Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny.

Summary: Like mother, like son.

" " for speech
Italic for flashbacks, thoughts, and opinions.

I apologize for the bad grammar.

All is Not Lost 3 (Afternoon Tea)

Birds chirped and fluttered through the branches of the trees.

The afternoon sun had been warm in the open, but here, inside the solarium located at the back of the grandeur Amalfi estate, surrounded by a belt of green plants and the bright reds and purples of geraniums and bougainvilleas, it was cool and relaxing.

Welcoming the much needed break from her usually fast-paced afternoons, Ezalia Joule sat on an accent chair while sharing low tea with her long-term friends Natasha Elsman, Lenore Zala, and Romina Amalfi. All beautiful, powerfully-wealthy, and influential ladies in their respected fields. Ezalia in the finance sector, Natasha in the fashion industry, Lenore - agriculture sector, and Romina - events planning. It was a coincidence and not so coincidental that they all gave birth only months apart, and to boys.

Smiling to herself, Ezalia inhaled the soothing fragrance of the dried leaves then sipped on her cup of green tea.

"Well, you seem to be in a good mood, Ezalia darling, something good must have happened." Tanned skin and fabulously blonde, Natasha began as she reached for a scone with her always picture-perfect nails.

"Oh, so you've notice, Natasha? I am in a good mood. If you haven't heard already- my Yzak finally got himself a girlfriend. Lovely girl too." Ezalia shared proudly and to her knowledge, her friends' son, though all dashing and capable, were all still single, so she was ahead of them in this department ohohoho.

"My, how wonderful. I hope Nicol would get himself a girlfriend soon too." Romina commented with her usual soft-spoken voice, having the most gentle disposition out of the four.

"So where did he meet her? I presume this girlfriend satisfies everything on your checklist, seeing as you are not opposing the relationship?" Natasha continued.

"What are you trying to imply, Natasha, that I'm hard-to-please? I'm not that kind of mother. But yes, she checks the list." Ezalia faked hurt before instantly switching back to business-mode, explaining boastfully. "As for how they've met, she's a daughter of a business partner, you could say I gave him a business proposition he couldn't refuse. And let's just say I made a small request that his daughter accompanies my son for a bit."

Romina looked aghast for a moment, "that's so underhanded!" she said disapprovingly while Natasha just shrugged, amused. The blonde then shifted most of her weight on an armrest. This was so like their Ezalia anyway— always needing to be in charge down to the bone. Nothing to be surprised about. Romina on the other hand, was all about romantic love and free will.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Ezalia. Kids these days should be able to choose their own partners and freely date on their terms. Your son is a smart boy, I'm sure he will find someone suitable on his own eventually. I know I trust my Nicol to do the right thing when the time comes. You shouldn't be meddling into these things."

Ezalia waved the comment off. No shame, no regrets. If she worried or cared about every little criticism thrown at her— she'd be out of business along time ago, crossing her legs. "It business, Romina, just business. My son's excellent commodity and I just reduced the odds of him ending-up with a money-grubbing pompous. Besides, I didn't force them together. He decided to go out with the girl on his own. And well, if Yzak decides to marry her and have kids right after school, I'm not opposed to it." Ezalia laughed at the thought.

"Oh, I'm a little disappointed in you too, Ezalia." Lenore smiled elegantly, sophisticatedly, sipping on her green tea. "For a business mogul, you sure are growing soft; your lovely plan is full of gaps."

This made Ezalia look up. "My, whatever do you mean by that, Lenore?" She smiled through narrowed eyelid.

Here we go. Natasha thought, purple eyes directing up to the ceiling.

Blue haired, green eyes, and sporting a pixie cut, Lenore shook her head almost with a quiet laugh. "It's too early to be thinking about wedding bells and grandchildren. Well, in your case anyway. Children these days change their minds so quickly that they'll date and break-up on a whim."

"I understand your argument. So are you trying to say that my investment decision is flawed and that Yzak and his girlfriend won't last?" Ezalia treaded.

"What I'm trying to say is that since these kids are still in high school and far from marriageable age that- it's not a guarantee."

"At the very least, my son is in a relationship. I don't see your son dating anyone." Ezalia huffed, holding up her saucer plate.

"That's because my Athrun doesn't have to... Because he's— engaged."

WTF!? There was a slight chink of porcelains against silverware. All three ladies where shocked to hear this, all attention were now on their blue haired friend.

"Lenore, how could you!" Another obvious disapproval from Romina.

"What on earth, this is new! When did this happen?" Natasha added.

"You are making this up!" Ezalia claimed with disbelief.

"Fortunately, I'm not. Patrick and I had it all arranged a year ago."

"To whom is your son engaged to, which family?" Ezalia demanded, she was not going to believe anything without solid proof, not like Romina who was easily swayed or like Natasha whose career strives alongside gossips!

"This hasn't been disclosed yet, but no worries, I'll have a chat with Patrick and see to it that the news reaches you in a few hours or so." Lenore said calmly.

Truth was her son Athrun wasn't engaged, until now that is. As Romina had said, Lenore trusts that her son would be smart enough to find himself a suitable partner in the future, and so an arranged marriage wasn't worth even thinking about, until now that is. Finding a suitable fiancée for her son within a few hours sounds like an insane feat, but obviously not impossible for families as powerful, wealthy and sought-after as the Zala's.

Lenore nodded her head as the topic of the ladies' conversation progressed to something else. She kept her loving smile intact, though inside she was wincing, remembering their earlier conversation. As if she'd let Ezalia one-up her.

00000

Four hours later, at Vesalius Academy just after class.

It was the boys routine to leave school together, so Yzak, Dearka, Nicol, and Rusty idled around in the empty classroom, waiting for Athrun, who had excused himself a little earlier to answer a quick family phone call.

The sliding door opened and closed.

All four looked up to see Athrun quietly making his way back to them, looking a little distraught, a little tired, a little distracted, probably a little bit or everything.

"Is everything okay, Athrun?" Nicol started with honest concern.

"You look like you just came back from a war." Rusty said, also with a hint of concern.

"What is it about?" Yzak inquired a matter-of-factly.

Athrun looked at all four of his friends, not knowing how to break the news to them, then feeling more than a little ashamed. He buried his face with his hands, backed up, and dropped down the floor. "I'm engaged!" Athrun admitted full of despair. It was one of those sudden, final, 'you don't have a say in this' type of decision and he doesn't know why!

The four blinked confused.

"Did you mean like the whole fiancée, engagement party, and big wedding, type of engaged?" Dearka clarified.

Still down on the ground, Athrun nodded, shamefaced. "Yes, damn it!"

A giggle or two at first as the news settled. Eventually, Yzak and Dearka laughed at Athrun's expense.

**End? 01/03/2019