"Why did you do that?" she asked Shinn as both of them were let alone. Shinn shrugged.
"Guess it is in my nature," he said. She sighed.
"In your nature? The first time I met you, you shove me so hard I thought my arm was going to fall off," she retorted while Shinn grinned.
"Well. I can't help it," he laughed. With a thought, he became solemn. "But now, I've changed," he said, his tone serious as he stared deep into her golden amber ones. She felt a blush coming on as he held her face in his hands.
Athrun stared up at the ceiling as he lay on his bed, thinking. He knew he should be happy for Cagalli. At last, she found someone she could be happy with. But something kept pulling at his heart.
"I'm really glad she found someone," he whispered, his expression unreadable. With that, he turned to his side and switched off the lights, leaving him in darkness.
"Bye Mommy!" the children waved as the mothers waved back. Cagalli sighed the moment her daughter was inside. Lacus smiled at her.
"You know. You should try waking up earlier next time. I'm getting really tired of having to wake you up," Kira said, ruffling Cagalli's golden hair. Instead of her usual snarling, she just sighed. Her brother stopped his ruffling and stared at her.
"What is the matter?" her sister-in-law asked. She shook her head.
"It's nothing. Just that I'm real tired that's all, she said. She looked at her watch and screamed. GOD! I'M LATE!" With that, she ran back to the car. Both her brother and Lacus looked at each other and followed her.
ORB Headquarters
"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for taking the time to come to our nation. I hope that we are able to work together towards peace," Cagalli said, shaking several of the politicians' hands while the media took their photos. Beside her, Kira was thanking several others as well. Smiling at an elderly politician from the Earth Alliance, she felt her brother stiffened. Wondering why, she looked up and saw the blue-haired Chairman of PLANT coming in her direction.
"Cagalli -" her brother started. She waved them off.
"Don't worry. I'm keeping it non-personal," she said. She then turned and smiled at Athrun.
"Chairman Zala. I am so glad that you were able to come for the Ball. We hope that Orb will be able to work together with PLANT," she said, lifting her hand to shake his. Athrun blinked at her and lifted his own hand. While shaking his hand, she felt the same electric thrills she thought she would never feel again. But she chose to ignore them.
"Athrun!" a voice called out. All of the people turned and she saw a certain pink-haired woman walking up towards Athrun. As the woman walked closer, Cagalli's smile faltered and she hid her eyes under her golden bangs. Only her brother and Shinn saw her movement.
"Meyrin. I thought you had gone back to PLANT," the blue-haired chairman said as the pink-haired woman stood beside him. She smiled and linked her arm with his.
"Well, I decided to return back with you. It seems lonely going back alone," she replied. She turned and realized that the princess of Orb was in front of her. "Princess Athha. I'm very glad to see you. As you can see, I've taken great care of Chairman Zala. There is no need for any worries now," she innocently said.
Beside her, she heard her brother took a sharp intake of breath. Taking a deep breath, she smiled at them. She saw Athrun blinked at Meyrin but again, she ignored it.
"Yes, and I see that you do have taken good care of the Chairman. I thank you for that," she said. Suddenly, Meyrin screamed, startling everyone.
"Shinn! What are you doing? How are you?" she asked, letting go of Athrun and coming to Shinn. Shinn smiled at her.
"Fine. I'm now the commander of Orb. So basically, I'm helping Cagalli," he answered, Meyrin looked at him shrewdly.
"Cagalli huh?" she said. Then, she linked her arm back with Athrun. "Anyway, guess what? I'm getting married!" she said.
"Really? To who?" Shinn asked, though he had already suspected who. He saw Athrun was already looking flustered. Meyrin blushed.
"I don't think you need to guess who already," she said coyly. The other politicians murmured among themselves.
She gazed out of the window and stared at the plane that carried the politicians. Seeing that they are gone safely, she turned back and walked. Her brother and Shinn looked at each other and then at her back.
"Cagalli? Are you all right?" her brother asked, catching up to her. She did not reply. Shinn walked up to them. All three walked out of the building in silence. "You guys wait here. I'll bring the car around," Kira said, already jogging to the car. Shinn stared at his back while Cagalli just stared at the ground.
So he was getting married. "Cagalli Yula Athha, you really are clueless as ever," she scolded herself, clenching her fists tight. "Why won't you ever get it into your thick skull that he is not the one for you?" she reprimanded. Suddenly, she felt herself being hugged. She looked up and saw that it was Shinn. He laid his cheek on the crown of her soft golden hair.
"It's okay. I know it hurts. You can let it go. No one is going to see it," he whispered. Hearing his kind words, she felt tears flowing down. Returning the hug, she wrapped her own arms tightly around his lithe body.
"It just wasn't fair. I've waited for him all of these years. I've kept myself for him for nearly seven years and look how he repays me. It hurts. It hurts real bad inside -" she sobbed, her tears wetting his front. Shinn tightened his hold on her, all this time letting her cry. A dark blue car rolled in but stopped a few feet away from them.
Kira stared hard at them. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, wishing that it was Athrun's head. Ahead, he saw that Cagalli had moved away from Shinn and wiping the tears. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his grip on the steering wheel and drove towards them. He heard both climbed in.
Looking at the rearview mirror, he saw his sister rested her head on Shinn's shoulder. Her cheeks glistened. He pulled his gaze away from her and looked at Shinn with concern. Shinn shook his head and stared back with sadness in his eyes. Kira sighed and put the car in gear.