If I Needed Someone

It didn't take long for Athrun to adjust and learn the ropes. The work was more demanding than he was used to, but particularly because Ms. Athha was giving him special attention. Within a few short weeks he had become the workhorse of his team. Thankfully Meyrin was still around to help out at home from time to time.

And it didn't take long to find out why Ms. Athha acted the way she did. The company had been her father's but his untimely passing forced her into responsibilities that she wasn't quite ready for. To complicate matters, many viewed her fiancée as a money grubber who wanted to get his hands on the company. In fact, his family owned a rival defense contractor which was seeking a merger of another kind.

Thus the occasional yelling would continue. Her hostility was always directed at the fiancée, with whom she had been speaking with on the phone that one day. Being unafraid, Athrun was given the unenviable task of becoming his department's liaison to the executives.

"What is it today, Zala?" Today, Ms. Athha was tired. And leaning back in her plush leather seat. It was cushy enough to envelop her and nearly lull her to sleep.

"You know, you can call me Athrun."

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Here are the latest reports on the RGM-X98. The issue with it's fly-by-wire systems have been resolved but there is still the matter of the new automatic friend/foe recognition systems that needs to be cleared up."

"Can you handle it?"

"Yes. I was just sent to update you on the progress." The more he spent time around her, the more he became concerned. "Perhaps you should take the afternoon off," he suggested.

Her glare immediately let him know that he had overstepped his bounds. "I'll be fine."

Now that he had gotten used to her bark, he had little hesitation with his response. "That's a load of crap. I don't know what's going on in your life but you're not doing a lot of good here in your present condition. Go home."

Silent flames burned in her eyes for a moment before she finally gave in. "Sure. Call me if anything comes up."

"I'll do that."

"Oh, and Athrun. There's something I'd like you to do for me."

"Sure."

"There's a company event I'd like you to come to. I assume you can find a date?"

"Not a problem," he fibbed. The receptionist Shiho Hahnenfuss had turned him down flat just last week.

"Good. Shiho can give you the details."

It was to be a formal event. Many of the higher ups would be in attendance. Maybe Ms. Athha just wanted to show off her new genius and take credit for finding him.

The matter of clothing wasn't a problem. Athrun had quite a reserve of such things.

Finding a date . . . well, that was another matter entirely.

"Ahem," Meyrin called his attention back to the dinner table. "Are you forgetting something?"

"Huh?"

Meyrin shook her head in mock chastisement. "Here you are stressing over a date. Have you asked everyone you could think of?"

"Everyone but Meer," Athrun sighed. "And as hot as she is, I don't want to start that again."

"Ahem," she coughed with a little more force.

"What?"

"I'm a girl, too." Meyrin pointed out. Actually, she pointed at her chest to make sure Athrun recognized she was carrying the proper equipment. "I'm a card carrying member of the female gender, you know."

"Won't your boyfriend get mad?" Athrun remembered hearing something about some guy not long ago.

"We're not serious yet so I don't see a problem. Just don't get any ideas. It's a friend date, nothing more."

"You're a life saver, Meyrin."

"Yes, I know," she laughed. "You owe me big."

It was definitely formal. There was a valet to take the car to the hotel parking deck. This place was clearly ritzy and someone must have shelled out some serious dough to rent the massive ballroom for the evening. Marble floors and Greek columns were not a combination Athrun often saw these days, but it looked quite nice.

Athrun didn't know a lot of the people at this place. Meyrin naturally knew fewer.

"Athrun," Ms. Athha waved him over to her little circle. Shiho was there and a silver haired gentleman who looked like he was partially annoyed and partially happy to be hobnobbing. Oddly, it seemed his natural state, like he was quite at home with the upper crust.

The introductions were to be on Athrun's shoulders. "Ms. Athha, I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine. Meyrin Hawke."

"Call me Cagalli," she shook the hand of Athrun's date.

"Meyrin, this is Ms. Athha and Ms. Hahnenfuss. I'm afraid I don't know the other gentleman," Athrun admitted.

"No reason you should. Yzak Joule," he offered Athrun a hand.

Athrun's assessment had been correct. Yzak seemed to be a walking contradiction. Angry, but not unkind. Calm, but capable of snapping in an instant. Athrun had to choke back the laughter at the thought of Yzak and Cagalli getting into a row. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Cagalli suggested, "Why don't you gentlemen get us some drinks?"

Athrun couldn't refuse. Yzak just rolled his eyes, "We're not wanted. It's time for girl talk." Yzak led his newfound companion off to the wet bar to fix a few beverages he was familiar with.

Athrun naturally knew what Meyrin would enjoy as they had often gone drinking together. "How long have you known Ms. Athha?"

"She prefers to be called Cagalli, whether she says so or not," was Yzak's response.

"I'll remember that."

"I think she's taken quite a shine to you. 'The one grunt with a brain and guts enough to speak up.' That's how she describes you."

"Grunt, hun?" Athrun had to admit it sounded exactly like something she'd say. "Glad to be appreciated."

Yzak chuckled. "That's as much praise as I've heard her give anyone in the past year or so."

"Then I'm truly honored. So what is it you do?"

"I was a test pilot until I nearly lost an eye. Our parents were friends. My mother still sits on the board of directors. That's how I know Cagalli." He leaned a little closer to pass his new friend a deadly whisper. "And a word of advice. Don't ask my girlfriend out again."

"Duly noted."

"Spill it."

"Excuse me?" Meyrin was a little taken aback. Not that Athrun hadn't warned her about Cagalli, but Meyrin didn't quite believe anyone could be so blunt all the time. Especially in such a social setting.

"About Athrun. How long have you know him, what's he like, what did he have for breakfast yesterday?"

Shiho laughed silently at the poor girl's confusion but didn't offer Meyrin any aid in her time of distress.

"Well, we've been friends a long time and we used to work together. We're very close but never dated." Seeing how Cagalli hung on every word, she relaxed a bit and became more herself. "And no, tonight doesn't count as a date either."

"I see. He couldn't get a date after all. Maybe I'm keeping him too busy to look. Does he say anything about that?"

"Not really," Meyrin lied. "Though his free time is a little more scarce these days. I often have to help him out with household things on weeknights."

"That close, huh?"

"He's my best friend."

"Well, I hate to be so hard on him but he's one of the few I've been able to count on lately," Cagalli admitted. "Here they come."

"Miss me?" Yzak greeted his girl warmly. Well, comparatively warmly.

"I counted the minutes," Shiho answered.

"Finally," Cagalli sighed. "The band's decided to play something."

It was something slow and soft.

"May I have this dance?" Shiho held up her hand which was readily accepted by her companion.

Athrun didn't know what to do about leaving Cagalli all alone at the table, but she waved them off. "Go have some fun."

On the way, Athrun and Meyrin bumped into something unexpected. And unwelcome.

"Oh, excuse me." It was someone Athrun had only seen once, but he had taken the time to etch his face into memory.

"No, it was our fault," Meyrin apologized.

The brown haired gentleman turned to the side to reveal a stunning white and purple evening gown. Even more stunning was the woman wearing it.

"Lacus," Athrun whispered, his voice straining.

"Athrun," her voice matched his.

"I should have know you'd be in a place like this. You always were one for fancy parties."

Lacus asked, "Who is your friend?"

"Meyrin Hawke. And your friend?"

She answered, "Kira Yamato."

Neither Meyrin nor Kira could speak at the moment. It was quite clear that they were not welcome in this conversation anyway.

"May I have this dance?" Athrun offered a hand.

"Yes, but only for a moment." She allowed him to lead her to the center of the dance floor while the others waited where they were.

Meyrin was only slightly uncomfortable being on the edge of the dance floor standing still.

Kira asked, "Are you alright with this?"

"Yes, we're just friends. And he's only had eyes for her for all the time I've known him. How about you?"

"I knew this was coming. I'm not worried. At least, I try not to be." Kira watched with only the slightest hint of heartbreak in his eyes seeing Lacus dancing with another man. A man for which she obviously cared a great deal for.

"It'll be fine," Meyrin put a hand on her neighbor's arm. "They've been trying to find their way back to friendship for a long time now. We should encourage that."

"As long as it doesn't end up hurting them both."

"You love him."

It wasn't a question but she took it as such. "Yes. Very much," Lacus whispered.

"He makes you happy?"

"No, I've made my own happiness. But yes, I guess that I am happier when I'm with him."

"I think I can honestly say I'm glad," Athrun sighed.

"Thank you. Are you doing better?"

"Yes. Ms. Athha is keeping me too busy to sulk."

"Cagalli? You work for Cagalli?" There was no small measure of surprise in her voice.

"Is that a problem?"

Lacus shook her head. "Kira is her twin brother. The different last name thing is a long story. Tell me about you and Meyrin."

"She's just a close friend. She's been helping me through . . ."

"I see." Lacus rested her head on his chest without thinking. "Oh, sorry."

"It's alright with me," Athrun smiled down at her.

Lacus thought for a second before resting her head on him a second time. Then she stiffened.

"What? Your boyfriend making faces at us?" Then Athrun saw it, too. "Who's that guy?"

"Yuna. Cagalli's fiancée."

Athrun didn't need any further explanation. Lacus had always been an excellent judge of character. If this guy scared her, he must have been bad news.

"Thank you for the dance," Lacus separated made a straight line toward Kira.

Athrun followed, but not for her sake. Or Meyrin's, though he took her hand to bring her along for the ride. The four of them arrived just in time.

". . . not here," Cagalli hissed. "I told you not to come."

Yuna protested, "But Cagalli . . ."

"No buts. I don't want to see you right now."

"Stop being childish. You know that you need me, Cagalli."

"Not enough to put up with your crap. Get out now," Cagalli turned to call for hotel security.

Yuna grabbed hold of her wrist, "No need to make a scene, dear. That would be unseemly for a lady such as yourself. The world doesn't need further proof that you're a spoiled brat."

Cagalli screamed, "I have had enough!" Whirling around she smacked him with all her might.

In reprisal, Yuna raised the back of his hand to strike. All eyes had turned to see Cagalli about to get her comeuppance.

Kira made a move but Athrun beat him to it. Grabbing Yuna's free hand before it could strike, he hissed through his teeth "It's not nice to threaten a lady."

"And who the hell are you?" Yuna let go of Cagalli to strike his assailant with the other hand.

Athrun caught the fist. Now he was exerting all his might on crushing Yuna's right wrist and left fist, but even the rage within him didn't give him enough strength for that. "Perhaps you should apologize," Athrun demanded.

Kira came to stand between the two combatants and his sister to give Cagalli an added layer of protection.

Yuna planted his feet in preparation for an attack. Athrun had seen this move coming. With his hands out of commission, all Yuna had left for close range was his knees and his face. Apparently Yuna didn't want to mess up his pretty face so Athrun decided to mess it up for him. The moment Yuna's left foot came off the floor Athrun broke the enemy's nose with his forehead.

With Yuna off balance, Athrun had his chance. Running at full speed with Yuna desperately trying to remain on his feet, Athrun pushed his opponent across the ball room and out the door.

Kira and Cagalli closely followed, but by the time they got there Athrun had received a black eye and bloody lip. Though the bigger of the two, Yuna was in much worse shape.

A security guard bellowed, "What's going on here?"

Cagalli explained the situation so that only Yuna would be thrown out and no police would get involved. She didn't want to stir things up worse by having this front page news tomorrow.

"Why did you do that?"

"Seemed like a good idea at the time."

With the entertainment over, everyone had gone back to the party. Well, everyone but Athrun and Cagalli. They were in a separate room off to the side. She was trying to treat his wounds with a wet towel and some ice. Cagalli had acquired it by commandeering a champagne bucket from a passing hotel porter. Both Cagalli and Athrun had also decided to partake of the champagne during all this.

"Level with me," Cagalli asked.

"Well, I didn't want to offend you by killing your brother so I thought I'd take my frustrations out on the next closest ass hole."

Cagalli poked his lip a little harder in punishment for insulting her brother. "What did Kira ever do to you?"

"I used to date his girlfriend."

"Oh, so you're the one. She never spoke of you by name, but there was obviously some heavy baggage she was carrying when they first started going out."

"Sorry," Athrun apologized after the third hard poke to his face. "Your brother's probably a great guy or Lacus wouldn't have anything to do with him. I guess I still carry a lot of baggage of my own."

Cagalli laughed, "Well, thank you. I've wanted to punch his lights out for a long time."

"Why didn't you? You don't strike me as the kind of person to hold back."

As she spoke, her smile gradually faded. "No, I suppose not. I unfortunately need him to pull my company out of the hole. They've got a lot of lucrative government contracts that my company really needs. He started out being a nice enough guy and a merger with his father's company was too promising to pass up. Unfortunately, it's a package deal. But like I said, he was fine in the beginning."

"Then what happened?"

She stopped playing with his face and sat her hands in her lap, ignoring how Athrun's blood was ruining her dress. "He started sleeping around. And he wasn't too pleased that I wouldn't put out before we got married. I used to say that it was because I wanted to remain pure for the wedding night, but that was a pretty thin lie. I just didn't want to catch anything from him. It didn't take long before he turned into a total bastard."

"I see. And will you still marry him after tonight?"

"Tonight wouldn't have been the first time he's hit me," she sighed.

Athrun blinked in rapid succession. "Answer the question."

"I . . . I don't know," Cagalli admitted.

"Don't. Please."

"It's not that easy. My company . . ."

He quickly interrupted, "Your company be damned. If you can't make it without them, then find something else to do with your life."

"It was my father's wish that I keep it going."

Athrun took both of her hands into his. "I doubt he'd like you to marry an abusive jerk just to keep the company afloat."

For the first time she blushed in front of him. Maybe it was just the champagne doing its work.

"I believe we can make it. Don't you?" Athrun was no fool. He had thoroughly checked the company out before even applying. It was on a sound foundation, but there were a few things that needed some changes. "We can at least give it our all, right?"

"Right," Cagalli smiled. Taking another long drink, his words sunk in. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"Are you going to fire me for beating up your boyfriend?"

"I'll consider it," she laughed. "She was right about you."

"Who was right about what?" He winced as she resumed caring for his injuries.

Cagalli caressed his cheek. "Lacus always said you were a really great guy."

If I needed someone to love, you're the one that I'd be thinking of. If I needed someone . . .