He stared down at the tombstone that was freshly erected. The wind blew gently at his deep blue hair. Several of those blue bangs billowed around his face. Sighing, he pulled his gaze away from the name engraved on the tombstone. He gazed up at the clear blue sky and thought that it was a shame that a perfect day was chosen for funeral. With a sudden, his thoughts strayed away and a faint memory returned back to him.
He glanced at his watch and wondered if he had gotten the time wrong. It was already past their meeting time and he was still not here.
"Athrun!" he heard someone called out. He glanced up and saw a black-haired man walked up to him. Smiling, he nodded at his newly arrived friend. "Been waiting long?" the black-haired man asked as he sat down. He shook his head and waved for a waitress. "It's great seeing you again," the black-haired man said, leaning back. Athrun smiled.
What about you then? How's married life?" he asked, winking causing the other man to blush. Just as then, a waitress appeared beside him and waited as she took their orders. "So how is Cagalli and Rosalynn?" he asked, once the waitress was out of sight. At his question, those red eyes had a dreamy look in them.
"Everyone's fine. Rosalynn's becoming just like her mother everyday," he replied with a shrug. Athrun laughed and shook his head.
"Don't I know it," he said. "When she came to stay with me over the weekend, she wanted to actually ride one of the mobile suits. It took two whole carton of ice cream to get her mind off the suits," he groaned. The black-haired man laughed. "What about Cagalli?" he then asked. At the mention of his wife's name, the black-haired man turned red.
"She – I – we –" he stammered. At this, Athrun raised an eyebrow at his friend and leaned forward. It was amusing to see his friend stammered incoherently and curious as to why. The waitress arrived and placed their orders on the table before walking off. He watched as the black-haired man took a deep breath and grinned at him. "We're pregnant!" he said with a sudden. Athrun blinked for several moments before laughing.
"Congratulations Shinn. I'm happy for you," he said. The black-haired man smiled and nodded his thanks. With that, they turned silent. "When is she due?" he asked, breaking the short silence between them. His friend took his drink and sipped.
"In about eight months or so," he replied, turning the cup in his hands. Athrun nodded as he contemplated that. Suddenly, his companion turned silent as he stared down at the murky water of his drink. "Athrun," he called out, raising his head to look at his friend. Athrun was startled to find those bright red eyes concentrating on him with fierce emotions in them. "If anything -" he started to say.
"If anything ever happens to me-" he started. Athrun frowned and shook his head.
"Don't talk like that. You still have a long life to live. If Cagalli were to hear you say that, she'll pummel you," he said jokingly. But the young man did not hear it.
"Athrun, promise me. You'll take care of her and the kids if I'm not around," he said firmly. Something about those red eyes made Athrun stared deep into them. Slowly, he nodded.
He looked down at the engraved name again, his green eyes full of emotions. Using his hand, he swept away his bangs from his face. As he did that, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning slightly, he saw that the brown-haired man stood a few feet behind him.
"Athrun," the brown-haired man called out. He turned back and gazed upon the tombstone again.
"You know, it wasn't fair of Heaven to take him away," he simply said. "He still had his life to live, a family to take of and someone to love and care for," he continued. The brown-haired man simply stood there, listening. He looked up at the sky again, this time his bangs covering his eyes.
"It's starting to rain," he said. The brown-haired man looked up at the clear blue sky.
"But there isn't a cloud in sigh-" he started.
"No, it is definitely raining," he interrupted, turning his head slightly away from his companion. A lone tear trailed down, his companion's eyes softened with grief upon seeing it. He, in turn, looked away and his brown hair slid forward.
"Yes it is," he softly whispered, two silver trails on his cheeks. Silent, they stood there as the wind quietly blew around them.
Upon returning back to the mansion, she closed the door as the others stood awkwardly ahead of her in their mourning clothes. As she locked the door, she felt a hand clamped gently on her shoulder. Without looking back, she knew her sister-in-law was behind her.
"Cagalli?" she asked tentatively. Silently, she took a deep breath but did not turn to face Lacus. "I'll take the kids up to their rooms," she heard the pink-haired woman said, understandingly. Numbly, she nodded her thanks. She heard her sister-in-law softly spoke to the children and heard them trudging slowly up the stairs. She turned slightly and saw Lacus carrying Seki as she climbed the stairs. Behind her, her daughter held Shinji by the hand as Kazuya held hers.
Taking a deep breath again, she pulled herself away from the wooden door and shakily made her way towards the stairs herself. Behind her, she heard the wooden door opened. Without turning back, she knew that it was her brother. Seeing that she was now near to the door, she raised a hand to grab hold of the railing. Suddenly, her vision blurred and everything became doubled. As sudden as her vision became blurred, she saw her whole surrounding became dim.
"Cagalli!" she heard her brother cried out just as her whole body felt light and began to collapse. Suddenly, she felt herself being held against a firm body. She turned slightly and her eyes widened slightly before closing. Before her entire surrounding turned dark, she let out a soft whisper.
"Shinn."