JC: This is the second to the last chapter. It's getting exciting! As promised, this chapter will have AsuCaga moments! Are you ready? Well, please read on. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny, never did, never will.

Love Fulfilled

Phase 17: The Heart's Desire

Rey stared at the screen with wide eyes, surprised and happy to see Kira alive. "Kira-sama... I'm so glad..." he said in a low voice.

Gil pushed Rey against the wall and shot him a deadly glare. "I thought he was dead. Why is he alive, Rey?!" he exclaimed, not knowing that the people were staring at them.

The door flew wide open all of a sudden, and the two turned their attention to the door and saw Cagalli, Kira and Athrun.

Releasing his nephew from his grasps, Gil took a few steps back as his eyes focused on the twins. "Darn it..." he mumbled.

Cagalli pointed a gun at him. "Hold it right there, Chairman Dullindal!" She narrowed her eyes at him, as she placed pressure on the trigger.

Gil felt nervous, intimidated, but he faked a smile. "It seems you caught me, Princess."

"I can't believe you would do such a thing to my brother. You even used your own nephew to do your bidding. You're despicable."

Kira had always thought of the chairman as a model leader. However, seeing the current chairman at the moment made him so disappointed. "We won't let you get away with this." He turned to the two ZAFT bodyguards, Yzak and Shinn, who were standing by the door. "Please arrest him," he commanded them.

Shinn and Yzak smirked. "With pleasure..." they said in unison.

When the chairman was taken away, Rey approached the twins hesitantly. "Kira-sama, Cagalli-san, I-I..." He couldn't look at them in the eyes. He didn't even know what to say. He made a big mistake. He had betrayed their trust.

Kira placed a hand on Rey's shoulder as he showed him a kind expression. He wasn't furious at Rey. He understood everything about Rey's actions and his true intentions. "It's okay. I know the chairman only forced you," he said.

Rey was pleased to hear that. "Thank you, Kira-sama," he said. He then faced Cagalli with a faint smile on his lips. "Cagalli-san... I'm sorry if I didn't tell you. I'm sorry for making you sad."

Cagalli clenched her fist, feeling a little bit mad at Rey. Unexpectedly, she punched Rey on the face. "You idiot!" she yelled as she shed tears. "How could you do such a thing? Kira is your friend and you almost killed him! You made him suffer, you made me suffer!"

Rey held his swollen cheek, sensing the pain he received, and lowered his head to hide his face from her. "I'm so sorry, Cagalli-san."

"Well... that's that!" she said in a cheerful voice, which surprised Rey.

Rey looked up at her and saw her angelic face. It was then he realized that Cagalli had also forgiven him. His lips curved into a handsome smile, feeling guilt-free at last. "Thank you..." he muttered as his charming blue eyes remained focused on her.

HQ (After 3 Days)

The Space Shuttle leaving for PLANT was all set. The shuttle was only waiting for Rey and his bodyguards to board it. They were presently bidding their goodbyes and thanks to their friends. They were going to miss ORB a lot, but they were planning on coming back if they have the time.

"Rey, please promise me that you'll visit again soon," Cagalli said as she held Rey's hand.

Rey nodded his head. "Yes, I will."

"Now that you're the Chairman, make sure you do a good job," Kira told him as he patted his shoulder.

"I will do my very best. Kira-sama." After that, Rey walked up to the shuttle, slightly waving his hand at the twins and boarded it.

Dearka was having trouble saying goodbye to Miriallia. He had scratched his head in frustration a couple of times already, trying to find the right words to say.

Miriallia was staring at him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Are you going or not?" she asked him, raising a brow. "If you don't hurry up, the shuttle will leave without you."

Dearka chuckled. "It's just that... I... I"

Miriallia sighed. "You're so weird!" she blurted out without a care, making Dearka feel bad. She noticed the change in his sad face, the face she saw one time at the beach. She remembered it very clearly.

"Sometimes I feel jealous, because Yamato is getting all her attention. I can't blame her since she knew Yamato long before me."

Dearka's words played back like a recorder in her mind, making her think differently of him. She had been ignoring him ever since she met him. She wanted to do something nice for him to cheer him up.

"But I would be pleased if she would smile back at me." With those words, she finally found an answer. Gradually, she leaned forward, bringing her lips near his cheek. She let out a slight giggle before landing one sweet peck on his cheek.

Dearka's face flushed up, turning redder than a red Christmas bulb. He faced Miriallia with a surprised look and his eyes grew as wide as marbles. He was completely dumbfounded. "WH-what... What was that all about?!" he nervously asked her.

"It was my way of saying I'm sorry." Miriallia's voice softened as she started speaking. "I'm really sorry for ignoring you all this time."

"It's because you had a lot of things in your mind. That's okay for me."

"Really?" replied Miriallia with a smile. "I'm glad to hear that." Her smile widened more.

Dearka couldn't believe his eyes. He was finally seeing her smile, a genuine smile. Her smile was the one thing he desired the most from her. In his excitement, he started telling Miriallia some compliments, which turned out to be downright annoying.

"You're so funny... It's too bad we didn't get the chance to be close friends," Miriallia said in a low voice.

"We can be friends now!" Dearka told her in lively tone.

"But you're going away. When will I see you again?"

"Don't worry, I promise to visit you next month. Is that okay?"

"That'll be great. Just don't break your promise."

"I won't."

After that, Dearka boarded the ship. As he seated himself beside Rey, he sighed in relief, because he was so happy. He held his cheek, where Miriallia kissed it, and gently caressed it. "I will never forget this day," he murmured.

Yzak was currently looking for Shinn, who had been missing since the shuttle arrived. He was getting frustrated. "Ah! Where's that idiot?!" he mumbled, shifting his head from left to right. He went to the parking lot, hoping he would find Shinn there. He scanned around the place, carefully looking at each car. And then finally he found Shinn standing beside a red car. The black-haired coordinator was apparently talking to Stellar. It seemed like the two of them were having a pleasant conversation, which irritated Yzak more. He marched up to them and pulled Shinn to his side.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing, Yzak?!" Shinn exclaimed as he hauled his arm away from Yzak.

"Don't you know what time it is, you moron?! It's time to leave!" Yzak retorted.

"Ah... What?! It's time already? But I haven't..." Shinn gradually turned his head back at Stellar, looking disappointed.

Stellar showed him a cheerful smile in return. "Shinn, we'll see each other again, right?"

"Yeah, we'll see each other again," Shinn replied. "I'll make sure of it."

"Shinn, we're going to leave without you!" Yzak groaned as he walked away.

"You better hurry up, Shinn," Stellar said.

"I'm really going to miss you, Stellar," Shinn told her in a low voice as his cheeks turned red like his eyes.

"I'll miss you too, Shinn..." She then leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

Shinn's face turned all red. He didn't expect to be kissed, so it was a complete surprise for him. "Um... I don't know what to say, but thanks..." He scratched the back of his head as he smiled awkwardly at her. "Well, see ya, Stellar…" He spun around on his heels and walked past Yzak as quickly as he could..

"Hey! Shinn, wait up!" Yzak hollered as he followed Shinn.

Stellar watched the two coordinators walking away until they disappeared from her sight. It was then when a drop of tear fell from her magenta-colored eyes. She felt a little lonely. She wanted to stay by Shinn's side forever. She had grown to like him so much. "Yeah, we'll see each other again." She recalled what he told her and smiled. "I will wait until then, Shinn."

After Shinn and Yzak boarded the shuttle, it immediately took off for space.

Cagalli watched the shuttle leaving the atmosphere from the observation tower, as her bodyguard stood right next to her. "A lot of things happened since Rey came here, huh?" Cagalli said with a deep sigh.

"I'm just glad everything turned out okay," Athrun added.

"You're right..." she replied as she shifted her eyes on Athrun. A faint shade of red appeared on her cheeks as her eyes softened. "Athrun... I want to say thank you for all your help. You were always by my side to support and comfort me. I'm so glad you became my bodyguard."

"Cagalli... For you, I would do anything." He was speaking in a soft and caring voice.

"Huh? What did you say?" She didn't quite catch what Athrun was saying to her, since he suddenly lowered his voice.

But Athrun merely shook his head and said, "It's nothing…"

Next Day

The sun was up, the skies were clear, and the breeze was cool. Since it was such a perfect day, the twins and the Zala siblings decided to visit Murrue Ramius's beach house. There, they were immediately entertained by the captain and Stellar.

"Stellar, let's go for a walk," Jean said, looking a little bored, as she got off the couch and stretched out her arms.

"Okay, let's go!" Stellar said excitedly. She immediately stood up and grabbed Jean's wrist. "We can walk barefooted by the shore." She removed her slippers and told Jean to remove her slippers as well. When Jean took off her footwear, she immediately ran off, dragging Jean along with her.

"Stellar is really energetic," Murrue said, letting out a soft giggle, as she raised her cup of coffee. "I wonder where she gets all that energy. I rarely see her tired."

"By the way, Murrue-san, when are you planning to come back to the military?" Kira asked the former captain of the Archangel Ship.

"Soon... My vacation is almost over," Murrue answered before sipping her coffee. She shifted her eyes at the blue-haired coordinator who was currently staring at the love of his life. Thinking of an opportunity, she told Kira to help her in the kitchen as an excuse, so Athrun and Cagalli could have some time alone.

The blonde princess was presently looking at the fishes swimming in the aquarium. "Hmm... I want to swim," Cagalli said as she turned to her bodyguard. She was about to invite him to go swimming with her when he suddenly touched her cheek with a gentle hand. She was quite surprised at this. "Athrun, why-what..."

"Cagalli, I wanted to tell you this a long time ago, but I didn't have enough confidence back then," Athrun started, feeling nervous, as he removed his hand from her cheek.

"Athrun, what do you want to tell me?" Cagalli looked at him, curiosity written all over her face. She waited anxiously for the coordinator to speak, thinking of what he might tell her. For some reason, her heart pounded like crazy.

To be continued...

JC: Next chapter is the final one. Of course, there will be more Athrun and Cagalli moments there! That will be a treat for AsuCaga fans such as myself! What do you think of this chapter? I hope it was good. Please review! Don't forget it! No flaming also!