Title: Mosaic

Author: Teno Hikari

Fandom: Gundam Seed Destiny

Pairings: Athrun x Shinn, Gil x Kira, Rey x Cagalli, and more.

Disclaimer: I plead insanity, your honor.

Summary: AU - Athrun Zala has everything under control. He doesn't have a problem with his father being cold and distant. Or the fact that his best friend is dating a married man. He certainly is not attracted to his best friend's little brother, and denial is just a river in Egypt. (Athrun x Shinn , Gil x Kira and more cracktastic slash and het pairings to come.)

Warning: Un-betad.

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Chapter Two

Mayu was trying hard not to scowl throughout the dinner party as most of the adults would leave her out of the most interesting conversations. It got substantially worse over time when they would remark how adorable she was and pinch her cheeks until they were red. Adults failed to realize that it was hard being the youngest member of the family.

She did manage to find refuge among her cousin and his friends once she manage to get out of the crowd. For some reason she was holding a bowl of bread pudding and a spoon in her hands. Not quite sure how they ended up in her possession, Mayu shrugged and proceeded to join them in the living room.

Settling herself on the sofa beside Shinn, she began to poke at her dessert while tuning out the claymated version of "Frosty the Snowman," the others were watching. Apparently aside from all the cheek-pinching, watching old movies intended for children younger than her, was another holiday tradition.

"Yo Mayu," Shinn leaned in and stole a bite of her dessert with his own fork, "Is Kira-niisan and Athrun-san still outside?"

When he moved back she leaned over and grabbed a few cookies off his napkin in retaliation. "I don't think so," Mayu nibbled on one of them before turning back to scan the dining room where most of the guests were at. "Via-obasan had to drag them both in when they missed dinner."

"Oh."

"It's a good thing she did, the temperature is still dropping outside." Mayu's turned back around and frowned at the older boy who had taken back one of the cookies she had stolen. But before she could complain about it, Rey had emerged from the crowd with his own plate and her lips curved into a grin when she saw what was on it.

"Cagalli-neechan made the brownies," she informed him cheerfully when he took a seat across from them. "They're really yummy!"

"What are you talking about, Mayu?" Shinn asked as he attempted to grab another cookie off of Meyrin's plate. Only to have his hand swatted away by Lunamaria. "They're made from a box mix you buy at the store. Anyone can follow the directions on the b- ack!"

Mayu quickly silenced him with a quick jab to the ribs before glancing back at the other boy. "It's the thought that counts right, Rey-ojisan?"

Rey nodded quietly, picking up the brownie with a look of amusement playing on his features while Shinn rubbed his injury. She couldn't believe he was eating before the selection of fruits he had picked up at the buffet. With Rey living with them for a couple years now, she did manage to learn a lot about her father's younger brother just by observing him. She discovered that he didn't really care for sweets. He either avoided them completely or saved them for last. Mayu actually had to force herself to pay attention to the movie to stop herself from grinning like a Cheshire cat.

It wasn't long before Cagalli decided to join them. Having had enough advice from other relatives about what to do with a two-timing boyfriend. As much as the ten-year old wanted her cousin to sit beside Rey to help move her plans along, she decided not to push her luck. Mayu watched as the older girl plopped down on the sofa beside her and zoned out at the television screen.

Ten minutes later, the blonde remarked that her brain cells were dying watching this drivel and a fight for the remote with Shinn ensued. Everyone in the living room actually found the struggle between siblings more entertaining than watching what was on the TV. Sadly it didn't last long since Cagalli knew her little brother's weak tickle spots. She was now flipping through other channels while Shinn sat on the floor, holding his sides, and looking utterly mortified.

Finally everyone agreed on watching a comedy until Mayu dozed off half way through it. When she came to, hours later, her chin was resting against her dad's shoulder as he carried her piggy-back styled towards the door. She could hear the murmur of conversation all around her, but it was fainter now than before. Perhaps most of the guests had gone home already.

"You awake, koneko-chan?"

Recognizing her father's pet-name for her, she nodded with a "meow," that broke off into a yawn.

"That's fine, go back to sleep then."

Mwu La Flagga - an author who went under the pen name "Neo Lorrnoke" - smiled as his daughter quickly complied, before turning towards his wife. Murrue was still saying goodbyes to her sister, Via and her husband, Haruma. Beside him, Rey was... Well still Rey, but he looked less subdued and withdrawn than usual. Which was a good thing of course, but Mwu was curious about this sudden change in mood.

"Something wrong, oniisan?"

"Eh?" Mwu suddenly realized that he had been staring, and now the teenager was staring back at him. "N-no! Nothing's wrong."

"What's wrong?" Murrue asked as she put on her coat and joined them at the door.

"Oniisan was giving me "The Look" again," Rey informed her. The young woman blinked before glancing over to her husband, looking slightly worried.

"You're not planning on making us go Christmas caroling this late are you?"

"Of course not! Christmas is weeks away and we don't even have our costumes yet!"

"Costumes?" Rey inquired, "Why would there be costumes?"

Mwu gave him a look as though he was some heretic blasphemer.

"Because it's Christmas! You have to dress up to get into the holiday spirit and it's our family tradition after all!"

Rey opened the door as his brother and sister-in-law turned to wave back at their hosts. He didn't even wince as the icy cold night air slapped him across the face and tousled his hair.

'...Your family, maybe.'

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After watching his friends and their invited families leave the party, Shinn also called it a night and headed upstairs. Content to finally going to bed without having to close one of his text books first, and sleeping in as long as liked. Or as long until someone dragged him out of bed by force to do some house chores.

Heading into his room to change into his sleepwear, Shinn new something was amiss the moment he turned the lights on. Dropping his coat on the floor, he wandered around the room; eyeing his belongings, every piece of furniture, and could tell easily what had been changed in his absence. It didn't take long for his garnet colored eyes to wander over to his desk and saw two objects that were not supposed to be there.

One of them he immediately recognized was his Haro doll - wait 'toy', not doll - that he had normally kept on the shelf up above. So what was it doing down here? His parents and even Cagalli (most of the time) respected his privacy enough not to come into his room and re-arrange his belongings. Then Shinn's turned his attention on the second item out of place.

His grip on the Haro doll tightened as he saw a younger version of himself clinging onto another little boy a few years older. That emerald eye boy was of course Athrun Zala, way back when Shinn had referred to him as "Athrun-niisan". Back when his heart hadn't formed it's cracks.

Abruptly, Shinn slammed the photo faced down against the desk - and didn't wince at the sound of cracking glass. He'd replace the frame later. All he wanted to do now was collapse ontop of his bed and get some rest. Placing the Haro doll - toy - back on the shelf, he quickly stripped down and put on the sweats and t-shirt that had been discarded on the floor.

Once dressed, he headed out to the hallway to use his bathroom and was surprised when the knob refused to turn. He tried again but the door refused to open. Now this was strange. His bathroom was normally never occupied, since his parents and Cagalli had their own. Then he remembered that his brother and Athrun were also staying her. Except Kira's room was right next to Cagalli's on the other side of the house. So... who was staying in the guest room beside him?

His question was answered the moment the door opened, with Athrun Zala wearing nothing but his boxers. Shinn felt his face heat up and hastily backed away, as if he found the older boy's semi-nudity intimidating. Much to his relief and a little disappointment, Athrun put his sweatpants on, and was now staring at him oddly.

"Gomen, Shinn," he apologized, "were you waiting long?"

Waiting long?

'Yes, for almost ten years!' was all Shinn's brain managed to think of while he lost himself in those green eyes. He opened his mouth, about to voice out what was eating him inside, until Cagalli suddenly blocked his path.

"Where were you at the party, Athrun? Hiding?" the blonde inquired, slapping him friendly-like across the back. Shinn's eyes narrowed as the other young man's attention turned towards his sister. He sidestepped around them and towards the bathroom, grumbling about the injustice of it all.

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The glowing digital numbers on his cell phone were reading 2:48am when Kira's hand fumbled through the darkness to retrieve it. He found nothing but air for several moments before the ringing that had awakened him ceased. Groaning, his arm flopped carelessly back to the bed. The brunette decided to wait until morning to check his messages. For all he knew it was probably one of his friends who had gotten hammered and wanted to share their sob story.

Deciding that he wasn't going to deal with that at this ungodly hour, Kira turned on his side and hoped he could resume his dream. A dream that did include a bed with him and another on it - and there was no sleeping involved. He groaned again into his pillow. Maybe his twin was right, that having this kind of relationship was turning him into some kind of pervert.

Not even a minute later, did the ringing start again and this time Kira sat up, and ignoring the disgruntled whine from Okapi sleeping at the food of the bed, snatched up the phone. Without bothering to find out who the caller was he answered it with a rude: "What the hell! Do you know what time it is!"

Before he had a chance to wonder why he sounded so much like Yzak Jule when he was cranky, the response on the other end was a soft chuckle. It only took a second to recognize who the caller was - the one he was indeed waiting for all night. Now wide awake, Kira clutched the cell phone tightly, his anger forgotten.

"Gil?"

"Gomen, Kira-kun," came the sultry voice of his lover that made him melt on the spot. "I just missed hearing your cheerful voice."

It took a couple of seconds for the rest of his brain to wake up, but when it did, Kira rolled his eyes. "I would probably sound more cheerful if this wasn't a long distance call, and you remembered those troublesome things called time zones."

He yawned again, going off on how it may have been daytime on whatever country Gil was spending his holiday at, it certainly wasn't here. Outside he could still see the stars out and the light snow fall that continued to blanket the frost covered ground. Then out of the corner of his eye, Kira saw movement coming from beside his car. At first he tensed and thought it was some carjacker... but as he squinted, the phone dropped from his tense fingers.

A dark-haired man in a black trench coat appeared, beautiful enough to make one question reality, but not so beautiful as to be mistaken for a woman. But hidden in the fine-boned, elegant features exists an eternal serenity that is too perfect to be real. Graceful and lithe, the handsome visitor moves silently, every step light and careful, trying to leave as little trace of his passage as possible, even though he knows that his footsteps will be erased within a minutes' time.

When those honey colored eyes met his own, Kira quickly and silently as possible - so not to wake the whole household - left his room to head downstairs. Seconds later, he was practically out of breath when he reached the front door and luckily he remembered to take a deep breath before opening it. For he forgot to breathe when the chill from outside combined with the sight of manly perfection was now before him.

"Gil, what are you doing here? I thought you were with..."

Kira trailed off, wondering if he was dreaming and decided that he didn't care as he sprang forward into the other man's welcoming embrace.

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Athrun had always been an early to bed - early to rise kind of person. He lived by a schedule and always had something to do even on his days off from school and his internship at the law firm. However, holidays spent with families tended to make him uncomfortable. In fact he wouldn't even had come if Kira hadn't insisted on it... with blackmail.

"Ne, Athrun. Wanna come home with me? But if you'd rather stay here, there's this nice guy I've been meaning to set you up with. He doesn't have anything special planned either."

That so-called "nice guy" Kira had been referring to had been Crot Buer, a red head with a really short fuse. Anyone who even looked at him funny normally got an ear-ache and a saliva face-bath. Far from pleasant company. Which lead Athrun to wonder about his best friend. For someone who smiled like an angel, Kira surprisingly had a rather sadistic personality. Sometimes Athrun would wonder what kind of partner his best friend would find for himself in the future.

After a shower and change of clothes, he planned on heading downstairs, to see if he could help Mrs.Yamato with anything in the kitchen. However, his emerald eyes spotted Okapi wandering the hallway before nudging the door to next to his room. Amused, he leaned against the doorframe, watching as the dog jumped up onto the bed and waking up it's only occupant.

Shinn stirred, mumbling incoherently in his sleep. Athrun's face softened as he remembered how they used to have sleepovers. Normally he would have bunked with Kira and even Cagalli. When the youngest of the Yamato family was old enough, Shinn would demanded to be included as well. Smiling, the older boy planned on just closing the door and letting the other just sleep in. That was until Shinn's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"A... athru...ni..."

He turned back to see his best friend's little brother who was half awake and half asleep. Hazy crimson eyes met his and a pale hand reached out to him almost in a pleading gesture. Before falling back to bed, Shinn closed his eyes and began to snore quietly again.

Blinking in surprise, Athrun wasn't sure what to do. Apart of him wanted to go over to the boy and make sure he was all right. Yet another part of him didn't want to wake him and deal with Shinn's cranky morning moodiness - Kira had told him about long ago. So he did what he was thought was best, by turning to leave and closing the door behind him.

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The mouth-watering aroma of breakfast greeted Athrun when he entered the kitchen to see both of his best friend's parents cooking breakfast. Side by side just like his had used to do. When he was too young to help out, he would sit at the table and watch them idly chatting about everything and nothing, as they worked in union. Yet always, his mother would turn to smile at him over her shoulder when she greeted him. Her smile, was so bright and so warm, that it defrosted even his father's cold exterior.

"Ohayo, Athrun!"

Realizing that he had been spacing out again, the said boy sheepishly smiled back at the couple who were probably wondering if he had been sleep walking. Quickly he apologized - mainly for intruding rather than being caught in a daze, and returned the greeting with less enthusiasm.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Athun asked, sounding a little too eager. He needed to keep his mind away from other things by distracting himself with something constructive to do. Via seemed to detect this and smiled, stepping aside from the counter and gestured to the waffle iron and batter mix.

"Can you finish making the rest of the waffles while I work on the eggs?"

Mentally he perked up, nodding to the task as he stepped up. Athrun didn't have a clue what to do though. The kind of waffles he made growing up were the ones bought at the grocery store's freezer section.

But really, how hard could it be? Pour batter goop on hot iron. Wait a little bit. Remove waffle from iron. Repeat step one. The batter was sticky and it even got on his clothes somehow. A couple unsuccessful attempts later, Athrun began to get the hang of it but still would rather stick to the frozen kind.

By the time he was finishing off the last of the batter, Cagalli came downstairs - smirked at his apron, and sat down at the kitchen table.

"You know normally, over-worked students would take the opportunity to sleep in," she said casually, helping herself to some coffee. "Kira's practically comatose on the mornings he's home."

Separating the stack of perfectly golden brown waffles from the charred black and the pale, barely-cooked, yellow ones; Athrun sat down across from the blonde and sighed.

"It can't be help. I have work early in morning and then afternoon and evening classes," he explained, "So I'm used to waking up before dawn."

Kira's schedule was the exact opposite, and sometimes the two best friends rarely saw one another. Only sometimes when they hurried across campus, they'd catch glimpses of each other. Occasionally, they would hang out and have dinner with the rest of their circle of friends. Yet recently, the brunette's time was occupied when he was off.

It made Athrun wondered if his friend had another girlfriend... or boyfriend. But surely Kira would tell him who it was so they could meet. Wouldn't he?

He looked up as a hand waved in front of his face. Cagalli's amber eyes was staring closely at him. Too close in fact since the blonde was leaning over the table and he could feel her breathe on his face.

"Want to let me on your internal conversation there?" she asked teasingly.

He smiled back at her, inwardly cursing himself for zoning out again. Really, what was with him today? Athrun was always focused whenever around people.

"I was just thinking..." he began while pouring himself a cup of coffee, "What a fool Jona Roma Saran is."

Kira's twin sister turned pink with anger as she flopped back down on her seat. "Arghh! I don't want to hear about it! I don't even know why I went out with that creep!"

"I think it had something to with sport cars," Shinn offered helpfully as he pulled up a seat at the table.

Cagalli stared at the other boy, who was - much to her total shock - awake and dressed for the day. Also, he was sitting next to Athrun in the center, and not at his usual place. Right by the counter where he could turn on the small kitchen TV or radio in order to tune out their chatter.

She just grinned behind her mug of coffee and shrugged.

"You might be right, Shinn," she agreed, looking thoughtful. "Though instead of decking him one, I should have stole the car before running him over with it."

"Yeah, but who wants to clean up Seran road kill?"

"Shinn! Cagalli! Enough! We're about to eat!" Mrs.Yamato chastised her children as she and her husband approached with plates of food in their hands. "Where's Kira?"

"Sleeping," the two siblings answered as they began to attack the stack of waffles. Catching their mother's frown, Athrun pulled away at the table.

"I'll go get him," he offered, striding out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

When he approached the room, he wasn't surprised to find the door lock. At the dorms, the brunette needed absolute privacy whenever he studied for an exam - at least that's what he told everyone else. Athrun knew his friend could memorize book passages and recite them hours late while playing video games or watching television. Photographic memory. It was a rare gift other students would be jealous over if they knew.

Not at all worried about invading Kira's privacy, he got out his wallet and used a student ID card to work open the door. Athrun was not going to sit at the kitchen table as Kira's substitute. He was going to drag Kira out of bed and down the stairs if he had to.

"Hey, Kira! Wake up, it's time to..."

Only Kira was awake in bed... and was not alone.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Zala-kun."

Athrun's eyes went wide as he saw the Chairman of his law firm - his boss - half covered in bed sheets, with his best friend straddling his lap.

"Du... Dullindal-gichou!"

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Author's Notes: Who doesn't love cliffhangers? Sorry for the delays on... well everything. School and work have been making me miserable these past couple of months, and suddenly family has been eating away at my free time. Hopefully when my final exams are over I can make regular updates. Hopefully.

Review Responses

Ookami Fuu - Well GilxKira are a side pairing like ReyxCagalli, but I'm glad you'll still continue to read the story despite them.

Nevermore-Amaya - Yeah it's kind of weird writing them as brothers now; though in the very beginning of Gundam Seed Destiny I always wondered if they were somehow related.

Many thanks to Cagalli Yula Athha Fangirl, lightyearsaway, loopy loki, pluto-mint, kiki, RuByMoOn17, kasiuke, Aegis04, and Wyntermajik - Glad you enjoyed, I'll try to keep regular updates!