a/n: hey y'all!
sorry for the late update...but hey i bet you're all used to it by now -insert sheepish grin here- teehee...too bad its getting so hard to update my other story...its strayed from the path i originally planned. It really does have a mind of its own.
But i know where this one is going. So here we go...
disclaimer: standard
Previously:
Lacus smiled and leaned forward to kiss him, "Yes, you got me." Slowly she pressed her lips to his and she felt him respond almost desperately. As she gently pulled away she looked at his handsome face. There was so much pain, s much loss in those endless amethyst eyes. She smiled, "I'm not saying it has to be anytime soon Kira, but you should tell. I doubt the reaction will be as you envision it."
Lacus sighed, she was so tired.
Then again, she was always tired.
Her stomach churned with those ever-present butterflies that had been constant for the last few days. They were partially because of her constant elation for the fact that her life was about to change for the better, that she would become Mrs. Yamato and maybe just maybe no longer being a Clyne would lift some of the weight off her shoulders, relieve some of the many expectations. She smiled at the thought. In a few months Lacus Clyne would be no more, the name that represented the pop star and carefree girl she had once been lost forever.
But she hadn't been that person for a long time.
Besides, no matter what her union with Kira would bring that wasn't for months. For now she had to be the illusion that was Lacus Clyne.
Which brought her to the second reason. Tomorrow she would sing. She hadn't formally sung or recorded a song since the first war, over four years ago. The crowd would be expecting something spectacular, something special, something...perfect. She quickly pushed down the fear and doubt that threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn't afford that, not now. Besides, it wouldn't help to be nervous. It was beyond dispute that she had practiced ALOT. Kira would probably have her head if he found her worrying like this.
She found herself smiling in spite of herself at the thought of her soon-to-be-husband. She found that the thought of him brought calm to her now, like a wave of reassurance that cut through her previous nervous thoughts. She felt a slight pang at the thought that she probably wouldn;t be able to see him until they met for dinner as he was walking the site of tomorrow's conference and discussing security measures with Athrun and the team of soldieries covering it. Again.
She sighed, the war had made Kira cautious. When she had tried to convince him to stay and help her rehearse he had brushed it off and reminded her that one could never bee too careful. Besides, he had regarded with a smile, she didn't really need to rehearse, she sounded beautiful already. She had laughed at his corny line but had responded by kissing him until he was forced to pull away when a honk signaled the arrival of his ride.
But that was then. Now she needed to rehearse before she had to meet with Cagalli and Yzak for lunch.
After all the conference was tomorrow.
The day passed in a blur for Lacus. Between meetings with politicians and representatives, picking up her dress from her tailor (hand made of course) and rehearsing she barely had time to think and before she knew it she was climbing into bed. Kira was already there, watching the news on the flat screen television in the corner. She instantly scooted over to him, cuddling up against his warm body and laying her head on his chest. He automatically stretched his arm around her shoulders and held her tight.
After a few minutes of silence Kira turned off the TV and looked down at her, "Tired?" He grinned as she nodded sleepily, "You should be! Lacus, you need to learn to put less on you plate, honey, or you'll wear yourself out."
She looked up into his beautiful, amethyst eyes and saw the sparkle there, nothing like the broken young man she had once known. She couldn't help but smile, "And that Kira, is what you call hypocritical. You just may be the biggest workaholic I know!"
He chuckled at that, and she felt the sound more than heard it. He didn't bother denying it for they both knew it to be true. That was one thing they had in common.
As he looked at her his eyes turned thoughtful and she knew he was thinking, "What?" She smiled and couldn't keep the curiosity from her voice.
The look he gave her was intense and it made her blush, "After all this, the conference and the announcement, after this all blows over, lets take a vacation. Just you and me. After all we do work to hard and we haven't really had a proper chance to celebrate our engagement."
Her eyes widened and then she beamed in delight, "Oh Kira, that would be wonderful." Then her grin turned mischievous, "While we're on the topic, why wait until after the conference to start celebrating?" She traced circles on his chest with her fingertips and gazed up at him with the innocent doe-eyes that she was oh so good at.
He returned her grin and rolled over so that he was on top of her. He leaned down and whispered softly in her ear, "I think thats the best idea I've heard all day." and then he kissed her long and hard.
When there lips parted they both paused, noses touching, "Lacus..." His voice was a whisper but filled with enough love and devotion to make her heart swell, "I love you."
She smiled, "I love you too Kira."
The next morning they woke early, ate a hasty breakfast and then, after a quick parting kiss, went about there separate duties with promises of lunch together. The conference was scheduled for 6pm and there was still much to do. As Lacus hurried about her duties she found herself preoccupied and had a hard time focusing. She would have liked nothing more than to have spent the day practicing but there was just too much to do. At eight she met with her tailor to make the final fittings on her dress, then at ten she had a meeting with Cagalli to discuss the final timetables for the conference; as part of the conference she, Lacus Clyne was to cut a ribbon that symbolized the barrier between the PLANTs and Earth (represented by Yzak and Cagalli respectively). This was followed by a brief interlude which included lunch with Kira.
During lunch Kira had informed her that he had talked to Yzak and they had agreed that it would be announced that the man she was engaged to was in fact the pilot of the Freedom (they had decided to inform Yzak-after he had sworn to silence-because it was after all, his conference.) Lacus had nearly knocked over the table in the process of jumping up to hug him, repeating all the while how she was so happy for him and how he wouldn't be sorry. Deep down however a tiny part of her knew that not everyone would accept the news. There would be a few who wouldn't understand, a few who would call Kira a traitor for not fighting with ZAFT and instead choosing to fight alongside the naturals. But when it came down to it...they didn't know anything.
After lunch Lacus had met with her stylist who had set about doing her hair (usually she insisted on doing it herself but hey, this was a big event). It had been decided that her long, pink hair would be drawn up into a bun with a few long strands remaining down to frame her face. This was followed by makeup (she didn't wear much because Kira had told her that she looked better without it, besides less is more when it comes to makeup). By the time she was done it was four and time to meet Athrun, Cagalli and Yzak for a final run-through of the events. Kira was there as well, making sure everyone knew there parts and where they had to be. He caught her eye and smiled approvingly at her, she couldn't help but blush. A blur-of-an-hour later and she was standing with Cagalli in the dressing room where they both donned their dresses. By this time it was taking all of Lacus's concentration to keep a calm and cool exterior while her insides turned to goo. So much concentration in fact that even Cagalli's disapproving protests at being made to wear a dress (which were none too quiet) seemed to float over her like a cloud, barely registering. Cagalli seemed to noticed as she paused for a moment in her rant to ask Lacus if anything was the matter. Lacus simply gave Cagalli one of her best smiles and brushed it off as nerves about her looming performance.
But she knew that the source of her nerves was really something else entirely.
Six o'clock came all too soon. Before Lacus had even had a chance to contain the butterflies that seemed to be threatening to flutter out of her stomach and pop out her mouth any second (a smile smile pulled at her lips at the effect that would have on the conference) she was lining up along with the others to file onto the stage that had been set up in the middle of the park. She stood between Kira and Athrun, the three of them making up the bonds of the world. Just before they were to step on the platform Kira turned and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "Don't worry," He whispered, though she could see the uncertainty in his eyes, "You'll do fine." Then with one last squeeze of her hand he turned and walked onto the stage and she followed.
She knew the set-up well (that much had been established in numerous run-throughs with Cagalli). To her left sat Kira, the bond of Orb to ZAFT, followed by Cagalli to his immediate left. Farther down the line sat the peoples of Earth, Representatives from all the major nations of the Earth Alliance. To her right sat Athrun, the bond of ZAFT to Orb followed by Dearka (since Yzak would be standing at the front, Dearka; as the chairman of the national defense council, had taken the symbolic seat of the people of the PLANTS). To Dearka's left sat representatives from each of the PLANTS. She; Lacus Clyne sat in the center representing Peace, the bond between all people.
The crowd stretched out as far as she could see, a blur of faces bathed in the glow of the setting sun. Reporters dotted the crowd with cameras and microphones, a large camera in the center marking the live feed with a small red light. This camera would broadcast the conference around the world. As soon as Yzak stepped forward to the podium the roar settled to quiet murmurs and all faces were upon him, "I would like to thank all of you for coming today. As you all know, today is a day of mourning and celebration, a day of war and a day of peace, but most importantly a day of remembering the past while still looking to the future." Lacus didn't miss the glance and quick smile that Yzak shot at Kira, who returned it, "I would now like to lead you all in a moment of silence to commemorate our fallen brothers."
As if he cast a spell on them the crowd falls silent at Yzak's words, their faces turn from looks of anticipation to looks of solemn resignation. Lacus watched as the upturned faces turned down, their eyes slowly closing. AS she closed her eyes Lacus let the memories wash over her, the people lost, the people saved, the fights to the death and the signing of peace treaties. The war had brought many things; people were broken and then healed, rifts between people were healed only for new ones to appear. It was at time of endings and beginnings. The war brought unwanted memories to the surface; her father's death, Junius Seven, Orb in flames, the pain, the sorrow, the hate... her eyes started to prick with the beginnings of tears.
Lacus took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn't cry now, not in front of all these people. She squeezed her eyes tight to force back the hot tears and, as she opened her eyes to blink them back she felt Kira take her hand gently. She was suddenly aware of the weight of the ring on her finger and she turned slightly to give him a faint smile. His eyes shone with concern as he used his thumb to massage reassuring circles on her hand. The sense of reassurance was sudden and overwhelming. Even after all that, all the pain and sorrow, she was OK. She had found love, her knight in shining armor and they had found peace. Peace with each other and peace with the world. She rapidly blinked back the new wave of tears that were for an entirely different reason.
I'm OK. She couldn't help but let that one thought settle her, and all feelings of nervousness disappeared.
As she turned her attention back to Yzak, who had once again began to speak, she squeezed Kira's hand gently and it was all she could do not to cry. They had been through so much...but they had survived.
Everything is going to be OK.
When the time came for Lacus to sing, there were no nerves, no dread. That overwhelming feeling of security that had accompanied her earlier was still there, and it was enough to keep the butterflies at bay. She was faintly aware that Yzak was introducing her, but she didn't hear the words. She rose in time with the applause and the congregation of leaders followed, showing their respect for the Lady Peace. Kira gave her hand one final squeeze before she walked to center stage, where Yzak handed her a microphone accompanied by a quiet wish of 'good luck'. As the spotlight descended on her the crowd fell silent, watching, waiting.
"Thank you. Thank you all for coming here. For standing together as brothers and sisters, for putting aside your differences for this one day. For this is an important day. Today is a day of remembrance. We must never forget the struggle that we went through to get here...to this time of peace. We lost much but, in doing so, gained more than we could have ever imagined. So, for the people lost, it is our duty to move forward with our lives. It is our duty to live. We must never forget, but we must not dwell. Live in the future. Remember the past. To remind you of our struggle, I give you 'Fields of Hope'."
And with that Lacus began to sing. Her voice started out low but slowly grew until everyone was staring with rapt attention. For Lacus's voice was like a spell, a light in the darkness. Her voice was peace personified.
Beneath a veil so cold,
You deeply sleep, all alone
The melody of prayer; on the lonely fields,
a little light shined
I had a dream of you
You were laughing like a child
So dear, and yet so far
That is the promise of our future
That one day, on a green morning,
One day, we will make it there
Because in this wintered sky
We still believe
Fields of hope
On the day we were born, we were embraced
And now we search for those gentle hands again
The melody of prayer; one vanishes;
And all begins again; a powerless, painful continuation
One day, to that green morning,
We'll cross through all these nights
Because that is the place each one of us searches for
Now, within my own heart,
I want to keep you warm
So dear, and yet so far
In the name of peace
Fields of hope
So dear, and yet so far
The fields of promise
Fields of hope
As her last note faded, there was silence. It seemed that everyone was holding their breathe until the quiet sound of a pair of hands clapping broke out near the back. And then the applause broke out, spreading like a wave through the crowd until everyone was on their feet. There was no yelling, no catcalls or whistles, only the utmost respect for this girl, this women who had helped lead them through the toughest of times and now stood before them, in all her glory.
Lacus couldn't help but smile, she may not a chairman or a representative by law, but these were her people, and they loved her.
As she turned to look over her shoulder Kira had risen from his seat and was heading towards her, a small smile on his lips and his eyes clouded with uncertainty. Lacus caught Athrun's eye as he shot Kira a confused glance. Lacus could barely contain a sudden bubble of laughter. As Kira reached her side she reached out and took his hand, the action sending murmurs through the crowd. She beamed at him, barely able to contain her excitement. This was it. They would announce their love to the world. Then the world would know who they were, who they really were. Her quick glance at Kira alerted her to the worry in his eyes, the fear of rejection, but that not what she focused on. Behind the fear of what they were about to do was Kira's unconditional love and trust in her, as clear as day upon his face. With a final smile she turned to the crowd.
As Lacus raised the microphone to her lips and addressed the now shifty and curious crowd she couldn't help but rejoice. After all this time they were finally here, and the moment couldn't be more perfect.
"Now, there has been a brief alteration in the schedule." The crowd eyes were alight with anticipation and curiosity as they listened raptly to every word. "I have an announcement to make. I Lacus Clyne-"
And then all hell broke loose.
sry guys...
that it for this chapter
lol...god I'm bad, not updating for MONTHS and then leaving a cliffie
well I guess you guys will just have to review if you want me to update soon then won't you?
The more reviews the quicker you get to find out what happens.
And...for the reviewers a brief peek of whats to come...
bfos