Disclaimer: Okay, yeah, Gundam Seed won't ever belong to me as long as I live.

a/n: Hey, people! Just wanted to say thanks for reviewing in that other oneshot I made even though it was kind of… uh, rushed. Well, I'll be leaving you with this chapter 'kay?

Chapter 11: Breakups and blackmail

December 19 CE 77 2: 25 pm

"Yes, some people tell me the same thing," Shawn replied to the blue-haired man.

"Oh, Shawn, this is-," Lacus said, but the brunette cut her off unintentionally.

"Athrun… Athrun Zala," he said. Athrun looked at him with curiosity evident in his eyes.

"How did you know?" Lacus asked. Shawn blinked. How did I know? The name just entered his mind, like a little of his memories were resurfacing.

"Um… I've heard about him from my friends," he lied.

"Pleased to meet you," Athrun said, extending his hand, which Shawn shook.

Just then, a sleek black convertible stopped in front of them. A blond-haired girl got out.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I had to stop by the hospital and see how my father's doing and…" She looked at Shawn.

"Oh, hi, I'm Cagalli," she said with a smile. Wait, that's the guy Lacus told me about, she thought. The one who looks like Kira.

"Shawn."

"I think we should get inside now," Lacus said. "It's starting to snow again."

Everyone else agreed.

Once they were all seated, Lacus asked her question.

"So, Shawn, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Shawn would've felt better if they were in private. He didn't want anyone else to know about the article in the tabloid he'd read earlier.

Then again, they are her friends, he thought. And Athrun is her husband.

"Well I... I saw this article in a tabloid about us having an… affair," he said, a little shakily. "I'm afraid something might come out of this."

"What are we going to do?" Lacus asked Athrun, Cagalli and Shawn.

"It's just a tabloid, Lacus," Cagalli said. "No one really takes those things seriously."

Athrun agreed. "She's right. We should just leave it alone. Still, I think it helps if we don't do anything suspicious." He looked from Shawn to Lacus, as if his statement was directed to them.

Lacus forced a smile. "Everything's going to be fine, right?"

I hope so, Shawn thought. Because I have a feeling this isn't the end of it.

"So, Shawn, is it?" Athrun said. Shawn nodded. "I heard you have a fiancée."

"Yes, that's right."

"What if I tell you that she was cheating on you a year ago with my friend?"

Lacus and Cagalli looked quite surprised at what Athrun just said.

Shawn looked at him, his eyes a little narrowed. "Is this… a joke?"

"No joke," Athrun said. "She was two-timing. Yzak said so himself."

"Fllay wouldn't do that."

"And how are you so sure, Mister Frost?" Athrun said coolly.

"I just know, okay?" Shawn said in a low voice, trying to conceal his anger. How dare he say something like that about Fllay? He thought.

"Do you really trust her that much?" Athrun went on. "Listen to me. I'm telling you this because I want to help you. You shouldn't put all your trust in her."

Shawn's hands clenched into fists. And before he could stop himself, he punched the blue-haired twenty-two year old in the face.

"Athrun!" Cagalli cried.

"I think that was too much, Shawn," Lacus said. She gasped as Athrun suddenly landed his own punch on Shawn's nose.

"Athrun, stop it," Cagalli said. "It was your fault for pushing it, anyway."

Athrun's eyes were fixed on Shawn as he spoke. "I was trying to help him, and what does he do? Ungrateful little-,"

Before he could say anything else, Shawn stood up, grabbed his collar and dragged him outside.

"Listen, you," Shawn said, dropping Athrun on the ground. "What do you have against her?"

"Aside from the fact that she cheated on my friend, nothing," Athrun replied, getting to his feet, dusting off dirt from his clothes.

"She wouldn't do anything like that at all!"

"Really?" Athrun said with a snort. He saw a couple in a car a few meters away, making out. Careless blokes, he thought. They left the window open.

Shawn followed his gaze. He noticed that the girl who was doing "it" with the guy had long red hair.

Just like…

"Fllay!"


December 20 CE 77 7:00 am

"Come on, Shiho," Yzak said, still holding her hand. "We're gonna be late for class."

DEE-DEET! DEE-DEET!

Shiho sat up very suddenly on her bed when her alarm rang.

That was a dream? She thought. But... It seemed so real. Not that I actually like the guy. Ugh, whatever.

Shiho rubbed the remaining sleep from her eyes and went to the bathroom to take a shower, the dream she had about Yzak still fresh in her mind.

Meanwhile, Dearka was on the phone with Yzak.

"If you think I'm going to apologize for what happened at the mall yesterday, you're sadly mistaken," Yzak said, obviously being sarcastic. "I just called to ask if you knew any good law schools I can enroll in."

"Law school?" Dearka repeated. "And why, pray tell, would you want to go to law school, when we both graduated from our computer engineering course two years ago?"

"That's none of your business," Yzak said coldly.

The tan boy ignored his friend's last comment. This is perfect, Dearka thought, a smirk on his face. I can play matchmaker and get a hundred bucks. Yzak and Shiho will thank me for this… someday.

"Dearka, you still there or what?" Yzak demanded.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here," Dearka said. "And yes, I do know a good school in Onogoro."


7: 52

The brown-haired girl took a sip out of her coffee, while trying not to make it obvious that she was staring at the guy at the counter of the school campus coffee house, again. Just then, she saw someone she really did not want to see. He was at the counter, blocking her view of the oh-so-cute college senior-slash-coffee guy.

Déjà vu, she thought. Hopefully he won't see me and will just scram.

Unfortunately, Yzak did see Shiho, and seeing as she was the only one he knew, he went to her table.

"Hey," he said, stiffness evident in his tone. He sat on the chair across Shiho.

"Let me guess. You study here now, don't you?" Shiho said.

"Yeah, but I'm starting school tomorrow," he replied.

At least it isn't complete déjà vu, the nineteen year-old thought as she eyed the man across her.

"Show me around."

"What?"

"You heard me," Yzak said gruffly. "I want you to show me around. This school is big, and it's not impossible for me to get lost."

"I have stuff to do," Shiho replied. She didn't want a repeat of what happened in her dream, when she did say yes to him.

"Like what?" Yzak retorted. "Stare at the guy at the counter over there, and hope that he'll notice you?"

Shiho's cheeks turned beet red at his statement. "N-no!" she stammered.

"I thought so," Yzak said coolly. "You know, you're really making it obvious you have a crush on him by staring at him all the time."

"No, duh," Shiho said, the blush slowly disappearing. "Almost every girl who has a crush on him comes here everyday just to take a look at him."

Now that Shiho had mentioned it, the coffee shop did seem a little crowded. Yzak looked around and saw at least one girl occupying almost every table he saw. Some of the girls were dreamily staring at "coffee boy" and others were trying to hide the fact that they, too, were dreamily staring at "coffee boy."

"Point taken," he said when he looked back at Shiho. She was drinking the last of her coffee.

"And about that tour," Shiho said. Yzak looked at her expectantly. "No."

Yzak let out a derisive snort. "Figures."

"Besides, I have class in a few minutes," she said, looking at her watch. She stood up and took her laptop. "See you later," she said, walking away.

"Hey, you're just gonna leave?" Yzak said, following her.

"Uh-huh. I have priorities."

"Okay," Yzak said. A smirk appeared on his face. "I'm gonna have a talk with Mr. Cutie over there at the counter and tell him all about you."

Shiho turned around. "You wouldn't-,"

"I will if you don't show me around after your classes."

Shiho let out a defeated sigh. "All right already."

"Great. See you later, then," Yzak said, that smirk still on his face as he turned around and walked to who-knows-where.

"I hope there isn't a later," Shiho muttered, walking to the school building across the coffee shop.


December 19 CE 77 2: 25 pm

"Fllay!" Shawn shouted. He couldn't believe what he had just seen.

The two people in the car stopped dead. The red-haired girl pushed the guy away from her and went out of the car.

"Shawn! I…It's not what you think, it's-,"

"How could you, Fllay?" Shawn said in an uncharacteristically low voice.

"Let me explain!"

"HOW COULD YOU!" he yelled.

By now, Cagalli and Lacus had reached the spot in the parking lot where Athrun was.

"I'm sorry!" Fllay said. "I didn't know what I was doing anymore." Tears started streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm breaking up with you," Shawn said coldly.

"Please, Shawn, you don't have to do this," the redhead said, trying to take a hold of Shawn's hand. He pushed her away quite forcefully and looked at her like she was a piece of mud stuck in his shoe.

"Don't touch me."

"Athrun, what's this all about?" Shawn heard Cagalli ask Athrun, who looked at the brunette. He shrugged.

"I guess I've been proven right," he said. "You had to find out the hard way."

"Leave me alone," Shawn mumbled, walking past Athrun, but not before hitting his shoulder with his own.

2: 04 pm

Shawn was at his office. He knew Fllay was in his hotel room, packing her stuff.

A year ago, Shawn had thought that if Fllay and he ever broke up, he wouldn't be able to take it. Yet now, when it actually did happen, he didn't feel that way. Perhaps it was because of the other person he had labeled as "special". And who else would that be but Lacus Clyne?

His phone rang, making Shawn shove everything he was thinking about to the back of his mind. He looked at the display on the mobile phone. It was Lacus.

"Hello?"

"Shawn, hi," Lacus said, in that usual cheerful voice of hers. "I was just wondering. Do you want to come to my house for Christmas? It'll really be great if you would come. You know, to patch things up with Athrun."

"I don't know, Lacus. I have to think about that," Shawn replied, not really wanting to see Athrun Zala again after what happened between them yesterday.

"Call me when you've made your decision, okay?"

"Okay."

"Bye," Lacus said, hanging up.

Shawn took a deep breath. He had four days to decide on this. Though he did want to go, his pride just wouldn't permit it.

I still have four days, he thought. I'm sure I can decide in less time than that.


4: 22 pm

"If he's coming, then count me out," Athrun said. "If he sees me, I might as well say goodbye to my nose."

"Athrun, don't be a big baby." Cagalli, of course, said that.

"I am not being a big baby," the raven-haired man said stubbornly. "I'm being realistic."

They were at Lacus's house, in the living room.

Cagalli prodded at Athrun's nose. "Ow!" he yelped.

"Big baby."

"I am not!" Athrun retorted.

"Okay, you two, break it up," Lacus said, the usual smile on her face. "I called Shawn. He said he's going to think about it."

"I hope he says no," Athrun said.

"Hey, give him a chance, will you?" Cagalli said. She pointed an accusing finger at Athrun. "Besides, it was your fault you had to be so straightforward about the whole 'your-fiancée-was-and-still-might-be-cheating-on-you' thing."

"Well I'm sorry if I'm terrible when it comes to beating around the bush," Athrun said with a sarcastic tone.

"Cagalli does have a point, Athrun," Lacus said. "About giving Shawn a chance, I mean," she added.

"I'll think about it," Athrun said.

"I can't believe you, Zala. When I'm right, you don't believe me. But if Lacus says I'm right, you believe her."

"She's just more… persuasive than you are, that's all," Athrun replied. "No big deal."

Lacus watched the bickering couple with interest. Ever since Athrun and Cagalli got together, Lacus had noticed one thing: The more they fought, the more they grew stronger. Strange, but true enough.

The pink-haired girl almost envied them.

Almost.


a/n: Well, that wraps up chapter eleven. After eleven chapters, Fllay and Shawn a.k.a. Kira break up. You're probably thinking, "Finally!" Fllay won't take it lying down though. But that's going to be until later in this story.

By the way, "All Because of a Mistletoe" was just Shiho's dream in this fic, so it didn't actually happen. Well, that's it. See ya later! Wait, I can't exactly see you can I? Guess not.

P.S.: Have a very happy - and probably noisy - New Year! Watch out for fireworks, okay?