The first thing that Cagalli noticed was that her stomach was shamelessly growling. The second was that the world was no longer spinning, that last night's killer pains had been reduced to a dull heavines on her head, and lethargic weakness in her limbs.
A small enameled cup was pushed into her hands when she sat up. "Drink."
She obeyed, tasting the herbs that laced the tea as its warmth somewhat eased the scratchiness of her throat.
"How're you feeling?" Athrun inquired, taking the empty cup. "Hungry?"
"Sort of." Cagalli's stomach chorused its wholehearted and unabashed agreement, and she blushed furiously.
Athrun failed to bite back a grin, the emeralds in his eyes glittering in muted laughter. Cagalli scowled above the noise of her hunger, although the heat never left her cheeks.
He passed her a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Eat me, the noodle soup was shrieking, stretching its steamy fingers up her nostrils to whisper more subliminal messages.
The chopsticks dove into the bowl and emerged triumphantly with their stringy prey. They froze midway to her mouth.
"Aren't you eating?" Cagalli asked Athrun, trying to ignore the unrelenting cries of Eat me! and the impatient roars of her digestive system.
"Don't worry about me," came the assurance. "I'm done."
Armed with that knowledge, she resumed her mission. The noodles settled into her gastric juices ecstatically. She knew; she could hear them celebrate.
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"I just remembered," Cagalli said, when she'd finished the meal. "I have to see Yuuna later."
Athrun's expression was blank, and his voice betrayed no emotion. "I know."
She bit her lip, feeling guilty about everything. Here she was, staying the night at Athrun's place and abusing his hospitality, only to spend the rest of the afternoon with Yuuna. "I'm sorry. Maybe I can cancel--"
He shook his head. "It's alright. I understand. It's just a formality, after all." The last statement seemed to be spoken more loudly and with more emphasis than necessary.
"Yeah," she agreed feebly, "a formality." There was a pause before she went on, frustratedly, "But I want to stay here." The rest of the sentence lingered unspoken: With you.
"We don't always get what we want, do we?" His half smile bore no traces of humor. "There are some things that we'll just have to keep wanting, always out of reach."
"What I don't want is to marry him," Cagalli confessed, drawing her knees closer to herself and folding her arms around them. Marriage was a prospect that was still faraway--it was too terrible to be true--but if things went on as they did, she knew it would be inevitable. And it would be the end of all things. Both of them knew that.
"I don't want that either," Athrun murmured.
Their eyes met, caramel on green. Between their gazes were silence and suppressed longing. It was Athrun who broke the trance by telling her to take a shower so that he could drive her back after.It wasn't until the water began to drum steadily against her skin that she let the tears start falling.
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"Do I really have to go?"
They were in Athrun's sleek black convertible now, and Cagalli was sulking in her seat.
Athrun, ever the voice of reason, just had to answer, "Yeah. You still need to change into a more proper attire before you see Mr.Seiran."
She sighed. "I thought so." She was about to get out of the car when fingers caught her sleeve. She glanced questioningly back at Athrun, who was fumbling with something in his pocket. "Cagalli. Well. I, ah, just thought you should have this," he was mumbling.
Something jumped into Cagalli's palm. It was a green Haro, smaller than the rest of its kind, and it warbled the first two lines of Lacus' song. She chuckled at the Haro's mechanical mimicry of Lacus, with its stiffer timbres and more irregular tempo.
After the little serenade, the Haro started talking. Athrun averted his gaze self-consciously, his grip on the steering wheel rigid. Cagalli dropped the Haro, leaving it to bounce and roll and jump on its own as it repeated its mantra.
Her slim arms flew around Athrun's neck, locking tight. Feeling pleased and surprised at the same time, Athrun returned the embrace.
Meanwhile, the Haro was blithely announcing the words it was programmed to say. "Athrun--"
Their lips had found each other, and Athrun was pulling Cagalli closer to him, one hand riding up to cradle her nape, the other at her waist. Somewhere along the way, his shades were flung off.
"Loves--"
And it went on, for several minutes, the sighs and the kisses and the soft creaks and rustles as they shifted against the leather seat, and the race of heartbeats that pounded desperately. It was their song.
"Cagalli!"
But you must understand that songs and rhythms have rests. They stop.
They pulled away.
Cagalli was sitting on Athrun's lap, breathless and flushing. Athrun's arm was still around her waist, his grasp still taut and possessive. As they recovered their breaths, the Haro filled the quiet with its high-pitched voice. "In this--"
"I only meant to say 'thank you'," Cagalli finally said, quite sheepishly.
"And I meant to apologize for using Lacus' song," Athrun replied with a weak grin. "I'm not very good with music, but I wanted to do something musical for you, so I asked her for help. And I made it smaller, so you can carry it around. And it has a mute button, just so... you know."
"Quiet night--"
"It's wonderful," she told him, picking up the singing Haro. It fluttered and vibrated on her palm. "Do you think--do you think that we can ever be... together?"
"I'm waiting--"
"Someday. I hope." Athrun brushed back a lock of blond hair that had fallen across her forehead. "You're still eighteen. I don't think Yuuna would ask you to marry him right now. We still have time. And maybe... things will change. Sooner or later. I can wait. I can wait for that time to come."
"For you."
"Well, you'd better." Cagalli retorted.
"And you'd better get going before you keep him waiting," he quipped. He looked around. "You think anyone saw us? If ORB's princess was seen--"
"They won't know it's me. Not dressed like this." She tugged at the creased fabric of her shirt, which had survived through yesterday's downpour. "Do you honestly care if Yuuna saw us here? I mean, at worst, you'll get fired. And you could always get another job."
"I want to be there for you."
She couldn't think of anything to say about that, so she didn't. Instead, she shifted her focus to the Haro. "I think I'll name it Alex. How's that sound? Or Zala."
"I think Yzak would be appropriate," Athrun said, under his breath. "He'd love that." And then: "Except that he'd probably want something that screamed, 'I'm your number one fan, Lacus-sama'."
"What?"
"Nothing. You should get going."
Fin.
A/N: What a crappy way to end things. I considered making it four chapters instead of three to develop everything better, but I promised myself a trilogy so a trilogy it is. So this is kinda long and weird. Transition between scenes may be jumpy, and I'm quite sure Athrun and Cagalli were OOC. Sorry. It probably wasn't worth the wait, to those who were actually staying tuned for this installment. Oh, well. Comments and criticisms are welcome as always. Open-fire! XD
Also, if there is anyone who is wondering about the chopsticks, that's because Athrun bought Chinese take-out. So there.