As usual, by the time they got there, she could already see the children staring at the cars whizzing past. The car rolled to a stop and Cagalli climbed out of the car. She smiled as she looked on at both her daughter and nephew running towards her. As they got nearer, she saw they had similar mock angry faces.
"Mommy, you are late again," her daughter said with a pout. She stooped down to her level and plastered a sad face. At that, her daughter giggled before regaining her mock angry self. She felt Shinn coming to her side.
"Hey kiddo," she heard him called out to Kazuya. She heard her nephew giggled before regaining his own mock angry self. Inwardly she smiled.
Placing both of her palms together, she bowed at her daughter. "I'm very sorry. It won't happen again. You see, your uncle Shinn here was the one who was late," she said, making an excuse in the nick of time.
"What!" she heard him exclaimed. She grinned wickedly. She heard both her daughter and nephew giggling. She smiled.
"Hey how about we get something sweet before we go home?" she asked, holding out her hand to her daughter. Rosalynn smiled and nodded as she took her mother's hand. Cagalli turned and saw Kazuya already holding Shinn's hand. She smiled at her black-haired friend and climbed in the car.
She gazed at her black-haired friend as he talked with the children. She smiled as continued to gaze at him. "He has come a long way," she thought. When she met him the first time, he was glaring at her and blaming her for the deaths of his family. But after meeting Athrun and working with him, Shinn seemed to have found peace and even came back to the place where he swore he would never return.
Gently she placed her chin on her hand, she looked at Shinn. His red eyes that once were full of anger were now gentle. It seemed that he had fought off his demons and had found peace from within. She remembered the day he came back to Orb.
"What do you think you are doing here?" she asked coldly. She stared at him from amidst the damages that Orb had after the final war. She saw him winced as he walked up to her.
"Princess-" he called out. She moved away from him swiftly.
"You have no right to call me that! You don't even want to be here, do you?" she spat at him, her anger in full throttle. She could not believe the nerve he had to return to Orb when it was in truth his fault that Orb had been reduced to this state. She could hear the cries and sadness of her people around as they mourned for their loved ones. She knew that it was not entirely his fault that Orb was like this but -.
She felt despondent and tired. Once again, the heavy burden of her responsibility as a Princess weighed her down. Suddenly, she felt arms surrounding her. She felt her hair being wet as he burrowed his head in her hair.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he cried, repeating his apology over and over again. She felt her own tears threatening to spill. It was then she knew that hope was not really far from her grasp. She raised her arms and wrapped them around him. Together, they fell to the floor. As he cried, she held him in her arms.
"Cagalli? Cagalli?" she heard him called her, snapping her back to reality. She saw the three of them staring her. She blinked.
"What?" she asked blankly.
"Are you all right? You've been staring at your drink for some time," he said, pointing at her drink which was held at the same level as her face. She blushed and placed it down. She saw that the children had finished their ice-cream and was now playing around the fountain near the restaurant they were at. Leaning back, she gazed at her daughter and her nephew.
"What are you thinking?" she heard Shinn asked from beside her. She turned and saw that he had moved closer towards her.
"I'm thinking how peaceful life is now. No more war," she said, feeling the gentle breeze against her face as she looked back at the children. She tilted her head to face his profile. "What about you?" she asked. She saw him took a deep breath and looked up at the orange-filled sky.
"The same as you," he said, now looking down at the children. She smiled at his answer. As both stared at the children playing, a realization struck her. She loved having him near her. When he was near her, she always feels relaxed and happy no matter what the situation she was in. She felt safe with him around. She did not care if they did not talk or share the same thoughts, she just want him to be by her side always.
Then it dawned on her. She smiled as she felt lightened. "Come on. Let's go home," she said, standing up. He looked at her in confusion but followed from behind.