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Chapter Two: Summer
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date."
- William Shakespeare
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Maybe one of the disadvantages of living in a space colony was never having the chance to experience the change in seasons. From what I had read and seen from books, the four seasons had a distinct beauty in each of them. The weather here in the PLANTs was a perpetual summer and as such, I rely heavily on the pictures in order to depict the seasons.
Lacus, however, always insisted that we met in the spring and I always told her that there were no seasonal changes here in the PLANTs. And then she would pout at me and ask me, "Why do you always have to be so technical?" And then she would tell me, that even in the environment of an artificial dwelling, she could still feel the seasonal changes in the air.
Spring, as she stubbornly pointed out, was when we first met and when everything was just beginning to bloom. Summer was the season were everything -was- in bloom and in full growth. She told me that it was the summer seasons this month and the next. As for autumn and winter, she said that I would have to wait. But she would prove to me that we underwent seasonal changes here as well.
Lacus was an optimist. She always saw the brighter side of things. I was a pessimist. But, thankfully, we were not extreme opposites. But there were times when I felt that she was too idealistic and that I had to protect her from the harshness of the world. And then she would tell me something that showed how much she knew of human austerity, and I would start to think that maybe it was I who need protection.
I had been going to a private finishing school while Lacus was enjoying the comfort of home schooling. She's very popular here in the PLANTs and one could just imagine how my classmates took it once they knew we were engaged. They kept saying that 'it must be the genes'. It's a horrible inside joke, if one could even call it a joke.
Whenever she wasn't too busy with her career, I always made it a point to come by their house just like when we were little kids. We would talk about things, or go on dates. Simply put, we did the things that ordinary couples did. After all, we were one; but still, I could feel that there was something missing. Maybe we hadn't passed the stage where we were still embarrassed and formal around each other.
As I had mentioned, it was 'summer' here, if that's what you call it. I simply referred to it as a 'vacation', but Lacus being Lacus kept on insisting that it's -summer- vacation. We'll let's just see if the leaves turn red and then fall after two months.
Lacus was the personification of summer. Whenever I looked at her, the poet within me awakens and I start to think of the bluest skies, the greenest trees, the reddest flowers and the warmest days. She was always so full of life and brought so much warmth and happiness to those around her.
It was considered unusual and unorthodox for boys my age to admit that they were in love. And even if they did, they would only be taken lightly. It bordered on corniness, even. But still, I felt that this was the one explanation I could offer for all that I had been feeling. And wasn't it only right that I loved my fiancée? In fact, I was lucky that my match was someone that I loved.
I was fairly certain of my feelings for her. Although sometimes, we would catch ourselves in an awkward silence, just one smile from her and it would feel like I could talk endlessly about nonsensical things. I found myself always blushing in her presence, embarrassedly so.
We had been together for three months, and today marked that date. Well, not counting our childhood days of course. We had been together for a quarter of a year and we had been lucky enough not to have met bumps along the way. I thought of giving her something – something that had been tinkering on my mind. It was kind of similar to the one I gave my best friend on Copernicus when I left. I gave him a mechanical bird before I left, and I must say, it was kind of good. But that's a different story altogether.
This time, I made a pink, round, and mechanical pet. It was -cute-, as my mother put it. But for me, it was bordering on annoying. Okay, more than annoying, it was infuriating! It was brash, crude, rude, and too energetic for my tastes; it kept on repeating every damn word I said and it always tried to bonk me in the head.
Well, there went my plan of 'being sweet by giving a gift.'
I was ready to give up hope when the butler came to me and told me that Lacus was here. Surprised, I hurriedly went to the receiving room and saw her sitting calmly on one of the couches. She was, there was just no other word for it, radiant.
"Hi," I greeted her. "You should've told me you were coming."
"I wanted to surprise you," she said simply. Then, her eyes were cast downward and stared curiously at my hand. She pointed at it. "What's that?"
It appeared that, in my haste, I had brought the defective machine with me. I sighed and lifted it to eye level. "This?"
"Yes."
I sighed in resignation. Might as well confess. "I was supposed to give you this as a gift. But it's broken. I don't know what's wrong with it."
Her face lit up and she immediately snatched the pink ball from my hands. "A gift…"
"Yes, well, I'm not sure if…"
"How does it work?" she interrupted me. She turned it over and over in her hands and then flashed me a curious smile.
I inwardly groaned. I took it from her and pushed the button underneath it. Its eyes flashed red, its ears flapped and when it caught sight of me, it bounced away. I sighed in relief. But then it turned around and bounced towards me with renewed force. It was aiming straight for my head! Instinctively, I ducked and grabbed it with both hands. I was about to push the off button – for good this time – when I heard Lacus giggle.
"It's not broken. It's so cute!" she grabbed it from me and hugged it. "I'm going to call him Mr. Pink!"
"P-Pink?"
"Yes, it -is- pink isn't it?" she answered patiently, with a mysterious smile on her lips.
For no reason at all, I felt my lips curl upwards. "And I suppose that if I gave you a blue one you would call him, Mr. Blue?"
She tilted her head to the side and appeared to be deep in thought. "Well," she began, "Maybe… but it depends on the shade of blue. He might be a Mr. Navy."
I chuckled and shook my head amusedly. And before I knew it, I was promising to make her one of a different color. The smile on her face was enough to tell me that I succeeded in my plan to be 'sweet by giving a gift.'
After that, she proceeded to tell me the reason for her visit. "I, in turn, would like to give you this."
I took the rectangular piece of paper from her hands and inspected it. "A ticket?"
"A concert ticket," she affirmed. "Will you come and watch me sing?"
I smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world…" Then, feeling much braver, I asked her, "And afterwards… maybe we could go out for dinner?"
That mysterious smile again. "Of course, Athrun."
After that, we said our goodbyes and I proceeded to prepare for the concert that night. It was to be held in Junius Five's White Symphony Theater. I hadn't been to Junius Five. I had heard that the Junius Cities were reserved for agricultural and food-production purposes.
Lacus had given me three tickets, the other two for my parents. But my mother insisted that I go alone. At the risk of sounding like an over-excited toddler, I was kind of feeling 'jumpy.' I reached the theatre an hour before the concert started and I went directly to Lacus' dressing room.
A lot of people seemed very busy and I didn't want to get in the way so I sat down on one of the couches and waited for her. I settled on just watching her. She was probably unaware that I was there but, nevertheless, I found her fascinating.
She was like my mother, in so many ways. They were soft-spoken, genteel, graceful, beautiful… I could go on and on. Maybe that was one of the reasons why I took to her immediately. She reminded me of my mother.
Father was a harsh disciplinarian. He demanded only the best. A lot of people said that I was like my Father, intense, strong-minded, and goal oriented. But in front of my Mother, he was just like any other man. He became gentle, soft-spoken, endearing. If I was like my Father, I would want to wish for someone like my mother to keep me grounded, to keep me human. That person was Lacus.
Whenever I saw her, my face would light up and I couldn't help but smile. She had that effect on me. For someone who had experienced the evilness of the human nature, that was important. That day, when I was but a small child, the day I saw how a person can kill with a smile on his face, with no regret, the day I saw one of my friends get killed simply because of the circumstances of our birth, it would remain etched in my mind.
I always knew that Naturals were not very fond of us. Father told me so. But I never knew how deep that hatred went. I hated them, too. But Lacus, she kept me grounded. Whenever we talked about those kinds of things, her hopeful outlook on life rubbed off on me. She made me realize that maybe someday, things would be peaceful.
Yes, she might seem too idealistic at times. But I was thankful for that. Very thankful. When I was with her, I stopped growing up, stopped thinking like an adult, and experienced being a proper teenager, even for just a moment.
Only thirty more minutes before the concert. The preparations seemed to be finished and I decided to approach her. I wanted to at least see her and wish her luck before the concert.
She beamed when she saw me coming and I responded by giving her a timid smile as I handed her the bouquet of white roses. I could feel my cheeks heat up when I sensed other people watching us. Lacus gave me that mysterious smile again.
Then she kissed me on the cheek.
I blinked once. Twice.
That was totally unexpected. I gave her a shy smile and I whispered, "Good luck."
She nodded and then smiled. "I hope you find the concert enjoyable, Athrun. We'll see each other again, later, hm?"
I only managed to nod. On the way to my seat, I could feel my lips curl upwards in an idiotic smile. I could clearly remember how she smelled. She gave off a distinct aroma of summer. Maybe for once, I would stop being so technical. Maybe it -was- summer.
She greeted the crowd with her usual smile and endearing voice. And that was when I noticed a little pink ball bouncing about in the stage.
"Haro, haro!"
"I would like to introduce you to my new friend, Mr. Pink. He is a gift from a very special person, someone very close to my heart. I only hope that that certain person remembers to give me the friend that he promised for Mr. Pink…Maybe someone named Mr. Navy."
There were scattered murmurs, squeals, giggles, and uncertain laughter in the crowd. Once again, I felt my lips curl upwards, this time, in an amused smile.
Lacus always managed to put a smile on my face. I hoped that would never change.
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