Of Brothers and Sleepless Nights
In the days following the end of the war, Athrun and Cagalli had avoided each other, and Kira noticed. In fact, they did not talk to each other, did not acknowledge each other and simply pretended the other did not exist.
He was beginning to worry about them.
He can see the worried looks Cagalli has when she's watching Athrun, when she thinks no one is looking. And he knows she's worried because twins always know what the other is thinking. Cagalli wears her heart on her sleeve, but she feels that she can't go to him because she's the Orb Representative.
And he's seen the looks on Athrun's face when he's watching her. He misses her. Kira knows his best friend well.
He wasn't the only one who knew them, though. Lacus had also noticed that they seemed odd with each other. But he and Lacus were determined to stay out of this because Cagalli and Athrun needed to sort things out on their own, talk things out and understand their big misunderstanding – Cagalli's near marriage to Jona. Athrun hated the guy, and Kira understood. He hated him too, because their engagement meant that his little sister and his best friend were unhappy, and that made him upset too. But he wasn't going to do anything.
He saved Cagalli, and while she was (understandably) upset, she was also relieved to not have to marry that pompous fool. And Athrun was also happy, even if he was upset that she went ahead with the plan anyway without talking to him. But he was relieved. They had a chance now.
But they aren't going to have a chance if they continue to dance around each other.
And Kira really wasn't going to interfere. That is, that's what he thought. Then Lacus came up to him, telling him that Cagalli was crying.
"What? How would you know?"
Lacus gave him a look, one that he could never understand and one that he loved her so much for.
"Can't you tell? Even the amount of makeup she puts on in the morning can't hide everything."
And he took a close look at his twin sister – and indeed, her eyes were puffy – but you wouldn't notice unless you took a close look.
Still, he felt that he had no right to interfere on their relationship – if they were strong enough, they can work it out.
And then, Athrun walked into the wall and his nose started to bleed, and when Kira helped him to First Aid, he noticed that Athrun also had black rings under his eyes. And that's when his resolve broke.
He slammed Athrun into the wall, and punched the wall, narrowly missing the Justice Pilot's head.
"How long are you going to play around, Athrun?" he yelled, angry, because really, they should just-grow-up.
"What?"
"The both of you – you and Cagalli – are PISSING me off. You will talk to her NOW and resolve this, or else I will use Strike Freedom and kick your ASS to the moon and back."
And Athrun swallowed nervously, and nodded, because Kira is scary when he's angry. Not to mention he is a bit overprotective of his little sister.
"I hear Athrun walked into a wall," Lacus said when they were in their room together, cuddling on the couch watching a movie. "Is he alright?"
"A bloody nose, but he'll be fine." He neglected to mention the fact that Athrun may have a concussion after he banged his head on the wall.
The next morning, the crew of the Archangel and everyone else were surprised when Athrun and Cagalli came into the room together, holding hands, and laughing together. And then, they announced their engagement, much to the surprise and happiness of everyone in the room.
And when Lacus turned to Kira, with a smile on her face, she noticed that he had a very knowing look to him.
"What did you do, Kira?" she asked, quietly.
"Nothing."
But she didn't believe him, because Cagalli came up to him, and hugged him, and yelled a loud 'Thank you!' in his ear.
Lacus smiled, and hugged Cagalli, and then hugged Athrun.
And they did live happily ever after.
There was a knock on the door, and Cagalli looked up from her desk, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Getting up, she unlocks her door and opens it.
"Athrun!" she says, shocked. "What are you doing here?" And then paused. "What happened to your nose?"
"I walked into a wall," he answered, calmly. "You can say that knocked some sense into me." Plus the help of your brother, he thought, shuddering slightly, and then made a silent vow to NEVER anger Kira again, because he did not want the Ultimate Coordinator as his enemy. "You busy?"
She sighed. "When am I not? There's been so many calls –"
"Are you too busy to talk?"
She looked at him. "No. Come in."
And he walks into her familiar room.
"coffee?"
"sure."
"Black?"
"Of course."
And they sit at her table, quiet, sipping their coffee. Until…
"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to rush the marriage, I just wanted what was best for Orb, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you, and I'm sorry that-" Athrun started to laugh. "What?"
"Cagalli," he said, taking her hand. "I'm the one who should be sorry."
"But why?"
"Because I left here in the first place. I should never have left, should've fought harder to be with you."
"But you needed to go…"
"No, I didn't. I felt useless here because I couldn't protect you, but I should've stayed. If I did, there wouldn't have been so many misunderstandings…" he paused, and rubbed his thumb gently against her closed fist. "Just to set things straight, there was never anything between Meer and me, nor was there anything between Meyrin and me. She saved my life, and I will always be grateful. But there was nothing going on between us." Athrun paused again. "Funny how the reason I left was to protect you, but I ended up hurting you."
"I still love you, you know," she said.
"And I am still glad I met you."
Cagalli blinked, and then reached into her pocket.
"I carry it around with me," she whispered, holding his ring out. "Just in case you wanted it back. I was going to throw it at you if you ever asked." She looked him, her gaze burning into his. "Do you want it back?"
Athrun nodded, and she handed it back to him.
He then surprised her, by getting up, and then kneeling in front of her, taking her left hand.
"Will you, Cagalli Yula Attha, marry me?"
And she burst into tears, and nodded.
"Yes!"
He never left the room that night.