SO sorry for not posting this on time! (I'm about half an hour late) I was having some serious issues with uploading, and then for some reason a large chunk got erased and I had to completely rewrite that from memory.
But, here it is: The final chapter of "Waiting On You". Enjoy!
"...So then Cagalli's going with this Derek guy?" Kira clarified. Currently, he was sitting at the airport in-between flights, on the phone with Lacus, and getting filled in on recent events.
"Yeah, Athrun froze up I think. Poor guy..."
"Geez... I know I was opposed to pushing them together at first, but now I'm all for it. Lord and love of- Are they EVER going to make it?"
"Well... it IS Christmas Eve. Maybe they will..." Lacus said wishfully. After all... it WAS Athrun and Cagalli they were talking about.
"Hey, I'm her brother. Doesn't this Derek guy have to go through my approval or something?" Kira frowned, clearly peeved by how the excitement in his sister's life seemed to have picked up the moment he had left the country.
"Somehow... I don't think that would work with Cagalli. If that happened, she wouldn't be allowed to date anyone." She laughed, amused by how true her words probably were.
"Nonsense. I'd let her date some guys."
"Like who?"
"... Like Athrun."
Cagalli burst into the dressing room, a good half hour late and with only two hours to spare. For Christmas Eve, there was a surprising amount of bustle outside, making her navigation to the theatre take twice as long as she had anticipated.
"Cagalli! There you are! Where have you been?" Lacus called. "You were supposed to be here-"
"I know! I know! Whatever, I'm here now. Getting ready only takes a second anyways!" She responded quickly, tossing her stuff into the corner of the door then running out the door.
So far, the day was looking pretty hectic. Right now, she had to do help with all the preparations. Then immediately following the play, everyone was supposed to go to Lacus' house for a huge Christmas party. But somewhere in between she'd have to shower and change and everything, then meet Derek. Then again he was going to be here anyways, so did it really matter?
A thousand thought whirred through her mind faster than she could compute them. And much to her frustration, every single thought seemed to be lined with the name "Athrun".
In that... she hadn't spoken to him since she agreed to go with Derek.
Not that she should feel bad. He wasn't making much of an effort either. And what reason did he have to be mad? It's not like he had asked her first or anything.
And certainly she wasn't expecting him too. So her disappointment was obviously from some entirely... different... source.
Damn she was a bad liar.
Pulling at her hair in frustration, she flung open the door of her dressing room, about to run into the hall after Lacus when she rammed headf0rst into...
Athrun.
"Oh Sorry! I- oh hey... there... you. How's it going?"
"Pretty good. Lacus told me to call you. We need to get started." He responded calmly. Cagalli frowned in mild annoyance. How could he act so nonchalant?
Athrun had never felt more like a duck in his entire life. In that though on the surface he probably was holding up a decently passable expression of indifference, underneath he was fighting against the current.
The current that was pushing him towards Cagalli, trying to convince him to confess.
Then his mind kicked in and he looked around. Just hours before the show, in her dressing room, where they hadn't spoken in days... Not the most ideal setting. Besides, she was going with Derek to the party, wasn't she? Surely he could hold in his feelings better than that wacko at the restaurant.
After all, he was fairly sure he wasn't at risk of "dying of secret passion" or whatever that guy had boasted.
He was just... him.
"Let's... get going then." Cagalli nodded, pushing past the apparently unmoving Athrun and into the hallway, desperately trying to avoid eye-contact with him. His perfectly placid front never failed to make her feel a bit anxious when confronted with it, and today the tingle down her spine seemed to be amplified by the general atmosphere. She heard steps behind her, and knew that he was just behind her. And as much as she wanted to turn around...
She just couldn't.
Kira stared at his watch... Though he was now seated comfortably in his airplane seat, he couldn't help but grow more and more anxious. The play was starting soon... In his conversation with Lacus he hadn't told her anything, merely that he was "on the way".
As impossible as it sounded, he was determined to get there in time. He simply couldn't miss a minute of it. And so even if it killed him, he'd get there.
Maybe he'd be able to rise from the dead or something to watch it. After all, a promise was a promise. And there was absolutely no way he was going to miss this.
"He better not miss it..." Athrun muttered, stepping on stage and looking at the empty seat reserved for Kira. It was front row center. If he WASN'T sitting in that seat, the space would stick out like a sore thumb.
Meanwhile Lacus also eyed the empty chair nervously. On the phone he had sounded like he was hiding something, and even though she couldn't quite place her finger on it, it was there. She had considered asking Athrun, but if it was anything worth asking about Athrun wouldn't betray his friend's trust.
Hoping that her suspicious were merely paranoia due to nerves, she tried to push the thought aside.
"Cagalli, you look great" Derek complimented, approaching her from behind. She turned to him and rolled her eyes.
"Derek, I look exactly the same as I usually do."
"Still looks good to me." He shrugged in reply.
Meer watched the scene guiltily. For some reason, she felt partly responsible for what was happening. Maybe if she hadn't distracted Athrun he would have made a move earlier. Then again, Derek was a pretty cool guy.
"He's good looking from certain angles..." She remarked to herself quietly, studied him by tilting her head slightly to the side.
For a moment she could swear she had heard a song. Quickly, she scanned the area, but the inky-haired actor was nowhere to be seen: Not that he'd probably want to see this anyways.
Sighing and turning to finish her part in preparations, she failed to notice the slumped figure in the shadows, who turned to walk away shortly after.
Upon the moment that plane landed, Kira ran out of the plane with a speed that could very likely take out any unfortunate object, either human, animal or inanimate that happened to be in his way. After harassing guards, gate personal and even the elevator for being so slow, he was off and running.
Tearing out the door, with his luggage in hand, he quickly jumped into the road to grab a taxi, tempted to save time by jumping on the roof or something, instead of actually getting in the cab.
"Where to?" the driver asked cheerfully.
"The Symphony Theatre! Hurry!"
Lacus peered through the heavy velvet curtains for a moment. The auditorium was packed, and they were about to start. But there was one glaringly empty seat in the front row.
Kira...
"Where could he be?..." She murmured, her voice muffled by the thick material. Athrun approached her softly.
"Ready Lacus?"
"Hm? Oh... yeah. Hey Athrun?"
"He'll be here. Promise."
"It's just that... I don't doubt him. I'm just afraid if something happened to him, and he can't help it..." Lacus admitted fiddling with her hands nervously, eyes diverted to the side in the general direction of the empty seat.
"I know. Don't worry." Athrun assured, biting back hesitation. Technically, Kira WAS coming... just not as soon as he was making it sound. Then again, it WAS possible. Just... not very unlikely. Unless of course...
Kira had never wanted wings more in his entire life. Nor had he hated traffic so much. But, a few blocks to the theatre, he had been forced to throw a few bills at the driver, which would amount to a very generous tip, then run down the street at full speed.
Rounding a sharp corner, he barely avoiding colliding with a streetlight and the hard ground. Scrambling upright, he continued to run.
Out of time. Lacus sighed, as the curtain rose to reveal a still empty seat. Cagalli shot a nervous glance to Athrun, who tried his best to smile. Off to the side, Meer watched Derek carefully. He seemed, surprisingly reserved. Maybe he wasn't feeling well, or... maybe he was feeling bad?
After all, if there was anyone that could understand the sinking feeling of knowing that the person you cared for could only smile for another, it was her.
Ramming his shoulder into the door as it swung open violently, Kira proceeded to run. Anyone else would call what he had just done absolutely brilliant. For him, it just wasn't' fast enough. The play was already starting, and it would take another few minutes before he reached the actual theatre, due to the winding stairs.
Swallowing to try to relieve his dry throat, as the door into the theatre came into view, he collected his energy and sprinted forwards as fast as possible. Unfortunately his wet shoes slipped against the tiled floor and...
Lacus felt the warm glow of the spotlight started to come up on her. Taking a final glance at the empty seat, she sighed, momentarily forgetting her lines. So he wasn't going to make it after all...
When suddenly she was interrupted by the sound of the doors being flung upon and...
A suitcase, then young man tripped, then falling down... down... almost half way, before quickly getting back up, retrieving his suitcase, then running down to front row.
And taking his seat.
The audience burst into laughter, and Lacus stifled a giggle, instead smiling fondly at the one she was waiting for. Kira blushed violently and then stood up to take a bow.
"Ladies and Gentleman, Kira Yamato." Athrun introduced, shaking his head with a laugh.
"To... A standing ovation!" Cagalli toasted.
"To... A candid, but very entertaining fall." Lacus added. The cast laughed, and looked at Kira, who was so used to the teasing by now, that he just laughed along with it. Hugging Lacus from behind, the joyful lady turned around to kiss him lightly, before clinking glasses with several other people and taking a sip.
After that, the group broke apart and began to disperse, wandering around Lacus' house to enjoy the party. Pretty much everyone had just gone straight to her house but Athrun had said he needed to take care of a few things, last minute.
Cagalli eyed the door for a while, before Derek turned her around, by waving a hand around her face.
"Cagalli? Yoo hoo, you in there?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Sorry." She apologized. Derek grinned.
"Have you... taken a decent look around?" He asked, waving his right hand in the general direction of... around.
"Sort of... why?" She cocked her head to the side.
"Did you pay attention to the doorways?"
Cagalli's eyes narrowed as she began to examine the house, and her eyes shot wide open as soon as they saw what had happened.
And Athrun almost dropped everything he was carrying.
Mistletoe...
Under EVERY single doorway.
The place may as well have been covered with it. Amused by how some people seemed to be very carefully passing under doorways, taking care to do so alone, while couple eagerly strolled in and out of rooms, stealing kisses, he sighed.
Walking up to Kira and Lacus, he handed them both wrapped presents.
"Sorry Lacus, last minute stuff to take care of. Here you go." He grinned. "Now as for your choice of decor..."
Lacus beamed. "I'm quite proud of it... though, it WAS Kira's idea."
"This way, all you have to do is stand under a doorway, and you're sure to find love." Kira explained, motioning towards a "random" doorway that Cagalli just 'happened' to be close to.
Sighing at their... strange, but thoughtful action, Athrun hugged them both. "Thanks for trying guys."
Meer sat on a couch, happily conversing with one of guys from the tech crew. As he got up to go get more food, she stood up as well, in search for any of five people. Cagalli and Derek, to see how close they were acting, Lacus and Kira to talk to them, or Athrun, to check on him.
As luck would have it, she bumped into Athrun first.
"Meer! Hey, great job today. Merry Christmas." he greeted warmly.
"You too Athrun. How are you?" She asked, clearly with a hidden context.
The cobalt haired man smiled a bit. "I'm... I'm okay. Haven't seen her around, so... so, is something wrong?" He stopped mid-sentence, noticing her visible change in expression.
"If you haven't seen her around, then don't turn around." She warned. Athrun froze. Right... behind him? Well technically he wasn't sure if he wanted to see her... together... with someone else, but then again, it was still her. Sneaking a peek behind him, his heart fell as she...
Walked RIGHT under a doorway with Derek beside her.
Stupid stupid stupid, very stupid Cagalli. She cursed, mentally beating herself in the head. After a while, she had just forgotten there was mistletoe, since she had spent so much time in the next room.
Derek turned towards her and smiled. the rest of the room fell silent.
And a certain blue head didn't even turn around. Rather, he simply left the room through the other door, without even looking her way, as other heads turned to watch him. Meer gaze them a nervous glance, before following after Athrun.
Cagalli felt a twist shoot from her heart to her arms, which felt dead hanging on her sides. He didn't even want to see her... Swallowing hard, she turned back to Derek, quickly blinking back a few tears lining her eyes.
Derek had never felt more miserable in his entire life.
Despite how he was with the most amazing woman he had ever met, he had never felt worse. Or more like a jerk.
Clearly, she was having doubts. Yet he still pushed it. When he had asked her, he just wanted to know how she felt...
And despite her yes... it was pretty darn obvious. Sighed at the gathering crowd around them, he led her away, passing under another 3 doorways before getting somewhere more private, the kitchen.
"Cagalli... Forget the... Four kisses you apparently owe me now." He sighed, shaking his head at her confusion. "Because I think there's someone else out there who would really like meet you under a doorway, and say Merry Christmas."
Cagalli blinked for a bit, before beginning to nod, slowly, but surely.
"Am I that obvious?" She chuckled weakly.
"I'd have an easier time hiding an elephant in a shoebox." Derek replied, rolling his eyes a bit. "Now, go on. And make sure you're careful going under doorways."
Cagalli nodded more firmly, before smiled widely. "I'm sorry, by the way."
Now it was Derek's turn to nod. "So am I." He responded politely, before ushering her out the door, falling a few steps short so he wouldn't walk under it with her.
Stopping for a bit, he sighed. "Can't a guy get a break on Christmas?" He shook his head in disbelief and walked out.
Bumping right into Meer.
"Oh, sorry Derek! I just saw Cagalli walk out and so I thought I'd ask you if everything was all right. I mean I heard you mumbling something about getting... a break." Meer's words slowly, as her eyes drifted upwards, and stared at what he was pointing to just above them.
Mistletoe.
Looking back at him, her eyes widened. Derek grinned and stole a chaste kiss.
"Hmm." He laughed happily at her astonished face. "Guess they can."
And somewhere on her face, he could swear he saw a flicker of a smile.
Cagalli felt, relieved. to say the least... and the first person she wanted to see now was Athrun.
Then she saw him, and froze.
What on earth was she going to say? She couldn't just stroll up and tell him that Derek told her to 'go get 'em' and so… Here she was!
Lame... Shaking her head to clear out the insanity, she took a quick survey of the room. She needed... time to clear her thoughts. Spotting a window, she smiled. It was snowing outside. Snow always helped clear her mind. Grabbing her coat, she rushed outside to find...
Athrun?
Athrun turned abruptly, hearing the door slide open. His eyes widened as he caught sight of a stunned Cagalli who had been stopped in her tracks by the sight of... him?
Well... no Derek. Then again, she had probably just kissed him about fourteen times after walking under countless doorways. His stomach gave a painful twist, as he tried to put on a smile.
"Hello."
Run.
That's what he instincts told her. Cagalli's mind went into panic mode. Her eyes flickered upwards. No mistletoe, turning to run back in, she was suddenly held back by an arm that shot out from the side, just out of view of Athrun.
Startled, she looked at who had grabbed her only to see...
Derek, Kira, Lacus, and Meer standing barely in the doorway, but surely enough, the doorway.
"Try walking away Cagalli, and you'll be kissing all four of us." Kira teased quietly, careful not to let Athrun hear or notice them.
"There's no mistle-" she whispered fiercely, interrupted as four fingers pointed upwards.
The other side of the door, had a very small but still definitely, piece of mistletoe.
Her eyes looked pleadingly at the four firm figures under the door, begging them to move. Instead, Kira's arm gently pushed her out.
Was she... running away from him?
Athrun raised an eyebrow as she turned around and attempted to bolt.
And raised the other in surprise as she slowly backed out again.
"You...Okay there?" He checked slowly. Cagalli turned abruptly, causing him to take a step back.
"Uh huh! sure! I just... though I forgot my gloves but they're right here!" She laughed nervously, digging into her pockets and waving a pair of brown gloves. Inside Athrun though he heard the sound of stifled laughter, and a snort.
"Yeah... oh by the way, Merry Christmas." He smiled.
"Oh yeah, you too. Definitely." She nodded hurriedly. Athrun looked around awkwardly for a while, before turning around to walk deeper into the yard. Gently, he heard the sound of footsteps follow him, music to his ears.
"How's your night been? Great job with the performance, by the way." He added genuinely.
"Good I guess. And you too." She replied softly, studying the way the snow fell.
"Where's Derek?" Athrun asked, dusting the snow of his left shoulder, trying to act ambivalent.
"Inside... he wouldn't let me kiss him." Cagalli laughed feeling the cold start to seep through her relatively thin jacket. Her companion regarded her with confusion.
"Odd... I thought he liked you."
"Well... Meer likes you too, doesn't she?"
Athrun nodded in acknowledgement of her point. "So then... Did you want to?"
"Hm?"
"Kiss him I mean?"
"Uh, well that's-." Cagalli blushed furiously.
"Hey... would that have been your first kiss?" Athrun's probed, a tone of amusement evident in his voice.
"MOST-MOST CERTAINLY-"
"Yes?"
"No! I... I have kissed before!"
"A guy? Other then your family? Romantically?" Athrun pressed on, taking great pleasure in the increasingly red color of her face and ears.
He was answered with a snowball to the face.
Wiping the slush out of his eyes, he blinked as his vision restored and he saw a very determined and stubborn looking Cagalli, tossing another packed snowball up and down in her right hand.
"Shut up." She pouted. Athrun grinned, then rushed forward, catching her off guard and scooping up a handful of snow to throw at her.
Shrieking with glee, Cagalli pelted his left arm, then ran to get more snow. And the two continued like so for almost half an hour, by which time they were both thoroughly soaked, with frozen skin but warm blood circulating inside.
Cagalli was positively glowing, as she peeled off her wet gloves and grinned.
"I better go inside to find a change of clothes." She laughed, about to step back in. Athrun nodded and was about to follow when it hit him.
Outside, it was them. Just them. Inside, was everyone else.
"Cagalli!" Athrun called out. As difficult as this would be to do, and as many other possibilities as they were... Just none of the seemed right. Nothing else sat well with the general area of his chest, which constricted his breathing every time he tried to rationalize letting her go in this moment.
Cagalli turned to him and his chest stopped hurting... and his heart stopped beating. Damn.
"Yeah?" She responded. Her eyes were inquisitive, yet somewhere else inside them he saw another feeling. And hoped to whatever higher being was watching over him, to let that be anticipation...
She felt pretty stupid standing there, about to walk back into the house, half turned so she could face the man that had trapped her in her footsteps. Who... wasn't doing anything but stare at her.
Suddenly, the cold ceased to exist as her cheeks turned red for an entirely different reason.
"Are you cold?" He asked, briskly walking towards her and shrugging off his coat.
"Eh? No, why?"
"You cheeks are-"
"My cheeks are perfectly fine!"
"...They look red."
"No I just... Hey weren't you about to say something?" She looked away, quickly trying to change the topic. Athrun blinked, and his face turned a similar color.
Taking a deep breath, he turned away for a moment to gather his thoughts. Clenching his fists, he whiled around suddenly again to face the raised eyebrows of the woman he...
"Cagalli," Athrun started. "A-a while ago, on a cold and windy night I told you that you mattered to me. And that's true... But what I didn't finish saying was that you matter...
The words died in his throat again as he gazed into her widening amber mirrors. Inside them he could see surprise, anticipation, and the reflection of a hopelessly tongue-tied man, facing the future of everything he cared about. Swallowing hard in a vain attempt to dislodge the lump that was suppressing his words, he drew in a long icy breath and held it, before finally letting it out. Along with the words...
"More than I ever thought possible."
Cagalli blink in mild confusion, momentarily washing the mirror with fathering tears of some emotion she hadn't figured out. Yet...
"Cagalli, you matter to me, not only more than anyone else I've ever met before, but more than I ever thought I could ever care about someone. The way you can find the smile in me, no matter how many dark clouds are hiding it. The way you always seem energetic, even when you're having a bad day. Ever since the day I met you, I have been... fascinated, intrigued, and utterly captivated by what I can only describe as... you."
A pause...
Inside the house, four eager spectators had lined the windows with their ears pressed to the glass.
"Sshh!"
"I can't hear anything..."
"That's because you're talking!"
"So are you!"
"Just shut up!"
Cagalli stared. Somewhere in-between his flowery words was a feeling so strong that even she could feel it... or maybe she had felt it all along. Maybe this force that pushed drew her towards him... was just something mutual from the start.
Moving towards him, she raised her hand to touch his red cheek and feel whether or not it was cold, and my some strange magnetism found herself pulled towards him. Of course, physically it was probably just his arms that had found their way snugly around her waist, but emotionally, before she realized it, they had connected, sending electric jolts running through her.
Athrun passed for a moment. What on earth had he just said? In all actuality, it had just popped out of his mouth. But at the same time, it was true. For the first time, his brain had stopped talking...
And his mouth had never spoken truer words.
Tugging her advancing figure towards him, he dropped his lips promptly and happily onto hers, smiles still clearly worn on their faces.
Inside, the four faces were also beaming happily, with two people clapping and "awwww"-ing, and the other two nodding contentedly.
Breaking suddenly, Athrun noticed their small audience, the putting his arm around her, led Cagalli away from view. He was silent for a while, merely studying her face, and how the snow decorated her hair. He never removed his arms, and she never complained. Leaning into him a bit, she smiled.
"Damn you... You take too long. You know I'm not a patient person." She said in mock annoyance. Athrun laughed, and nuzzled her heat against his shoulder affectionately.
"My bad... It was just... hard."
"Harder than you expected?"
Athrun thought a moment. "Easier than I expected, hard to build up the courage to start. But it's been the truth for a long time now."
Cagalli's face lit up in response to the sound heard by her ears. Sighing a bit, she looked away for a moment.
"Well, I shouldn't be one to talk. I didn't really do much either did I?... But you know, from waiting on you, to waiting for you, you've never seemed to bore me, I've never really been able to stop myself from being drawn to you... Any ideas?"
"It's a miracle." Athrun grinned jokingly.
Cagalli mockingly glared at him, and pelted another snowball at his arm. "No... It's not a miracle. It's just... you." Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him tightly
.And the snow kept falling...
Well folks, with this concludes "Waiting On You." I hope you enjoyed reading it as much I had fun writing it. This chapter was kind of tricky because I know what I wanted as an ending, but I didn't want it to be all serious and fluff. Also, I had way too much to cover. For any loose threads, that's why I have an epilogue.
Thank you to all who reviewed last chapter. Something must have happened with the system since I didn't get any of them for a very long time. If you never received a reply, I'm dreadfully sorry, and I'll try to get to it as soon as possible.
However, I do have a list of all the wonderful people who reviewed last chapter. I couldn't have asked for a more responsive and encouraging group of people:
Cagalli Yula Athha Fangirl, FreedomElf, kura52, The Angels' Princess, The Nilaga Lover, CelicaChick, daisukechibi, celestial-angel40, Kintora, Eternally Asuka, AnimexMusica, oi.kodomo, ichigo kagura, Princess Ashes, asucags, Athrun-n-Cagalli, lil kagome 13, thousandbirds, ANONYMOUS-gsd, asga, IYGU, MXC - the show- rocks my so..., gseedlover, koali alolao, KiraFreedom, CaffiendNeko, animemistress419, ZBoi, Kandida, astrocosmos, XxbuffyxX, stuntsheep, Moonee, cloudy mind, animeluver461, Yukimi noh Daiomoru, Maryam Khanoom, ANONYMOUS
Also, thank you to any people who haven't reviewed but still kept on following this story! Wish I could have heard from you, but nevertheless, I appreciate your interest.
Happy holidays to all, and I hope you have a great New Year!
Best wishes,
Periodic-Prose