Sai Argyle stood in front of the ORB monument dedicated to those who perished during the previous war and prayed. Pray wasn't exactly a correct word to describe what he did; he was a free thinker. But despite that, he hoped that those souls would rest in peace. Among them was one whom he had loved. A tear rolled down his cheek. "Fllay" He had lost her three times, one during the attack on Heliopolis, then to Kira Yamato, one of his best friends and finally to the Providence's DRAGOON shot. He didn't witness her demise as he was on Archangel at that time, helping the ship fight of Dominion.

When Cagalli's Strike Rouge returned with Athrun and Kira, he was at the hangar, hoping that Kira would come tell him the good news that he had rescued her. What he saw was a broken young man crying. When Cagalli explained that a shuttle Kira was trying to protect exploded, realization came to Sai over what happened. He found himself racked with sob and powerless to stop tears from coming out. He and Kira held each other together and cried. They have mended their friendship at the cost of one person's life, one that both of them loved.

As Sai looked at the morning sun rising from the horizon, he wondered what he should do next. He had visited the memorial early in the morning so that he could visit Kira at the orphanage. Maybe he would know where the others were.

"Is that the memorial for the dead?" a feminine voice behind him asked.

"Yeah," he answered, not really paying attention.

Someone walked next to him and clasped her hands contemplatively. "We the survivors should remember very well their sacrifice so that we value peace more"

"I agree with you," Sai said as he turned toward the woman. Then he felt his blood turn ice cold. The person next to him bore uncanny resemblance to Fllay, having flaming red hair and smoky grey eyes. He was so shocked that he didn't know what to do.

The woman finished her praying and turned toward Sai only to find him staring at her. "Is there anything wrong, sir?"

Sai was brought out of his stupor by her question. "No, nothing wrong" There wasn't even a small amount of recognition in her eyes when she looked at him. The woman couldn't be Fllay; just a look-alike who was brought there by Fate either to mock him or test him. Fllay was dead. Kira had witnessed her death in front of his very own eyes and was traumatized by it for months. "It's just that you remind me of someone I loved"

"Oh" The woman's face changed. "Where's she?"

"Dead" The answer was short and straight to the point.

"Sorry to hear that," the red haired woman said softly in regret.

"Not your fault"

The woman cocked her head to the side as if studying him. After a while, she spoke again. "Do I really look like that person?"

"Yes, but your personality is different"

"I see" she said and continued thinking. "I saw in your eyes that this person means a lot to you, and her loss has affected you" She gave a bittersweet smile. "I could even sense it because," she waved around her, "your emotion is so strong that it permeates around us. Despite that, I think it's unfair to both you and that woman" She saw that Sai was about to protest so she put her finger on his lips to silence him. "This woman, if she's as special as you describe, would have wanted you to be happy rather than torture yourself over her"

He nodded. When Fllay broke off with him to be with Kira, she had told him to forget about her. It was he who wouldn't let her go.

"Good" She smiled, still keeping her finger on his lips. "I have a suggestion. I know it is outlandish, so I don't really expect you to accept it. I want you to have a wonderful memory of her. So I'm willing to impersonate as her for today, but only on two conditions. One, we will not introduce ourselves so that we wouldn't know each other's name. Two, although I tell you to treat me as her, please don't call her name while we're together" The Fllay look-alike then withdrew her finger.

"Why?" he croaked.

"Because, I know that I will have a happy memory of what we will do together today that I may fall in love with you. If I know your name, then I'll probably search for you" She shook her head. "Such relationship wouldn't work because it will be based on me trying to replace her in your heart. I don't want to know her name because then I will be jealous of her"

"So what you're saying is you don't want it to progress into a relationship?"

"Yes, because it would be a farce" She shrugged. "In case you're wondering about my motive, let me tell you that I'm also doing this for myself. I don't have that many happy memories too"

Sai thought about what she suggested as the woman waited patiently for him. "Very well, I accept" He grinned. "Shall we seal this with a kiss?"

"We haven't even gone on our first date and you're trying to move up the base with me?"

"Guess not. I'm feeling hungry. How about we go for some breakfast?"

"Okay, my treat"

"No, let me pay for it"

They started to walk away from the monument. "I insist"

"I'm a gentleman and a gentleman always pays for his date"

She held up her hands in defeat and sigh. "Very well, I give up. But I will make you eat your words"

"No. I would rather have sausages, baked beans and some toasts instead"

Sai drank his coffee while watching the woman in front of him wiping her lips with a napkin. "Even you wiping your mouth look sexy to me"

'Fllay' looked to him critically. "Is that why you're spilling some coffee on the table? Because you're looking at me?"

He looked at the spot she pointed. "Shit" As she giggled, he scrambled to search for something to wipe it with. In his haste, he knocked over his empty plate. It would have dropped on the floor if she didn't catch it. "Nice catch"

She looked a bit flustered. "Well, I…"

"Let me guess. You're a Coordinator, right? Don't worry. I don't have anything against Coordinators. In fact, some of my best friends are Coordinators?"

"Really?"

He smiled as he thought about Kira. "Yeah. The genes you were born with doesn't matter," He then put a hand on his heart. "What's inside here is"

She smiled in return. "You're right. You don't know how much your words mean to me"

"Don't mention it. So, where do we go from here?"

"How about we go for a walk?"

"That's a great idea"

He didn't remember the exact moment when he started holding her hand as they walked around the town, window shopping. Somehow it was a natural thing to do. Sai thought about Fllay. Although the two of them went out together a few times when they were in the Heliopolis, somehow there was a barrier between the two of them. Their parents seemed to take their engagements as a political partnership, exerting pressure on the two of them.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry?"

"Hmmph. Men. Coordinators or Naturals, they are the same. Always not listening whenever a woman is talking to them" 'Fllay' looked away in disgust.

"I'm really sorry. It's just that I feel that I'm on cloud nine because I'm walking with a beautiful woman beside me"

"Smooth. Real smooth answer. Well, I'll let that slide this time"

He put his free hand at the back of his head. "So, what were you saying just now?"

"I was asking you which one of these dresses looks better on me," she said while tapping on the windows.

He looked at the three dresses she was pointing at and tried to imagine her in each one of them. "Well… I'm not very sure. I have problem visualizing you in them"

She grinned evilly. "Don't worry. I can fix that problem easily," she said as she pulled him into the shop.

An hour later, Sai was waiting for her to emerge from a changing room.

She emerged wearing a pink sweater and jeans. "How about this?"

"Okay"

A few minutes later she came out wearing a green gown. "What do you think of this?"

"That's also good"

A few minutes later…

"How about this one?"

"The white blouse goes well with the blue skirt"

"This?"

"Looks good on you"

'Fllay' has stopped going inside the changing room, and showed him the clothes on the rack instead. "What's you opinion of this?"

"Nice"

"This blue jacket will match the dress, right?"

"Yup"

"Hmm… These vertical stripes bikini would make me look hot"

"Uhuh"

"The orange with green polka dot scarf matches my eyes, right?"

"You're right"

"This winter cloth is suitable for me to wear while I'm here in ORB. After all, ORB has tropical climate"

"Yeah, I agree with you"

"Maybe we can find some Bigfoot to jump on me and squash me like a bug"

"Seems good to me"

She rolled her eyes and dragged him out of the store.

Sai looked back at the store in confusion. "I thought you're going to buy some clothing"

"Well, I changed my mind. Why don't we go somewhere else?" Her eyes brightened up as she spied something in the distance. "How about we go there?"

The man beside her looked in the same direction. "There?"

"There"

"Okay"

"WEEEEEEE!" she screamed as the two of them were traveling down the rollercoaster at high speed. "Don't you think that it's fun?"

"Yeah. Reminds me of maneuver Fllaga performed"

"Eh?" she asked, half distracted as the roller coaster were going through a loop.

"Feels like riding an airplane," he said amidst shouts from other people.

"Oh!"

The roller coaster jerked and slowed down while going up. "That wasn't so scary," Sai remarked. "I thought it was supposed to be higher than that"

"Higher?"

"Yes. I read that its main attraction is that it to go 300 meters high in the air and then drop almost vertically"

"Like the part we're going through?"

He looked around to see that the rollercoaster car was reaching its peak. "Uh Oh"

She grinned. "LET'S GO!"

The car began to move slowly downward.

"WAAAAAA!"

"ORB sure is amazing," Sai remarked as they were walking through the amusement park. "It managed to rebuilt itself in just a few months after the war"

She nodded, looking distracted. "Um… Will you excuse me while I go to the washroom to powder my nose?"

"Sure. I'll wait you here" He grinned. "You're not gonna leave me now, are you?"

She punched his shoulder playfully before leaving him holding the teddy bear he had won for her. He whistled to pass the time when a group of people run to the spot next to him.

"I could have sworn I saw her just now," a man with a dark skin said.

"Are you sure, Youlan?" someone with a brown hair with a spot of orange asked.

"What's with that look, Dino? You don't believe me? I tell you, I really saw her.

A woman with a short pink hair with hands on hips looked around with irritation. "Damn that Meyrin! The first day of our vacation since we finish the academy and look at the trouble she's bringing us. Why bother carrying a phone if she didn't switch it on?"

"If only Shinn is here, he can easily locate your sister," Dino said.

"Yeah, after all, he's from ORB," Youlan supported.

"I know that," the woman said.

"Why didn't you ask him to come along with us, Luna?"

"I did ask him, but he wouldn't follow. Really, that guy makes me wonder" She sneered and said in a sing song voice, "Maybe he hangs around with the ol' stick in the mud too much"

"Please don't talk about me as if I'm not around," someone with a blonde hair said coolly.

"Rey!"

"After all, I follow all of you here, right?"

Luna smiled embarrassedly. "You're right. I apologize"

"Apology accepted. I know that you're worried about your sister"

"It's just that we're here on Earth and you know, with our training…"

"Shh!" Dino warned.

"Sorry"

"It's all right. We're in ORB, remember?" Youlan reminded.

Crossing his arms, Sai looked at the group of four people in amusement as they search for someone by the name of Meyrin. Youlan and Dino seemed to be quite careless and carefree, reminding him of what he was. The person named Rey was the voice of reason and maturity, a bit odd since he didn't look that old. Luna was quite spunky, with hair color resembling… Realization struck him and he couldn't stop a thin smile from forming on his lips. "Meyrin"

"I know!" Youlan exclaimed. "She was with this guy just now," he said while pointing toward Sai who was surprised that he was involved.

Rey turned toward Sai. "Excuse us, do you know anyone who goes by the name Meyrin Hawke?"

Sai thought about what to answer. "No, I'm afraid not" He told himself that he was telling the truth since he didn't know the name of the girl who was with him.

"Thank you very much," Rey said as he nodded slightly.

Sai saluted. In response, all four of them saluted back. His smile became bigger. They were in the military, probably ZAFT if his hunches were correct.

Realizing that they have been tricked, Rey gave a piercing look at Sai while the others were looking uncomfortable.

"At ease soldiers," Sai said in his best commanding tone, trying to copy what Fllaga would have said. He was rewarded with them relaxing slightly. "We're not in the middle of a war here" He smiled. "Now, if I see this Meyrin, I'll remember to tell her that you were searching for her"

"Please do that," Luna said gratefully. "Thank you"

"You're welcome"

With that, the group left and continued their search.

After a few minutes, Sai's date returned. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Girl problem"

"It's all right"

She noticed that he was smiling. "Did something happen while I was away?"

"Nah. Say, I don't mean to be nosy but did you come to ORB alone?"

"Why do you ask that question?"

"It just occurred to me while waiting that you didn't contact anyone until now"

"Why should I? I'm big enough to take care of myself. They know that," she answered while glaring at him.

"Okay, you win," Sai said trying to defuse the tension between the two of them.

"Then, to celebrate my victory, let's go to the hot dog stand"

"All right. Gentleman's treat"

She gritted her teeth in frustration as she looked at him grinning. "Wipe that smug off your face"

Sai chuckled as he came to her, looking at the computer screen. "I can't help it you're firing at anything else that moves"

"I was trying to shoot you"

"Well, at least you have the highest score, beating all those people," he gestured at other players who wore a big look of disappointment on their face.

"Arggh! I don't care! Let's play again. I'll kick your butt this time"

They continued playing for half an hour again

"Arggh! I got fragged again!" she complained. All other players except Sai and her were grinning widely.

"You got me every time," Sai commented as he looked at the text box displayed in his computer. "Hmm… I win again, with a wide margin. Could it be the others were competing to get you that they left themselves open to attacks?"

"Ah! I'm never good in this game anyway," the Fllay look-alike said as she stood to leave the place.

"I'm not good in the other game I wanted to win: the love game," Sai said to himself. "Even when I win, I lose. And if I lose, I lose big time"

"They're so beautiful!" the girl gasped as she looked at the colorful flowers around her. "And this park, it's so large"

"It's to be expected. After all, it's one of ORB's main attractions," Sai said while looking at the booklet they received when they went inside the horticultural park. "Being build on a reclaimed land 150 hectares in area size, this park has more than 30,000 different species of plants, including more than 900 kinds of roses"

"Really!"

"Plus the park has four own agricultural research centers"

"Wow. It must one of the biggest parks in the world"

"It's the biggest," he corrected her.

"Whatever. Anyway, I still can't believe how beautiful the flowers look"

He looked at the flowers and then at her, murmuring something.

"What did you say?"

"…………….."

Annoyance began to flash in her eyes. "Again… please. Louder this time"

"I said, you're more beautiful than the flowers"

She was unprepared for he said and stood there, blushing.

Wanting to dispel the awkwardness between the two of them, he offered, "Would you like a bouquet of flower. Lilies, perhaps?"

"No"

"No? I thought women like flowers"

"I like flowers, but only live ones"

"So…"

"I don't like picked flowers"

"Why?"

"Because I wonder how can people created a multi-billion industry giving dead things as present to woo opposite sex. I mean, if we want to do it, why not do it all the way? Why don't they sell a box full of dead squirrels or mice for me to give to you?"

The two of them laughed at her joke.

They stood at the esplanade, looking at the setting sun.

"I'm right. It has been a long and wonderful day," she said as she turned to him.

"You reap what you sow," Sai answered.

"I guess this is where we part and go our ways," she said as she put her hand on his cheek tenderly.

"Aren't you're supposed to rush home only at midnight?" he protested.

"Look at my slippers. They're suede, not glass"

"But taxi is faster than a couple of mice that got turned into horses" Sai didn't want the moment to end.

"You right" She smiled. "However, there's something that isn't in the fairytale"

"What is it?"

"Close your eyes"

He did as he was told. "You're going to leave?"

"Yes. It would be better that you don't see me leaving"

"But…," his protest died as she put her finger on his lip again.

"Remember, this is supposed to be a happy memory for us," she whispered. "And, we can have more than one happy memories and it's not wrong to create a happier memory than this one with other people"

He nodded. Sai nearly opened his eyes in surprise when he felt her kissing him. Then his instinct took ever and he held her shoulders, deepening their kiss. They continued their kiss for a long time, with each eager to tell the other how they felt through it.

Then as sudden as it was, the kiss ended and she moved away. Sai remained in his place and didn't open his eyes. When he finally opened them, she had disappeared. He smiled softly.

"Here you are, Sai" a masculine voice caused Sai to turn toward the newcomer. He was sitting inside his convertible

"Ah, Kira"

Kira got down from his car. "I was worried when you didn't come"

"Sorry, I forgot"

Kira smiled. "That's all right. Where were you?"

Sai thought about everything he did with the mysterious girl that day and finally settled on an explanation. "I was creating a happy memory"

The red haired girl entered her hotel room and was surprised with the amount of boxes and plastic bags inside it. She looked at her roommate. "I can see that you're going to open up a store when we return," she commented dryly.

"It's your fault for going anywhere you please, I got so worried that I got shopping binge" the other girl answered back. "We were looking franticly for you"

"And you found these bargains instead"

"Watch that tone with me!" the other protested, pouting. Then her face changed as she recalled something. "You wouldn't believe what we ran into today! We accidentally mistaken you for someone else!" She giggled. "She ended up going for a drink with us. Man, to think that we got the two of you mixed up"

"It seems that I'm not the only one with an interesting day"

1
Author's note :

1) Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny and all of the related materials presented in this story belong to their respective owners. I'm suppose to whine for them not to sue me, but what the heck. The most I'll got is probably a slap on the wrist. They have more important things to do.

2) Now, I'll make this clear. This is a oneshot. Really a oneshot. No amount of cajouling will get me to write more. I feel this is the best I can do for this story, so its better to end it like that. Romance is not my specialty... yet.

3) When I started, only two parties know the exact matchup. Me, and the Ultimate Coordinator up there. In the end, only He knows. I'm not even sure whether this is a Sai x Fllay or Sai x Meyrin (or Sai x OC for that matter). I'll admit that at first, I write this as a sidestory to Fallen Angel, cause Nanthakon V2.3 - DDR's suggestion to have a Sai x Fllay matching in Fallen Angel intrigued me . A good idea, only that I feel that the matchup wouldn't fit that story. This kind of story is a better stage for such a matchup .

4) Now, if there's anyone of you that really think that this story should continue, you can do so by simply picking up where the story ends. Is the red haired girl really Fllay, or is she Meyrin? (In case you're wondering how Fllay come back to life, read the first few chapters of Fallen Angel). If you're continuing, just email me and I will take down this story so that you can post your version without readers confusing the two versions.