Disclaimer: I claim no profit from writing this story. I own none of the characters. Aye, I only claim credit for my plot.

The office was shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the occasional flickering of the white coloured computer. Typing sounds punctuated the thick silence in the room, a printer groaned suddenly as it began printing pages after pages of completed documents. Cagalli Yula Athha frowned at the computer, ruffling her blond hair in an irritated manner as she re-read the e-mail for the fifteenth time that day.

Dear Princess Athha,

We, the ZAFT and Earth Alliance Joint Annual Party committee would like to cordially invite you to this year's party on the 27 of October. It would be held at one of ZAFT's finest function rooms. The details are as follows:

Time: 7.00pm

Venue: ZAFT function room 2

Dress Code: Costume

As the main theme for this year is 'cohesion among races', we request of you to be dressed of a different race or country that you do not belong to. We look forward to your participation this year.

You will receive an invitation card three days prior to this e-mail.

Miss Carol Dillon,

Head of the Committee

"I already said I'm not going!" She yelled agitatedly at the silent figure who had entered her office while she was busy re-reading the letter. The figure moved, sighing and flicked the switch as light instantly flooded the room. Ignoring Cagalli's shout of protest, it pulled the curtains apart allowing the room to be basked in the warm afternoon sun.

"Cagalli, enough of this, you have a function to attend in less than six hours." Arranging the desk for her departure it continued, again ignoring Cagalli's feral growl. "Manna's awaiting you in the bedroom. Let's go."

"Athrun! I'm not going!" Swapping at his hands, Cagalli pulled the thick folder of financial reports to her lap. She hated functions, useless gatherings that only took up time that she could have used on perusing bills and proposals. After all, that was why she promoted Kira as her ambassador. Allowing her time to work more.

Allowing her to avoid those dreaded dress fitting sessions.

Athrun sighed, removing a crumpled invitation card from his pocket. "This was in the dustbin." He waved it before her. "Kisaka has specifically told me to remind you of this function with utmost importance. Kira will not attend; it's too high a profile for him to."

Cagalli stood up angrily, anger in her eyes that made Athrun gulp and take a step back fearfully. "I'm not going for some stupid costume charade!" She swept her hands to the large pile of folders on her desk. "I have better things to do, tell Kisaka that! Plus, it's too late for me to find a costume."

"Manna had the foresight to prepare the costume for you." Athrun replied calmly and struggled to maintain a straight face as he watched the smug grin plastered on Cagalli's face fade to a mortified expression.

"WHAT?"

"This is for your country Cagalli." He glanced at his watch; they had to begin preparing if they wanted to attend the party punctually. Smiling at the blond princess before him, Athrun tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Treat it like a stress reliever."

"I'm not stressed!" Cagalli was flustered by his intimate gesture, and covered her embarrassment with a punch to Athrun's arm. The idiot was the only one who could get her so worked up.

Athrun chuckled softly, rubbing his arm. "You fell asleep at the computer three days ago, and your recent meeting agenda was full of mistakes." He quietened her bubbling rebuttal with a glare. "That means rest Cagalli, and you know how important a healthy leader is to Orb."

"You're sounding more and more like Kisaka..." She mumbled sarcastically.

"I heard that."

Cagalli smirked, tilting her chin into the air a notch higher. She wasn't going for this costume party, and even Kisaka hadn't been able to convince her otherwise. It had to be the case; he always made Athrun dissuade her when he failed to. If she had to go, she'd attend the blasted party in a shirt and cargo pants.

No dresses. No more flimsy dresses.

"Fine, I'll attend only if I'm allowed to wear a shirt and cargo pants."

"Cagalli! This is a costume party, a t-shirt and cargo pants are hardly a costume!"

"IT'S FINAL ATHRUN; I'M NOT WEARING ANY DRESSES!"

"BUT WE CAN'T FIND YOU A COSTUME WITH PANTS NOW!"

"WELL, THEN I GUESS I WON'T BE GOING!"

"CAGALLI!"

"ATHRUN!"

"YOU HAVE TO GO! IT'S CRUCIAL YOU ATTEND THIS PARTY!"

"I DON'T WANT TO WEAR A DRESS! WHATS WRONG WITH WEARING A SHIRT AND CARGO PANTS?"

"IT'S NOT A COSTUME THAT'S WHATS WRONG!"

"WELL, THEN IT'S EITHER THAT OR I WON'T GO!"

"FINE! YOU'LL WEAR A SKIRT THEN?"

"YES!"

Cagalli paused, her eyes widening at what she just said. "Wait! I'm not wearing a skirt! Athrun!" She stumbled after him as he exited the room with triumph.

"You've given me your consent, as a leader you won't go back against your word would you?" Athrun stood near the marble staircase watching Cagalli frantically find a way out of her predicament. He grinned inwardly as the blond princess sighed in defeat and nodded. "Alright, let's get you changed."

The persuading was done, now all he had to do was convince her to put on the skirt. He didn't want to contemplate her reaction when she saw the length of the garment. Maybe he should leave out the fact that even Lacus felt too embarrassed to wear it.

Cagalli's eyes widened and narrowed as she lifted up the pink skirt. Athrun gulped, yes, he should leave it out.

Jazz music blared in the background as couples waltzed across the dance floor. A bar sat at the far end of the room and several tables dotted the wide polished parquet floors of the function room. A number of ZAFT soldiers stood stoically against the walls watching out for any suspicious infiltrators. The music filtered out of the wooden doors to the reception table outside the function room where man in various costumes smiled and shook hands.

Cagalli pulled at her skirt nervously, trying her best to ignore the appreciative glances some young men in cowboy outfits were giving her. Who in the right mind would wear such outrageous and flamboyant costumes to a political party? What was that? She repressed the urge to pummel one of the men who smiled and winked at her. A hand wrapped round her waist and steered her to the doors as she stiffened at the contact.

"No fighting here, I know you how much you would like to throw that punch. People might recognize you." Athrun's gentle reminder eased her a little as they entered the function room. A solider saluted them and announced their arrival causing Cagalli to wince at the sudden attention showered on her by the guests.

"Athrun, I want to leave..." The eyes of several young distinguished male guests had fixed themselves on her, and she felt her skin crawl at their open appraisal. "This female ZAFT pilot uniform is too revealing!"

Athrun coughed uneasily, and for once agreed with her today.

The pink skirt barely covered her bums, and though it had been lengthened, it was still revealing. Long, flawless tanned legs peeked out of the garment and the black heels complimented them greatly. The top accentuated the curve and shape of Cagalli's slim body. That chest look- A dry cough interrupted his observation and he blushed a deep shade of red as he stared into the perplexed features of her.

"Seen enough?" Tugging him into a shaded corner of the function room to reduce the chance of onlookers, she pulled his cheek painfully. "And I thought those bastards out there were bad enough. You're worse Athun! Oh wait; you're the one who got me into this... this..." Cagalli sputtered looking for an appropriate word.

"Sexy outfit!" A voice quipped up cheerfully.

"Dearka!" Athrun smiled gratefully, as he wriggled out of Cagalli's grasp. His reddening cheek was long forgotten when he embraced his friend. Not seeing each other for more than a year, the buddies were soon absorbed in an intense 'catching up' session.

"Sexy outfit huh?" Cagalli simmered, as she grabbed the alcohol infused cocktail from a startled waiter. "Talk about me and then poof! Forget about me..." Gulping the contents down in a mouthful, she gagged silently at the strong burning sensation that trailed it way down her throat.

"They say that one should know their own limits when it comes to liquor. You shouldn't drink when you can't, Miss Athha."

A silver haired coordinator smirked at her, his face filled with gloat. He was a friend of Athrun's she remembered, Y... Yz... Dammit! She's couldn't seem to recall his name. One thing she knew for sure was that she wasn't in his good books, obviously, judging by his tone and that expression.

"Oh shut up, silver freak!" She blurted out the words without thinking, the man scowled and cursed savagely. Cagalli stared mildly at his display temper; the cocktail certainly had loosened her up. She felt bold!

He composed himself and the same annoying smirk slipped in, "Athrun your escort? You must have been poor company to be ditched this quickly."

"Why you...!" Fists clenched tightly, Cagalli gritted her teeth. This was a horrible party, if this was Athrun's version of a stress reliever it definitely didn't look like she would be relieving any. Maybe she could use this cocky, silver haired freak as one. Her hand moved, but Athrun appeared at that instant, clamping a hand gently but firmly on her wrist.

"Enough. Yzak, stop provoking her. Cagalli, your gathering too much attention." True enough, guests were craning their necks to peek at the commotion both Yzak and Cagalli were causing. Most turned away under Yzak's swift and harsh gaze, while others began whispering furiously when they spotted the Athrun Zala within their midst.

"Whatever. I wasted time on her." Yzak whirled towards the far end of the room where several ministers were conversing, he stopped, barking out. "Dearka! Stop fooling around! Back to your post!"

"Oh... The commander Jule is getting feisty. Well, I guess I'll catch you another time Athrun. Land a mover on her when you can alright?" Dearka laughed heartily as he winked cheekily at Cagalli who flushed in anger and embarrassment.

"Nice friends you have Zala."

Athrun frowned; Cagalli used his last name rarely. If she did, it was usually at the peak of anger. Deciding to give her a breather, he made an excuse to fetch a drink for her and left for the bar. Cagalli sighed, choosing to hide at an inconspicuous corner of the wall. Several men approached her during her wait, but a single snarl of refusal sent them retreating in fear.

Five minutes became ten, and ten minutes became fifteen. Frustrated and feeling neglected-as much as she wanted to deny it, she headed to the bar in hopes of finding him. The sight that beckoned her was the last straw. Athrun was tugged on at all sides by smiling and flirting women, wait, was that a married woman? A silent string of curses were muttered under her breath as the tugging intensified.

A pink hair emerged then, and the women scattered. Cagalli gaped, staring at the newcomer. "Lacus...?"

Wow, this was something I couldn't get out of my head. I've been cracking my head over a Gundam Seed fan fiction. This was intended as a one-shot, but I decided to place it as a 3 part story. Forgive me if the pace is going a tad fast, but if it's really at an unacceptable pace, PLEASE TELL ME!

The reviews from my one-shot were one big pusher for another story on Gundam Seed from me. I'm crossing my fingers its good!

Please review, and let me know if I made you happy when you read it.

I will love to hear from all of you! Feed me some reviews on my story? How did I do?