DISCLAIMER: 'Repercussion' is a story based on characters and situations from Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed which is a property of Sotsu Agency, SUNRISE and MBS. This work is non profited and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Unless specified, all materials in the web is work done by HERMIT JUNCTION. Please do not use without permission any text or artwork.

WARNING: Text and all related materials are rated R/M and may mild strong language, violence, cruelty, explicit adult content, rape, death and nudity unless otherwise stated. Please do not read if you are underage or maybe offended by such material. Spoilers for Gundam Seed.

NOTE: This fanfiction disregards the plotline of the original series' sequel Gundam Seed Destiny. Please go to gseedaftermath.hermitjunction. net for site hosting of this fic. For Dearka and Miriallia's story, please go to 'GS Aftermath Trilogy I: Rebound'.

Gseed Aftermath Trilogy II:
REPERCUSSION
a hermit junction project

Chapter 3

'No!' Rusty bolted up, clutching the sheets. He could hear his heart beating in his ears and his body was soaked with sweat.

It was another dream, another fucking dream.

'Damn it!' Rusty cursed, rolling off the bed, his back hitting the carpeted floor. Curling himself into a ball, he pulled the sheets over his head.

The darkness engulfing him was horrifying, it was absolutely horrifying. He could hear the screams, the shouts echoing in his mind yet he couldn't see a thing, anything. The people he killed in that raid was haunting him.

'Why? Why can't I see anything?' Rusty whispered to himself. Was it because he killed so many people? He hated this darkness, he just hated it.

His heart was racing, he was scared, really scared. He felt hopeless, plunged into a pit of darkness and had the feeling that he'll never see light again. It had been four months, four fucking months and there was no progress at all!

Touching the gauze around his head, he gritted his teeth and made a move to rip it apart.

Outside, Lain was looking at some files in her computer, modifying some blueprints when she heard a loud curse. Sighing, she put down the cup she had been drinking from and stood up.

It had been four months and it unbelievable that they were still living under the same roof. Rusty MacKenzie was one seriously troubled guy and his blindness explained a lot. Every time he cursed, she kicked herself for being stupid enough to actually cope with him.

Rolling her eyes, Lain closed her laptop and stepped out of the kitchen. Pushing the door to Rusty's room open, she cursed when she saw Rusty's hand reaching for the gauze around his head.

'You're insane.' Lain said firmly, slapping his hand away. Ripping the sheets away from him, she stared down at Rusty's curled form and was stunned to see tears streaming down his cheeks, wetting the gauze that was wrapped around his eyes. Sighing, she laid one hand on his eyes but Rusty waved it away in irritation.

'Get the fucking hell out!'

'You put yourself in this shit, don't blame me.' Lain said flatly, pushing him down onto the floor, trying to calm him down.

'Get off me!' Rusty shouted, shaking his head violently. 'Let me open my eyes damn it!'

'You know you can't.' Lain said softly, pushing him down by the shoulders again.

'I want light…' Rusty whispered, his struggles dying down. 'Let me see light…'

'Be patient, you're going to someday.' Lain murmured. Leaning over, she reached for a box of tissue and wiped the tears that had wetted his cheeks. Hauling him up, she forced him to lie on the side of the bed. 'Don't make me tie you to the bed, you know I can do it.'

At that, Rusty froze and turned his head. 'You won't.'

'Wanna bet?' Lain widened her eyes slightly even though he couldn't see her threatening face.

Rusty snorted and crossed his arms. 'I don't get why you put up with me.'

'Believe me, I ask myself the same question.' Lain muttered. Reaching for the tray on the nightstand, she shook two pills out of case and poured a glass of water. 'Take it.'

Clenching his teeth, Rusty felt for the glass of water and slapped it away from Lain's hand, hearing the dull sound of it hitting the carpeted floor. The water splashed everywhere and wetted Lain's shirt.

'Great.' Lain muttered, looking down. 'What do you want?'

'I want to die.' Rusty replied promptly, lowering his eyebrows.

Looking at him, she shook her head and stood up, unbuttoning her wet shirt. 'You know you had the perfect opportunity, the room is full of things that can kill you, glass, if I remind you, is very effective.'

'Thanks for the reminder.' Rusty scoffed. Standing up, he lost his balanced and fell forward. Seeing this, Lain leaned forward and grabbed hold of him. She froze when Rusty's face hit her chest.

'Get off me.' Lain grunted, pushing him so hard he fell on the bed.

'If it weren't for those breasts of yours, I'd say you were a guy.' Rusty jeered, sitting up. 'Not that big by the way.'

'Then you should hook up with my sister, hers are twice my size.' Lain snapped. Walking into the bathroom, she ripped the robe from the railing and threw it on.

Rusty sneered. 'Maybe I should.' He listened to her angry footsteps and smirked when the door slammed shut. She made a good distraction and the only entertainment he had during these six months were attempts to piss her off which he had gotten pretty good at. She had been as cold as ice for the first three months and it had driven him crazy. He wasn't exactly the talkative kind but he did need company and apparently, she was the only choice for him.

She never let him out of the apartment so he really had nothing to do but walk around his own room, feeling the items in it and trying not to stumble on anything. It had taken him almost a month until he was able to take showers alone.

Sighing, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He had lived in total darkness for the last six months and the dreams were haunting him. He'd often find himself jolt up in bed, pain piercing through his chest. The bullet shots had healed months ago but somehow, they still hurt whenever he thought of the raid. It wasn't a pleasant experience after all.

He could still see the bullets come his way, piercing through his helmet. He could still hear the echoing shatters in his ears at night and Athrun's shouts. At times like this, he missed his comrades and wondered if the four of them had managed to kill each other without his presence.

'You're dead to them MacKenzie.' Rusty muttered, falling onto his side. 'You're a dead man to the world, why not finish the job yourself?'

He did have the impulse to just break the glass and cut himself, but something pulled him back just when he decided to reach for it. He didn't know why, but he was frustrated about it.

Touching his eyes, he took deep breaths. He needed to get out of here.

Eyebrows furrowing, Rusty cocked his head slightly at the footsteps that faded away. She was leaving the apartment, which meant it was Tuesday and one thirty in the morning.

She usually left the apartment at this time, this was what he noticed in the second week he lived here. She didn't even go out to buy groceries, everything was delivered to her door. He had no idea how big the apartment was except for the kitchen and the living room. He was better off living in a barrack than in here, at least he didn't have to break the code every time he wanted to get out.

He knew nothing about her, except for probably her name. He did, however, notice that she had a lot of firearms in the apartment and he would hear her fixing them at night when it was really quiet outside. He suspected that she did something with weapons or even intelligence. He'd wonder with a frown why she was Heliopolis during the raid.

He was certain about one thing though. She was not a simple person.

Novita van Ness cursed loudly as the phone rang. Crawling out of bed, she grabbed the phone from its receiver, giving the cord such a big yank the whole thing fell onto the floor.

'What the fuck!' The man in her bed yelled, rolling onto his side.

'Fuck yourself.' Novita snapped, standing up. 'What is it?'

'Miss Novita, believe me, you'd like to hear this.'

Shooting a glance at the bed, she threw herself onto the easy chair of her huge room and curled the cord around her ankle. 'What is it?'

'Your sister.'

Novita's eyebrows furrowed. 'What about the bitch?'

'She's got a guy in her apartment, to the looks of it, he's more than just a guy.'

Novita's eyes widened slightly. 'What do you mean? My Father had been doing constant surveillance on her, how could he have not found out about this?'

'Beats me, but I got Jevo to spill the beans.'

Novita snorted. 'For a while, I thought that son of a bitch was her guy. Does Father know then?'

'I don't know about him. According to what I got here, she's been keeping this guy in her apartment for at least four months. She never lets him out of the apartment, so we don't know anything about him. We tapped the lines, but there was nothing special about them.'

'What does Jevo know about him?' Novita asked, twirling a lock of short burgundy hair between her fingers.

'All he knows is he and Lain saved him at Heliopolis before the fall. Apparently they were on Heliopolis to witness the raid. He's a ZAFT raider.'

Novita's slips curved into a small smile. 'A ZAFT raider? This is going to be interesting. My dumb sister doesn't spend her time on something that isn't of importance. And the fact that she doesn't let him out of her apartment gives me a feeling that she's up to something.'

'That's why I called you. What should we do?'

'Father has been very cautious of her actions and I'm sure he knows something. If he doesn't budge than I wouldn't either until something big happens. We still depend on her you know.'

'I know. Remember your meeting with Mr. Van Ness at ten.'

'Shit, it's already eight thirty.' Hanging up, Novita stood up and grabbed her wallet that was sitting on the nightstand. Taking out some money she tossed it onto the bed. 'Get out of my sight before I come out of the bathroom.'

'Whatever.' The man muttered.

Glaring at him, she walked into her private bathroom and slammed the door shut. Men, none of them were satisfying. The problem with having too much money and power was nothing could satisfy you. She needed more excitement, more pleasure! The men that roamed her bed were getting more and more boring. What was missing? She didn't need security, that's for sure. No, she'd bore herself out if she got married, or maybe having an affair would spice things up, an affair with a married man.

Sighing, Novia turned the shower on, wondering what kind of guy could catch the attention of her aloof sister.

'I want to go out.' Rusty said firmly.

'No.' Lain replied in an equally firm voice, typing away on her computer while sitting across Rusty in the kitchen.

'God damn it.' Rusty muttered, his eyebrows twitching in irritation. 'Why?'

'Because you'll die.' Lain said promptly. Standing up, she stretched and walked towards the counter, wanting to get a glass of water.

'You have no idea what it's like to live in darkness and not able to get out of this god damn house!' Lain heard Rusty protest. Turning around, she was surprised that he had walked up to her soundlessly. He couldn't have been able to see because the gauze was still wrapped around his eyes.

'You have a good sense of direction, for a blind guy.' Lain snarled, walking around him.

'Well, I had six months to get my way around this fucking place.' Rusty said sarcastically, grabbing her wrist. 'I'm going crazy here, crazy!'

'Better be crazy than dead.' Lain countered, pulling her hand away.

'If I can't go myself, then you come with me.' Rusty bargained. 'I don't even have to go somewhere, just outside.'

'Ha.' Lain snorted, looking up at him. 'I have better things to do than to escort a blind man to nowhere.'

'Oh, then what do you do?' Rusty sneered. 'Oh, I know, you fix guns and hack into ZAFT computers.'

Lain stared at him in silence, clutching her glass. She hated that smirk of his. 'You know, there's no use threatening me because you're life is basically at my mercy.'

'I'm not threatening you, I'm practically begging you' Rusty said.

Lain sighed. For the zillionth time, she kicked herself mentally, barracking herself for putting herself into this shit. 'Fine.'

'You're going to let me out?' Rusty asked hopefully.

'Just the park.' Lain said, standing up, her chair scraping the wooden floor. She glared at him even though he couldn't see, trying to vent her frustration. 'But I'm telling you, there might be a risk.'

'Why?'

Lain shook her head. 'Look, the less you know the better. I'll give you something to wear and shades, for the love of God.'

Ten minutes later, Rusty found himself dragged out of the apartment. His highly sensitive ears heard the elevator door open and he was pushed into it. 'What floor are we in?'

'Four.' Lain said, tapping her foot impatiently, looking around the elevator. 'There's a fire staircase at the back, but going down that thing would be a little too obvious, besides, I wouldn't want you to fall and break your nose, you've already got enough stuff broken.'

'Thanks for the encouragement.' Rusty said dryly, hearing the elevator chime. He was about to take a step when Lain stopped him. 'What?'

Lain turned him around to face her and made sure his shades were in place. The community she lived in wasn't exactly a dense one but if people saw a man with gauzed eyes they'd think or worse, judge.

'Why not smooth out my collar and jacket while we're at it?' Rusty smirked.

'Wait a minute.' Lain said absently, brushing some of his spiky red hair down from the hat she had him put on. Unconsciously, she pulled his collar straight and brushed his shoulders. Stepping back, she looked at him in satisfaction. He wasn't bad looking at all if he kept his shades on.

'Gee, you're like my wife, maybe we should just get married.' Rusty said slyly.

Realizing what she just did, Lain bit her lips and stomped out of the elevator without another word.

'Hey!' Rusty took a step forward and almost tripped. Grunting, Lain hooked her arm around his and walked out the lobby. Rusty could hear footsteps closing on them.

'Hello Miss.' A male voice said. 'Who is this, your boyfriend?'

'Just a friend.' Lain said. 'He's a little retarded, so he acts a little too childish.'

'Oh.' The man looked at Rusty with raised eyebrows. 'Well, see you later.'

'I'm retarded?' Rusty almost exploded as they walked out of the lobby into the street.

'Yeah, you are.' Lain said flatly. 'That's the only way I can explain why I'm bringing a man down with my arm hooked around his, so suck it up! You pay a price.'

Snorting, Rusty turned his head slightly at the sound of cars. 'Where are we?'

'In front of the building I live. There's a park across the street. I'm out of here in thirty minutes so you better treasure it.' Lain warned, pulling him to the left.

'Believe me, I will.' Rusty said, breathing in the evening air.

'What do you want to do, just walk or what?' Lain asked impatiently, looking around again.

'I prefer walking.' Rusty said. 'I've been either sitting or lying for the past six months, walking sounds good.'

'Fine.' Lain said, pulling him down the path. It was actually a very huge park and kids were running around, playing hide and seek. The paths were lined with finely manicured trees and family's were just hanging out under the shades or sitting on the benches, chatting about trivial things.

'What's in front of me?' Rusty asked, his ears twitching at the sound of people. His heart was exploding with excitement.

'A play set.' Lain said shortly, steering him away.

'Wait!' Rusty pulled her back. 'Are there kids over there?'

'Of course.' Lain rolled her eyes. 'Can we go now?' She frowned when Rusty didn't budge. Just then, a ball rolled over and hit him in the ankle.

'I'm sorry, are you okay?' a little boy asked.

'I'm alright, here you go.' Rusty lowered his body slowly and picked up the ball.

'Thanks!' the little boy cried, then ran away, not suspecting anything.

Lain stared at him. 'You are a surprise sometimes.'

Rusty turned and smirked at her. 'Likewise.'

'Let's go.' Lain said, pulling him by the arm.

'What is it with you? Can't you feel the joy? Huh? It's family time!' Rusty said, stumbling behind her.

'I don't want to be affected by this joy.' Lain spat, pushing Rusty into a wooden bench.

'Why?' Rusty asked, crossing his legs. 'You know, you're nothing but silent shit, I get bored living with you, you know.'

Lain snorted. 'I don't believe in joy, only pain.'

Rusty raised his eyebrows and put his arms behind the bench pane. 'Come on, no childhood memories?'

'I don't have a family.' Lain said, hoping he'd sense the tone and change the topic, but no such luck for her.

'I thought you had a sister.' Rusty frowned.

'It's family history.' Lain replied, leaning back. 'As I said, the less you know, the better, so shut up.'

'What time is it?' Rusty asked. He felt a cool breeze sweep by, his spiky hair flying in the air. He turned his head slightly at soft locks brushing against his hand.

'Six.' Lain replied, looking down at her watch. 'It's dawn, the sun's setting.'

'What's it like?' Rusty asked. 'I may not see it again, so you might as well update me with it.'

Lain turned and looked at him. 'Don't say that or you'll never get out of my house.'

'True story.' Rusty shrugged. 'What's it like.'

'A big yellowy orange thing.' Lain muttered, crossing her arms.

'Like my hair?' Rusty suggested.

Lain looked up at him. 'A little darker.'

'How's the war going?' Rusty asked, catching her off guard. 'How's it going? You tap ZAFT lines, you should have a good picture.'

'I thought you listened to the news.' Lain said lowly.

'I'd rather get the situation from you, it may be more accurate.' Rusty said in a serious tone, sitting up straight.

'Well, you know, the same.' Lain looked down at her lap and started playing with her fingers.

'The same as in…' Rusty grabbed her hands. 'Stop it.'

Conscious of the heat coming from Rusty's hand, she looked away. 'Lacus Clyne betrayed PLANT.'

'Yeah, that I know, it's hard not to get that with Yzak's mother blaring about it over the media.' Rusty muttered. 'What else? Stuff I don't know.'

'Athrun Zala betrayed ZAFT as well and Patrick Zala shot him.' Lain continued reluctantly.

'That's new.' Rusty murmured, moving his hands away from her lap. 'Athrun betraying his father, interesting. Any new mechanics?'

'Why do you care so much?' Lain countered. 'To them, you're KIA, you should have seen your file on their database.'

'It should be nice.' Rusty joked. 'I am, after all, an elite.'

'An elite who got shot in the face.' Lain sneered.

'Is anyone else MIA?' Rusty asked.

'Besides you?' Lain ran her hand through her hair. 'Nicol Amarfi, Dearka Elthman and Miguel Ayman. Amarfi and Ayman are definitely dead. I don't know about Dearka Elthman though.'

'Right.' Rusty slide further in his seat.

'They were on your team?' Lain asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

Rusty nodded and put his hands behind his head. 'Yeah, Nicol, Dearka, Athrun and Yzak. We were suppose to raid the five G suits on Heliopolis, but you know I got shot down, so.' He laughed. 'I have been wondering if they'd killed each other yet, Yzak had always been hostile towards Athrun. I can't believe Miguel died though.'

'He was killed by Strike, the Mobile Suits you were suppose to capture.' Lain said, looking out.

'Right.' Rusty responded softly, lowering his head. This was war, he shouldn't be surprised at some of them being dead. It was likely to happen, he was already a good example. He just happened to survive, unlikely survived. 'Why did you save me?'

He met silence, unlike the cynical retorts he usually received. 'You had something to do with the raid, right?'

'Not exactly, not directly at least.' Lain replied reluctantly.

'You're a trafficker of intelligence and firearms?' Rusty suggested, lowering his eyebrows.

'The less you know, the better.' Was all Lain said. 'You wouldn't want to be involved with me.'

'I already am.' Rusty said under his breath.

Pretending that she couldn't hear what he said, she kept silent and they sat in the park until the sun set. It was well past one hour and still they didn't budge until Rusty's ears heard some unpleasant footsteps. Standing up, he took Lain's hand, frowning at the coldness.

'What?' Lain looked up at him, blinking in awe as if she had just woke up.

'Let's go, I thought you said you couldn't stay out more than half an hour, it's already seven.' Rusty replied, pulling her up.

'How did you know?' Lain asked incredulously as he pulled her down the path they just came from.

'I heard the clock of the park chime.' Rusty said.

'You can survive without your eyes.' Lain muttered.' I don't know why I bothered.'

'Gee, sorry I was a waste of time and money.' Rusty retorted. Realizing that he was the one leading her down the path, she shook her head and stopped him. 'What?'

'I want to buy something from the convenient store.' Lain said, walking past the building entrance.

'You buy stuff?' Rusty raised his eyebrows, letting Lain pull him forward. 'I thought you had things delivered to you.'

'Okay, what do you know about me? I don't want to feel like I'm stalked or something.' Lain snapped, stepping into the bright convenient store.

'I'm bored.' Rusty protested. 'I have nothing to entertain myself except for your footsteps, typing sounds and guns being fixed.'

'You can get what I type by just listening?' Lain raised her eyebrows. 'You're crazy.'

'Likewise.' Rusty smirked. 'What are you buying?'

'Distilled water.' Lain replied, opening the huge fridge.

'What?' Rusty's shoulders fell. 'I've been drinking nothing but water for the past six months, can you be more boring?'

'What do you suggest? Beer?' Lain countered, slamming the fridge door shut.

'I wouldn't mind.' Rusty shrugged. 'But then again, the Doc said I can't have alcohol.'

Sighing, Lain opened the fridge again. 'Orange juice? Apple juice? Soda?'

'Soda.' Rusty said promptly.

Rolling her eyes, Lain took out a few cans and closed the door. After paying, she let Rusty hold the bag and pulled him down the street again.

'We really look like a couple.' Rusty commented, feeling Lain's grip tighten.

'Yeah, a retarded couple.' Lain reminded, squeezing his arm.

Stepping into the apartment again, Rusty sighed and took off his shades. 'I'll miss the streets, you sure you don't want to do that again?'

'I'm sure.' Lain replied firmly. Smirking, Rusty dumped the bag of content onto the kitchen table and headed for his room, taking his jacket off on the way. Lain looked at his back. 'You really do know your way around this place.'

'Six months, darling.' Rusty called, closing the door behind him. 'Don't make me repeat myself.'

Shaking her head, Lain hauled the huge bottle of distilled water and stuck it into the fridge. Looking down at the four cans of soda, she put three into the fridge and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. Sticking the can of soda into the glass, she walked down the hallway and knocked on Rusty's door.

'Yeah.' Came Rusty's muffled voice.

'You're soda, I didn't know if you liked it from the can or the glass, so I brought both.' Lain said, putting it down on the nightstand. 'Make sure you let Nargent know what you drank, he's very fussy about his patience's diets. Enjoy.' She didn't know why, but her instincts told her to get her ass out as soon as possible and she planned on doing so.

'Wait.' Rusty made a move, wanting to stand up. Seeing this, Lain grabbed a neatly folded towel on the shelf and threw it at him.

'You're going to catch a cold.' Lain said flatly.

'Get out, it's hot in here.' Rusty said. He had taken off his shirt and was only wearing his white slacks.

'Suit yourself.' With that, Lain turned on her heal but stopped when Rusty grabbed her wrist. Turning, she looked down at him with a glare. 'What?'

'I want to know what you look like.' Rusty said, catching Lain by surprise.

'What do you mean?' Lain raised her eyebrows.

'Sit.' Rusty said briefly, letting go of her wrist.

Eyeing him suspiciously, Lain hesitated. She promised herself to have no strings attached with this man and she had the feeling she wasn't doing a very good job. He wanted to know what she looked like? This was definitely a warning.

'Look, I got a lot of work to do and – '

Frowning, Rusty pulled her down by the arm hard and she found her bottom hit the soft mattress hard. Wincing at the impact, she looked at Rusty. 'This is not a good idea.'

'Why, because you look hideous?' Rusty asked in a serious voice.

'I don't know if I look hideous, but I do know that you're getting yourself into trouble.' Lain frowned. 'The less you know – '

'The better.' Rusty finished for her, reaching out one hand. 'I just want to know what my saver looks like so I can thank her in the future.'

'I don't need you to thank me, just – '

'Shh…' Rusty placed his thumb on her lips briefly and touched her cheek. Using both hands, he touched her face, from her forehead to her eyes and nose. Lain held her breath, feeling Rusty's abnormally soft fingers trace her skin. Smiling, Rusty traced her jaw line. 'You have good skin.'

'Thank you.' Lain muttered sarcastically, feeling the heat rise. 'Are you done?'

'I told you it would get hot.' Smirking, Rusty leaned his ear into Lain's chest, much to her surprise. He could hear the pounding of her heart. Pulling his head away, he touched her face again, feeling it burn. 'I take it back.'

'Huh?' Lain was dumbfounded, staring at him with wide eyes. During her seventeen years of life, she had not been this shocked. Who did he think he was?

'You have nice breasts.' Rusty replied. Feeling her body hit boiling point, he smirked and grabbed her collar, pulling her towards him. Their lips met in a rough kiss by the force and Rusty had no intention of letting her go. Struggling in his arms, she tried to push him away but couldn't and instead fell onto the bed with Rusty on top of her.

'You're going to regret this.' Lain whispered as Rusty pulled away.

'We'll see.' Rusty said. Leaning directly on top of her, he placed his head right beside her left ear, feeling the heave of her chest against his. 'My name's Rusty MacKenzie.'

Turning her head, she looked at him, their faces inches away. Leaning her forehead onto his, she felt their breaths mix. 'Rusty MacKenzie.' She repeated, realizing that she had called his name for the first time. 'My name's Lain van Ness.'

'Lain.' Rusty smirked, his warm palm sliding up her shirt, lifting it on the way. 'Nice to meet you.'


End of Chapter 3
Next Update: 20th August, 2005