Disclaimer: Do not own GS or GSD.
Cagalli arrived. Heck, everyone was there — from Kira to Dacosta. What was the event, you ask? Heh, no events whatsoever, but this: Athrun Zala is sick!
Now, it is an opportunity to see a sick Athrun. You get to know a lot of things, really, for he is 'drunk' when he is sick. Sicko, drunk, drunk. Ha! And I think the author is drunk, or sick, too right now. Hahahahaaa!
No, I am NOT drunk! Get away, lemme type this fic—
Aha! She's not drunk, but she's ill. That's how she got the idea of Athrun getting ill. The medicines are working, she's all sleepy now…you just watch, five minutes, and she's out!
Shut up, you. Lemme type – gerroff the seat!
"How is he?" Cagalli asked Lacus, who was sitting outside the room.
"He's, um, doing fine," said Lacus. When Cagalli frowned his confusion, she said, "You've never seen him getting sick, have you?"
The frown deepened. "No, why?"
Lacus looked as if she was trying not to laugh. "Then, you should go and see him!"
Confused, Cagalli entered the room. She heard voices talking – Athrun's voice – and so she approached the bed. Shin Asuka was talking to Athrun, and Athrun, who seemed glad to have so many visitors, was talking back to Shin. He sounded…drunk.
"So – so you're saying—"
"I'm saying," Athrun cut across Shin, "that to be a good MS pilot is to be, or not to be…" Here, he laughed weakly alone. "To be, or not to be…to be, or not to be…haha….hahahahaa…."
Shin grumbled, and thundered out of the room. Cagalli watched, frowning, and then tuned to Kira (who looked disapprovingly at the visitors). "What was that about?" she asked.
"Oh, Cagalli, you're here," said Kira. "Uh, Shin, he was…trying to get Athrun into telling him how to be a good MS pilot…"
Cagalli raised her eyebrows. "And why was he asking Athrun about it now, of all the times?"
"Uh…" Kira trailed off. "Err – Cagalli, you've, um, never seen Athrun when he's ill, have you?"
Cagalli rolled her eyes. "Lacus asked me the same thing. Izzit that obvious?"
Kira faked a smile. "Yes."
Cagalli groaned. "Okay, so what if I haven't seen him when he's sick before?"
"So what? You're asking me 'so what?'? I'll tell you so what, you watch," said Kira. He approached the bed, where Athrun was blabbering about something. "Hey, Athrun."
Athrun looked at Kira. "Hey, friend! What brings you here?"
"I was just wondering, d'you remember that day when we first met?"
"Hell yeah, I do!" Athrun said, punching the air, missing Dearka's face by inches. "I do! I do remember the day when I, Uthran Laza, met him (he pointed at Kira), Rika Mayato!" Athrun then grabbed Mwu, who was sitting nearby, by his collar and began blabbering to him in a loud voice. "Ya know, he was running around and round and round, chasing that mechanical whatsis that I invented yearrrs and yeaarrss ago…and then I told him to stop chasing it, like, 'You, stop chasing my mechanical robot' and then he, he began to — guess what? Began to CRY like a little baby! Ha, ha, ha! Uhm…urgh…aanyway…and then I said I was sorry and said that my name is Uthran Laza, nice to meet you, and then he said…he said……he said….he said…he said………"
What did I tell you about the author being sick, eh? Now, off to bed, Arisa, you're going to school tomorrow. Off to bed, off to bed! (Watches as author went to bed). Aha, where were we, readers? Oh yes!
Athrun pointed at Kira several times, saying, "He said" over and over again. Everyone waited.
"He said…" Athrun frowned, and looked at Kira. Then he saw Cagalli standing behind Kira. "Ohh…hiya, Cagalli! How're office works goin'?"
Cagalli, who now understood why both Lacus and Kira had asked her the same question, tried not to laugh. "Office works? Just fine, don't worry your sick head over it."
"For the last time, I am NOT sick! Or ill! Or unhealthy! Or a chair! I'm UTHRAN LAZA! And then, he said, as I was telling you, he said 'Okay, I'm Rika Mayato'…"
Kira whispered at Cagalli, "See what I mean now?"
Cagalli nodded. "Yep, you bet that right!"
"You can get any secrets out from him when he's in this state," Kira said, shaking his head as he watched Mwu trying to shrug Athrun's hands off his collar. "Okay, that's it guys — out, out. He needs to rest…thanks for coming!"
Kira ushered the others out of the room (with Athrun shouting, "I AM NOT A SICK CHAIR! I'M UTHRAN! UTHRAAAAAAAAAANNN!")
When everyone was out, there were only Athrun's inner circle friends left. Athrun was still blabbering about how he had first met Kira to Dearka, who was kind enough to listen (even though Athrun had mistaken him as Yzak instead, and had commented that his sunburn was serious). Later, Miriallia arrived with a bowl of porridge, but Athrun refused to eat it, saying it was for Katricp Laza and not for Uthran Laza.
"Come, let me," said Cagalli, as Miriallia groaned in annoyance. She took the bowl and sat down next to the bed. She watched as Athrun stared at the ceiling (since no one was there for him to talk to), singing a tune under his breath. She gently placed a wet towel onto his forehead, and he turned to look at her, surprised by the sudden coldness that came to his forehead. "Hey, you."
He stared at her with his green orbs for quite some time.
"Hey," he replied, smiling. "Hey! When did you get here?"
"Just now," said Cagalli, frowning but smiling still. Okay, this is getting serious! "Didn't you remember me arriving?"
Athrun frowned. "No…no, I…don't…"
Cagalli smiled warmly. "Nah, don't worry about that. Here, eat this." She scooped the porridge and blew it to cool it down a little, but then Athrun spoke.
"I don't remember you coming here, but I remember you leaving my side………"
Cagalli was surprised to hear this. She placed the spoon into the bowl back, and looked at Athrun. Was he OK now? She felt his forehead. No, instead, he was burning up like hell!
"Eat this," she repeated, but Athrun sat up and took the bowl. He put it away on the bedside table. "Athrun, what—?"
Athrun silenced her with a finger. He then stared at her with sad green eyes.
"I missed you."
Cagalli turned deep scarlet. "Uhhh — I – I missed you, too," she said quickly. "Y-you need to eat—"
Suddenly, Athrun took her hands. She could feel Athrun's unusual body temperature through his hands, but even if she asked him to lie down, she knew he wouldn't listen.
"No, Cagalli. I mean it. I missed you. I know I'm a jackass when it comes to words, but I really, really missed you. Rika and Calus were always urging me to say something to you, but I couldn't. I know that if I do say something, you'd have to choose between ORB and me, and I don't like that. I know you love ORB, it's your heart and it's your soul. But I…I hope I'm something to you, too."
Cagalli was out of words. "A-Athrun, of…of course you're something to me—"
"And I know that I shouldn't have tied you up on that day we first met…I just thought you would start kicking me again or something," Athrun implored. Cagalli couldn't help laughing a little this time. "I seriously thought you were a guy, but then you screamed! Ha, ha…"
OK, great, now's your chance, Cagalli. "Athrun, you need to eat something. Just a little, and then you can lie down, okay?"
Athrun nodded like a little child, and leaned back, looking tired.
"Hey, you still remember that necklace you gave me?" he said suddenly.
"Yeah," said Cagalli. Athrun took his time swallowing the porridge. He was frowning, as if thinking.
"I still have it."
"Great."
"And, if you're wondering, you know, about things between us," he said, "I know that so many things had happened, but I really, really am sorry if I…what did you call me? Athrun? No, no, I'm Uthran. Yes, anyway…"
"Drink this," Cagalli said, trying to stop him from tiring himself by blabbering. She handed the drinking glass to him, but he refused it.
"I know that I've been a little odd whenever we meet, you know, like, kinda stiff…but it's because I was worried if you hated me…"
Cagalli sighed. "I don't hate you…"
"You liar," he said accusingly. Cagalli was surprised to hear him use that tone of voice all of a sudden. "I saw it! You were sad, you hate me! Why did you lie? Huh? Just say it if you hate me, and tell me what I've got to do to stop hurting you! I'm your friend, Cagalli! I'm Uthran—"
"First of," Cagalli said, "Correct your name. It's Athrun."
"Nu-uh! It's Uthran! U-T-H-R-A-N. Uthran."
"Drink this—"
"And stop telling me to eat and drink!" Athrun said. "I'm fine, I'll find something to eat when I'm hungry!"
"You're ill, you need to eat!" Cagalli insisted.
"And just to let you know, Meyrin and I are just friends. Though, I'm not sure if you can call us 'friends'. She's suddenly so friendly and she asked so many questions — hey, she asked some things about you, too, but I didn't answer her. Things between us are kept between us, right?"
Cagalli sighed. She took the bowl and the drinking glass, and stood. "I'll go return these to the kitchen…"
She didn't want to hear it. Athrun was ill, and it was wrong to take advantages of him when he was like this. He didn't know what he was saying…he's ill, that's why he's blabbering about these things… Even if he said he missed her, he didn't mean it, no matter how much she wanted to believe him…
"No — Cagalli!" Athrun called. His voice sounded so urgent. She turned to look, but the next thing she registered was Athrun hugging her tightly, as if he did not want to let her go. Both the bowl and the drinking glass fell onto the floor with a deafening sound, but Athrun ignored it. "Cagalli, please…please, please…don't leave me…please…"
"A-A-Athrun? N-no, I'm not leaving, I was just—"
"I'm sorry I've hurt your feelings so much…I really am!" he said in a low voice. "I'm sorry…don't leave me please……don't leave me again…"
Cagalli just stood there for a moment, shocked, perhaps, by what Athrun was saying and doing. She heard footsteps running towards the room (probably the deafening sound just now had caught some attention), but Athrun still didn't let go.
"I missed you…"
Cagalli closed her eyes, and hugged back. "I know. You've said that just now…"
"Please don't leave me alone…" he whispered. "Please…"
She hugged the taller figure tighter. Somehow, his words made her cried. "I'm not going anywhere…shh, don't worry, I'm here…"
The door burst opened—
"Cagalli, what was that sound?"
"Oh…"
Cagalli told herself to get a grip and stop crying. "C'mon, Athrun…it's okay, I'm not leaving…" Slowly, she led the azure haired person back to the bed, and tucked him in safely. He looked tired and weak by now, as if hugging her had taken away half of his energy. "Rest, okay?" she told him with a warm smile on. He nodded tiredly, and closed his eyes…his hand still holding hers.
——X——
Athrun's body temperature began to drop back to normal. He finally got his name correct, and stopped blabbering about things (though he occasionally sang alone under his breath). People were allowed to visit him again, but since he wasn't going to tell them any secrets anymore, not so man visitors came. But on the evening of the third day, the Hawke sisters came with Shin.
"You should take more rests and eat healthy food," Meyrin sad in a worried voice as she sat next to Athrun's bed, holding his hand. Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, Shin, and Lunamaria were in the room, too.
"I'm going to be fine," Athrun said.
Cagalli was quiet. She was correct. Athrun was ill that day before, and he didn't mean what he'd say. She spent her time staring at the floor, and would occasionally speak up, like, "Yeah" and "Sure" or "Hmm, okay".
Meyrin occasionally popped up a question to Cagalli, like, "When are you going back?" and "How's ORB? Going strong?" Cagalli would answer her quietly, like, "Hmm."
And I know, all this, 'like', thingy is driving me mad. Urgh, the author snores a lot! (Throws a pillow to the sleeping author) SHUT UP! I'M WRITING YOUR FIC HERE!
The sisters and Shin went back home at six. There were no other visitors after that.
In the guest room, Cagalli lay on her bed, doing nothing. Then suddenly, her phone rang. It was Kisaka. She answered it.
"Yeah, Kisaka, what's up?"
"Cagalli, are you still at Kira's?"
"Uh, yeah. Why? What's wrong?"
"There's an important meeting in two hours' time!" said Kisaka urgently.
"What!" Cagalli said, looking at her watch. "All of a sudden? Gosh I hate pop-up meetings! Is everyone there? The members of the meeting?"
"Yes, we're waiting for you."
"Damn – okay! I'll get there A.S.A.P.!"
Cagalli ended the call without waiting fro Kisaka's reply. She began to grab her things around the room and stuffed it into her bag unceremoniously. She then thundered out of her room, making everyone stare at her.
"Going somewhere, Cags?" Miriallia asked.
"Uh — yes — urgent meeting in two hours' time — uh, have you seen my notebook?"
"I think it's in Athrun's room. You left it there when you first got here," said Lacus. Cagalli stopped in her track. In Athrun's room? …Okay, she could go and get it…
She knocked on the door. "Uh, s'cuse me, Athrun…"
Athrun was staring out the window, but he turned to look as Cagalli opened the door.
"Sorry if I'm disturbing…I'm just taking my notebook," she said, pointing at the bedside table.
"Oh. Right," said Athrun. She entered and took the notebook quickly, and went for the door again.
"Are you leaving?" Athrun asked. Their eyes met.
"Uh, yeah," she said, "urgent meeting. Two hours' time."
Athrun looked away. "I see."
Suddenly Cagalli had the urge to say something to him. "Um, get well soon."
Athrun just nodded.
"See you around."
Again, Athrun didn't reply, but he looked down to the floor. So Cagalli left the room, closing the door quietly. She said goodbye and sorry to everyone, and left the building quickly. As she was putting her bags into the back seat, tears fell out of her olden orbs.
She stood there, wiping away her tears. Dammnnnn, she didn't want to leave. What the sick Athrun had told her made her feel sad. He sounded as if he needed her so badly…but then again, that was when he was sick, and now that he's OK again…he'd probably be fine…
…And Meyrin would be there…
More tears came out.
Stupid Cagalli! You still love him, don't deny it! Stupid Cagalli! Stupid! Stupid! Idiot! Idiotic idiot! But what was she supposed to do? Athrun never seemed to care anymore about her – he rarely called, they barely make a conversation when the met once in a while…and what he'd told her a few days back really confused her. Did he really mean it, or was his words merely the words of an ill (and perhaps drunk) person?
She inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. That's it, Cagalli…calm down…important meeting…get a grip, you're the leader of ORB…
She got into her car, and shut the door. She started the engine, and drove away.
——X——
Cagalli was home. Finally. The meeting went on for hours and she was so tired by the time she got back.
She threw herself onto the bed as she listened to the voice mails she received while she was away.
Message one was about ORB.
So was message two.
And message three.
She was beginning to fall asleep when suddenly a familiar voice filled the air.
"Hey, Cagalli."
It was Athrun's.
Cagalli opened her eyes, and sat up on her bed.
"I thought you said you weren't leaving?"
Cagalli smiled sadly alone.
"Um. I really missed you. And, uh…thanks. For visiting. Um…I just…well…thanks for visiting. You're probably busy when you hear this, so I'll just stop. Bye."
And the message ended there. Cagalli laughed a little, and at the same time, tears fell out of her eyes.
"Yeah, you are a jackass when it comes to words!" she said alone. She decided to visit him again tomorrow.
And while she's there, she might as well remind him that his name is Athrun, not Uthran!
ENDHah, how wuzzit? Sucks, I know. Urgh, never liked ASUCAGA…I mean like, EEK! Whatever. I should go to bed now; the author's snores are very disturbing. Ja, readers.