English is not my first language. Please bear with grammatical errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD.

Season of Farewell

Chapter 19: To the Future

"All right. It looks like you have everything you need." With a satisfied look, her mother handed her crossbody bag back to her.

"Told you, Mom," Cagalli said, making a face and slinging the bag over her shoulder.

She was going to leave for Tassil soon and her whole family gathered at the entrance of their house. Her mother had insisted on checking whether Cagalli had packed all necessary things.

"If you've forgotten something, you can buy it as long as you have your debit card," Kira suggested to her in an easygoing manner, yawning. "Except your student ID, that is."

"That's a brilliant idea." Cagalli gave an impressed look to her brother. "Maybe I didn't need to pack so many things after all."

Via shook her head. "I suppose it's a good thing you kids seem to be rather at ease instead of being all nerves."

"You need some tension to do good work, though," her father cut in. "Stay focused."

"I know, Dad." Cagalli smiled widely at Ulen.

Her father was a busy man who hardly came home. He had spent even less time at their house than usual after giving up his attempt to make Kira change his college choice last month; there was still some tension between her brother and her father.

But Ulen had come home last night and delayed going to work this morning to see her off, and she was a little excited. Not that she expected this attention to last long, or their relationship to start changing. Still, it didn't feel bad to receive the attention anyway, no matter how brief it would be.

Her mother took Cagalli's arm to see the watch on it. "It's already past seven thirty. We'd better get going." Via picked up her car key from a tray on the shoe cabinet.

"Just do your best, then you should be fine." Her father nodded at her and she nodded back.

"Thanks."

Kira hugged her. "You can do it, sis."

She returned the hug. "You too, little bro. I'm sure you'll pass your exam with flying colors. You've been working hard for this, for your dream."

Kira had an entrance exam for his first choice of college tomorrow like her. She knew that her grandfather would call Kira to give a word of encouragement tonight just as Uzumi would with her and that her mother would give Kira another pep talk tomorrow morning like she had with Cagalli a little while ago.

However, she didn't know whether her father was going to say something reassuring to her brother concerning his exam for a college Ulen didn't approve of, or be at home tomorrow morning to see Kira off. She was hoping Ulen would act in a maturer, more fatherly way than that, but wasn't so sure about it. If her suspicion turned right, she was determined to give her father a piece of her mind after coming back from Tassil. Now, she put extra encouragement into her voice, squeezing Kira harder than necessary, so he would have enough moral support to help him get through the exam even with Ulen showing none.

As they pulled away from each other, Kira chuckled. "You never miss a chance to claim you're the older one, do you."

With a grin, she waved a finger at him. "Truth should be spoken, baby brother. That's how we create a better world."

He shook his head, exactly like their mother had earlier, with a smile on his face.

She adjusted her backpack and crossbody bag, then put on her shoes. "Bye, guys!" Waving at her brother and father, she opened the door.

"Cagalli." As she stepped out of her house, her brother called out.

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Yeah?"

Her mother passed her, walking toward her car, and her father was already heading toward the stairs, probably to prepare for going to his workplace.

Rubbing his arms due to the cold air flowing into the house from the open door, Kira started to say something with a weighing look, but then, shrugged.

"Well, have a nice trip."

He appeared to be hiding something, and she narrowed her eyes. But there wasn't time for her to interrogate him. So she decided to let it pass for now, said "Sure," and followed her mother.

Her mother and she picked up Ahmed and headed toward the nearest bus stop for the shuttle bus to Kaguya Airport. Ahmed and she were going to take the bus to the airport, then a plane to Tassil where they spent a night at a hotel so that they could prepare for the entrance exam tomorrow.

Via parked her car across a street from the bus stop and turned her body to look at Cagalli and Ahmed in the back seat.

"Have a safe trip, and call me when you arrive at the hotel, okay?"

"Okay, Mom." Cagalli stretched out a hand to touch her mother's shoulder. Via squeezed it.

"Bye, Mrs. Via. Thanks for the ride!" Ahmed waved at her mother before getting off the car. Cagalli followed suit.

Nodding at them through the car window, Via drove off. Cagalli looked right and left, making sure that cars weren't near, then dashed across the street, not bothering to walk down to a crosswalk which was in the opposite direction to the bus stop and too far away in her opinion anyway. Ahmed was right behind her.

She jumped onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street. The bus stop was only a dozen strides away. She turned her eyes in the direction, then froze, noticing what she had been missing, or rather, paying no attention to.

Someone was standing at the bus stop. Someone she knew very well.

He slowly walked toward her, his gaze capturing hers. She was paralyzed, not knowing what to do, whether she should run toward him or run away from him.

"Hey, that's your boyfriend, right?"

Her friend's voice pulled her out of the shocked state, to some extent anyway. She looked at Ahmed, then back at the person coming to her. Athrun was already in front of them and stopped.

"Good morning, Cagalli...Ahmed," he said in a calm voice.

She hesitated for a moment. "Morning...Athrun." Her uncertainty was clear in her voice.

"Morning. Nice to see you again," Ahmed said, then sent her a questioning look. He knew she and Athrun had not reconciled yet.

She inhaled a long breath. "Athrun, why are you here?"

"Kira told me about this bus stop and what time you are leaving at. I'm going to the airport with you."

She gave him a puzzled face which quickly turned into a frown. "You didn't apply to Tassil Uni, did you?"

He shook his head. "I just want to talk with you, and see you off. Then I'll go home."

Her pulse accelerated even further at the mention of a talk. There was only one possible subject, and she was hardly prepared to talk with him about it. She had expected to hear his answer—which seemed likely to be a goodbye, judging from his reaction yesterday—after she came back from Tassil, not even before going there.

Fear was squeezing her heart, almost crushing it, and her knees felt weak, nearly useless.

But this was what she had wanted, what she had asked for, wasn't it? She was the one who had tried to settle the matter before the entrance exam for Tassil University by going to his house and having a talk with him. Taking the exam felt like a symbol of her choice to follow her dream instead of complying with his with; this time, she had wanted to talk to him about it before actually doing it, trying not to repeat the same mistake as when she had decided to go to the university without talking to him.

Undoubtedly, he was here because of that, because of her action, because of her decision. Then, she had to face up to the consequence.

She had told herself so, recalling her grandfather's words and summoning her courage. Then, trying to calm herself down even if just a tiny bit, she swallowed hard and opened her mouth.

"Okay." Her voice sounded weird as she was still shaken by this unexpected turn of events.

But there was no room in her mind to care. All her attention was on what was coming out of Athrun's mouth, which determined their future, which could break her heart.

Before he uttered a word, however, Ahmed's voice came to seize both her and Athrun's attention.

"Hey, that's our bus!" He was pointing a finger at a bus coming toward them.

They hurried toward the bus stop and got on the bus. Paying the fee, Ahmed looked at her over his shoulder.

"I'm gonna have this seat." He patted one of the chairs nearest the door. "You two better go to the back. Looks like no one's over there."

She blinked up at him as he gave her arm an encouraging squeeze. "Um, thanks." It was thoughtful of him to give privacy to her and Athrun like that.

Ahmed replied good-naturedly, "I wanna sleep until we get to the airport anyway." He hopped into the seat, tossing his bags on the one next to his, and waved a hand at the other two. "Go ahead and make out as much as you want." He gave them a smirk before closing his eyes.

"We're not going to make out," she insisted, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and pain. But Ahmed ignored it, whether pretending to be sleeping or actually having fallen asleep already.

With a small, annoyed pout, she walked forward. There were only a few other passengers in the whole bus, and no one at the back. She slipped into one of the seats before the long back seat, shoving her bags under the seat in front of hers. Athrun sat next to her, his face still pink from Ahmed's teasing.

The bus started moving. Athrun cleared his throat.

"So, ah, I wanted to talk."

The anxiety returned and her heart immediately started racing again. She held her breath, practically stopping breathing.

She had actually found hope in this situation during the short time since she had seen him at the bus stop. He might not be going to reject her, break up with her, after all. If that was what he wanted to tell her, he wouldn't bother to come all the way to the airport, would he?

...But then, Athrun was big on being polite and proper. Maybe he had thought this was a proper way to say goodbye: ending their romantic relationship before her exam so that she could focus on her new life, and seeing her off to that life.

Normally, she wasn't a pessimist. She could find a positive side to almost anything. In fact, people, including Athrun, sometimes reprimanded her for being too optimistic even. But now, more and more negative thoughts were filling her head, squashing the hope she had found.

The only thing she could do was nod and look at him with wide eyes. Her clammy hands gripped her thighs tightly.

He looked back with a serious face, and slightly leaned toward her to look into her eyes, deep and straight.

"I do." His voice was clear and firm, his eyes intense. "I want this, and I believe in us, too. I'm in."

A still moment passed, then, as she started breathing again, a teardrop fell from her eye. They were such simple words, yet everything she wanted to hear, everything she wanted him to say.

She felt dizzy though she wasn't sure whether it was because of relief or because she had stopped breathing for too long. She couldn't care less. Unable to voice anything, she threw herself to him, clutching his neck with her arms. His firm body received her and his strong arms safely held her.

"Sorry it took me so long to reach the answer and I made you wait and worry," he said into her hair.

She just shook her head no. He was here now. He was going to be here, at her side. He was willing to fight for their relationship, fight along with her. That was more than enough for her. That was all that mattered to her.

After a couple minutes, he gently pushed her away. She looked up at him with a pout, not understanding why he was doing it.

He caressed her cheek in a pacifying way and took something out of his coat pocket. "I wanted to give this to you." It was the Haumea's amulet she had given him two years ago. "It will probably help you safely reach Tassil and then the exam room." Then he hurriedly added, "But I want it back after you come home. I'm just lending it to you, not returning it."

She thought a little before shaking her head. "No, you keep it for your own exam. I don't need it." Slipping her hand under her clothes, she pulled out a chain she was wearing on her neck, which was a bit difficult since she was tightly bundled up with her scarf, coat, sweater, blouse, and so on. "I have this."

Noticing the ring dangling from the chain, his eyes enlarged. He stared at it for a while, looking almost wonderstruck, before gingerly touching it.

"You were bringing it with you to Tassil?" He looked at her like he wanted to hug her and kiss her right now if they weren't in a public place.

She smiled at him. "It's kind of my lucky charm."

She had not been able to wear the ring with a red gem on her finger after the fight, too uncertain about his feelings for her. But still, she had wanted to keep it close. Although it sometimes pained her to look at the ring, it also helped her keep believing in their relationship.

She had known that Athrun wasn't the kind of person who gave a ring to a girl randomly, without any deep meaning. Some strong emotion must have caused him to give her the ring; the reason, or at least part of it, must have been his love for her, even if it wasn't as large a part as she would like or it was a different kind of love from what she wanted, she had supposed. And she had wanted to believe in that love of his, believe in him, until he himself denied her beliefs.

So, instead of only at school, she had begun wearing the ring on a chain all the time.

His eyes still on her face, he circled his hands around her neck and unclasped the chain. As if handling something precious, he took her left hand to slid the ring on the fourth finger. He dropped a kiss on the ring, then gazed into her eyes.

"I wish you the best of luck on your exam."

Her eyes became teary at the sincerity in his voice.

"Thank you," she whispered before hugging him again, burying her face into his neck.

Cagalli shook his shoulder for a while, calling his name several times, and then smacked his head hard before Ahmed finally opened his eyes.

"Stop hitting," he mumbled sleepily.

"We're already at the airport," she nearly yelled into his ear.

"But it can't be. I went into sleep just a couple minutes ago, I'm sure."

He looked around with disbelieving, drowsy eyes. All the other passengers were gone; they, including Athrun standing next to her and apologetically bowing to the bus driver, were the only ones left.

"Just get up. Or we're going to leave you behind," she threatened. Ahmed obediently stood up and started to climb down the short stairs to get off the bus.

"You are forgetting your bags," Athrun pointed out, grabbing the bags.

"Oops, my bad." Scratching his head with a sheepish grin, Ahmed took them from Athrun's hand. "Thanks."

Athrun politely shook his head. "No problem."

"So, did you have a good making out session?" Ahmed asked as they passed through the entrance of the airport building.

She sent him a dirty look. "We. Did. Not. Make. Out."

Athrun and she had just told each other about things that had happened during the time they had few exchanges. Although they had shared a couple of hugs, and while talking, she had rested her head on his shoulder and their arms had been around each other's waist, it didn't count as making out. Totally not.

"If you say so," Ahmed said in a singsong tone, smirking.

"I do say so," she shot back.

Athrun coughed, not looking at either Cagalli or Ahmed. "Your airline is Murasame Airlines, right? Their counter is over there." He pointed a finger in the direction.

"Actually, I'm getting a bit hungry. I only had a bowl of cereal for breakfast." Ahmed rubbed his stomach, looking around. "Wasn't there a cafe or something here?"

Cagalli started to cast around as well, but Athrun said disapprovingly, "No, the airline counter first. They will tell you if there is a time change for your flight, or some other problem. If you learn it later, you might panic, or worse, miss your flight. So check in now. Then, we can go to the cafe." He sounded like a teacher leading a bunch of students for a school trip.

Ahmed leaned toward her and whispered, "Is he always like this?" though his voice wasn't so low that Athrun couldn't hear it.

She whispered back in the voice about as low, or as loud, "Yeah, told you he's a worrywart, and a bit of a control freak."

Athrun sent her a narrow-eyed look. "I can hear you."

Sticking out her tongue, she pulled Ahmed's arm. "Come on. We better go before Mom gets mad."

"I hear that, too."

Refraining from responding to Athrun, she and Ahmed hurried toward the counter where they were told there had been no change or problem concerning their flight so far.

Afterward, they went to the said cafe to satisfy their hunger. Ahmed was starving, and she wasn't the type to say no to snacks though she had had a hearty breakfast her mother had made specifically for the occasion, especially after she found Spicy Chili Dog on the menu.

"Are you sure about it?" Athrun asked with a crease between his brows. "You said you'd had a proper breakfast. You may not be able to finish it."

She shrugged carelessly. "Then I'll take it to the plane and finish it later. Have you decided?"

He still looked dubious. "I don't think bringing a chili dog inside a plane is a good idea. There may be some people who don't like the smell. And I'll just have a cup of coffee. I'm not really hungry."

It was her turn to frown. "Did you have breakfast?"

"Well, I—"

"Protein bars don't count," she cut him off. "Nor bananas."

He exhaled. "Fine. I didn't. I left my house early and didn't feel like eating," he added a little defensively.

"You should order something then. Or share my chili dog," she demanded.

They engaged in a brief staring contest until he let out a resigned sigh. "All right, I'll share."

She gave him a satisfied nod and looked at Ahmed. "You ready?"

"I'm ready to eat this table," he replied, curiously watching her and Athrun.

"Don't. You're going to have stomach trouble," she deadpanned, waving a hand to a waitress to place their orders. Athrun asked for an extra knife.

The waitress soon brought their meals.

"Take a half." Cagalli pushed her plate toward Athrun. She didn't mind just breaking the hot dog in half with her hands, but she knew he would prefer cutting it properly and precisely even without witnessing him asking for that knife.

He quickly measured the hot dog with the knife and his fingers, at which she rolled her eyes, and then cut it into two.

She took a bite into her half and smiled with pleasure, then thought a little, carefully tasting it. She turned her face to Athrun who was sitting next to her.

"Is it too hot for you?" she asked, wondering whether it was better if she took more than a half.

He swallowed the food inside his mouth, then answered, "Not really. I prefer it to be less spicy, but it's good enough." She nodded, glad that he could enjoy it as well.

The meal didn't last long. She and Athrun had just a half of a hot dog each, and Ahmed wolfed down his pancakes. But they lingered at the cafe; since there weren't many other customers and most tables were empty, the waitress didn't seem to mind it.

They chatted, and after a little while, Cagalli started assuring Athrun that she and Ahmed were planning to actually take the route from their hotel to the university building where they took exams this afternoon so that they would be familiar with the way and wouldn't get lost tomorrow on the exam day. That was partly why they had gotten a morning flight.

As she finished, Athrun gave a nod. "It sounds all ri—"

"Ah! There's something I wanted to tell you, Athrun," Ahmed cut in, jerking up from his seat where he had been sprawling.

He leaned toward the other two sitting at the opposite side of the table. "Hey, I can call you Athrun, right?" The blunet hesitantly nodded with a confused face. "Good. Well, since I'm not sure when we meet next, I think I better say it now."

The two pairs of green eyes—emerald green and forest green—locked with each other, and Athrun's body straightened up, his face a little tense for some reason. He probably still felt somewhat shy with Ahmed, Cagalli assumed. She had not had a chance to get them close as she had planned last fall. Well, she had been rather too preoccupied.

"Don't worry about Cagalli after she moves to Tassil," Ahmed continued. "I'll chase guys away from her in your stead. Kira told me to anyway." Ahmed paused, then added with a smirk, "Well, guys with a taste for weird girls."

While Athrun was blinking with a blank face, she stretched a hand to hit Ahmed's head with a scowl. "You were one of them, remember?"

With a mock offended face, Ahmed raised both his hands in protest. "Don't hold it against me. I was young then."

He turned his face to Athrun who looked like he wasn't sure how to respond. "Anyway, I'll take care of her. Oh, and don't worry about me. I already got over my feelings for her. Now she's like a sister to me."

"I don't need any more overprotective brother. One is bad enough," she grumbled. It seemed her brother—the real one—had had a somewhat different idea from her when he had said he was glad, like her, that Ahmed was going to the same university with her.

"Ah...thank you," Athrun said, still looking slightly confused.

"You're welcome." Ahmed gave the blunet a friendly grin.

"You know you can't do it unless you pass the entrance exam as well, right?" she teased.

"Hey, your lack of faith in me is shaking my confidence." Ahmed pointed an accusing finger at her.

She swatted his hand. "I'm just saying."

He stuck out his lower lip in a mock pout. "You're supposed to support me and encourage me."

"Sure, sure. I'm going to hold your hand until the exam begins." She half rose from her seat to tousle his hair with a grin.

"Or you can buy me a big dinner so I can feel good," he suggested, grinning back.

She opened her mouth for another retort, but Athrun cleared his throat.

"I believe we should be going now."

"Oh, already?" Ahmed collected his phone on the table to look at its screen.

"About time. I'm totally ready." She stretched a little before gathering her bags and coat which she had taken off some time ago.

They walked out of the cafe and toward the security gates. A few meters before the lines, they stopped.

Athrun turned to her and brushed her hair away from her face. "Good luck," he said with a smile, then turned his face to Ahmed. "Both of you."

"Thanks, buddy." Ahmed lightly bumped his fist against the blunet's arm. A small smile crossed Athrun's lips. He seemed to be warming up to Ahmed, and Cagalli made a little, satisfied nod while watching. She had known the boys could become good friends.

"Let me know when you arrive at Tassil Airport, or your hotel at the latest," Athrun added, looking back at her.

Opting not to mention that her mother had said the same thing, she nodded. "I will. And thank you, Athrun, for coming here."

His face softened with warmth. "No problem."

Waving at him, she and Ahmed started to trot toward a security gate, ready to fly to the place where their futures were waiting.

A/N: I added several sentences concerning the ring to Cagalli's part of Chapter 9 ("The Fight"). The idea came to me while I was editing this chapter a few days ago.

And next week, on Cagalli and Kira's birthday, I'll upload the final chapter and the epilogue, and then, this fic will be over. So, if you have any questions, ask me now! (Or you can always send me a PM, of course.)

Thank you for reading. See you next week!

···

Below are the replies to reviews.

To BlueberriesGoneBad:

Thank you for another review!

I actually see many similarities between Athrun and myself. So it's easier for me to understand him than for many people, I guess. Though it also means I have to regularly remind myself that no matter how similar we may be, he isn't me. I try not to let my belief about our similarities misjudge him when I analyze the original series, and try not to make him too much like me when I write him in my fics.

Anyway, I hope you liked Cagalli and Athrun's reconciliation in this chapter.

To Fuyu Aki:

Hello, thank you for another review!

I'm glad you liked the previous chapters. They are the most important part of this fic, especially "The Answer II." I think what readers think of the chapter greatly affects what they think of the entire fic. So, I'm relieved to see a positive review :)

And you are right. This is sort of a high school version of Athrun and Cagalli's story in GSD. Since I've made some changes, the story isn't exactly the same as the original, but the themes are the same.

As for their beliefs, it's clear in the original series that Cagalli believes in a goddess called Haumea to an extent, though I'm not sure how devoted she is to the faith. And the faith in Haumea seems like the most prevalent and influential religious belief in Orb, or at least among its noble families since Cagalli and Jona were going to make a wedding vow to the goddess.

Athrun's beliefs are unclear in the anime. ZAFT soldiers say things like, "Heavens (which can be also translated as "the sky" that can mean "the universe" since we are talking about the people who live in space) bless us," and "Stars bless our justice." So, there appears to be a whole new religion in PLANT related to stars and the universe, maybe one uniquely believed by Coordinators. But Athrun doesn't strike me as the religious type. It seems most likely to me that he is uninterested in religions, if not skeptical of them. So I write him that way.

*posted 05/11/19*

*edited 05/05/21*