Author's Notes

WARNING! Graphic make-out session. Not quite a lemon (sorry!), but, yeah. And it's my first time, so it'll probably just turn out a big piece of crap. Heh... v.v;; You have been warned.

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Birds were already chirping when I woke up the next morning, and my alarm clock read ten thirty-two. Dimly I wondered why it wasn't buzzing; it was set to go off at nine every morning. I shrugged and rolled over. It was deliciously warm under the covers, and it felt good to just sleep in one morning, with not a care in the world. I pulled the blankets up over my head and burrowed into the mattress once more.

The door to my room opened and I pretended to still be asleep. There was huff and then a feminine voice. "I know you're awake, Kira Yamato, so don't even try to pretend you're not."

"Cagalli, leave me alone," I whined and pulled the pillow over my head, too, holding the ends securely over my ears. It wasn't enough.

She sauntered up to my bed and pulled the blankets back. Sometimes it's hard to believe we're related, let alone twins. For one thing, we don't look anything alike, really. She has blond hair; mine is brown. Her eyes are a gentle brown, and mine a violet colour. I'm taller than she is. She's meaner than I am, too. On the other hand, we're both lean and strong, and we know right from wrong. The two of us have lived together since our parents passed away a year ago. Right now she was getting on my nerves.

"Fine, but if you don't get up," she threatened, "I'm putting the pictures I took of you and Athrun-kun on the Internet."

My eyes flew open and I sat upright. "Pictures? Nani?"

Cagalli grinned. "I thought that would get you up." She pulled a disposable camera from her pocket and tossed it up in the air, catching it deftly. "I thought you were sleeping in today because you weren't feeling well yesterday, but when I came in to check on you, I found you two curled up cozy as you please." She began tossing the camera from hand to hand. "Kodak moment, wouldn't you think?"

I looked around my room, trying to swallow a guilty flush. "Where is he?"

"Downstairs. I made you two breakfast. See you in a minute." The blonde skipped from my room, happy as you please.

Vindictive bitch, I thought and hastily began hunting for clothes.

( )/)
(o.-)
(uu)

Athrun was sitting at my kitchen table with a plate of pancakes and sausage in front of him. He was halfway through his stack of cakes when he noticed me standing at the foot of the stairs and immediately voiced his protests. "Kira, she won't let me leave."

Cagalli turned from where she was making more pancakes. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her hip on the stove. "Sit." She pointed with the spatula.

With an apologetic glance at Athrun, I did as I was told. My sister set a plate of food in front of me, followed by a glass of apple juice and one of milk. "Now," she said as she played waitress, "you two are going to eat. I'm going to talk, and you're going to listen. Got it?"

We nodded and I took a bite of scrambled eggs. My sister really isn't that bad of a cook.

She turned off the stovetop and sat up on the counter facing us. "I don't know what happened last night," she said after a moment, "and I'm not sure I want to know. That's none of my business. I do know that I had plans today and I put them on hold for this little interview. Now. Athrun-kun." She turned to face him. "When did you get here last night? You weren't here when I went to bed, I know that for damn sure."

Athrun shoved a forkful of pancakes in his mouth, eyes kept sternly on his plate. I tried not to grin, and therein was my mistake. My sister rounded on me.

"Kira. How long have you two been sleeping together?"

Athrun choked on his pancakes. I decided discretion was the better part of valor and stole my friend's answer—I shoveled a patty of sausage half the size of my fist into my mouth.

"Should I call the Zalas?" she threatened.

We both stopped cold, and our eyes met over the table. Athrun swallowed his pancakes with a bit of difficulty. "If you don't want to know, why are you asking?"

"I'm not an idiot, Athrun-kun," she snapped. "I know what's been going on next door. I just want to know if you'll be moving in with us permanently, or are you going to keep sneaking in?"

The colour drained from his face. "You don't know anything," he whispered.

"They beat you, Athrun-kun. I'm not stupid."

"You don't know anything," he reiterated and, before she could move or say anything, he shoved away from the table and ran upstairs to my room.

"Athrun! Way to go, Cagalli," I said coldly to my sister before running upstairs after him.

( )/)
(o.-)
(uu)

My bedroom door was locked, but I knew how to pick it, having accidentally locked myself out many times. Athrun was sitting on my bed, staring at the wall with his back to me. I closed the door behind me quietly. "Athrun...?"

"Did you tell her?" he asked me softly. "Did you tell her I come over here at night?"

"No."

"Did you tell her that they beat me up? That they hurt me? I never told anybody that, Kira, not even you. How could you? You had no right."

"I didn't, Athrun. I didn't tell anybody."

I didn't know if he believed me; he didn't say anything else. Slowly I walked over and sat down on the bed beside him. Neither of us said anything for the longest time. Suddenly he whirled around and flung his arms around me, and I realized he'd been crying the entire time.

"Athrun...? Hn." I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly.

"Why?" he sobbed. "Why do they hurt me? What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything, Athrun." I stroked his back in a soothing motion, but it didn't help. I pulled him into my lap and held him securely. "It's not your fault." The scent of my shampoo was heavy in his hair, jasmine and honeysuckle with his own unique musk. It was my favourite fragrance, and I buried my face in his hair to breathe in the scent.

I pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "It'll be okay," I promised and brushed another reassuring kiss over his hair and temple.

He looked up at me with trust and need shining in his eyes. "I love you, Kira."

The emotion in his bright emerald eyes was too intense, and I had to look away. "Athrun..." He doesn't mean it, I told my beating heart and flipping stomach. It's just all this mess. I'm the only really steady thing in his life—he's getting his emotions confused. It didn't help.

"Kira, look at me," he whimpered, and reluctantly I dragged my eyes from where I'd been studying the design on my quilt to meet his. Athrun swallowed nervously and brought up one hand. Very lightly he ran his knuckles down my cheek. "I mean it, Kira," he whispered softly. "I really do love you."

Then he straightened up and pressed his lips to mine.

For a moment, all I could do was sit there, stunned. All thought suddenly stopped at that instant of contact, his warm lips on mine. His hands weren't still, brushing over my cheeks and smoothing my still-messy hair. Despite the inner voice cautioning against it, I hesitantly kissed him back. My eyes fluttered closed.

The kiss escalated in a matter of seconds from one of innocent confession to one of hot attraction. Any sense of sanity flew from my mind as his tongue fearfully touched my lips. My tongue swept into his mouth to taste its delicious sweetness. Very gently I pushed him down onto his back without breaking the kiss. His arms came up around me and held me close to him. I ran my hands down his sides almost possessively, then let them come to a rest on his waist. He whimpered a bit and deepened the kiss. "Mmm..."

Slowly my hands began to inch their way up his sides, touching the bandages and bare skin, pushing the shirt up as they went. I broke the kiss to rain smaller butterfly kisses over his face, neck and chest.

"Kira...?" he whimpered. His head was tilted back, eyes closed, and he clutched me tightly to him.

"Hmm?" I didn't look up from where I was gently nipping a line up over his shoulder and the side of his neck.

"Don't stop..." He sighed happily and my teeth closed around his earlobe lightly and my hands stroked up and down his sides.

"Kira, Athrun-kun? Is everything all right? You've been so—" The door burst open, and my sister stopped dead with whatever she'd been saying. I froze, then whirled around to face her, still on top of Athrun. He seemed to shrink somewhat under me, staring at the blonde over my shoulder.

Cagalli stared back at us, eyes wide open. Without another word, she took a step back out of the room and slammed the door closed behind her.

I winced at the sound. I was afraid to look back at Athrun, scared to see his reaction. I could feel his eyes on me. I rolled off him and stared at the wall.

"Kira?" he said softly. There was a pained fear in his voice. "Kira, look at me."

I didn't want to, I was too scared to see what I knew would be there: accusation, pained condemnation. I kept my eyes trained on the wallpaper.

He touched my shoulder, and I didn't move. "Kira...?"

An awkward, pained silence filled the space between us, and the only thing I heard after that was the sound of the window sliding open and closed again.

A tear slipped down my cheek. Athrun was gone.