Cagalli coughed in the dust kicked up by the van as it crunched off along the gravel road. It had been three weeks and a few days since the meeting in Antarctica and now she found herself having come nearly full circle. She was back in Hawaii, out on the isolated penninsula where Alkire kept his safe house. It had been a rough few weeks, filled to the brim with battles and meetings and pain and fear and exaltation and victory and even a little defeat. It was all a blur, a mismash of color and sound and texture in her mind when she tried to take stock of it. It wasn't a task that could be undertaken after suffering through a cramped and hot two hour bus ride along a pot hole filled road in Hawaii. She had tried to sleep but only acheived a sort of half lucid trance that hadn't rested her at all. Of course, another factor besides the rough ride was keeping her pumped full of energy... she was going to see her brother again. Everyone had decided to return to Alkire's bunker to recover their few belongings, which they had not taken with them on their inital trip to the Archangel.
It was also an opportunity to relax in what seemed to be a lull in the fighting... both sides sitting back to lick their wounds before the next round got started. The war was not going according to their plan right now... neither side looked at all ready to put down the sword and pick up the pen at the negoatiating table... but at least they had prevented the use of WMD's so far... a not inconsiderable victory, all things considered. In any case, TEMPEST as well as everyone who had stayed at Alkire's house were all meeting up there for a day or so while they packed and relaxed, mainly because it was the only safe place to do so but also just so they could see each other again. It may have been less than a month since she last saw Kira and Lacus but it felt a whole hell of a lot longer than that. She even missed Ysak a little... well, more just noticed his absence. She did miss Chanel and Katie... they were much more like her in personality than Miriallia was. Miriallia was okay, but she just didn't have the wicked streak Katie did or the adventuresome side Chanel hid so well. And it would be fun to needle Lacus again.
"So are you going to sit there daydreaming out in the sun or are you going to come over into the shade with me?" Athrun asked, breaking into her thoughts. She looked up and over at him, realizing that he had moved into the copse of palm trees that concealed the ruined surface house from view while she had been thinking. "It's hot as a furnace out and while I don't mind a good sweat, I'd prefer to work it up rather than have it come of its own free will."
"As if you'd know anything about working up a sweat, lazybones. All you do is sit in the cockpit and twiddle your thumbs while the enemy runs in fear of my prowess." Cagalli said with a sneer. She did move out of the sweltering sun with haste though... no need to meet her friends looking like she'd just walked through a car wash without a car.
"Ah, your prowess. Yes... I've heard of that." Athrun said, stroking his chin as if in speculation. "But my memory seems hazy... is it your fighting skills they are afraid of or your cooking skills? I'd be afraid of you too, if you wear oven mitts again." Cagalli couldn't help but blush a little... she'd decided to bake Athrun a cake, without help, one day not so long ago. Just for fun, kind of like the roses he used to bring her back in Switzerland. But she'd botched it. Hard. Ended up setting half the kitchen on fire, a chuckling Dearka always said. Could she help it if she'd never baked a cake before? Especially in a flying warship? How was she supposed to know you had to adjust cooking times and mixture ratios when cooking at altitude? The deck had been stacked against her from the beginning.
"Yeah... laugh it up, why don't you? But if you mention that to anyone from the Archangel the very next thing I make is going into your cockpit... sans tray, if you catch my meaning." Cagalli retorted. Athrun looked a little troubled. "What? Not talking so tough now, eh?"
"I can keep quiet easily enough... keeping Dearka quiet is going to be much more difficult. In fact, since he and Miriallia went on ahead while you were off in fantasy land, I've no doubt he's already talking about it to everyone else right now. Knowing him, anyway. He never did think about consequences much when it came to the people around him." Athrun replied.
"Ugh." Cagalli commented, having overlooked that little problem. "I guess I'm just going to have to beat his ass into the ground then... Miriallia will forgive me... she's very forgiving."
"Yeah... you keep telling yourself that. I'll get the ambulance ready for you. I'm not betting against you, dear, but I'm not betting against Miriallia either, if you kow what I mean. You may be stronger, tougher, perhaps smarter, certainly prettier in my eyes, and even combat trained... but from what I hear, Miriallia can pretty mean."
"Perhaps smarter? Wait till I tell Miriallia that... I can see how mean she gets while she trashes you."
"You don't agree? And I'll thank you to keep quiet about that... or I'll bring up that little dance ensemble you put together."
"She's way smarter than me, I could never do all that CIC stuff. And you'd better not... I was exhausted from two days of no sleep AND drunk off my ass on that champagne you'd managed to conjure from somewhere. I should rule that as being taken advantage of... I wasn't in my right mind when I cut up those clothes and I was certainly out of my head when I did that dance. You had no right to take those pictures. You'd better not have brought any with you... if Kira see's even one of those..."
"If I see even one of what now?" Kira said, walking around a palm trunk from the direction of the safe house.
"Nothing!" Athrun and Cagalli chorused, looking at each other slightly guiltily. Athrun was pretty sure Kira was past the protective older brother stage, but no sibling wanted to see wanton pictures of their younger sister... especially not the ones Athrun had taken... he may have been a bit drunk at the time too, but that was no excuse. Some of those would be centerfold quality items in a racy magazine. Cagalli on the other hand, was not at all sure Kira was past the protective stage and she didn't want to try to break up a fight between Athrun and him over such an embarassing misunderstanding. And it would be a misunderstanding, since Cagalli could not imagine Kira having any prior experience with Lacus from which to gain such understanding as the pictures depicted.
"Yeah... okay. I'm sorry to interrupt whatever conversation you were having, but it had been a while since Dearka and Mir showed up and I was wondering if you two were coming after all." Kira said, suspecting that a few things were being left unsaid but accepting that he probably didn't want to know what they were talking about anyway... usually that was a safe bet when both Cagalli and Athrun both tried to hide the same thing from him.
"It's so good to see you, Kira." Cagalli temporized, throwing her arms around him and giving him a tight squeeze, almost lifting him off the ground. She smirked... her little brother was such a lightweight. Her smirk vanished when he reached out one hand to shake Athrun's hand and lifted her more than a foot in the air with his single other arm. She looked at Athrun and cocked an eyebrow... clearly Kira had been working out rather intensively.
"Yeah... from what little I saw on the news broadcasts it looks like you've got things pretty much under wraps in Eurasia." Athrun added. Kira released Cagalli and finished his handshake with eyes slightly downcast.
"I did things and Lacus says it made a difference... but I could have done more, I know it." He paused a breath and then looked into their concerned eyes with a smile. "Don't worry about me... Lacus does enough of that. I'm fine, really. This break is just the thing I need to get back into the swing of things."
"Yeah... how have you been? We have to catch up with everyone. What all's been happening?" Cagalli asked effusively, throwing one hand over Kira's shoulder and motioning for Athrun to do the same on the other side. Together they started walking down the hill towards the safe house bunker.
Lacus inspected the guest room she and Kira had stayed in at Alkire's house. It was with a rueful smile that she thought how strange it was that their quarters aboard the Archangel were actually bigger than this room, in a land bound house. They had been given officer quarters on board the Archangel... rooms next to the ones Mu la Flaga used to occupy. Mu's rooms had not been touched... indeed they were sealed off and locked all the time. Murrue seemed to have bounced back well enough from her bout of troubles but still... no one touched that room. She still wasn't ready to go back in... she'd been in once, right after Jachin Due... she'd stayed there for more than a day... then the room had been sealed off ever since. One of the troubles that still bothered Lacus... Murrue needed help moving on, that was apparent... but they just couldn't spare the time they needed to help her with her problem right now.
Yet another reason to get the war over with quickly. Not that that was going to be easy, not at all. She was worn out and sick of meetings. She didn't even want to see the faces of her closest supporters any more... she had seen more of them than she had of Kira, which was very bothersome. People were working very hard to bring peace about... but it just wasn't going anywhere in the pro war climate of the current day... ZAFT felt they had the upper hand and the rest of the PLANTS believed them, for the moment. Military recruitment was at an all time high and defense industries were burgeoning... the war was good for the economy, Lacus thought sourly. That was all it was good for, but it was enough, in many people's opinions. Too many people's opinions. Without being able to physically visit the PLANTS, Lacus just wasn't going to be able to get her points across like she needed to... and getting to the PLANTS was flat out impossible right now.
Lacus flipped open Kira's computer, which he had left out on the desk. Pink Haro bounced excitedly up and down on the twin bed, it sounded ecstatic to see her. She smiled slightly... despite Athrun's assurances to the contrary, she had always felt the Haro's really could experience a wide range of emotion. There was just something... glad... about Haro right now. Different from it's usual excited bouncing. Maybe Athrun just couldn't tell because he was a guy... Kira had problems dealing with emotional stuff like that too... and so did Ysak... it must be something confined to guys, because Katie and Chanel had both commented right off the bat how happy Haro had seemed to see her. On the other hand, Cagalli and Miriallia never seemed to be able to figure out what Haro was feeling like she could... it was a puzzle, but not one she currently had time to solve.
Her eye caught on a flashing icon on Kira's desktop, which featured an image of her, taken when she was wearing the long white and purple dress she had worn when they first met oh so long ago on the Archangel. Kira always did love seeing her in dresses and the like... a major reason why she kept wearing them, because in gravity they were a major pain. She was just about to click on the pulsing mail icon... who could have sent Kira mail, since his parents were at the Antarctic base recovering and in constant phone contact anyway... when a commotion from the common room attracted her attention. Kira had returned with Cagalli and Athrun. She quickly moved out to meet them... she missed them almost as much as Kira did and for more than one reason... when they were around Kira was more like the normal boy she wanted him to be, rather than the serious and dedicated pilot he had to be on the Archangel.
"So she tried to put out the fire you see... but she grabbed a ladle full of vegetable oil instead of a beaker of water, like any normal person would have. Ha heh... yeah, ha... so she doused the flaming cake with vegetable oil, with predictable results, ha ha... and then she tried to stamp it out... ha... heres the best part... her apron strings... tied in a ha ha... rats nest like I said earlier... a rats nest of loose strings... well... some oil was splattered on them... heh ha... and "FOOM" they went up like candle wicks. Watching her try to... ha ha ha... put herself AND the cake out... oh my god, it was hilarious." Dearka was just saying, obviously finishing up a rather amusing narrative of some sort. Miriallia just looked bored and tolerant of it all, while Ysak, Katie, Chanel, James, Alkire and Raine were in hysterics on the floor... even Victor and Vlad were managing smiles. Dearka looked up and saw that Athrun and Cagalli had walked through the door and caught the last bit of the tale. He straightened with a nervous cough. "I... I of course immediately sprang to the rescue and helped her put out the fires." he amended somewhat hastily. Cagalli just smiled sweetly at him.
"Don't worry about it, have your fun... when I get my revenge on you, there won't be anything you can do to stop me. And I will have my revenge." she said, still smiling sweetly, crooking her hands into claws.
"You're screwed!" Athrun mouthed at Dearka from behind her, nodding his head and winking for emphasis. Dearka managed a sickly chuckle and excused himself to go start packing up. Miriallia followed him, shaking her head, a knowing smile on her face. Athrun turned and looked at Lacus, who had stepped aside to let Dearka and Miriallia past. "It's good to see you, Lacus. Not working too hard, I hope."
"Too hard for my tastes." Kira muttered, loud enough she could easily hear him but could pretend she didn't. She decided not to pretend.
"That's the kettle calling the black... no... the pot black." Lacus retorted, slightly mixing up her analogy... sometimes she just forgot how to talk properly... embarassing for such a renowned public speaker, but it happened to the best of us, as her father used to say. "I work as hard as I have to."
"As do I. But now isn't the time for this little argument." Kira replied, easing the mood again with a smile. "Let me just go look through my room real quick and then we should all get together and have a reunion out here. Share stories, share memories, share plans. Just like we did before the war."
"Hear hear. I bring the vodka." Vlad added. James looked at him with a hurt expression.
"You had vodka the entire time and you didn't share any with me? I've been going crazy for lack of drink. You sick bastard, you know I can't sleep well without at least a fifth of jack before bed."
"Not my problem. Can always drink ship's beer, if you're that desperate. My vodka is only for special occasions. It isn't your average rotgut... or even your average five star resteraunt vintage... it's custom distilled for me... or was... only have twelve bottles left." Vlad replied. He stood up. "Besides, it wasn't with me... it's hidden here."
"I think I can come up with a few special treats out of the deep freeze." Alkire added. "And some drinks to cap it off... pick up a few good bottles from the wine cellar in the hanger on your way out, if you would Vlad." Alkire turned and looked at Kira and gave a sort of half bow. "Why don't you kids go collect your stuff and recollect a little bit in private... for an hour or two, say. When you come back out we'll have a regular old reunion party waiting for you... one to remember."
"I'd like that, thank you." Kira said with a nod. He and Alkire were still tense... still uncertain about where they stood with each other because of the incident in the desert. But if Alkire was willing to extend an olive branch, Kira was more than willing to take it. He quickly moved over to Lacus and they moved back into their room. "I'm glad Alkire seems to want to make up... it's been hard these last few weeks, not knowing how he really felt about me." Kira said to Lacus the moment the door was shut.
"I'm glad too... I'm still not too sure of the man, but I'll agree with you that the tension between us and him has been affecting things aboard the Archangel... Alkire and company just aren't fitting in on board. Partly its them, but partly its that the crew can sense we don't approve of them and thus they feel they shouldn't either. Annoying how being so popular can backfire, eh?"
"Yeah... being famous is yours and Cagalli's job... I'm perfectly happy sitting in the background. You can have the fans... I've got you... don't need any fans."
"Gee and here I was, going to trade you for more fans... but now I can't without feeling all guilty. Whatever should I do?" Lacus replied with a smile that drew a wide grin and a much desired hug from Kira.
"Missed being alone with you." He mumbled into her hair. "I hate being on the Archangel... always on call to go save someone else or some stupid meeting."
"I know. Not fond of it myself." Lacus replied, resting her head under his chin. "Amazing how something as simple as a real door with a lock can shut out the rest of the world." Kira lifted one hand from around her and flicked the lock shut. "Hmmm?" she hummed inquisitively.
"Glad you mentioned that, I'd have to kill the next unwanted interruption... Alkire said we should take about an hour or two... I think I can manage that, don't you?"
"My... it has been a while, hasn't it?" Lacus said, feeling Kira start to heat up and her along with him. Her voice changed tone, softening and losing at least a year of worry and concern. Kira shivered... that tone of voice made him feel like he was being bathed in fire and ice alternatively... he felt full of energy and yet powerless to do more than stand there and hold her. It was a delicious feeling. He started to dip his head down and Lacus inclined her head up. A thought whirled its way across her face and he paused.
"What is it?" he asked, voice husky and breathy.
"You have mail... email. I just wondered who could have sent you mail, thats all." Lacus replied. Kira closed his eyes and breathed a calming breath. He went out of his way to close out the world around them and it managed to thwart him anyway... stupid email. He was going to throw the computer against the wall when he got a chance. He released Lacus and reigned himself back in, deciding to look at the email real quick... it better not be a junk mail... and then get back to more important and enjoyable activities. He opened his mail program and blinked when he saw the name on the message.
"Sai...?"
"What?" Lacus asked from where she was sitting rather suggestively on the bed... she hadn't expected the mail to be more than a minute's distraction, if that... Kira was so pent up she could practically taste and smell it from across the room... in a good way, of course.
"It... it's a letter... from Sai." Kira managed. He opened the file and started to read it.
"That's great! Does it say where he is and how he's been?" Lacus said, amorous thoughts forgotten. They had all wondered about Sai for a long time now... even his parents hadn't been able to tell them were he was... though she suspected that they had been hiding a lot more than they had been saying. Sai was a longtime friend of Kira's... if they found him that would make everyone a lot happier. Lacus looked up when Kira choked and nearly collapsed against the computer desk. "Kira? What is it?"
"He's getting married. Sai's getting married." Kira whispered.
"He's getting married? That's wonderful!" Lacus told him. "When? And where is he?"
"He's here... in Hawaii... apparently he's been here for a long time, working. He's getting married in two day's time. He wants us to come. Gave us a date and location too." Kira said, mind numb. He hadn't expected this at all... Kisaka had been looking into Sai's whereabouts but ever since Kira had glimpsed him at Pearl Harbor he hadn't heard anything more about him. Now to suddenly get an email from him out of the blue, much less a wedding invitation... it was staggering. And there was the burning question in Kira's mind... Sai said in the letter that he'd been living in Hawaii for a long time... since before the rest of them left Switzerland... why hadn't he tried contacting them? Something was fishy, but Kira couldn't make sense of it... his mind was awhirl.
"Well of course we should go! This is your friend Sai, after all... we can't not go to his wedding. I'd want all my friends to come to our wedding, wouldn't you?" Lacus said, insistently. This is perfect... a wedding, just the thing to lift everyone's spirits before we have to go back to the ships. Maybe it'll even get Kira thinking about his plans for the future... I don't want anything big... just a little something... Reverend Malchio can do the service... or Ms. Ramius... or Mr. Waltfeld even. Anyone... as long as it gets done. Lacus slipped off into a minor daydream for a few moments, eyes starry. She woke up when Kira snapped his fingers in front of her face... apparently he'd been trying to regain her attention for some time. "Oh, did you say something, Kira?"
"I said, of course we'll go. It's Sai... we've got a lot of catching up to do. But I don't have anything to wear to a wedding and neither do you... plus I don't know if it's best for you as you to be walking around publicly... the government doesn't like your news broadcasts very much."
"Well... we can ask Alkire for help... he had disguises for Athrun and Cagalli in Orb... I'm reasonably sure he can come up with clothes we can borrow as well, if we ask."
"That's a good idea... why didn't I think of that?"
"Probably because your mind is full of hundreds of memories of Sai and other things... I'm kind of surprised you can talk, much less have ideas."
"Oh, I have plenty of ideas... the door is still locked after all." Kira said, suddenly sweeping her off her feet and carrying her back over to the bed.
"But... what about...?" Lacus said.
"Later... we have time. But now... us. Sai... later." Kira said, turning off the light.
-----------------------------------------
"You wanna go to a WHAT? FOR WHO?" Alkire cried as soon as Kira asked him. Everyone else was speechless, even the people who hadn't known Sai well... what exactly were you supposed to do when someone you presumed missing, perhaps dead suddenly invited you out of the blue to his wedding? Miriallia had tears in her eyes... one more lost friend suddenly returned to her. Cagalli and Athrun watched Kira carefully... they had their own private theory on Sai, but they had never really broached it with Kira... they suspected that Sai had leaked the fact of Cagalli's baby photo to the news... intentionally or unintentionally they had yet to figure out.
"I want to go to my friend Sai's wedding. I know it is sudden... I just found out about an hour ago myself. But I haven't seen him in months... nobody knew where he was, we didn't speak.. I was worried quite a bit about him. We have a lot of catching up to do."
"I'll say." Athrun muttered to Cagalli. "Got a few pointed questions for him myself."
"Okay... let me put this down straight... this guy, Sai Argyle... a friend of yours, disappears in the mansion of Cervantes Zunnichi back in Switzerland. Is out of touch for months, during which time a ton of bad shit happens to you guys and a world wide war starts partly because of it. When all that would be required to put things straight between you is a ten cent phone call he instead drops completely out of sight, beyond even Kisaka's ability to locate. Now, suddenly, just when you guys are making a start of a difference in the war, he wants you out of the blue to come to his wedding, which happens to be in Hawaii and just happens to be when you are by chance there to pick up belongings? No... too many coincidences. This has ass bad shit TRAP written all over it. Trust me... no good will come of this!" Alkire turned to Vlad. "I just don't get it... with intelligence as good as this email would suggest, why aren't we hip deep in enemy right now? They have to of discovered my bunker if they knew we were coming back here."
"It could just be a coincidence... that email could have been recieved anywhere in the world... it didn't indicate any special knowledge of Kira's location in it." Vlad said. "In fact it was recieved in the account three days ago... obviously this Sai guy felt Kira might have to travel quite a ways to come to the wedding, if he sent it out three days ago and it isn't until two days from now." Alkire gaped at him.
"You... you mean you don't feel at all suspicious about this? It isn't raising your hackles at all?"
"It is a wedding... even I never killed anyone during a wedding." Vlad replied. Not strictly true... but close enough... he wasn't at the alter yet, no marriage took place.
"So we're safe during the wedding... what about before and after? What about then?"
"Why don't you guys come along and sweep the place if you are so worried? The email asks us to arrive early so we can talk to him for a while." Kira cut in, starting to get annoyed. "Listen... I'm going to Sai's wedding... the only way you can stop me is to hit me over the head and tie me up here. Same for Lacus I believe. I just wanted to have your good graces with us... sort of like you keep doing to Captain Ramius in Eurasia."
"Damn... he picked up on that?" Victor mumbled.
"Lacus picked up on it, actually. She noticed you didn't seem quite so sincere when you are asking permission... kind of like you were planning on going anyway." Kira replied.
"Point to you. Fine, if you are committed to committing suicide... then I guess we have to help you out. Just don't blame me if it is a trap and we have to make a tough exit. I have officially warned you that I have a real bad feeling about this." Alkire said. He paused a few moments. "But if you are going, then you are going my way... we're coming with you and we're going to scope the place out before we let you go in... if I find out its a trap and can prove it to you before we get there, its a no go, okay?"
"If it's a trap I will avoid it like the plague... but I can't see Sai setting us up for a trap... he doesn't even know about you Alkire or the rest of TEMPEST, doesn't know what you do, who you are or that you'd be around. He doesn't even know who else is coming with me...it'd be pretty stupid to set a trap without knowing things like that, wouldn't you say? And Sai is not a stupid guy." Kira replied.
Alkire held out his hand. "Shake on it?"
"Of course." Kira shook the older man's hand, sealing the deal. Alkire smiled widely.
"Well then, if a wedding it is to be, then a wedding it shall be. We don't have much time but I know a few places that can whip up appropriate attire in less than a day... maybe not the height of fashion but more than good enough to pass muster for a little while. And I can get us all transportation too... and not military trucks either. But if we are going to go we need to get started preparing right now... and that means no special dinner."
Kira was already heading towards the door. Dearka had been eyeing the rather delicious looking food Alkire had managed to find in his walk in freezer with avarice, and James had already made a start on Vlad's nearly priceless vodka, but they followed everyone else with few protests... a wedding was a lot more interesting than just a banquet... and the food would still be there when they got back.