Once she was away from her brother, she let out a relieved breath.
"Mommy?" a small voice called out. She looked up and saw her daughter several feet away. Rosalynn was staring at her with a concerned look.
"Rosalynn will be sad that you are not having fun," her brother's voice played out in her mind. She smiled at her daughter as she walked up to the small golden-haired girl.
"Why aren't you playing with your friends?" she asked, ruffling her daughter's hair. The little girl wrinkled her nose and pouted.
"You don't look happy," the little girl said simply. She blinked at her daughter who stared back at her. When did Rosalynn become so mature? She shook her head and smiled back.
"Don't worry. I'm happy. In fact, let's go over to Kazuya and your friends there," she said, holding out her hand to her daughter. Rosalynn smiled and eagerly clasped her small hand to her mother's.
Kira smiled at some of the parents and made small conversations with them. But his eyes never left the door leading towards the backyard where the party was. His eyes narrowed when a certain blue-haired man appeared.
"He's here," he thought. Making an excuse to a parent, he made his way to the blue-haired man who looked around in confusion. As he got nearer, Kira saw his former best friend turned and saw him. "Athrun," he said, stopping in front of the blue-haired man.
"Kira," Athrun greeted. Kira looked around and saw Cagalli playing with the children while Lacus talking to a parent. Shinn was nowhere in sight. He walked away from Athrun and further away from the party.
"Follow me," he said, throwing his words over his shoulders. Athrun blinked at this but obeyed. They continued to walk until he could no longer hear the party.
"Do you remember what you said before we fought the final battle that ended the enmity between the Naturals and the Coordinators?" Kira asked, as he stared up at the blue sky.
"I remember. I said that it doesn't matter. We would always have the same dreams and goals," Athrun said, remembering the time when he realized that Cagalli was not wearing the ring that he gave her. "When this is all over, I would come back for her," he continued. He saw Kira nodded.
"Then, why the HELL did you disappear? And not just 1 year or two. 6 DAMN LONG YEARS!" Kira said his voice laced with anger. Athrun blinked at the outburst. He had never seen Kira like this before. The brown-haired man glared at him with anger amethyst eyes as his hands were clenched into fists.
"I-" he started to say.
"YOU WHAT! FIGURED THAT IT WAS A HASSLE COMING BACK TO ORB AFTER RETURNING TO PLANT! DO YOU KNOW HOW IT PAINS ME TO SEE HER-" Kira exploded, stopping momentarily. Athrun blinked at this again, stunned.
"She what?" he thought. He absolutely had no idea of what Kira was talking about. "But Kira-"he started, a hand raised to clamp on the brown-haired man's shoulder. Kira whirled around and face him. He took a step back.
"DAMN YOU ATHRUN! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER!" Kira shouted, coming towards the blue-haired man with a raised fist.
"KIRA YAMATO!" a feminine voice shouted from out of nowhere. Kira stopped; his fist nearly hit Athrun's face. Both turned to the voice and saw Cagalli standing there with her hands on her hips. Beside her, Lacus sighed and shook her head. Cagalli stormed over to her brother and twisted his ear.
"Ouch! Damn Cagalli-" he started.
"Don't you damn me. What do you think you are doing?" she demanded. Her brother growled and glared at Athrun.
"Teaching that dumb moron a lesson. He should pay for making you c-" he started before yelping. Cagalli twisted his ear again.
"Just because you are my brother, it doesn't mean that you can defend me. Listen, I can fight my own battles," she said before releasing her brother. Kira grunted and walked towards his wife who softly snickered.
"Come on Kira. I think I hear Kazuya calling us," Lacus said, grabbing her husband's hand. She pulled Kira away from both Athrun and Cagalli. But Kira was reluctant and had to eventually be dragged away.
Cagalli sighed in relief when she saw her brother being pulled away. Before they disappeared around the corner, she saw Lacus winked at her. She sighed again as she placed a hand on her chest. That was too close.
She turned to face Athrun who seemed to be in shock. Just looking at his face caused sharp knife-like pains through her heart. But nothing more.
"Cagalli, do you have any idea of what just happened? What was Kira talking about?" she heard Athrun asked.
"I think I do," she said. "But first, I need to get someone," she said. With that, she went off to find her daughter.
"You did what!" Lacus asked, her eyes widened with surprise. Kira winced, waiting for the impending lecture. But instead, she laughed. "Oh my god. I can't believe this. No wonder you guys are related," she gushed. Kira looked at his wife, confused.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"It seems that you did the exact thing that Cagalli had done," she said. Kira frowned at this, thinking. Then, it dawned to him.
"You mean she invited Athrun here too?" he asked. Lacus nodded.
"Rosalynn!" Cagalli called out to her daughter. The little girl who was playing with her cousin came running towards her.
"Mummy!" the little girl cried out. Cagalli smiled as she lowered herself to her daughter's height.
"Rosalynn, there is someone that I want you to meet," she said when a shadow loomed over both of them. The little girl looked up. Suddenly, her expression turned from happy to an unreadable one.
"Rosalynn, this is Mr. Athrun Zala," Cagalli said, choosing to ignore the expression on her daughter's face. She had to make this fast.
"Hello Rosalynn," Athrun said, smiling slightly. The little girl did not reply. Cagalli frowned in confusion. This was the first time she had seen her daughter not opening up to a stranger before. And Athrun was not an ordinary stranger.
"Rosalynn," Cagalli called out, trying to snap her daughter out of her strange trance. The little girl blinked and then ran to hide behind her mother's legs. "What's wrong Rosalynn?" she asked, carrying the little girl in her arms. The little girl burrowed her face into the side of her mother's neck.
"Uncle Shinn is my daddy," the little girl mumbled. At her words, Cagalli froze. How did she know?
"What are you talking about Rosalynn?" Cagalli said, her voice trembling. Though both were speaking in low voice, Athrun's heightened sense of hearing could hear everything.
"Uncle Shinn is my daddy," Rosalynn repeated again, more firmly.