she has too for the sake of Kira, Athrun, and herself.

"Father I have something to tell you…" Lacus started.

Siegel picked up the remote and turned off the TV. He turned to Lacus.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's about the en…"

Before Lacus could answer the doorbell rang. Siegel knew that it was Patrick and Athrun. He quickly stood and went to the door. He opened the door. He saw the two Zala's standing, formally dressed. He greeted them.

"Glad you could make it Patrick, and you too Athrun. Come in…"

Patrick and Athrun entered. Athrun spotted his pink-haired friend sitting on the couch.

"Lacus… hey… So how's life?" Athrun said.

"I've decided to inform my father about Kira." Lacus told him.

"What! Erm… Well I think that's great but I wonder how your father will react?"

"He must accept it no matter what. I love Kira."

"I understand. I'll try my best to support you."

"Thank you Athrun."

Siegel called Lacus and Athrun attention telling them that dinner was ready. They all proceeded to the dining room where the delicious foods were all set on the table. The foods looked so good you could feel your mouth drool. They took their seats and started eating.

Lacus wasn't really in the mood to eat so she ate slowly. She took a quick glimpse at her father who was busily talking to her fiancé's father. Her hands turned cold as ice, feeling so nervous. Soon her whole body started trembling. Athrun felt worried. He could see the sadness clearly in her blue eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder which made Lacus looked at him. Athrun smiled. He nodded his head informing her that it will be all right.

She glanced back at her father. She took one deep breathe. She stood which attracted the fathers' attention.

"Father, I will not marry Athrun and that's final." Lacus said.

Patrick Zala turned his glares at his friend. He wondered why Lacus was saying those things all of the sudden. All along he thought that she was happy that she could marry his son. He felt assured and now this. He demanded an explanation from Siegel.

Siegel didn't answer. He looked at Lacus seriously.

"What are you saying? The engagement has been confirmed and I thought."

"You only thought but you never asked me how I felt."

"But I thought you like Athrun."

"I like him but only as a friend and there's someone else I love."

Siegel got surprised after that last sentence. Lacus loved someone else but whom? He wondered who the guy could be.

"If you must know Lacus is in a relationship with my childhood friend Kira Yamato right now." Athrun spoke.

Athrun's father slammed his hands on the table. He demanded his son to shut his mouth. Athrun just smiled at him. He turned to Siegel.

"I'm sorry but I'm calling the engagement off. Lacus made it clear didn't she?"

Lacus felt relief. Athrun was totally helping her out. She could just hug him at that moment to thank him. Lacus clasped her hands. She went over to her father side. She knelt down before him. She pleaded Siegel to call of the engagement.

Siegel was most surprise. He realized that Lacus was serious. But how can he just forget about the whole thing? One reason was because of Patrick. He was so looking forward to this but he also couldn't take away his daughter's happiness. He turned to his friend with a calm expression on his face.

"I can't force her so I'm sorry Patrick." Siegel said.

"What! But…"

Patrick was about to disagree until Athrun placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to his son. Athrun smiled and shook his head.

"If you must also know I'm in love with someone else too." Athrun told him.

"Then if that's the case I won't force you. So that's it…" Patrick sighed.

Lacus and Athrun gave each other a smile. They felt so relief to finally get out of their engagement. They would have never guessed that their fathers were sympathetic. They could have just said it a long time ago but they were afraid. Even still, they've escaped from the burden their fathers placed on them.

Minerva High

"What are you guys serious!" Cagalli yelled.

Her voice was so loud that it was able to reach the next room. She was so surprised because Lacus just told her that the engagement was off. Cagalli wanted to jump on Lacus to give her a big tight hug. She was very happy that her best friend won't be troubled by love anymore and what's more was that she wasn't engage to Athrun anymore.

"Now you and Kira will have nothing to worry about." Cagalli said.

"Yes…" Lacus replied.

Lacus turned to her best friend's twin brother who also heard the great news from Athrun. He was busily talking to Athrun, laughing, smiling, and giggling. Just by staring at him made her heart want to melt like butter. Kira made her feel so warm inside. She could feel her cheeks burning but she didn't mind if anyone will see it. She sighed in relief and turned to Cagalli.

"My problem is over and yours is just beginning."

"What do you mean Lacus?"

"Your problem in love life…"

Lacus stood and walked over to Kira. Cagalli wondered what she meant by that. As she uttered the word love, she quickly set eyes on Athrun.

"Does she mean?"

She started blushing.

"Dammit I'm blushing again!"

Computer Research Room

Athrun went into the research room to search the internet for his given homework. He sat down and faced the screen of the computer.

"Hi Zala!"

He turned his head around and saw Jean waving her hand. She quickly approached him.

"Jean… what brings you here?"

"I was about to ask the same thing to you… I'm just here to get my notebook I left yesterday."

She turned to the screen. She noticed that Athrun was researching about the newly developed technology. It seemed interesting for her so she pulled a chair and sat beside Athrun.

"Let me watch you do your research." Jean said.

"Okay then…" Athrun replied.

TYPE… TYPE… TYPE… TYPE….

"When are you planning to tell her Zala?" Jean suddenly asked.

"Huh? About what Jean?"

"You know about Athha… You do like her I mean a lot."

"Yeah I do… I don't know but whenever I try to say it, it just won't come out."

"Well she is Yamato's twin sister right so ask him to help you out or maybe Clyne."

"No… I have to do this on my own. Problem is I don't know how."

"Valentine's day is fast approaching… She will surely give you chocolates."

"Are you saying that I should say it on that day?"

Jean nodded her head. She knew that Valentine's Day will be the perfect day for it. Girls just adore that day. She placed a hand on Athrun's head. She pulled him closer to her so she could whisper.

"Don't worry you won't be disappointed… Athha will be happy."

She made two thumbs up. She stood and walked towards the door. She stopped and glanced back at him.

"Just prepare until that day comes, Zala!"

Athrun deeply sighed. Of course he thought Jean was right that he should tell Cagalli but he really doesn't have a clue how. He crossed his arms and thought about it for a while. His face turned serious. His eyes concentrated on the wall. His mind came flowing with Cagalli's images. He smiled. He finally had an idea.

"It's decided… I will tell her." Athrun muttered.

To be continued….

JC: It's the end of Chapter 13… Wow I can't believe I made it long. Oh well I kinda like it this way. Jean keeps calling her friends by their last name to show her respect to them. That's always her way. Anyway next chapter will be updated soon… Don't forget to review and no flaming.

Next chapter's title is Valentine Day Mayhem

Note: Lacus, Cagalli, and Fllay are the popular girls in school so what do you think will happen in the next chapter?

"Not again."

"Wow you two got so many letters!"

"Just another pile of thrash!"

"Don't say that… I think it's sweet."

"Do you think it's nice stacking our letter with these junk?"

Giggles "You always say that."