Dearka & Miriallia

Author's Note: You guys are the best, so quick to review, I could toss this one up just as quickly. Lots of Hugs for all the support, (even to the ones who are mad at me or don't like the way I wrote some characters). I'm going to start working on the next chapter, hope to hear from you guys soon. Thanks again for the support everyone!

Disclaimer: It is obvious by now if I'm here that I do not own Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny or any other Gundam Series. But any characters I create to place in this world are mine (But I don't mind if you guys want to use them too. I have no problem with that. You don't even need to ask me. I enjoy sharing to make other stories the best they can be.)

Chapter 31

Yzak's Innocence

Yzak and Shiho continued to walk around following Ian. Finally, Ian became annoyed.

"Aren't you supposed to be seeing your parents or something?" he asked.

"I'm more worried about what you are up to," Yzak sneered.

Shiho squeezed Yzak's arm in an attempt to stop their bickering.

"I'm not up to anything. I'm here by force. Remember?" Ian mocked.

"Let's go Yzak, Ian won't be far behind," Shiho said eagerly.

Yzak huffed and began to stalk off with Shiho still wrapped on his arm.

"I don't know why you are making me do this," he said like a little child.

"It's been two years and now I think you've just been stalling. Why don't you want me to meet your parents?" Shiho asked with a hint of depression.

"It's not that I don't want you to meet them, it's that I don't want them to meet you," he said.

Shiho looked at him perplexed.

"Isn't that the same thing?" she asked.

"No, not really. I've told you all about my mother. She's very… Well, she has extremely high standards. I just don't want her to say anything that may hurt you," he said finally being honest with her.

"I can't imagine she would say anything to hurt me," Shiho protested.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. But in case things get out of hand, Ian is theoretical going to be there to save you from her wrath. I won't be able to get away that easily, but you shouldn't have to go through it," Yzak commented.

Shiho smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You surprise me sometimes Commander Joule. You can be so sweet and caring," she replied.

Yzak blushed at her words. He then desperately tried to shake the crimson feeling out of his cheeks.

"Oh, there they are," Yzak pointed.

He looked around to see if Ian was somewhere nearby. When he located Ian's spot with Annabella, he started to drag Shiho towards his parents.

"Hey mother, father," Yzak said politely.

They both looked up at the sound of their sons' voice.

"Yzak, I'm so glad to see you here. I was afraid you wouldn't show," he mother said kissing him.

Shiho stood there feeling uncomfortable as she watched his father pull him in for a tight embrace. As Mr. Joule started to pull away he noticed the young woman and her flashing violet eyes.

"And who is this beautiful young woman?" he asked smugly.

Shiho saw Councilwoman Joule's eyes turn from kindness to distrust in less than a second when her husband had made Shiho's presence known.

"This is Shiho," Yzak said nervously.

Shiho heard that uncertainty in Yzak's voice making her feel even sicker to her stomach than she had felt before. For all the times she was strong enough to put Yzak in his place, she couldn't muster up enough strength to stare down his mother.

"Yzak wasn't kidding, she does seem intimidating," Shiho thought.

Yzak gently nudged her out of her world.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," she said finally after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Are you a friend or a colleague?" Councilwoman Joule asked.

"Mother," Yzak reprimanded.

She twisted her head to him with a look of discontent.

"Hold your tongue Yzak," she said with poise.

"And it begins," he said softly under his breath.

It was just loud enough for Shiho to hear it and for the first time in their relationship, she wished she hadn't pushed Yzak into doing something for her.

"I should have waited to meet his parents after we were married and had children of our own," Shiho thought stressing.

"Now Ezalia, don't go jumping to conclusions," her husband said in an attempt to calm her down.

Her blue eyes flashed at him and he back away.

"Leave it to father to not have enough backbone to stand up to mother," Yzak thought.

"Well young lady, I asked you a question," she said forcing her inquiry back to Shiho.

"I'm a colleague," She said nervously.

Yzak stared at her in shock.

"Did she just say that?" he thought.

"I have to get out of here," Shiho thought looking around.

"I'm sorry, it was nice to have met you, but I see someone that I should really catch up with," Shiho said scurrying away and leaving Yzak to the wolves.

"Thanks a lot, now I'm stuck here," he thought angrily.

"Yzak, you look pale. Are you okay?" his mother asked concerned.

"Uh, yes mother, I'm fine," he replied.

"You should take it easy. You over do it sometimes," she said giving him another hug.

Here glared at his father over his mother's shoulder and his father gave him a sheepish smile.

"You really are such a coward father," he thought.

Shiho caught up to Ian who seemed confused.

"What are you doing over here? I thought you were supposed to be meeting Yzak's parents," he scowled.

"I changed my mind. And where the hell were you to save me?" she asked accusingly.

"I changed my mind," he smirked evilly.

"I knew I didn't like you," she replied angrily.

"Maybe if you had been nicer that first time we met, I wouldn't have felt inclined to be so cruel," he replied still grinning.

Ian began walking away from Shiho and towards Yzak and his parents. He wanted to see if he could help Yzak out of his situation.

"Maybe this way I can get Yzak off my back when he comes over to the Rousseau," Ian thought.

Shiho stood in her place. She refused to return or go anywhere near that woman again.

"She's going to be the mother-in-law from hell," she thought from her spot a good distance away.

Ian made sure to stand far enough away so the Joule's wouldn't see Annabella too well before he called out to Yzak.

"Commander, there is an urgent message for you," Ian called out.

He saw Yzak's shoulders relax at the sweet sound of freedom.

"Mother, father, I have to get going now. I'm being summoned," Yzak said giving them both another hug.

Ezalia looked up with the eyes of a vulture swooping in on her prey. Yzak shuddered when his mother made a beeline for Ian and Annabella.

"Uh oh," Ian thought.

"Father, what is she doing?" Yzak asked running to catch up.

"I have no idea son," he said following.

When Ezalia reached Ian and Annabella, she studied her closely.

"My, she looks awfully familiar," she said looking back at Yzak.

Ian looked at Yzak nervously, while Yzak just smiled innocently at his mother.

"Aren't you Lt. Randall?" Ezalia asked.

"Uh, yes ma'am," he replied.

"Miss White's friend?" she asked again.

Ian looked at Yzak again and saw him shrugging that he didn't know what his mother was up to either.

"Yes ma'am," he answered.

She looked Annabella up and down and then looked at her husband.

"Don't you think she looks a lot like someone we know?" Ezalia asked.

Mr. Joule had picked up on what she had been trying to weasel out of the boys.

"She does look tremendously like him, doesn't she," Yzak's father replied.

Yzak knew they had figured it out but still kept his mouth shut, glaring at Ian to get him to do the same.

"If we don't say it or admit it, they can't prove it," Yzak thought.

"So where is Dearka today?" Ezalia asked.

"He's… around," Ian said unsurely.

Yzak watched his mother combining the pieces in her head. She wasn't a stupid woman and she had a way of remembering every detail of past events. Even if they seemed insignificant at the time, when the main piece was in place, she could use those to fill in the picture.

"Dearka was right, I shouldn't have involved my mother to look for Cadey. I can't believe I was so stupid to think she bought that line that they were just fighting and Dearka was worried. Or maybe, mother thinks Belle is what they were fighting about, making it obvious that Belle is his with another woman," Yzak thought desperately wishing he could escape.

Shiho was watching from the distance but had been close enough to hear the conversation. She was getting nervous too, realizing Dearka was about to be in some serious trouble if Councilwoman Joule kept up her attacks. Shiho closed her eyes and rushed in to the fire again.

"Ian, thank you for holding on to her for me. I have to go meet Brett so he can see our daughter," she said grabbing Annabella from his arms.

Yzak and Ian looked at her wide-eyed.

"I'm so sorry. I have to run, my husband will just kill me. It was such an honor to meet the great Ezalia Joule, thank you for the opportunity," she said sounding sincere.

Before anyone could say anything, Shiho rushed off with Annabella.

"If she is that child's mother and she is married, why doesn't she have a ring on and why was she with you?" Ezalia grilled Yzak.

"You heard her mother, she just wanted to meet the great Ezalia Joule," he said smirking.

Ian began to back away from the group slowly afraid to make any sudden moves.

"Uh, Commander, the call," he reminded.

"Yes, thank you Lt. Randall. I'm on my way," Yzak said smiling.

He gave his mother one last hug and then turned to follow Ian.

"Goodbye mother, father," he said waving his hand behind him.

"I don't think that child belongs to that girl," Ezalia said to her husband.

"Don't go starting trouble without proof Ezalia," her husband scolded.

She looked at him with her icy cold blue eyes.

"And don't give me that look Ezalia. If you start throwing accusations around, you may end up hurting Lt. Elsman and his family's reputation. On top of that, you will be hurting the White's as well," he snipped.

The one thing she admired her husband for was the way he never spoke down to her in public. She knew in the end when it came down to it, he was the one she leaned on for support, while everyone else believed she was strong enough to stand on her own. Ezalia walked closer to her husband and whispered in his ear.

"I'm going to find out what those kids are hiding," she said softly.

He smiled at her before answering back.

"I'm sure you will," he said grinning.

Yzak and Ian took off at a run when they were out of sight of the Joules. When they finally stopped to catch their breath, Yzak looked at Ian.

"I guess I should thank you, but then again, I'm not so sure," he snapped.

"It's not my fault your mother has such good eyes," he yelled back.

"I didn't need your help," Yzak yelled.

Ian was getting more upset.

"It seemed like you did to me," Ian snipped.

"You would be wrong then," Yzak continued yelling.

"Where's Shiho?" Ian asked exasperated with Yzak and his attitude.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Yzak said looking around.

"Well, we better find her before Dearka wonders what happened to his daughter," Ian replied.

"Hey! I'm the Commander," Yzak snapped.

"Fine, then what do you suggest we do?" Ian asked humoring him.

"That we better find Shiho and Belle before Dearka finds out how his secret almost came out," Yzak reiterated.

Ian rolled his eyes and followed suite.

"What is his problem?" Ian thought irritably.

On the Girty Lue…

Miriallia had prepped herself in her flight suit and walked into the hanger. There stood Sting, a young man about her age with lightly green tinted hair. She looked him up and down before moving toward the Valor.

"Be careful out there," he said with concern.

"I'll be fine, just show me what to destroy," she replied coldly.

She seemed more vicious than Sting or the rest of the Extendeds had been. Neo entered the hanger and looked around.

"Why are you still out here?" he asked Sting.

Sting stalked toward the Chaos upset by his new partners attitude.

"I was just making sure she was going to be all right," he replied obnoxiously.

"I'll make sure of that, you just do your job," Neo ordered.

Miriallia's eyes became even colder when she saw Neo come near her. She was nothing like Stellar when it came to Neo. There was a deep seeded resentment that couldn't be erased, but the reason for it seemed non-existent to her.

"You'll do fine out there, there is no need to be worried," Neo said gently to her as he brushed her hair aside.

"I know that," she snapped.

Neo let her attitude slide and patted her on her shoulder.

"Go, get into the Valor and wait for my command," he ordered.

Miriallia turned and began to head to the Valor with eyes full of hatred.

"She has the most potential out of all our Extendeds, use her block word when she arrives on the PLANT. Let's cause a little devastation," Neo said smirking.

"Yes Sir!" a technician replied.

Back on Aprilius 1…

Dearka looked around for any signs of Cadey and Ian. He started to wonder about what Yzak had said to him earlier.

"Maybe I am a little too under protective of Belle. Would Miriallia be worried if I didn't have Belle in my sight constantly, especially with Cadey lurking about?" Dearka thought.

Athrun looked at Dearka with worry flashing in his green eyes.

"You seem pretty preoccupied," Athrun commented.

"Wouldn't you be?" Dearka asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. To tell you the truth, I feel the same way right now," Athrun stated.

Dearka looked at his friend.

"So what is really going on between you and Cagalli?" he asked again.

Athrun looked at him solemnly.

"You really want to know?" he asked.

"Would I bother bringing the subject back up if I didn't?" Dearka mocked.

"She's with the Archangel right now. I heard Kira abducted her before she could marry Yuna. Yuna only wants to marry her to secure the position of Orb's prime representative," Athrun began explaining.

"Marry? But I thought you two were… close," Dearka finished.

"We are or were. I even gave her a ring before I saw you and Yzak on the PLANTs a while back," Athrun said.

"Wow! And she went off to marry some other guy?" Dearka said out loud accidentally.

He felt Athrun glaring at him with daggers in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Dearka apologized.

Athrun calmed down a little.

"I know. I didn't mean to be so…" he started.

"What else happened?" Dearka cut him off.

Dearka had other intentions on his mind in getting Athrun to talk to him. Yzak had refused to fill him in on the Voltaire and Dearka had vowed to find out what was happening.

"The Archangel took off again because Cagalli was forced by the rest of the Orb Representatives to sign a treaty with the EAF. I know she thought she was doing the right thing to protect Orb, but when it turned out for the worse Kira came to her rescue," he said angrily.

"And now she is trying to stop Orb from participating in the war? Why does this upset you so much?" Dearka asked.

"Because it should have been me! I should have been the one to rescue her!" he yelled more at himself than at Dearka.

Dearka's eyes softened when he realized why his friend was so upset.

"Kira is her brother. It makes sense that he would go and save her when you physically couldn't," Dearka tried to reason.

He could see tears falling down Athrun's face.

"I'm sure you two will get through this," Dearka said softly.

Athrun let his last tears fall when he heard another familiar voice.

"What the hell is Zala doing here?" Yzak roared.

Dearka looked up in shock.

"Hey, where's Belle?" Dearka yelled back at Yzak noticing Ian tagging behind.

"Shiho has her right now," Ian answered.

Dearka glared at Ian.

"Why does Shiho have her?" Dearka scolded.

"It's a long story," Ian said.

"And it's amazing how much time I have," Dearka said looking at his watch to prove his point.

"You still haven't answered my question Athrun, why the hell are you here?" Yzak yelled.

"Defense," Dearka replied with a smirk.

"Why the hell would you be here to protect the ceremony?" Yzak screamed jealously.

He looked at Athrun's collar and noticed the Faith pin on his Jacket.

"You've got to be kidding," Yzak cringed.

Dearka started to laugh.

"Seems Athrun out ranks you again," Dearka teased.

Yzak glared at Dearka and back at Athrun.

"Then shouldn't you be working, if that is what you are here to do and not chatty with Dearka?" Yzak scolded authoritatively.

Athrun glared back at Yzak with a renewed fire. He looked over to Dearka before speaking again.

"Look, I do what I can for you. I should catch up to Lunamaria now," Athrun said walking away from the urge to hit Yzak.

"What is your problem?" Dearka asked after Athrun was far enough away.

"I just don't like how cocky he can be," Yzak snipped.

"He wasn't being cocky," Dearka reprimanded.

"Boy, you just don't like anyone, do you?" Ian asked.

Both Yzak and Dearka had a fierce look they sent his way. He sheepishly backed away, realizing he may have put his foot in his mouth with no allies of his own anywhere in sight.

End

Author's Preview: Miriallia is suited up and ready to go, Cadey is on a path of destruction and Dearka's about to have a heart attack. (Wonder what would cause that?). Please read and review for me so I can continue on my happy way.

Reviewer Response: Hello to all my wonderful reviewers. Thank you so much for all your support and reviews on all my chapters thus far. I love you all so much! Unfortunately due to possible changes in TOS (which is still unconfirmed) all responses are now located on my personal website. Please click on my profile page to link to the website. Thank you.