Wow this week really did go by fast for me. Before I knew it, it was time for the final update. Agh, I'm going to miss updating this thing. I know I said I'd make an epilogue, but it's just not the same. And just for the record, yes a tiny part of this chapter is from the first chapter, as I really don't expect you guys to remember it but it is important nonetheless.
So here it is guys, the final ending to Blush and Smile.
"So... you wanna go out this weekend?..."
Cagalli could swear that out of the corner of her eye she could see Kira's head make contact with his desk and Lacus cover her eyes. Quickly, she turned back to face Ahmed.
"M-Me? Really?" She stammered. Ahmed nodded. "Well I dunno... I never, I mean…" She found herself, strangely enough, suddenly thinking about Athrun. "But Athrun wasn't... Agh forget this! Just… refuse? But he's not a bad guy… Ahmed." And the dare… she couldn't just back out. It's a dare…
"No… No, I'm not backing down."
Athrun's head suddenly shot up as he stared at Cagalli. Did she just say yes? To him?! He suddenly became angry, then caught himself. "What am I thinking? It's not like she's my... Aw hell I had my chance… If I can't even work up the guts to ask, maybe I really just don't deserve…" His thoughts were interrupted when Cagalli walked over to her seat beside him and sat down.
"Well yeah. He asked me to go out with him. On Saturday. So I said yes of course. But can you imagine? I had no idea he even liked me..." Cagalli seemed to keep talking. Lacus was looking at her and nodding, and though Athrun was looking at her as well, he couldn't seem to hear anything except the sound of his own heartbeat echoing in his ears.
"I'm being stupid. And unreasonable. She's not... We're not..." He sighed to himself. But she looked happy… right? So as long as she didn't mind… well as much as it pained him…
"I'll live with it".
The remainder of the week was surprisingly un-awkward. No one spoke of what was coming, no one paid attention to it. The only difference was that sometimes Ahmed would drop over and talk to Cagalli, and everyone else would fall silent. Kira would wring his hands and Lacus simply stood there. In all truth, it was a normal week, aside from those spontaneous moments… then come Saturday morning…
"Hey! Where are we going?" She cried in a sudden outburst. He calmly pushed open a door and walked over to a secretary, asking for something. Moments later, the blushing secretary handed him a brochure of some sort. Walking back out, he handed it to Cagalli. Looking down, she read the words "Map of West Campus" Cagalli was caught between anger and embarrassment when his voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Because I might not always be around when you get lost." He smirked. Blushing furiously, she turned away.
Athrun awoke with a start, trying to shake the dream he had just had out of his head. Kira and slept over at Lacus' house, again, and so thankfully he had the dorm to himself for a while. He sighed, recalling the first time he'd met Cagalli. He remembered standing there for a while, just watching her, until he finally approached her. He remembered teasing her, and how entertaining it was.
And he remembered her blush…
Casting a glance at the phone perched on his beside table, he reached over and dialed the number he was most familiar with. He waited… one.. two rings. She never answered before two rings… because that way the person would be sure they didn't have the wrong number.
And she was also just lazy anyways.
"Hello?"
Athrun smiled. He thought it would be strange, he was afraid he might freeze up. And he did, maybe a little. But really, he felt comfortable. Just the sound of her voice was able to make him feel at ease.
"Hey, Cagalli? It's me, um, those notes I lent you from a week ago. I kinda need them back, so would you mind if I swung by to pick them up? Maybe, this afternoon?"
"No problem. Just call before you get here."
"All right I'll leave in a few hoursthen." Athrun said, rising out of bed to get dressed. He stopped for some breakfast, read the paper... and in the the midst of this regular routine of his…
He forgot what day it was.
His mind was completely blank as he drove down the well known roads and arrived at her apartment. She'd left the door unlocked, so after knocking three times softly he entered.
"Cagalli? I'm here." He said, picking up the notes from the coffee table.
"Hey Athrun. Could you do me a favor?" She asked, walking in with a quick pace. "I can't get this zipper all the way up..."
Athrun almost dropped the papers as she walked in. Even though they had grown to be more or less best friends, moments like this were still awkward... As in moments where she wasn't FULLY dressed. And on top of that, for god's sake she was wearing a dress… Since when did she wear those? Okay, so technically, he should feel somewhat comfortable with this by now… uh… riiiiight. Who am I kidding? He wanted to hide in a hole from embarrassment.
"Athrun?" Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, uh, sure" He mumbled, putting the papers down. She turned around so her back was facing him, as he slowly began to pull the zipper up. Gradually, they both became increasingly aware of how close they were, and suddenly what he was doing didn't feel so casual, even to her.
His face had been about as red as a broiled lobster from the beginning, but when she began to feel as hot as one… okay time to back away. She'd grown so close to him that she'd almost forgotten that he was still a guy, and that every now and then she still felt something about him… "Gah what am I thinking!" Stepping back quickly after he'd finished, she mumbled a thanks and retreated back to her room quickly, still feeling his gaze on her.
Athrun was completely speechless. Out of extreme embarrassment over what he'd just done and also out of how he couldn't seem to stop staring at her, and how she looked. Frowning, he sat down on the couch.
"It's for your date right?"
"Mmhmm." She replied.
"Ha… I'd almost forgotten. Can you imagine?..." He nodded slowly and made his way to the door. Placing his hand of the doorknob, he took a deep breath. "Well, have fun. I'll be going now."
"All right. I'll see you later then." She replied, not even coming to the door to say goodbye. She just couldn't face him. Listening to the door close, Cagalli stopped suddenly and leaned forward on her dresser. Looking in the mirror, she studied her face then frowned and averted her gaze down to her hands.
That day they'd met... when she was sitting on that bench and chucking maps at trash cans. He'd helped her find her class, and at the same time... She found him. "Athrun..." She murmured in a breath.
Outside of her door, he looked at the notes for a while, with his right hand still on the doorknob. Tilting his head back against the door and closing his eyes he sighed.
"Cagalli..."
He began to walk down the steps of her apartment, when he suddenly ran into Ahmed.
"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" Ahmed asked curiously.
"Just picking up some notes. Have fun." Athrun said weakly, waving the notes in his hand.
"Yeah, thanks man. She's some girl though, ain't she?" Ahmed grinned. Athrun nodded and headed towards his car and waited until Ahmed was clearly out of earshot. Resisting the urge to barge back upstairs, he started the car.
"Yeah... She's some girl."
Cagalli sat at dinner, listening to Ahmed talk about...something. Okay, so she wasn't really listening, much less conversing. And she barely had any idea what this guy WAS talking about. In any case, every time she thought of something to say, it involved Athrun in some way, and despite her lack of dating experience, she knew that talking about another guy on a first date wasn't a great thing to do.
Yet it was hard because Athrun really WAS all that she seemed capable of thinking about. Ahmed was a nice guy, really not bad at all. But what had happened with Athrun today, well not really happened, but what she had felt. And how he had reacted. There was just something... Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of, a cell phone? She watched Ahmed reach into his pocket.
"Hey, this is Ahmed. Yeah...Yeah...Mmhmm... yeah, WHAT! When? You're kidding... WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WON'T PRINT! THEY WON'T TAKE IT? Now! But!.. Can't you wait? I'm in the middle of… Oh all right. Fine... Sure... Yeah, bye. Hey Cagalli..." He frowned, after hanging up promptly and calling the waiter over for the check.
"It's fine." She smiled. "Whatever it is, it's fine. I'm feeling pretty off tonight anyways, so just go."
Ahmed blinked. "That's got to be the coolest thing a girl's ever said to me." He laughed, shaking his head lightly in disbelief. "All right, well, do you need a ride home?" He grinned, rising from his chair and extending his hand to hers to help her up. Cagalli shook her head.
"I'll walk. I could use the air."
Ahmed gave her one last look. "Have a good night then." He nodded. "Again, I'm really sorry about this…"
Cagalli nodded with understanding. "I know. You better get going."
And with that, her date was over.
Cagalli had been walking for... an obscene amount of time. Though she'd offered to walk herself home, it wasn't until Ahmed was long gone that she realized she had no idea HOW to.. and even after figuring it out, it was still a monstrously long walk. After about an hour of two of getting lost, figuring out where she was, then continuing her arduous journey, she found herself walking past the university. "Hmm didn't realize this was on the way..." She thought to herself, when suddenly she spotted a familiar silhouette walking towards her. Her eyes widened.
"Well hello there Cagalli. Lost?" Athrun blinked, then couldn't help but grin. Cagalli smiled lightly.
"Maybe a little. Yeah. My date got cut short. Ahmed had to go deal with something."
"And he made you walk home?" He frowned.
"Eh? No I wanted to myself. He offered me a ride." She explained. He looked at her and nodded. "What are you...?" She began to ask.
"Doing here? Heh, more papers." He smiled, waving his right hand. She smiled at him. "Well then, let's walk." He said, taking a step towards her.
He considered just asking her out now… her date WAS over. And now she wouldn't feel FORCED to accept his offer… and he only had a few hours before the dare's time limit expired. Engulfed in his thoughts, he kept his pace, until he felt her falling behind.
"Cagalli?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Just, hold on. You walk too fast." she explained, holding onto a tree while checking her shoe.
"Wow, you're out of shape." He teased.
"No... I'm wearing heels!" She responded angrily, throwing one at him. He caught it and handed it to her.
"I could just slow my pace you know." He offered, but she responded with a glare.
"Don't act like you have to lower yourself to be at par with me." She glared. Athrun chuckled and backed away.
"All right." He shrugged. She put her shoe back on and began to walk again.
"Dammit. I'd just take off these damn shoes if the street weren't so dirty..." She mumbled to herself. Athrun closed his eyes and smiled as the two of them walked down the street together. Suddenly, Athrun sensed that she was missing from his right side, and looked back. A wad of gum of the street had apparently gotten Cagalli glued to the street via her right heel.
"Aw, gross. Get off." She frowned, tugging her leg.
"Hey, Cagalli, don't do that. You might-" His warning was interrupted as he watched her lose her balance and fall. Athrun winced and hurried over. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I think so." She stood up and tried to walk, but Athrun noticed a scrape on her leg. He sighed and knelt down with his back facing her. "What are you doing Athrun? I'm not getting on your back. It's just a scrape."
Athrun laughed softly. "Yeah but you keep trying to walk in those heels, by the time we get you home you'll be covered in scrapes." Cagalli frowned.
"That's not true. I'm not that clumsy! Besides..." Cagalli trailed off.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Come on, not like I've never carried you before." He said.
"Yeah, but I wasn't... wearing a dress those times." She noted. Athrun looked at her, realizing that she was wearing a dress that went just down to her knees. He blushed and turned away.
"Oh geez. Well then, we call a cab." He offered.
"This late?"
"I suppose you have a better idea?"
"Doesn't matter. There are no cabs this late at night." She sighed. Athrun seemed to be deep in thought, trying to figure out a way to get Cagalli home in one piece. Suddenly, he bent down and took off his shoes.
"We're not the same size, but it's better then nothing." He shrugged handing then to her. "And I've got socks on so I can walk without shoes"
Cagalli stared at him. "Athrun... This is the more bizarre idea anyone has ever come up with."
"But, it will work." He grinned. "Unless you WANT me to carry you, by slinging you over my shoulder or something to that extent." He joked. Cagalli however, had started blushing immediately. Grabbing his shoes, she stormed past him walking while trying to put them on. He watched her hop on one foot, as she straightened out the heel on the left shoe. Chuckling, he followed.
About half an hourlater, they in front of Cagalli's apartment door, facing each other. Athrun had STILL not done the dare... but just… couldn't bring himself to. Because as much as he wanted to, they were having such a great time. He wouldn't ruin this feeling for the world... much less a dare.
"Well then, I'll see you later Cagalli." Athrun smiled, as he turned and began walking down the hallway.
"Uh, Athrun!" Cagalli suddenly cried out.
"Hmm?" Athrun turned.
"Do you want to eat something?" She asked. He shook his head and continued walking.
"Because it's kind of late, and you shouldn't walk home now. You could just stay the night." She offered in a low whisper, that was barely audible. But audible enough so that he heard.
"That's another first..." He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her again. "Cagalli, you have a one bedroom apartment."
"I know."
"So then..." He blushed.
"No no! There's the couch..." She blushed
"But it would still be sort of weird..." He blushed harder.
"I know, but I really don't want you walking home this late!" She blushed even more.
Athrun began to walk toward her. "Cagalli..." He spoke softly.
"I don't even know what's wrong with me. There I was today, sitting there, with Ahmed, and there's nothing really wrong with him. But I can't seem to hear a word of what he's saying." She stammered.
"Cagalli..."
"I mean, honestly I was just being unreasonable. I just couldn't seem to pay attention to him. And I feel bad about that I guess, but..."
"Cagalli... What were you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about A-..." She stopped and drew a breath. looking up, she found Athrun standing a foot away from her. She blushed and turned away. She stayed silent, barely able to believe that she had just actually said that. To him. "I can't talk... what'll he say? Oh geez, I don't even know how I feel anymore. But I was thinking about him. I was thinking about Athrun…"
She stopped and slowly turned towards him, waiting for him to say something. Did this mean she... But how was that possible when...For how long had she... Her mind kept starting questions then trailing off as she looked at him. Suddenly his face changed from serious to mildly confused.
"A-hmed?" He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were with him."
"No!" She blurted out. She felt the blush cooling down as she began laughing. Unlocking the door to her apartment she opened it, still laughing as Athrun followed her inside.
"No... not Ahmed, idiot." She smiled, laughing. Athrun had an amused smile on his face as watched her. Cagalli turned towards him, and caught him grinning. She glared at him. "Quit smiling so darn much. You make me feel like a circus show or something..."
His smile grew even larger, as he took his hands out of his pockets and hugged her. Cagalli was caught off guard and stumbled backwards.
"But you're the only one that can make me smile this much." He sighed. Cagalli felt that damn blush returning to her face.
"And you're the only one that can make me blush this much." She complained, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder as it trying to get it off. Athrun only started laughing.
"I don't think that's helping." He let go of her and took a step back, studying her face a little.
"Mmm, well make yourself at home. Err, hold on." She said, making her way to her room. Athrun followed curiously. Cagalli stopped and shot him a glare. "I said you were sleeping on the couch."
"Huh? Oh, no I was just..." He looked down at the carpet to hide the blush. Apparently it had rubbed off on him.
"Well I'm not going to bed yet, so you can hang out in my room for a while I guess." She shrugged. Athrun followed her in and waited for the blush to subside. Then after a few minutes he began to look around.
"First time I've really looked around this place..." He mumbled. Suddenly, something caught his eye. "You still have this?" He smiled, holding it up. Cagalli looked over at see what it was.
"The map? Oh yeah, you gave it to me when we first met, remember?" Suddenly, she froze and made a grab at it. Athrun, though surprised managed to keep his hold on it.
"Eh? What's so great about an old map?" He wondered aloud.
"Athrun, no! I... just give it back!" She lunged after it again, but he dodged. After chasing him for 10 minutes, Athrun managed to stall for enough time to open the map. Cagalli froze and quickly looked away. Athrun stared.
Apparently, at some point she had taken the time to mark down precisely where they had met, by circling it and writing the date. Then she simply marked places they frequently spent time together. In the margins there were notes like "Here I discovered he was ticklish." Or "He likes the view of the park from here."
Athrun looked at her and closed the map. "I... I'm sorry, that… I shouldn't have looked." He stumbled on his words.
"It's my fault. I don't know what I kept that thing...not like I need it anymore." She whispered. He started to hand it back to her, but when she reached out her hand, he dropped the map and pulled her towards him. "A-Athrun?..." She seemed to be surprised.
"Cagalli, tell me what this means. Because so many times, and just outside, I kind of need to know what all this means." He spoke calmly. "So, just tell me, because we've never had a problem just talking before. What's going on?"
"You tell me." She replied, with equal calm.
"I think, that I already know how I feel... But what about you?"
Cagalli drew a breath and tried to prepare herself. She thought about it for a long time, considered his words as he simply held her there. Slowly she raised her arms until she had wrapped them around him. Then she rested her head on his shoulder and tried to talk.
"Athrun... I don't know. When I first met you, I had no idea what was going on. Then after a while, I guess I got used to you, and so it wasn't really awkward. I don't really feel awkward with you at all anymore. But at the same time, I wonder if I should. And I ask myself what's going on in my head, because I have no clue. Does someone just randomly think of a friend? Or does that mean something else?"
She sighed, relieved to be able to finally let her thoughts flow out of her mouth. Athrun didn't move but merely stood there and listened, still holding onto her and supporting her while she spoke. There was a long pause, and Cagalli composed her thoughts.
"I really have no clue. I don't know myself at all, much less what I'm thinking, or feeling, or why. But what I do know is that you know me better then I know myself. So maybe, you should just ask yourself, and you'll figure it out..." She explained.
These were the truest words she could ever say: Because somewhere along the line, they had stopped using words to communicate. An unspoken understanding had developed, and whenever she felt lost…
She started breathing normally as she waited for an answer. Finally, she slightly relaxed into him. He tensed at this sudden gesture. She stepped back and looked at him, waiting.
Athrun was confused. He had wanted to ask her what she was feeling, to see if he could understand himself. But her answer. What did it mean? What did he think, she thought? He had no idea either! But something told him that he could get his questions answered, if he just... Leaned forward?
Cagalli was startled. Athrun was approaching her? But he was still looking at her, eyes fully open. What was he thinking? She felt herself lean forward and close her eyes.
And suddenly…Their faces met midway, and they poured out the emotions that had been building from the moment they had met. He held her in place gently, she moved forward into him. They spoke, felt, breathed into each other. It's true: Friends were friends… and they were definitely friends. But somewhere along the line, though they had never realized it… It had become more then that.
Pulling away, they studied each other. Athrun had closed his eyes after he saw her start to. Now opening them, he noticed a slight blush on her. And she was smiling. He smiled back at her, content with her response. "So I guess that means..."
Cagalli could only look at him and lightly blush, as her eyes traced his face. He was grinning, that was a good sign. But did he figure it out? That felt... not magical. Not like she was going to explode. That didn't feel lustful either. But she was still smiling, and just looking at him. I guess it felt sort of, comfortable. "So then..."
"Cagalli?... You don't need that map." He spoke gently, and looked straight into her eyes. She tilted her head in mild confusion. He smiled and continued. "Because I take back what I said, that first daywhen I found you. I will always be around for you, whether you're lost or not."
Hellooooooooo Readers! Corniest ending ever huh? But I just couldn't resist! Well this is it. My first fanfic is brought to an close. For those of you that wanted MORE physical contact, well it's not like they've done any more then that in the show, so I'm not making them do more either.
The reason the ending seemed to tie in so much with the first chapter… again, this ending was written at the same time as the first chapter. I just basically revisited this, and changed a few things that were different, and did some final editing.
So what can you expect in the Epilogue? Basically I'm just going to use it as a final thread to tie up all the loose ends. Look for stuff that was missing in this chapter, which includes Kira and Lacus, whatever happened to Ahmed etc.
The usual thank you to all my wonderful reviewers who have been SO supportive of me.
Michiyo Hikari, asga, kura52, jenniferseedlover, thunder sister, BlackCyra, ninofchaos, MyouseiSeed, RoGuE-WhItE-DrAgOn, Crazy-Destiny, animemistress419, gseedlover, Digital-Dragon-Master, koali alolao, Ivory Nightshade, Alexa, KiraFreedom, Fan fiction collector, clumsy kelli, stuntsheep, laku, Susan, Shuichi66, ANONYMOUS, Angry Bird, kaurama-kasuki, DeepToot, Ayome, daisukechibi, Cagalli Zala, animelova, terrychen305, Kiyoko-San
Any last trailing thoughts, questions, comments etc. will have to be made NOW, as this will the be that chance you guys have to ask them and expect a response. I'll reply to them in the epilogue and that'll be it. As for you readers who haven't been reviewing, I'd still like to hear from you so please review, at least for the final chapter.
Thank you all for being such a fantastic audience!
-Periodic-prose.