Disclaimer: Do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I hope that you will not be disappointed with this chapter. Again, thank you for those who have reviewed this story. Special thanks to Lamu, who corrected my French. Sorry for butchering your language, I was really bad at it in school. Also thank you to PaolaAdara for pointing out something I gravely forgot to explain, I hope that this reposted version would be more of an explanation.

Chapter 3: Rêver D'Espoir (To Dream of Hope)

Athrun watched her walk calmly away from him. It took all of his will to restrain himself from grabbing her by the wrist and making her stay. But he saw the way her eyes had looked at him. They were mired with anger and a sliver of pain. And those were enough to keep him still.

He sighed, seeing her walk away from him, reminded him of a past he wanted to forget. Yet again, his past found a way of sneaking up to him. He just couldn't get away from it.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to the sight of sympathetic eyes staring back at him. "Why did you lie, Athrun?"

"I didn't know how to tell her the truth." He shrugged. Honestly, how could he tell Cagalli that he was there because she was dying? How could he tell her that it wasn't until Kira had told him the news did he felt that he could face her?

Lacus shook her head. "Perhaps, you should try talking to her again."

He glanced back to the hallway Cagalli had disappeared to, part of him hoping that she would return. He had been afraid of this, of her pushing him away, of her wanting nothing to do with him; and to his dismay his fears have seemingly been justified. Shrugging his shoulders, he quietly spoke of the words that haunted him. "There is no point. Clearly, she does not wish to speak to me." Then he quickly excused himself and started to retrace his steps back to his room.

"Athrun," Lacus narrowed her eyes, and called out to him. "Tell me then, if not to speak with her, why are you here?"

He stopped in his tracks, and took in a shaky breath. "I wanted her to tell me that everything will be alright." He turned his head slightly back at her, eyes moist. "I wanted her to tell me that all of this is just a dream."

Lacus looked on worriedly at his retreating figure; shoulders hunched, hands shoved in his pockets. "You shouldn't have come then." She whispered to the empty room.

Her eyes filled with tears, hands clenched tightly in to little fists.

Why now?

She breathed raggedly, the throbbing against her chest increased.

Ever since that day she had stood numbly at the dock, eyes blankly following the shrinking form of the Archangel, she thought of the many ways she would see him again.

As she would lie down in bed, when she is in between consciousness and slumber, she would let herself dream. Dream of the many ways she would see him again.

And they always had a happy ending.

Because in dreams, fairy tales do happen; and princesses always end up with their princes.

She buried herself deeper in the cushions, letting them catch the saltine tears she shed.

She may be a princess in all technicality, an ungraceful one at that, but she was foremost a politician.

And politicians were never dreamers.

They were realists, who only considered the objectivity of things, not its subjectivity.

When she was younger, she had the luxury to afford that, to run around as she pleased and dream. She was so full of dreams. And when she had met him, she befriended him because she wanted him to dream and hope. But that was before she had to shoulder the responsibility of running the country she had inherited—suffocating the dreams out of her, crushing the childish hopes she tried to cling to.

But he—he seemed to turn the tables at her. Instead of her giving him hope, it was he who gave her hope. He always made her feel like this, always made her wonder and dream of the what-ifs.

What if that day, instead of pushing him away, she opened her arms to him once again and told him—told him that she would wait for him—told him that everything would be alright—told him that despite of all the things that have happened he would still have a home with her?

She let out an exasperated sigh.

He had always done that; make her feel uncertain of herself. She never understood why or how. But she knew that he did. And when he had stood before her at the parlor, she had honestly thought that she had been dreaming, and she wanted to throw her arms around him. But one look at those intense pair of olive eyes, she knew that it wasn't and reality began to set in, her political mind wasted no time to point out a simple fact. He shouldn't be here. So why was he?

And as she listened to his explanation that he was just dropping by to visit old friends, she knew he was keeping something from her. Uncertain of how to confront him or perhaps lacking the energy to—still reeling from the shock of seeing him, she did the only things she could at the moment: she walked way.

For all the skills she had acquired as a political leader, Cagalli did not know how to deal with him; the man she dreamed of returning.

Bouts of cough racked her body, and she pushed the pillow against her face, hoping it would muffle the sound. Her face felt warm and her throat dry. She tried to cool herself as she drank the glass of water by her bedside, her other hand fumbling for the medicine on her nightstand. She held the glass tighter and bit her lip, a single thought passing through her mind.

Athrun…

His eyes flickered to the empty seat at the table, before he glanced to the woman who placed her hand over his. "Don't worry about it, Kira."

A strained smile lighted his features, "I can't help it. She's been in her room since this afternoon." He slightly turned his head to the side. "Can someone tell me what happened?" Athrun carefully looked away and merely shrugged, eyes stared down at the food he had left untouched. Kira looked at the similar state of his plate. It seems they all lacked appetite tonight. Lacus sighed at the two men, and returned to her task, piling bits of food to an empty plate.

Kira watched her curiously. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking this to Cagalli. I know she's hungry." She smiled. Athrun suddenly stood up, causing the other two occupants to turn their attention to him.

"I'll bring it to her."

Lacus looked at him uncertainly. "Athrun, I don't know if that's a good idea."

He shook his head. "You were right earlier. I should speak with her. All these years, I've left many things unspoken—I took my time, because I thought she would always be there." Athrun felt the lump forming in his throat, and tried to swallow it down. "And when I lost her after the war, I thought to myself that sooner or later I'll wake up from this dream." His gaze moved to Kira. "And when you told me that she was dying, I realized then, that I had waited too long and seeing her this afternoon…I… this was never a dream to begin with." He took a shaky breath, trying to calm his emotions, and gazed back to Lacus. "Please, I just want to tell her…and if she does not want me here…I'll leave." He added with difficulty.

Kira grimly watched his friend disappear in the dimly lighted hallway with a tray of food at hand. He wrapped his arms around his fiancée's waist and settled his chin against her cheek. "Are you sure it's alright?" Lacus leaned in to him.

"He cares deeply for her. And you know that she does too. Don't worry so much."

Kira merely sighed in response.

The moment she heard the creak of her bedroom door, she knew that it was him. Cagalli kept her back to him, reddened eyes staring at the wall ahead.

He squinted in the darkened room, until he surveyed her sitting form at the edge of her bed. The door clicked soundly behind him.

"Cagalli…" He approached the bed and began uncertainly. "Lacus thought you would be hungry, so I've brought you some food." When she made no move to acknowledge him, he settled the tray on her nightstand, and proceeded to her side.

"How long?" Her curt voice interjected, breaking the still silence of the room and halting his movement. He leaned against the wall closest to her side and frowned.

"Pardon?"

"How long have you known?" Cagalli turned her eyes to his, he held them for a second before turning away, his heart heavy with sadness. Even in darkness, he could see the light that shone in them. But sooner or later, even that light would flicker and succumb in darkness. The truth twisted his lungs and left him breathless.

He looked down at his feet. "A few days ago."

Whenever her suspicions were confirmed, Cagalli's features were often graced with a satisfied smirk, but this time, she felt her heart wrench at his answer. A part of her still hoped that she was wrong, the other part sneered at her seeming naivety nature. Hope? She was dying. What more can she hope for? She gave out a chuckle, but in Athrun's ears it rang cynically. "Cagalli…"

She waved him off. "It was Kira, wasn't it?" Loss for words, he merely nodded his head. "I thought so." Cagalli stood and slowly faced him. Athrun observed at the way the shadows fell across her features under the glimmer of the waning moon. He resisted the urge to touch her cheeks and brush them away. It has been far too long.

Under his gaze, Cagalli felt her resolve weakening. It was as if he was drawing her out in a dream. She clenched her fists, her mind struggling. She can't dream now. Not now. She needed an explanation. Quietly, she inquired. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth earlier?" Her words simpered in slight anger and mild curiosity, eyes matching the intensity of his.

He pushed himself off the wall, straightening his body. "I didn't know how to te--"

"Were you afraid that your answer would hurt me?" Face flushed, Cagalli ignored the tears that began to form again around her eyes. "Or perhaps you thought I was already deliriously sick to not see through your lie?" Receiving no replies, she ignored the worried look he gave her and ploughed on with her questions—her temper emerging. "Did you think I was some kind of fool!" Athrun reached for her, but she moved away from his advances, her eyes glared at him. "Don't touch me!" She slammed her fists on his chest. "Why are you here? What do you want from me?"

"Cagalli…Stop….Please…." He enclosed his hands around her fists and pleaded with his eyes. "Please…you might hurt yourself." She roughly pulled her hands away from his, and he reluctantly let go, her breath was ragged and echoed in the room.

She steadied herself with her palm opened against the wall and snapped back. "As far as I know, you're the only one in here who can hurt me."

"I don't understand." He looked confusedly.

Amber eyes flashed at his direction. "Why are you really here, Athrun?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing. After Kira had told me the news, I felt…."

She mocked him, an eyebrow finely arched. "Really?"

Athrun frowned and took a few steps towards her trembling form. "I wanted to know if I could help you in any way…and…I wanted to let you kn--"

She suddenly flung herself to him, her hands clutching the front of his shirt, and fumed. "You still don't get it, do you?" Cagalli pulled on his shirt, forcing him to bend a little, his face a few inches away from hers. "I don't want your fucking pity! I don't need you!"

The confusion melted away from Athrun's face, understanding finally dawning to him, relief and frustration rose in his chest. All these years, he wasn't the only one waiting; she too waited for him. Her amber eyes widened with surprise when he suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders. After she overcame her initial surprise, she tried to wrench from his grasp. "Cagalli…please…Cagalli!" He firmly held on to her, and gave her a little shake. "Listen to me!" Tear-filled eyes glanced up at him, and he felt tears gathering in his as well. "Please listen to me, Cagalli." He pulled her closer and whispered. "It's not pity. I'm not here because I pity you. I'm here because I still care about you. I wanted to tell you that even when I tried to, I never stopped caring." He reached to wipe away her tears. "It's just…why would you think that?"

Watching tears fall from his eyes, she felt lost and confused; and she quickly looked away. "If you really cared for me Athrun, why did you just visit me now—now that I am dying?" She said in a bare whisper, her throat constricted. "Why are you here now?" Her head hung, a curtain of blonde hair obscuring his view of her. She felt tired; sobs overwhelmed her body, and her fists still clung to his shirt. "Why did you have to come back? I've already ran out of hope." He removed his hands from her shoulders to draw her to him, wrapping his arms around her.

"Don't say that." He croaked.

She struggled with her words. "…I-I was already resigned…Athrun…the doctors…they couldn't do anything anymore…And…there was nothing else to do but to accept it..." Cagalli sniffled against him. "But you," She said rather accusingly, "you had always given me hope…why did you have to come back?"

He tilted her chin to face him, and gently moved strays of hair away from her face by tucking it behind her ears. "Because…after all this time…I realized…dreaming or not… I don't know how to let you go."