The Heart Doesn't Lie

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny or any of the characters in this story that appear on those two shows.

For anyone that read my oneshot Defining Family, I wrote a sequel to it. I guess that means it is not really a oneshot. That story is Asu/Kira.

Notes to reviewers:

kc-animegal- it is probably going to be a few more chapters because Athrun, well he is confused. And I want him to take a little time to think about it. Also I have to work on the other relationships a little. And there are a few things I need to decide, like am I going to have him figure things out before or after the angry eyes thing.

Furin-a – thanks for your opinion on the subject.

Darkmoon Fleur- I am so glad you really like my story. And I thank you for your thoughts.

Yunih- I am happy about your reviews, and don't worry about errors, I get what you are saying so it's alright. Thanks for your opinion.

Early-Frosts- I am glad someone can understand what I mean about Shinn and thank you for your opinion.

On with the story and please read notes at end of chapter.

Oh by the way this is a set up chapter, nothing really exciting, sorry sometimes these things have to be done.

Chapter 16

Fllay bounced the ball a couple of times before throwing it up in the air and hitting it to her team mate, Jen. Jen returned the ball and the rally continued for a few more minutes until the would be point went to Fllay. Would be point because this was only practice and not an actual game. She was at morning tennis practice.

Fllay had been playing tennis for years and was quite good. She was one of only two sophomores chosen for the team. The other one was Jen. They would often practice together. Tennis was probably the only thing she was completely serious about, although she did have fun with it as well. It was her dream to go professional after she graduated and travel around entering competitions. So she trained hard to reach that goal.

After the rally was complete she looked over and saw Sting leaning against the fence watching her. She was not sure how long he had been there, she had been too absorbed in practice. Fllay walked over to the fence to talk to him, wanting to know his reasons for being there.

"Hey. You did pretty good out there. I didn't know you played so well." Sting greeted her.

"Have you ever watched a tennis match before?"

"No, not really my kind of sport. They don't let you tackle people. But I may have to change my mind." Sting told her, smirking.

"Change your mind? Why? Are you going to start playing?"

"No, I'll just watch you play. I think I'll like that better than playing myself." Sting answered, still smirking.

"Whatever. Just don't bother me during practice. I have an important tournament coming up and Coach Gladys won't let me play if she thinks I'm not ready because I didn't practice enough." Fllay said and glanced down at her watch. "I have to go get clean up for class. Bye."

Sting stood there watching her walk off towards the girls locker room before leaving himself. The smirk changed to a smile.

X x x

Kira pulled up to Athrun's house and sat there for a few minutes before getting out. After Athrun had told him about Shinn's feelings and his own confusion nothing else had been said on the subject. Kira was aware that Athrun had things he needed to think about and was afraid to make it worse for him by telling him his own feelings.

Kira was about to get out when the passenger side door open and Athrun got in the car. Athrun looked really tired.

"You didn't sleep very well did you?" Kira asked him.

"No, is it that obvious?" Athrun asked.

"You do look pretty tired. I guess you had a lot going through your head last night."

Athrun nodded and looked out the window. He had barely slept and he didn't feel he was any closer to figuring anything out.

"Well, if you need to talk I am here for you."

"Thanks Kira. You're the best."

Kira smiled, "I know, just don't forget it."

x x x

Cagalli pulled into the driveway and honked. She should probably get out and ring the bell, but she had stayed up late last night talking to Miguel on the phone and was tired. They had been working on an assignment for government that was due today. Miss Badgiruel was pretty strict and known for not accepting late papers.

Lacus opened the door and got in the car.

"Good morning, Cagalli."

"Morning, Lacus."

"Why are you so tired this morning?" Lacus asked her.

"Government paper. I was up late last night working on it with Miguel over the phone."

"Miguel? You two seemed to be spending a lot of time together lately."

"Yeah, well, we're friends." Cagalli said.

"Are you sure that is all? What about Athrun? Do you still like him?" Lacus asked.

"Yes, I'm just tired of waiting on him. Athrun will never get a clue about anything."

"About anything? That's a little harsh Cagalli. I'm sure he is not as clueless as you make him out to be."

"Well, you should know better than anyone since you were his girlfriend for two years. Why did you stay with him that long when you knew he didn't love you? I mean you did know it didn't you?" Cagalli asked.

"Of course I knew. But why is it bad that I stay with him so long. He is a good man, kind, caring, protective, smart, and handsome. Why wouldn't I want to stay with him."

"If he is so great then why did you break up with him?"

"Because I didn't want to keep him from finding the one he loves. If he was still with me he wouldn't be able to do that as freely. He would be afraid of hurting me."

"So you broke up with him because you loved him?" Cagalli asked.

"Yes, haven't you every heard that if you love someone you should set them free."

"And if it's meant to be they'll come back to you. Yeah I have heard that before. Does that mean you have been waiting on him to come back to you all this time, cause I don't think that is going to happen."

"No, I haven't been waiting on him. And if he is so bad then why do you like him?"

"Hmm... good question. I don't know. Maybe I should think about that." Cagalli answered.

"Yes, maybe you should."Lacus said.

"Maybe I'm not the only one who needs to think about things." Cagalli said more to herself than to Lacus. She knew she was not being very nice to Lacus, but she was tired of people getting on her case about Miguel. She could not understand what the big deal was with her spending time with him. They had fun together and she enjoyed talking to him. Was that so wrong? Others seemed to think so.

X x x

"Your boyfriend just passed by." Jet told Shinn, although he was just teasing Shinn again. Jet did not know about Shinn and Athrun's talk the day before.

"Huh, where?" Shinn asked, looking around for Athrun.

"In that car over there. He was with Kira. I wonder why, maybe he likes him and decided to go out with him. They are really close after all. It would not be at all surprising if that turned to love."

Shinn tried to ignored his comments and continued trying to see where they had gone. He didn't want to read to much into it. He knew Athrun's car was in the shop, so that would explain why his best friend had brought him. At least that was what Shinn really wanted to believe was the only reason.

Jet did not notice that Shinn was not paying much attention to him and continued, "I guess you should be worried after all. Why would he want a guy like you when he could have a nice guy like him? I guess he wouldn't."

Jet did not really feel that way, but he knew that Shinn did. He was saying what he thought Shinn would. Shinn looked at Jet wishing he would just be quiet, which seemed just about impossible for him.

"Are you finished yet?" Shinn asked him.

"Almost, I feel so bad for you that you had to fall for someone you have absolutely no chance with. If you were to ever confess he would reject you and then hate you forever. Alright, I think I'm done now." Jet said, looking at Shinn and smirking.

"Good, but you don't have to worry about me anymore. I already confessed. And he doesn't hate me. At least it didn't seem like he did."

Jet's smirk changed into surprise, "You confessed? It is about time. What did he say?"

"He said he was confused about things. I told him to think about it and left. What else could I do? I can't force him to love me, and he said that there was someone else he likes."

"Oh, sorry." Jet said, feeling a little guilty since he had given Shinn a hard time about talking to him.

"Don't be. He hasn't rejected me just yet and even if he does, it feels better that he didn't do it right away." Shinn said.

"Did he say who the other person is?" Jet asked.

"No, I'm not sure I want to know who it is that keeps him from me. Would you want to know?"

"I think so, but maybe not. I would probably wonder what they have I don't and stuff like that. It would be tiresome. Always comparing yourself to them. Maybe it is better not to know, but you might find out eventually anyway."

"I know. Especially if that person likes him too." Shinn said and got out of the car. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. Not to Jet anyway. Shinn walked up to the school and finally saw Kira's car. He could see Athrun talking with Kira, it appeared that they were deep in conversation. Shinn felt a pang of jealousy. Right now Kira had all of Athrun's attention, and Athrun did not even notice him.

He looked away and continued walking up to the school.

X x x

Luna and Meyrin sat in the car talking. This would be Meyrin's first day since Stellar moved away and Luna was worried about her. She knew that Meyrin had other friends, even another best friend, but still it would be hard for her without Stellar since she was so use to them being together.

"Are you going to be okay today?" Luna asked her.

"Yeah, Auel is here and I know he is upset about it too. He liked her, he never told her, but he did like her. So you don't have to worry about me." Meyrin told her and smiled. Meyrin got out of the car to go look for Auel. It did not take her long to find him in the yard.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Auel asked her, concerned.

"I'm alright, how about you."

"Same here. Its not like we will never see her again, just not as often." he said.

"Yeah, that's true. We could make a day trip out of it. That would be fun."

Auel smiled. He had been worried that Meyrin would take this really hard and be depressed about it. He knew she did take it hard, but she was being strong about it. That made him feel better about knowing about it and not telling her.

"I heard she broke things off with Shinn before she left." Meyrin said.

Auel looked at her surprised, "Is that so? Why?"

"I don't know why, she just told me she did." Meyrin looked at him and smiled. "Maybe all hope is not gone for you."

"Yeah, maybe. What about you?" Auel asked. Auel was aware of Meyrin's feelings for a certain blue haired guy, just like she knew of his for Stellar.

"I don't know, I guess I just don't want to worry about that right now. My love is one sided. It will probably always be. But you have a chance to change yours."

"We'll see. Right now lets just take care of each other." He said.

Meyrin nodded and the two walked off into the school. The bell would be ringing soon.

X x x

Kira was sitting with Lacus and Cagalli under the big tree at lunch. The three were waiting for the rest of the group to show up. Lacus and Cagalli had sat away from each other making Kira worry that something had happen between them. He was afraid to ask though. He knew how his sister could be when she was mad. And even though everyone thought Lacus was just a sweet girl, Kira knew she could also be scary when she was in a bad mood. So he chose to remain silent hoping that someone else would join them soon.

"Where is everyone else?" Nicol asked as he sat down.

"I don't know." Kira answered.

Nicol looked around and sensed the tension between the two girls, but like Kira chose not to ask questions. He wasn't really looking to die today.

Milly arrived soon after and noticed her two friends were not talking to each other, being their best friend she decided to ask about it.

"What is going on with you two?"

"Nothing." Cagalli answered.

"Don't lie to me, there is obviously something. So what is it?" Milly said.

"We just had a little disagreement about men is all." Lacus said.

"Care to elaborate?" Milly asked.

Lacus sighed, "I asked about Miguel and she started being mean. Talking about my relationship with Athrun."

At this Kira starting listening. He did not understand why Cagalli would bring up Athrun and Lacus' relationship. He wondered if Lacus still had feelings for Athrun, they had been together for a long time. They had only broken up during the summer, so the feelings were probably still there, even if she did say she likes Kira now. He couldn't help but wonder if Athrun had decided he did like Lacus, he did say there was someone that he liked. Maybe he realized it after they broke up. Kira was starting to get very worried.

"I just asked why she stayed with him for so long when she knew he did not love her. It was a genuine question." Cagalli said.

"That does sound a little mean Cagalli, like you were rubbing it in." Milly said.

"What? Is it my fault that man can't seem to love anyone. There are a lot of girls who like he, and he acts like he doesn't even know. He just doesn't care about anyone is what I am starting to think."

"Cagalli that is not true. He does care about others, maybe too much. He doesn't want to hurt anyone." Kira said.

"Well for not wanting to hurt anyone he sure does a good job of it. Come to think of it, you are the same as he is." Cagalli said and got up and walked away. The rest of them just let her go, knowing it would be no use going after her now.

X x x

"Where are we going Yzak?" Dearka asked his boyfriend, who was leading him into the garden that hardly anyone ever went into.

"You will see when we get there. Just trust me, okay."

"Okay."

They continued to walk for a little while following the main path. Dearka noticed there were a few side paths but Yzak did not go down any of those. Finally the seemed to reach the end of the path and Dearka was amazed.

"Wow, I never knew this was here." He said looking around at the fountain and all the flowers. He had to admit it was a pretty sight.

"This is where I first met Ari. That is not why I brought you here though. I like it here, it's nice, so I wanted to share it with you." Yzak told him.

Dearka smiled at him, "Yeah it is nice. It will be a great place to have our lunch, just the two of us."

"That was also the idea." Yzak told him, smiling back.

They sat in front of the fountain and had a quiet lunch together. No one else came into the garden while they were there, so they did not have to try to be discreet about being together. They had decided that for the time being they would keep their relationship a secret. Their friends knew and that was all. They wanted it to stay that way for a while. There was not any other guy couples at the school so they weren't sure how people would react. They did not really care what others would think, they just didn't want to mess with it right now, so early in their relationship. The decision had been mutual.

X x x

Cagalli had decided to take a walk around after she left her friends to clear her head and calm down. While walking she ran into Athrun, who was also taking a walk. Cagalli noticed Athrun looked pretty bad.

"Are you okay, Athrun? You don't look so good." She asked.

Athrun had been lost in thought and had not noticed Cagalli walking towards him. Surprised he looked over at her.

"I'm okay, just tired. I didn't sleep much last night. I have a lot on my mind."

Cagalli felt bad, even if she had griped about him, she did still care about him. She had just been in a bad mood herself.

"Want to talk about it. That might help." She asked.

Athrun sighed, "I like someone, have for a while. I thought I had my feelings all figured out, but then someone else confessed to me and now I am confused about what I really feel. I think I might like two people and that is bad. But I don't know, maybe I just think I might like the second one because I don't know how the first one feels. Or maybe I really do like them both."

Cagalli was floored, here she was thinking maybe he could not like anyone and she finds out he might like two people. Cagalli reached over and put her hand on his back trying to give him support.

"What does your heart say? Which one does it feel stronger for? Only you can answer that, and it might not be easy to answer. I'm sorry I can't help more, I would really like too, but I can't see inside your heart."

Athrun smiled at her, "I know, thanks. I appreciate you being here, trying to help me."

x x x

"Back with the first" the voice said over the phone.

"Right, soon." the call was ended.

"What will be the outcome of all of this, even I don't know." The voice said to no one and walked away from the scene playing out.

TBC

I know Cagalli was being mean, and I am sorry. There are reasons for it, I think. I need these few chapters to set up for the end of the story, which isn't happing yet (I'm not sure how long this is going to be, but I would say at least 20 chapters, since I have already written 18.)

I would also like to apologize in advance because the next chapter is a little like this one, except Kira and Athrun are not in it, and Shinn is only a little and that was for my amusement pretty much. But as I have said I have already done chapter 18 and that focuses on Kira and Athrun, most of it is Athrun. There are a few other characters that show up but it is all about those two. All in all I think you will enjoy the chapter.

Alright now I have decided to talk. So if you don't want to know who the main couple will end up being before it is revealed story wish you might want to stop reading this.

When I first started this story I wasn't sure which one Athrun would end up with. Then I planned on it being a Asu/Shinn story, Shinn needs more Asu, Kira love. But reviewers were hoping for a Asu/Kira story, which I had never completely ruled out. I have tried to stay a couple of chapters past what I have posted so I rewrote, more like I had 2 slightly different versions, of chapter 14, 15, and 16. The original leading to Shinn and the other where I was pretty much able to go either way. (In the original Athrun actually confesses to Shinn before he has a chance too in chapter 15.) Anyway, it looks like this will be Asu/Kira. Don't anyone feel bad that I changed my story, either way was alright with me. This just means you have to wait a little longer for them to get together.