Disclaimer: Sunrise


Odaiba, Tokyo, December 2020

.

"Athrun, look! It's the Rainbow Bridge!"

"It is. Do you want to stop for a while here and take pictures?"

"I want to, but we still haven't had lunch yet. We'll go back here again, right?"

"We can go with the bike to that Sea-side park after lunch, you'll get a much better view from there if you want to take pictures, and after that we'll return the bike, how does that sound?"

"Okay then!" Cagalli smiled, and Athrun went on with his bike, followed by Cagalli.

Two weeks ago, at the factory, Cagalli found out that she passed her exam, and now she could proceed with her college admission procedure. All the people in the factory who were present when she revealed her exam result cried in joy with her, telling Cagalli that they were so proud of her and always believed she would make it just alright.

She wanted to tell Kira right away, but the morning briefing was starting soon so she had to wait until noon to tell him. Around lunch time, Cagalli simply took a picture of her exam result and sent it to a group chat that Lacus had made, where the four of them could chat freely with each other. After that, a series of congratulations came to her phone from her brother and friends.

In a different chat, Cagalli told Athrun directly once again that she had fulfilled one of her promises to Athrun. Then, she asked him what the other one of his belated birthday presents that he had wanted, which he revealed was to accompany him for a day, going out. He let Cagalli pick the place, and when she told him she had never gone to Odaiba before, he was delighted because it was a place he wouldn't ever get bored of going to.

Then, he remembered the bicycle rental he had been wanting to try. To his delight, Cagalli agreed and seemed excited to try it too. And what made him look forward to his 'date' with Cagalli was that she offered to make lunch for both of them. Originally Athrun was planning to take her somewhere fancy, like the restaurant in Aqua City or the Gundam cafe at DiverCity, but when Cagalli mentioned making lunchboxes in passing, he insisted that he wanted to try Cagalli's cooking. Cagalli stressed that she couldn't make a fancy lunch box, but Athrun didn't care. He threw excuses that it has become his birthday wish now to eat Cagalli's handmade lunch box meal, which she finally agreed in the end.

So now, though it was over the usual lunch time—because apparently it took quite some time with the setting for the bicycle rental—with the signing up and their IC cards, they were heading for the east end of Yumenoshima Green Road Park, a rather secluded park quite far from the main Odaiba area. Athrun went there once and found a bench where they can see part of the Tokyo Bay, and decided that it was a secluded enough place so they could enjoy their lunch without being interrupted.

"We can still see the Rainbow Bridge from here," Cagalli commented as they got off their bicycles and parked them nearby. They walked to the old bench and Cagalli put the bento bag that had been on her bike's basket and sat there.

"Yes," Athrun said as he followed to sit at the other end of the bench, "But it wasn't as good an angle as from the sea-side park. We can watch the sunset and the illumination too later. There should be a Christmas tree from LEDs near the deck. Oh, you should come in spring too; the cherry blossoms and tulips near the park are beautiful when they all bloom."

"Then let's come here again together next spring!" she smiled at him, easily adding another schedule for both of them to go out again. Athrun was ecstatic as Cagalli was planning to stay with him even after this. Though they were friends already so it was as expected, but he was just happy that she made this plan with him and not anyone else.

As they got ready to eat, Cagalli opened the boxes, suddenly feeling self-conscious, "I'm telling you, it is extremely ordinary, don't expect anything fancy," Cagalli warned as she handed Athrun his lunch, which he excitedly received with a thanks.

Opening it, he exclaimed gleefully. True to her words, it was an ordinary lunch box with basic items, octopus-shaped sausage, rolled omelets, a piece of grilled salmon and tomatoes. But nonetheless, it made him happy to receive it since Cagalli was the one who made it. They ate peacefully while appreciating the cool breeze from the bay and the occasional croak of the seagulls. It was calming, and Athrun was content with spending a peaceful lunch with Cagalli, without her nagging brother who sometimes sent death glare toward him.

After lunch, they stayed there for a while talking about a lot of things. Cagalli told him that she had submitted the applications for college and was waiting for their reply. If she got accepted, she would move from Andrew's house and go to the college's dorm in Waseda, which meant she could live closer to Kira, and of course closer to him too, though since he was going to university in Kita-Senju, he was still going to live with his parents, so they wouldn't be far apart. They could still hang out together, except for Lacus.

"Oh, she told you?" Cagalli turned her eyes from the ocean back to Athrun. She didn't know Lacus told him already. Does that mean Kira knows too? she thought.

"When we went to Jingu Gaien," Athrun answered. "You were with Kira, so maybe you didn't hear us talking. And I think Lacus is taking Kira out somewhere to tell him about it today."

"So they are going out together today? I was wondering why Kira and Lacus didn't join us now, so that's why," Cagalli mused, finally getting an answer to her question.

"Uh… Yeah, it is. Kira is accompanying Lacus somewhere," Athrun answered, stammering because he actually knew the reason behind why they went out on the same day as his date with Cagalli. He purposefully asked Lacus to go out with Kira today, so Kira wouldn't bother his time with Cagalli. If Kira knew, he was sure Kira wouldn't let him go alone with Cagalli. That guy's protectiveness over his sister after being apart for years was only getting stronger, and added to that the incident with their mother recently. So he was being careful not to push his button, by asking Lacus to keep him away for just this day. Though it wasn't completely for his own benefit. He was giving Lacus the time and opportunity to confess about her future choice to go to Vienna and, hopefully, to confess to him about her feelings.

When they already felt up to it, Cagalli tidied up their used box, and Athrun put the bottle on his ruck again, and back on track with their bicycles again. Now, they stopped a few times at the places that Cagalli wanted to see more, or at the places that Athrun pointed to Cagalli. They traced back their ways exiting the Green Road Park, passing bridges, going back to Odaiba seaside park, and finally back to Palette Town area, the starting point where they rented the bike.

Since winter was already starting, the sun set earlier than usual. As it was nearing four in the afternoon, the sky was already starting to get tinted with the golden hue of sunset.

"Cagalli," Athrun pointed to the big ferris wheel nearby, "Do you want to see the sunset from above?" he asked, which was greeted by Cagalli's squeal. In no time, they were sitting inside the ferris wheel, facing each other. Well, Athrun was staring at Cagalli mostly, while Cagalli was busy taking pictures of the Tokyo Bay as their gondola started going up. She pointed to places she could see from there, the famous TV Station that had started its illumination, the Tokyo Tower, and the reddish hue that was now overlaying the blue sky.

The ride was quite long, and when they walked out of the Palette Town area, the sun was minutes away from completely setting. "Ooh, it's getting dark. Are we going to see the illumination now? It should be lightened up now, shouldn't it?" Cagalli said as they left the area to the DiverCity.

"Yeah. We are going to walk across from here to the Odaiba sea-side park. The illumination is at the deck. We'll go back by the Yurikamome train. It's an unmanned monorail, and we can see the city nightscape from inside." Athrun explained more on how Cagalli should take the train to go home as it was not her usual stop. Some trees were adorned by small lights, the start of the illumination view for Cagalli. As they were nearing the DiverCity, Athrun remembered something and checked his watch.

"Cagalli, can we stop by here a little bit?" Athrun asked as he pointed the way where he wanted to go.

"Where to?" Cagalli asked.

"The Unicorn Statue; there's still a few minutes before five when a scheduled transformation show starts. You've never seen it before, right?" Athrun's face lit up as he started talking. Cagalli realized it was related to his hobbies; he was always showing that face whenever he talked about his robotic hobby. Cagalli agreed, since this trip was supposed to be all about him.

"Whoa, I've seen it on TV and in pictures, but this is my first time seeing it myself," Cagalli exclaimed, staring up high admiring the intricate details of the white statue. Since it was dark already, the lights were set up to illuminate the statue. Cagalli noticed that more people started gathering around it, and must be waiting for the show just like the both of them.

"Cool isn't it?" Athrun retorted, excited, "It's 10 minutes to 5, so we can see it doing a short transformation at that time."

"Is it scheduled?"

"Yep. Four times a day for the transformation show, and there is also the night show with screen projection. But it will be shown quite late, so we'll stay just for the 5 o'clock show." Athrun suggested, and to which Cagalli nodded.

As they waited for the white statue of Unicorn Gundam to start the show, Cagalli took a few pictures of it from different angles. At times he could see Athrun admiring face looking at the statue in front of them. He mentioned here and there about the parts that Cagalli was staring at, explaining what he knew about them, and Cagalli would listen to his words earnestly, secretly liking his animated expression as he talked about what he liked, and paid more attention to it than what he was actually talking about. Looked like this place was Athrun's favorites—the new Unicorn Gundam statue.

As people began to crowd in front of the Unicorn statue, Athrun and Cagalli joined them to watch the transformation show that was showcased in the set hours. The spectators murmured their impressed feelings as the show started, when some parts of the statue moved and glowed with sound effects and the original soundtrack from its series started playing. Sounds of shutters clicking could be heard. Cagalli, like some people, took a video with her phone so she could watch it again later.

"The show was cool! Thank you for showing it to me, Athrun," Cagalli said as the show ended and people began to disperse to their next stop, and they started to walk away from the statue to their former next stop, the observatory deck.

"Yeah, I was here on the opening day. The first time I saw the transformation, it was so awesome, and everytime I see it, I still feel the same," he answered excitedly, still staring up to the top of the statue. There was a sheer smile on his face, that Cagalli has become fond of. "This one still only can move small parts of its body, but I heard they were making one that could actually move, like walking forward. Kinda excited to see it when it's done, and I'm kinda hoping that it's still a few years away, so I can participate in the making too," Athrun explained further, but suddenly stopped himself. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Oh, it's okay," Cagalli always liked it when Athrun showed his true self and talked about what he likes. "I'm glad if you have a good time. I might not know much about it, but if you are happy just by watching it, then that's great, since you are the birthday boy."

They circled the Odaiba area from the DiverCity Plaza to the observation deck where they could see the smaller statue of the Liberty. From there, they walked to the deck near the Sea-side park, where there was a Christmas Tree from LED lights, along with actual trees adjourned with small lamps that change colors once in a while. They were walking along the terrace deck to see the light-ups from above with the crowds. Some of them were taking pictures, just standing by and admiring the view, others were sitting and enjoying their meals since there were restaurants and food stalls on the deck.

At the sky-walk, Cagalli asked if they could go down the stairs and get closer to the tree. Athrun followed her, and now they were standing right in front of the Memorial Tree. "It's nice seeing all of this from above, but I like it better from down here, you could feel that it was enormous compared to you," Cagalli commented as she looked up to the lightened tree. Athrun took some pictures of her posing in front of the tree, and tried to take a we-fie together.

When he checked the result, Athrun noticed that Cagalli was still wearing her usual black wristband, hiding inside the sleeves of her coat. "You are still wearing it…" He unconsciously said in a low voice, but Cagalli heard it, and turned her head from the top of the tree that she was staring at, to him, catching briefly that he was staring at her wristband. Startled, Athrun put a hand on her mouth, smacking himself mentally. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to…."

"This? Why?" Cagalli asked.

"I just thought that because you are wearing a long sleeve you wouldn't need it."

"The sleeve sometimes got pulled down, so I like to be prepared and wear it," Cagalli answered without any ill feelings. Athrun already knew what had happened to her. Suddenly she remembered the time when she was at the hospital with him. "Athrun, you have seen the scars, right?"

"Yes, when you were about to be discharged at the hospital. I thought you were sleeping at that time, and the scar wasn't hidden by anything. Sorry, maybe you didn't want me to—"

"They don't disgust you?"

"Why would I be?" Athrun asked, incredulous.

"Arent they hideous?" Cagalli smiled bitterly. "I hate them because people keep asking about how I got them, and they always show dismay whenever they see this. It always makes me remember about what my mother used to do to me. Moreover, the ones on my thigh," Cagalli unconsciously put her hand on her left thigh. "They are even worse. I always think that I'll never marry because nobody would want a damaged girl like me," she tried to laugh it off, but there was an underlying sadness in her words.

"That's not true! Someone surely will accept you, damaged or not; and no, I don't think you are damaged," Athrun insisted, shaking his head. "You remember what I told you? You are a brave, wonderful person. How can someone be disgusted with you? Don't ever think about things like that again, Cagalli."

"But it's not just about me… What happened with my parents, it scared me," she stared out the window, seeing the top of the Christmas tree, she went on, "My father is a cheater, and my mother changed completely because of that. I… I'm afraid of being together with someone, if they ended up the same as my father, and then I'll end up like my mother," her eyes were far away, probably the memories of what had happened with her parents were now playing in her mind, "I don't want to be like that."

"You won't!" Athrun claimed. "You won't change into your mother. I know you won't become like that. You are a caring sister to your brother, compassionate to others, even to a stranger like me. You are too good of a person to become like your mother. You just have to be together with the right person who will treat you well and will never let you down."

"The right person," she mumbled, repeating his words.

"Yes, like the one that can make you feel safe when you are with him," Athrun replied, trailing a little bit in the end, because one person in particular was coming into his mind. He was feeling unsure, afraid if Cagalli had another person on her own mind, or if there was anyone at all.

And then he saw the change on Cagalli's face as his words seemed to register in her mind. She looked kinda flushed, and then Cagalli was avoiding his gaze. She turned away from him, suddenly not interested with the Christmas tree but the uninteresting bushes around the park.

So there is someone, Athrun thought, looking at her reaction. Cagalli must have thought about that person as soon as he told her all that.

"Cagalli, I—"

"I'm sorry I'm making the atmosphere uncomfortable. Let's forget about me, this is for celebrating your birthday," Cagalli said, still facing Athrun with her back. "Where do you want to go after this?" She tried to sound cheerful, changing the topic.

"Cagalli, look at me please," he begged. But when she was standing still at her place, Athrun didn't force her again and just said what had been on his mind, since he wasn't sure he would still have the courage if Cagalli actually decided to look back at him.

"Then please listen to me and listen well. I'll say this again, you are brave and wonderful; strong and admirable. You are beautiful to me, inside and out, no matter what kind of scars mar your body. I don't care about your scars or your past. What I see is a strong girl who never gives up and will fight for her life, and I admire that about you. You are always so fierce to the point that I didn't realize you are just a teenager like me, and had your down moments too. Through those times, I was always with you and I just… I want to be there for you. It made me anxious when I heard you cry with Kira, it frightened me when I heard you were injured, thinking that I won't be able to see you again. I want to be close to you, close enough that it'll be okay for me to be overly worried for you, that it'll be okay for me to always be there for you, that I'll be the first person you share everything to, be it sadness or happiness. I want to be that right person for you, who will treat you well and never let you down."

All through Athrun's speech, Cagalli listened intently, her heartbeat was going faster as he said words after another. It was cold with a winter breeze from the shore, but her face felt warm. Those bubbles she often felt lately whenever she was with him—starting from where he kissed her forehead at the hospital, when he went with her to her exam, whenever he was close to her—were building up, making her chest full.

And finally she felt like she was going to burst as Athrun finished his words.

"I like you, Cagalli."


Ikebukuro, Tokyo, December 2020

.

"Do you think Cagalli will like this?" Lacus asked as she stared proudly at the wrapped present in her own hands.

"I'm sure she'll wear it everyday at her new college," Kira said as he walked beside her.

They were at the Sunshine City shopping center, picking a gift for Cagalli, for passing her exam. Cagalli had warned her that she still had to apply for college and it was too early to celebrate or giving her gift, but Lacus decided that she wouldn't listen and would just give her another gift when she was accepted to her desired college later; she was a hundred percent sure Cagalli would be accepted. So was Kira; he too had picked up a gift for his sister's passing on the exam. He was planning on giving it to her the next time he met her again.

Standing at the escalator going down to the first floor, Kira glanced sideways. From the escalator, they could see the Fountain Plaza in the lower ground, and from the large screen, he knew the fountain show was about to play now.

"Lacus, have you seen the show at Fountain Plaza?" He turned to Lacus who was standing behind him.

"I've seen one of them, the one with colorful orbs dancing together with the water at the fountain, right? I think there are two more shows, but I've never seen them."

"Want to see it? The 'Four Season' one is my favorite, I always wait here to watch it whenever I go to Sunshine," Kira turned his head before touching the floor again. And of course, Lacus wouldn't miss the opportunity to enjoy things with Kira, moreover if it was his favorite thing.

Going down again to the next floor, they walked to the front of the Plaza, as the fountain show was already starting. The calming orchestra music was playing along with the visual of the four seasons on the large screen. Lacus watched with awe as the HD recording of nature played on the screen showed wild animals in their natural habitat, flowers, forest, waterfall, mountains and many other nature's beauty. Her eyes were switching between the videos and the water works, and she squealed in surprise as the three main fountain shot waters a few meters high, almost as high as two floors above them.

She could hear Kira chuckling beside her at her reaction, and lightly elbowed him for laughing at her, pouting. Kira let out a louder chuckle at that, and switched his attention back to the screen, while Lacus secretly watched him instead of the fountain or the screen. His gentle look always brought some content feelings to her. His peaceful face was now even softer; ever since Cagalli was back into his life.

The Kira now in front of him probably wouldn't give even a glance at her and her feelings. Lacus noticed that Kira now had no longer looked lost; like he had finally found what he was looking for, and now he was content with his life. Kira had been betrayed by his former girlfriend so he most likely would be indifferent toward love and wouldn't even think of looking for a girlfriend. Even if she confessed to him, Lacus was almost sure Kira wouldn't answer her feelings.

As the water-works were going along with the music and video on screen, getting higher and louder, and the crowds murmured as they were getting excited when the beat dropped for a second, Lacus stared straight at Kira, who was watching the screen intently like the others.

When the music continued, her normal voice which would easily be heard if it was a normal circumstance, without the crowd and the show, Lacus said softly to him.

"I like you, Kira."

When Kira's eyes were still glued to the screen, with awed face and slightly parted lips, Lacus presumed that he didn't hear anything—as expected—and was too busy watching the visuals. Smiling to herself with her own personal secret—that she had confessed to him even if he didn't hear her at all—made her somewhat feeling relieved. Content, she turned her attention to the screen again and watched the rest of the show, not realizing Kira had turned his face toward her for a short moment.

"That was beautiful," Lacus said as the credit for the composer was shown on the screen. "Oh, isn't he that famous composer? I thought the piece sounded familiar when I heard it. Now whenever I come here, I'll make sure to stop by here and watch this show, thanks for bringing me here, Kira," she continued, looking up at him.

"I think it's beautiful too, and I just wanted to share this with you. I think Cagalli hasn't seen this. I want to let her see this too. Maybe we all can go together next time. Cagalli is going to be closer to us, since her college is in Waseda area," Kira said as the crowd began to disperse and the screen showed some random ads of the shopping center. "Oh, by the way, where are you going after graduation, Lacus? You'll still be in Tokyo, right?"

Here it was, the one she had been dragging so long to tell him. They had such a good moment together and now it felt like Kira just burst their bubble, taking them back to reality. But if she didn't tell him now, she might lose the chance again, so toughening her heart, she turned to him.

"Kira," Lacus faced him with a serious expression. "I'm leaving Japan next year."

Blinking, Kira tried to proceed with the unexpected answer from Lacus. "Leaving Japan?" he repeated, unsure if he caught the meaning right.

"Yes, I'm going to Vienna to study there. My teacher's colleague offered me a scholarship for music study, so maybe I'll stay there around four years, but I still don't know if I'll continue with my career there, so it could be more than four years."

For a while, Kira was silent, absorbing the information Lacus had said to him. But soon, his face lightened up, "That's great, isn't it? You'll learn in Vienna, the city of music. It's always been your dream to be a world singer, right?" he beamed, delighted at the news.

"It is," Lacus smiled as Kira remembered what she had always dreamed about. But at the same time she was feeling a bit lonely because it seemed like Kira didn't mind her leaving Japan at all, nor feeling any sadness at her absence.

After a while, Kira pondered again about what it meant. "So… We can't see each other again?" It's been three years and the three of them—formerly before Cagalli came—had always been together. It would be weird if Lacus was not there with them, Kira thought.

"I'll be going home once in a while maybe, we should still be able to see each other and go out together," Lacus said while she was actually worrying about that too. She was not sure how often she could go back to Japan while studying there.

"When are you going?"

"Next fall, so maybe I have time to spend with you guys until around August. You and the others will be busy with college while I'll be attending a German course to pass the language proficiency exam before going to Vienna. We still have time to do things together," Lacus smiled. "I'm sure I'll miss you guys so much when I move out, so I want to make a lot of memories to take with me there. So you can't say no if I'm making a plan for the four of us to go out together," she tried to laugh it off.

"Next year, huh?" Kira mused. Next August was still a long way to go, but somehow he felt like it would fly by without them noticing as they spent time together. "So that means you'll be in Vienna on the Coming-of-age day?"

"It is. But did you know that in Vienna the legal drinking age is 16? I can be considered an adult there, while you guys still have to wait till you turn 20." Lacus sighed, a little bit disappointed etched in her face, "Aah, I wanted to wear furisode and go to the ceremony with Cagalli. It must be a lot of fun going together. Kira, you have to send pictures of your coming of age ceremony later, okay?"

"It's not in two—three years since we all have our 20th birthday after January. It's still a long way to go," he chuckled. They were thinking so far ahead, trying to make light of the separation that was waiting for them in the next 8 months.

"Then we must make the best of time while you are here, right?" Kira said, smiling at her. He grabbed her hand and started walking away from the Fountain Plaza with her. "Do you have anywhere to be after this?" Kira asked as they walked through the crowd.

"N-no, but…" Lacus stammered as she didn't expect Kira to hold her hand like this.

"Then let's spend this day the way you want it. What else do you want to see here? Wanna go to the aquarium? Or do you wanna go out from here and see the cat café nearby? Let's go together," Kira offered, letting her choose.

Staring at his face, Lacus was stunned a little bit, but then her face turned into a gleam. Even though they were going to be apart, at least in this moment she could cherish her time with Kira, where there were only the two of them. Lacus loved Cagalli, but it was nice to have him all to herself at times, not having to share him with her.

At least, until the end of summer next year.

Returning his hold on her hand, Lacus pointed to the place she wanted to go, answered by Kira's nod, as they were heading there together, still hand in hand. feeling his warmth through their joined hands, she secretly chanted in her mind.

"I like you, I like you, Kira."


Incoming long ramble:

I have a deadline and here I am, procrastinating, dont mind me.

I'm sorry for being biased and wrote the asucaga part longer than KiraLacus, but if you have read my previous story, you should know by now. SO yeah, sorry not sorry.

I want to make them go to gundam cafe but I've never been there, so just put that in passing, and the cafe will be closed around January, so I want to put it here, like a memory, if that make sense.
Originally, I want Athrun and Cagalli to see the fountain show, but I think Odaiba suits them better, with geeky Athrun and sporty Cagalli.
Btw, both of the couple listened to Sawano Hiroyuki's pieces. Athrun and Cagalli hear 'Unicorn' that plays at the transformation show, and Lacus and Kira hear 'Siki' an unreleased piece exclusive to Sunshine City. You can search the recording on YT, though the water fountain was so loud in most videos.

And, after contemplating a lot, I decided that this is the official last chapter of Light and Shadow. Yep this story is finished!
Thank you for you guys who read and review this story. It meant a lot. There's still one chapter left, some kind of epilogue, but I have to focus on my work first XD

See you next chapter,

Cheers~