Unity
A/N: Don't feign innocence. You knew this was coming. OT3 haha…
Warning: Slight AU!
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED Destiny.
"What do you think Athrun will think-?"
"When he sees us?"
"Yeah…"
Kira turned to his side on the ground, looking at Shinn with bright eyes. "I don't really know."
"He might flip out," muttered Shinn.
"Let him," came the other's simple response that was followed with a hearty chuckle.
"Hrn." The red-eyed youth crossed his arms and made a face. "You're only saying that fully knowing you won't get in trouble with him."
"Oh?" Kira's eyes sparked dangerously before they were clouded with mirth. "Who says I won't?"
"Well, he never, ever, yells at you!" huffed Shinn.
"He has yelled at me before, Shinn."
With slight contempt, he glared at the brown-haired male. "I have never heard him raise his voice against you since we agreed to his silly 'project'."
"Well…" Kira fiddled slightly.
"Hah!" The younger male jabbed a finger against Kira's forehead. "See – I am right!"
Rubbing his forehead, he sighed and pointed out, "Remember the day we moved in…?"
Flashback
"Careful with those, Shinn," warned Athrun just as the garnet-eyed teen stacked the cardboard boxes in a corner.
"You don't have to keep warning me, geez," glared Shinn.
Sighing, Athrun shook his head and didn't respond him. "Here Kira, let me take these from you."
Shinn grumbled quietly before falling silent, watching as Athrun lifted the heavy boxes to pile them neatly on the other side of the room. Kira, moments after he had left the apartment, came back through the door, ashen-faced; he turned towards Athrun and asked, "Can I borrow your car?"
"What's wrong, Kira?" came the inquiry. Even Shinn leaned past the wall to hear in on the conversation.
The former pilot of Freedom creased his forehead and a worried frown appeared on his face. "I forgot Torii."
Shinn scoffed and grinned, knowing that Athrun had an…attachment with his limited edition convertible.
"I don't know Kira…" Athrun frowned at him. "Didn't I tell you to not forget anything?"
"But-"
The azure-haired man waved him off. "Lacus can take care of him until we pick him up tomorrow."
Russet-eyes gazed at Kira's failing composure and listened as he argued in a quiet, but firm, voice, "He's probably flying around the beach aimlessly looking for me."
"Kira-"
"What if it starts to rain? Or worse yet, a tropical storm?"
Athrun was clearly becoming agitated as he began snapping back. "Torii knows the way to Lacus'. Stop worrying."
Shinn leaned against the covered sofa, watching the argument unfold itself.
"But Torii, Athrun! You know that-"
"He'll be fine," interrupted the jade-eyed coordinator.
"I can't leave him there-"
"Well you'll have to. We still need to move our possessions into the apartment."
"I won't take long."
"Stop whining about it, Kira."
Kira, looking slightly dismayed, spoke in a small voice, "Don't you understand that Torii is important to me?"
Rolling his red eyes as he gazed at Athrun fiddling uncomfortably, Shinn muttered quietly to himself, "Just when it was becoming interesting."
The brunet continued speaking when Athrun offered no words. "I'll just walk there instead." He glanced at the windows, spotting the red sun dipping into the horizon, before turning around the corner of the door to leave.
Athrun sighed heavily, combing back his hair with one hand, "Wait, Kira."
The man paused in mid-step upon being called, "What is it?"
"I'm…sorry."
Kira stood there silently.
"Torii means a lot to me too." Athrun paused uneasily. "It's been a long day, you know?"
The eldest coordinator tilted his head towards him, murmuring softly, "It's okay. I understand."
Shinn's hand twitched against the couch as his eyes narrowed disapprovingly at the display of obvious affection towards Athrun. His Athrun. But wasn't that the reason why Athrun decided to have them live together for six months so that Kira can make peace between them?
Athrun seemed ready to reach out towards Kira but there was inner struggle, making him withdraw and speak in an equally, if not more so, gentle tone. "I suppose we should go now and then come back later to unpack."
"Thank you, Athrun." A slow smile of gratitude appeared on Kira's face.
"Hey, wait a second-!" started Shinn.
"Ahh…" Athrun turned around and smiled sheepishly at him. "You'll have to stay here and watch over the boxes in the apartment and in the hallway."
Eyes narrowed, Shinn frowned, "What do you mean? I have to stay here and watch these stupid boxes…It's not as if they can move on their own-!"
"Don't forget that a third of these boxes belong to you," pointed out Athrun as he effectively interrupted Shinn.
Kira added quietly, "We'll be back soon…until then, thank you."
"Whatever."
End Flashback
"Of course, how can I forget? You two ditched me and I had to move the boxes by myself!" exclaimed Shinn.
Kira chuckled quietly, "He only told you to watch them; he never said anything about moving them."
Shinn fell silent before pointing out, "Wait a minute, what does that have to do with Athrun yelling at you?"
"Well, he almost yelled at me?"
"No he didn't," scowled Shinn. "You even got him to concede to you."
"Err, how about that other time…?"
Flashback
Lacus had just left the boys' apartment; Kira was resting on the sofa with his eyes closed, recovering from the sudden appearance of the pop princess. She came visiting unannounced with her parade of haros, nearly giving Kira a heart attack when they bounced all over him. Shinn was lounging around the kitchen holding an ice pack to his leg where a haro attacked him.
"Damned Athrun," cursed Shinn when he hopped into the living room and sat down on the other side of the couch.
Kira opened one eye to examine the bruised leg. "You okay?"
The raven-haired boy shrugged and stated, "Doesn't hurt that-" He winced. "-much. Can't blame Miss Clyne though."
The older man knew what was coming next and smiled despite himself.
"If there's anyone to blame, it's Athrun for making those balls from hell."
Kira laughed pleasantly. Shinn glowered lightly, "What's so funny?"
Controlling the laughter, Kira shook his head and smiled, "Ahh…nothing. Nothing at all."
Giving him a warning glance that was laced with obvious curiosity, Shinn spoke curtly, "Good."
What came next made both of their hearts stop.
A beeping noise. In the closet.
Kira glanced at Shinn uneasily, seeing that he wasn't the only one to come to the same conclusion.
"Well," started the older man.
"…You open the closet first."
"But-" The counter statement died on his lips when there was a loud knock against the door.
Shinn's eyebrow twitched in aggravation. "You can't be serious."
"I think-I think it's trying to escape," commented Kira awkwardly.
Torii came out of Kira's room, trilling sweetly before landing on his shoulder. Shinn glanced from the bird to the closet and then at Kira. "At this rate, he'll break the door down." He gazed sharply at the other coordinator.
"Can't we wait till Athrun comes back?" asked Kira. He squirmed uncomfortably under Shinn's pointed stare.
There was another angry thump; this time it was followed with a loud, "Haro!"
"Well we can't just sit here and wait till it makes a hole through the door."
"It won't…Would it?" Kira sighed and got up uncertainly. "Fine. Let's just hope it doesn't wreak havoc in the apartment."
The brunet walked towards the closet and turned the knob. Shinn watched on in fascination.
Kira opened the door and a blur of dark blue flew out of the closet, nearly colliding into Torii on Kira's shoulder had the bird not flown away. The two adolescents watched in semi-horror as the haro bounded around the small apartment, smashing into their neatly placed possessions. Without the pink-haired woman, the round toys could be vicious.
"We have to catch it," spoke Kira through gritted teeth.
"Stupid Athrun and his equally stupid haros," cursed Shinn. "Don't these things have an off button?"
Sighing deeply, Kira held onto the stationary haro in his hands and glanced at the damage. "Athrun is not going to be happy."
"No shit," muttered Shinn as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Glass and paper were littered all over the salon. Chairs were knocked over - several of the wooden legs were splintered by the sheer force of the blue toy. Jars of preserved fruit were rolling across the kitchen counter dangerously, threatening to crash onto the soil-strewn floor from the shattered pots of flora. Kira's laptop was effectively broken into two pieces and the many picture frames that hung on the walls were knocked down.
Kira spun the toy around in his hands, and mumbled off-handedly, "I can't believe this thing actually had an off-button like you said."
"Well it doesn't matter now, does it?" grumbled Shinn. "We still have to clean this mess up."
"…" Kira knelt down in front of his handheld computer. "My laptop…"
The red-eyed boy walked towards the closet and took out a broom, passing it to Kira. "Start sweeping."
The older man opened his mouth to protest but was silenced when the haro in his hand beeped. "Haro…Restart Commencing."
"Restart? Don't restart!"
Shinn took the toy from Kira's hands. "What the hell." He fiddled with the button but nothing happened that could possibly stop the haro.
"Harooo!" The toy flapped its plastic ears and struggled against his grip.
Kira's face faulted and he winced at the shrill beeps. "I'll get the tool box."
"I think-" Shinn held onto the protesting toy with an iron grip. "-that that was the best suggestion you've ever made."
With the dismantled toy parts placed neatly in a box, both Shinn and Kira collapsed on their haunches.
"This is your entire fault."
"W-What?" Kira frowned and glanced at him questioningly. "What do you mean my fault?"
"If you didn't open the door for Miss Clyne, this would've never happened!"
"I didn't know she brought her pack of haros, Shinn." Stretching his limbs, he got up and continued, "Besides, it'd be rude to not open the door for her."
Shinn shrugged and glared heatedly at the plastic parts in the box. "Whatever." He grabbed the box and marched out of the salon.
"H-Hey!" Kira trailed after him hesitatingly, surprised by his sudden movement. "What are you going to do with the haro parts?"
The garnet-eyed teen opened the window to his room once he arrived there, the box held loosely in one hand, and gave him a smirk. "Oh, nothing much."
Kira gazed at Shinn, then at the box, and then at the now open window. "Are you…?" Violet eyes followed the box, just as the grip Shinn had on it became tighter; the younger coordinator moved the hand holding the box backwards in a graceful arc…
"WAIT SHINN! DON'T TOSS THE PIECES OUT THE WINDOW!"
The brown-haired coordinator tackled the other, trying to stop him from throwing the box…
Kira blinked at the younger male under him and chastised, "Don't be so rash, Shinn."
Red eyes fixed in a burning glare, Shinn pushed Kira off himself before grumbling, "I wasn't going to. Geez, can't you even take a tease?"
Placing a tired hand over his eyes, he sighed, "That didn't seem like a joke to me." But soon, he smiled wanly at the other coordinator. He sure was a funny kid.
Shinn narrowed his eyes from his spot on the carpeted floor, "What are you smiling about?"
"Ahh…Nothing." The curious grin on Kira's face grew wider.
About to protest - Kira's gaze was making him uncomfortable - he paused and exclaimed, "Where'd the box go!"
"I don't know." The older man searched around their proximity. "I thought you were still holding it…"
The raven-haired teen scowled, "No. I lost my hold when you tackled me."
"Well it has to be here." Kira was about to look under Shinn's bed but decided against it; there must be a reason why his room was so unusually tidy and if he guessed correctly, he might be submitted to a dust attack if he checked underneath the bed.
"Well it's not unless…" Shinn trailed off.
"…Unless you really did drop it out the window," finished Kira with apprehension who was now staring out the window from where he sat.
Shinn fidgeted before sighing, "Fine." He gave Kira a warning glance. "But only because you were the one who opened the closet door."
Almost timidly, he inched towards the open sky and looked down the building they were in except what he saw made him immediately jumped away from the window in disbelief. The former pilot of Freedom, noting his panicky behaviour, got up and gazed down their apartment building from the window as well.
He released a heavy sigh. "Tell me. What are the chances that a box filled with haro parts would fall on your head?" muttered Kira as he shook his head and headed towards their apartment door to apologize to the unfortunate soul sprawled on the ground.
"You should ask Athrun that." Shinn followed after Kira reluctantly.
The man they were talking about sneezed as he picked himself off the ground, rubbing his head where the box had hit him.
Disoriented, Athrun squinted upwards, staring out at the expanse of blue above his head. "The sky…is falling?"
End Flashback
Shinn scowled at the man beside him, "That time doesn't count!"
"What do you mean it doesn't count?"
"Hell. He yelled at me until you tried to intervene - which you didn't even need to."
Kira frowned, "What do you mean I didn't need to? It was just as much my fault."
The younger man grumbled then fell silent, turning away from Kira where he laid on the ground and crossed his arms…
…But that didn't last long as Kira remarked, "You know, he yells at you just as much, if not more, as he loves you."
The fiery male's angry demeanour disappeared immediately; the blush on his face matched the red of his eyes.
Met with silence, Kira continued to prod him, "And almost anyone can tell that you love him back."
"Shut up!" Shinn, embarrassed, turned and faced the older coordinator. "St-"
Interrupting him, the other smiled kindly, "I still remember that time…"
Flashback
Kira looked up from his magazine when he heard a particularly loud noise coming from the kitchen. His eyebrows knitted together, curiosity piqued, and he placed his reading material down from where he laid on the bed; he proceeded to slink quietly into the kitchen and what he saw both amazed and startled him.
Shinn Asuka was baking - there were tell-tale signs of an attack made by the flour on the front of his shirt - but…with a water bottle in one hand and in the other, a fork?
"Uhh…I don't want to bother you Shinn but…"
"Good. Then don't," snapped the younger coordinator, his eyes not leaving the book with the instructions on how to bake cookies.
Kira sighed, "But, what are you doing?" He analyzed the kitchen, trying to gauge the danger levels Shinn might impose to the place.
"What does it look like?" grumbled Shinn. "I'm trying to bake."
"Err…"
Spinning around, the younger coordinator spoke, "What?"
"Well It's just that I haven't seen you willingly bake before…" Kira trailed off, feeling the heat of Shinn's gaze dissipating.
He spoke in a cool tone, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Kira walked towards the counter and looked at the mess of egg shells and flour. "I know you can cook, but bake…You weren't exactly ecstatic when Athrun tried to get you to bake with him last time."
Shinn shrugged and spoke calmly, "This time is a different time."
"I guess." Uncertain, Kira leaned against the refrigerator, watching Shinn carefully make the batter.
After a lapse of silence, Shinn paused, setting the wooden spoon he had in one hand down on the counter; he turned and gazed at his spectator. "Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"Stop being so nice to me," emphasized Shinn.
Taken aback, Kira spoke, "Does it matter?"
"Of course it does." Shinn clenched his hands and glowered angrily.
"But why don't you want me to be nice?"
"How can you even ask me that question!" Ruby eyes flashed; in a single, fluid movement, Shinn pressed Kira against the refrigerator aggressively. "You and Athrun…The instant understanding…You know what I think of you."
Impassive, Kira removed the fingers hooked on the front of his shirt, before gently pushing Shinn back a few steps. "It doesn't matter what you think of me; that is beside the point on why I'm 'nice' to you."
"Shut up! Don't give me this bull," spat Shinn. "It's because of you that I can't be angry; even if I wanted to, I can't be angry at you for long even though I'm supposed to. I hate you. I hate you for being nice to me."
Kira spoke quietly, "Go ahead and hate me, Shinn, if that'd make you feel better."
"STOP IT," yelled Shinn, as he lashed out at Kira physically. "Stop doing that!"
The fist brushed his cheek but he ignored it, his eyes expressing incomprehensible emotion, and whispered, "So I'm not allowed to quell my guilt?"
Shinn lowered his hand. They both remained in their positions, neither person shifting from where they stood; Kira was still leaning against the refrigerator with Shinn frozen in front of him. However, time regained momentum as quickly as it stopped; the raven-haired male abruptly turned his attention back to the sitting batter, face not betraying the varying emotions he was experiencing. There was only silence as he picked up the wooden spoon and started mixing the ingredients again.
Let old demons lie asleep...His family died as casualties of war because of...me...Concerned, Kira started, "Shinn…"
A sharp question. "Did I hurt you?"
"No…No of course you didn't."
"Good."
An apology? Kira allowed a tired smile…Something told him that everything was alright now.
Feigning sleep, Kira was curled up on the sofa when he heard the locks to the front door rattle. The door opened and he allowed a smile when the sound of footfall reached his ears.
"Asleep…?"
The sudden image of Athrun hovering above him with a disapproving expression popped in his mind and he had to pretend to mumble in his sleep in order to quell the laughter.
Athrun sighed and Kira felt the warmth of a jacket encircle his upper body; the couch dipped gently with the new weight and there was an easy quiet shared between them before Athrun spoke up.
"Kira." Slightly humoured, the azure-haired coordinator poked the other man in the ribcage. "I know you're awake."
He opened one eye, and smiled, "You should go to the kitchen…"
"Hmm?"
Kira shrugged, the jacket inching off of his body, and grinned, "Shinn was faithfully slaving over the stove for you." He nudged the younger man off the couch, then snuggled for a more comfortable position, eyes closed. "Go on."
"So the tension's gone?" The question was met by silence…Athrun rested his hand on top of Kira's. "Thank you." He rose up and walked out and away from the salon.
"…" Shinn fumbled nervously just as Athrun entered the kitchen.
"Shinn…So what's this I hear about you 'faithfully slaving over the stove'?"
The red-eyed coordinator nodded, uncharacteristically shy, and waved his hand towards the counter. "I baked you...some cookies," murmured Shinn.
The taller male stood right in front him and tilted his head down to catch Shinn's gaze on the floor. "You didn't have to."
"Dork." Shinn looked up, keeping their gaze level. "If you don't want them…"
"Who says I don't?" Athrun snatched up one of the cookies with his hand before dropping it and shaking his hand. "It's hot."
He hugged the older man affectionately, muttering, "Idiot…"
"I'm guessing it's over?" Athrun embraced him back. Are you done being jealous of Kira?
"…Maybe." Shinn pulled away, smiling deviously, "And you owe me a cookie for the one you dropped."
Playing along, he took another cookie, this time with a napkin, and spoke, "I don't think you're allowed to say that, 'person who doesn't pay the rent around here'."
He puffed his cheeks, and teased, "I'm sure even Kira would like and appreciate the cookies I baked much more than you ever-"
But he was cut off by a chaste kiss…Athrun rested their foreheads together a gentle whisper against his lips, "Don't change, alright?"
End Flashback
"Shut up!" blazed Shinn, his face on fire.
Kira grinned but relented and changed the subject, "When's he coming home anyway?"
Red eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. "Soon."
And as if on cue, the doorknob rattled as someone from the other side unlocked it. Sharing a look, they both sat up at the same time right when the door flung open.
No one spoke. Athrun stared at Shinn, then at Kira, and finally at the salon. He loosened his throat, a bit red in the face, "What…happened here?"
Cheeky, Kira raised his knees to his chest and joked, "Do you like the renovations?"
Athrun started and didn't say a word. Shinn smirked and gave Kira a side-long glance, "I think that might have been a yes."
His eyes glimmering with mirth, he nodded before switching to a more serious tone, "I think Athrun might be in shock though…but…" Kira broke character and laughed. "I'm sure if his breathing stops due to shock, you can just give him mouth to mouth resuscitation."
Shinn cried out in embarrassment, "Kira!"
"Hmm?"
"Shinn. What the hell did you do to Kira?" Athrun rubbed the ridge of his nose in exasperation. "And why are you both half naked and covered in flour? Better yet, why is everything in this room covered in flour?"
"It's not flour…" Kira swiped a finger down Shinn's arm and licked it. "It's powdered sugar."
Athrun corrected himself half-heartedly, too busy observing his housemates, "Powdered sugar then."
"We were making brownies…" Shinn then glared at Kira. "Then he wanted to add the sugar."
"You forced me to!"
"Did not." Shinn grumbled and continued, "And then the whole bag of sugar exploded in our faces…"
"…And that's what happened?" Kira smiled uncertainly at Athrun.
"But topless?"
…Shinn and Kira shared another glance. The eldest coordinator spoke up, "Athrun…We have something to tell you."
Shinn nodded in agreement. "Something you probably haven't realized yet."
Athrun walked a few steps closer to the pair; their words were sending him mixed signals.
Kira started, "We have-"
"-concluded that-" continued Shinn.
"-you work way too much."
Athrun released a breath he didn't know he held. An unbidden thought...If only they had said something else.
Kira shook his head, giving Shinn a knowing look.
And with that, Shinn pulled the near-invisible string beside him, and sugar rained on top of the blue-haired coordinator. Stop fantasizing, idiot.
End
I guess this story concludes the chain of stories I've been spouting out recently (unless a sudden plot bunny hits my head). Until next time!
EDIT (Aug. 25, 2007): As pointed out by anja-chan, I've made an attempt to correct some...stuff (Mostly wording). Heh.
EDIT (Nov. 6, 2011): Holy mackerel Batman! Has it really been more than 5 years since I posted this story? My my, rereading this made me cringe at some of the cheese lol...Anyway, edited this to add back in the line breaks after ffnet ate them up.
~Phoenyxx