A/n: Chapter 3! I started this one even before finishing chapter 2, that's a personal record! (Don't mind me, I'm just being silly)

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or Destiny

Chapter 3 – Savior?

"K-Kira…?"

He smiled. "Hey."

Cagalli ran towards her brother, a wide grin on her face. "Kira!" she yelled, enveloping her startled twin in a bear hug.

After a while, Kira started flailing wildly, his face practically blue. "Ca-Cagalli…! You – you're c-choking me!"

Lacus started to giggle as Cagalli finally noticed that her brother was running out of air and let him go. "I'm so glad you're home!" she said, her amber eyes glowing with delight.

"Y-yeah…I can see that." Kira said.

Cagalli pouted. "Well? Aren't you going to say anything? Y'know, something along the lines of 'It's nice to see you, Cagalli'…"

Kira bit back a smile as he complied with his sister's 'request'. "Y-yeah…It's nice to see you again, Cagalli."

"Is that all you can say? Aren't you going to tell me where you've been this past year and a half?"

"It's a long story, Cagalli. I'll tell you later; I don't really want to think about that right now."

His sister shrugged. "If that's what you want."

Smiling, he pulled her close for a nice, brotherly hug. "Thanks, sis."

She grinned. "I really am glad you're back, you know."

He nodded. "I know. I'm happy to be back."

Just then, Lacus gestured to Kira and Cagalli, telling her she was going to leave them alone for awhile, and both nodded. "Oh, the interview's at one-thirty…you need time to get ready? Cagalli asked.

The songstress nodded. "Give me ten minutes."

She nodded. "Alright."

After her best-friend left, Cagalli started questioning her twin. "So, how are you?"

"I'm okay, I guess."

"So…I assume you and Lacus are together?"

Kira nodded.

Cagalli decided to get to the heart of the matter. "I'm sure she's told you about -"

"I know." Kira interrupted.

"So…what do you plan to do about it?"

"I don't know, actually. I'm going to have to talk to her about that."

"It's not going to be easy, you know. Athrun's father is a very influential man."

He let out a tired sigh. "I know…But…what if we just tried to talk to him? I'm sure he'll understand…"

"You could try." his blond-haired twin stated flatly.

"Well that's encouraging." Kira said sarcastically.

"It's just…Patrick Zala can be a difficult man to deal with…especially with that weird masked guy beside him all the time…and they agreed to that thing in principle when Athrun and Lacus were still in diapers, and it was his wife's – Athrun's mom's – dearest wish, apparently. You know how much his dad cares about fulfilling his late wife's wishes.

"What was Mr. Clyne's reason? Do you know?"

"It must've been the same thing, more or less, but I think it was also because he knew Athrun would take care of her."

"But…you and Athrun…"

"We weren't together anymore…and I think…they thought both Athrun and Lacus had recovered enough…so they finalized it."

"It's still wrong."

"…I know."

He buried his head in his hands in frustration. "What can we do?"

"I don't know…"

They were quiet for a second, but then Kira asked, "How about Athrun? Is he okay with all this?"

Cagalli's expression became sad at the mention of her ex-boyfriend's name, but she answered the question anyway. "I don't know. He doesn't seem too disturbed by it, though…"

Kira frowned. "You haven't talked to him lately, have you?"

"…No. Fact is, I haven't talked to him in practically a year."

"Why?"

"It was too hard. After the way I broke up with him, I…" she trailed off, her amber eyes downcast.

"…Why did you break it off with him?"

She looked away. "…I'd rather not talk about it…"

"It was because of Seiran, wasn't it?"

Her eyes widened. "How did you know?"

He shrugged. "It was pretty obvious."

"Well, then, since you already know, why are you asking me?"

"I want you to tell me why you let them get to you."

"As you know, Senator Seiran is an immensely powerful man, and they can get whatever they want…Yuna apparently insisted that I be made his fiancée…so his father threatened to shut down my dad's company to get me to agree. I couldn't find another way out at the time, so…"

"That stupid, purple-haired freak…he can't just say he wants you and expect to have you like you're a – a thing!"

"Tell that to Yuna. He thinks he can have anything he wants."

"Do you plan to go through with this so-called engagement?"

"Of course not."

"What about Athrun? Does he know?"

"No…He doesn't."

"Aren't you going to tell him?"

"I can't…You don't understand, Kira…I – I told him I didn't love him!"

Kira's amethyst eyes widened. "What…? Why would you say that?"

"… Because I had to. They also threatened to kill Athrun…and it was the only way I could think of to get him out of harm's way."

"By breaking his heart?"

"It's better than putting him in danger like that!"

Kira sighed. "…You're right. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. He's your best-friend. You don't want him to get hurt."

"Yeah…but I was actually more worried about it hurting you."

Cagalli smiled at her brother. "Thanks, but I'm okay now."

Kira secretly disagreed, but he smiled back at her and nodded.

Just then, the door opened and a smiling Lacus walked into the room.

Having just wrapped up her conversation with her brother, Cagalli looked at her watch again. "We need to go."

Both Lacus and Kira nodded.

Later…

The day flew by in a flurry of activities, and by the time it was all over, Lacus looked ready to drop. "You tired?" Cagalli asked as they sat in the limousine on their way home.

Her friend gave a tired smile. "A little."

Kira pulled her close and she rested her head on his shoulder. "You work too hard." he said.

Lacus smiled sleepily. "It's okay. I love to sing."

Kira smiled at her. "You always did. And you do a great job of it."

She blushed. "Thank you, Kira."

Cagalli watched her brother and best-friend have their little conversation and couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. They looked so happy together…

Her thoughts wandered into forbidden territory then as she remembered him again. She almost hated herself for still feeling this way, but she couldn't help it. He'd been such an essential part of her life for so long, it was nearly impossible for her to simply forget…

"Cagalli?" Kira said, waving a hand in front of his sister's face.

She blinked a few times. "What?"

"We're here."

"Oh."

"Are you okay?" Lacus asked, concerned.

She shook off the last of the lingering memories and smiled at her friend. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Both Lacus and Kira were casting worried glances at her but she hardly noticed as they stepped out of the car and went into the house. "Do you mind if I leave you guys alone for a while? I have some work to do…" she said.

They shook their heads.

"Okay. I'll see you at dinner then."

They nodded.

As soon as Cagalli was out of sight, Lacus turned to Kira, a troubled look in her eyes. "I'm worried about her…"

He nodded. "I know. I'm worried, too…"

Lacus bit her lip. There had to be something they could do…

"Have you talked to Athrun lately?" Kira asked suddenly.

"Yes. I talked to him yesterday."

"Did he seem okay to you?"

"Yes, but…he's changed quite a bit."

He glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"He…well, he's always…cheerful. He just…he never seems to be concerned about anything. He just lets his father decide everything for him. It's almost like he doesn't…care…"

Kira's brow furrowed at that. It wasn't like Athrun to be like that at all… "Hey, Lacus…"

"Yes?"

"What if we got Athrun and Cagalli to talk? I mean really talk…"

"You mean face to face?"

"Yeah…"

"That would be great…except they avoid each other like the plague…" She looked up at him. "But…maybe we could set them up…"

"You mean like they used to do to us?"

She giggled. "Sort of."

"What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"Here's what we could do…"

Next Day

"Ready?" Kira called to Lacus through the bathroom door.

"Just about," she replied.

They had decided to take a short trip to the mountains to get some well-deserved rest for Lacus, and they had invited Cagalli to go on the trip with them. Unbeknownst to her, Kira and Lacus had also invited Athrun, who also didn't know that Cagalli would be coming.

A few minutes later, the pink-haired songstress emerged from the bathroom wearing a pale pink sundress and matching heels. A lavender jacket was draped over one arm and her long hair was tied up in a neat ponytail. Kira's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets when he saw her, but despite the warm blush on his cheeks, he managed a soft, "You look great, Lacus."

She smiled and whispered a quiet "Thank you." followed by a kiss on the cheek.

He started to blush even harder, and, as luck would have it, that was when Cagalli decided to walk in wearing a dark blue sweatshirt over a green tank top, jeans, and her favorite pair of sneakers.

Cagalli noted the blush on her brother's face and grinned, poking the still-blushing Kira in the ribs. "You do realize your face looks like an overripe tomato right now, don't you?"

Kira glared at his sister. "Knock it off, Cagalli!"

His twin just laughed and turned to her best-friend. "You look great, by the way."

Lacus smiled in return. "Thanks."

Cagalli clapped her hands excitedly. "Alright, let's go! I've been itching to get a vacation like this for months!"

As the blond-haired princess went on her way, Lacus shot a worried glance at Kira. "Think this will work?"

He smiled reassuringly at her. "It'll be fine."

Hours Later

Cagalli stepped out of the car and stretched, her amber eyes taking in the sights and sounds of the remote mountain hideaway her brother and best-friend had chosen.

It was a beautiful place. The wooden house was hidden from view by tall trees and it sat next to a cliff which provided a splendid view of the setting sun behind the house. The fresh air felt cool on her face and she was already starting to relax. She had a feeling this was going to be a great holiday.

"You like it?" Lacus asked, walking up to her.

She grinned. "You bet."

"Good, because I want you to get some rest on this trip too. You seriously need it."

"I guess."

"Hey! Isn't anyone going to help me?" Kira asked, his arms loaded with luggage, most of them Lacus'.

Cagalli and Lacus turned, took one look at him and started laughing.

Kira put on a hurt expression. "Hey…!"

Feeling a little guilty for making him carry all their bags himself, Lacus walked over to Kira and took a couple of packages out of his hands. "Thanks," he said, smiling at his pink-haired girlfriend.

"You're welcome," Lacus replied.

While Lacus and Kira headed into the house with their things, Cagalli used the time to explore a little bit. She walked a short distance from the house and found a small stream. Sitting down, she dipped a hand into the cool water, her eyes trained on the bright blue sky. Closing her eyes, she started to lay back down on a rock by the bank, when she heard a low growl just behind her.

Slowly, she turned around…and came face to face with a gray-backed wolf, its fangs bared, poised to strike.

"Damn it," she hissed, realizing too late just how careless she'd been. And, as the menacing animal began to approach her, she looked around her for something to use as a weapon, but there was nothing. It was then that she heard someone call her name, making her potential attacker turn in the opposite direction.

Turning in the direction of the voice, Cagalli turned…and saw an achingly familiar figure standing right beside her, breathing hard.

Her eyes started to fill with tears. "Athrun…"

"Cagalli." he muttered, his eyes scanning the area for something he could use as a weapon to try and drive the animal away. Bending down slowly, he picked up a rock, ready to throw it at the wolf, when another growl, this one coming from the bushes just beside him, stopped him cold.

"Shit," he said under his breath, watching as the second wolf, this one pure white, emerged from its hiding place.

Carefully, so as to not to startle their would-be attackers, he stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body.

"Athrun." she called, her voice laced with alarm, "why are you doing this?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt."

"…Why?"

"I just don't. Let's leave it at that for now, okay? We have to get out of here."

She nodded numbly. "What now?"

"Take my hand."

And she did.

A/n: Okie…that's it for chapter 3…so, what do you guys think? Good, bad, corny, crappy, silly…?