SUMMARY:
Kira's fallen in love, but because of that, has vowed to do anything to protect the girl he's given his heart to. Always one to keep his promises, he does something rash and puts himself in a coma. Now the girl who loves him is left alone, never leaving his side and going over her most memorable memories of him in the past.

Hey guys! It's Leeeeikoooo! I'm back with a new story. I've really wanted to write a Gundam Wing fiction for quite awhile, but was only just recently inspired, and I'm still trying to work out the storyline, so bear with me!

Also, this story changes views a lot between present and past, so try to keep up. I know it might get a bit confusing, and I'm sorry if it is.sniffle

Just so you know, the OC has been friends with Athrun since age three, but she's never met Kira. Athrun was the only person she ever hung out with.

Disclaimer : Gundam Seed and it's characters belong, in no way, to Leiko Hikaru. For, if they did, she wouldn't feel the need to write stories in the first place, as she'd be too busy playing with all of them.

Chapter 1

"Kira!! ... Kira?!?"

A voice... It was... Calling to me.

"Kira?! Where are you?! Please! Answer me!"

It was a girl's voice... A voice that I knew belonged to the one I loved.

"Kira?! Oh, God!"

I could barely see the outline of her body running towards me. I suppose my vision was blurred by all of the blood. I should have known better than to think that being idiotic and making a rash decision was going to keep her from being hurt. I probably hurt her more by doing such a thing than I ever could have if I had just stayed by her side like she asked.

"Kira?" Her voice soothed me, causing some of my pain to ebb away momentarily. Although, I could hear it shaking, telling me that I had made her cry. "Kira? Can you hear me?" She whispered, and I felt her hand cover my own bloody one.

It took every ounce of my strength to reply. "Y-yeah… I… I'm here…" I breathed, trying to hold on for just a few more moments. I could just faintly make out a smile on her dirt-covered face.

"You're an idiot." She shook her head and squeezed my hand.

"I told you… I was going to do everything… That I could…"

"I'm not worth it, Kira." She whispered, and I could feel a tear dropping onto my arm, sending a shiver up my spine. "You're all I have left…"

These words stabbed my heart, and for the first time in awhile, I felt my eyes beginning to sting, a lump gathering in my throat. I ignored the feeling and reached up, my finger grazing her, now damp, cheek. "I'm…" I paused, attempting to swallow the rather annoying lump. It was making it even harder for me to speak. "I'm… Sorry…"

I felt her hand close over mine, putting my palm to her cheek and she bit her lip. "You better not leave me here."

I shook my head, the corner of my lip pulling up into a small smile. I reached up, and ran my fingers through her hair. It was starting to get dark and harder to see. I needed some sleep. With my thumb, I wiped her spare tears away from her eyes before putting my hand on the back of her head and pulling her into my weak arms. Just one last time, that's all I wanted, one last time to be able to hold her close. She was careful not to do anything that might disturb any of the abundant wounds I had as she cried quietly into my chest.

Although it was under the worst circumstances, I realized something that I had never noticed before. Whenever she would smile at me, or I would hold her, just as I had then, my insides would tingle. I had simply ignored it, but now, I couldn't deny what I knew was true.

Even as she cried, I knew that if I ever told her, she would feel the same way, and as my eyes grew heavy with fatigue, I sighed. It would be difficult for me to remember the words that escaped my lips at that moment, before I slipped away into temporary nothingness. They were so quiet, that they became one with my breath, but I knew I had said it.

Taking in one deep inhalation of air, I let it out slowly and, as I exhaled, whispered three words that I had never truly allowed myself to utter before.

It had been three months since Kira had been admitted to the hospital. Which meant three months of me coming and sitting in the chair beside his bed for nearly 12 hours daily, never leaving his side. I knew that he was in this state simply because he had promised to protect me, and I loved him for that, but I had never expected him to go to such measures. What I don't think he realized was that him doing something such as blowing himself up was hurting more than a gun or knife ever could.

"Leiko?"

I looked over my shoulder to the door at the sound of my name, spoken by a familiar voice, belonging to a very dear friend. I smiled. "Hey, Athrun."

"How are you?" He asked, entering the room and closing the door behind him with his foot as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Same as usual," I replied, my gaze returning to Kira, lying on the bed, looking like he did every day I came to see him. Bandaged and asleep. "Where's Ayame?"

"At home. She had a lot of work to do, so she couldn't make it…"

"Oh… I see… Tell her I said hi."

"I will…"

There was silence for a moment before I spoke. "Wanna know something?"

"What's that?" Athrun pulled up a chair and sat down at the end of the bed, staring at his friend's sleeping face before turning to look at me, eyebrow raised. I smiled, having looked away from Kira for but a moment, before turning back to him.

"I think he's going to wake up soon…" I said, turning to look at Athrun, but frowning at his expression of disbelief. "I know it sounds crazy… But… I've got this feeling.."

Athrun nodded, smiling. "I see. Well, taking into account that a woman is never wrong, I suppose I'll decide not to argue."

I smiled again, sighing and staring out of the window for a moment. Staring at the leaves of the tree outside caused me to think of how Kira and I had first met.

I had been close to Athrun since we were three, and we did nearly everything together. When the war started to get serious and we were forced to go into hiding, he had already joined ZAFT, but made sure to invite me to join him. At first, I was reluctant. I didn't want to leave my parents and home behind. However, it was a place for a food and a bed, and my parents convinced me it was for the best.

My exceptional battle suit skills made it easy for the commander to accept me, although it was a bit more difficult with everyone else, seeing as how I was female. I wasn't one to take being talked down to, though, and worked my way up, finally able to fight alongside Athrun in a Gundam.

There came a day when my defenses were low and we were attacked by the Archangel. A certain Gundam from the ship had aimed its sights on Athrun, and I made sure to fulfill my duties as a friend and help him fight. However, I was beaten and Athrun made sure to strike down the one that had defeated me. The next day, I found myself in a completely deserted place, surrounded by the ruins that were my Gundam. I had to find a way to get food and stay alive until I was rescued, but instead, I had found him.

My head was throbbing, I was in the middle of nowhere, and I think my ankle was broken. I stood slowly, settling all my weight on my right foot, and limped through the sparse trees, searching for some sight of something that looked edible. However, after awhile, something else caught my attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something moving. I turned as quickly as one could on an injured ankle, reaching for the gun that I had grown used to having in a holster at my hip, before realizing that it wasn't there. There wasn't anything to be seen, but I could tell something else was beyond the trees and bushes.

I limped forward slowly, moving little branches out of my way as I did so, and then came to the edge of a clearing. There was another wreckage site, and for a moment I thought it was my own. That's when I noticed, however, a young boy, crouched in front of a first aid kit, bandaging a gash on his right arm. I made the mistake of attempting to get a better look and stepping on a twig with my good foot in the process. The snapping noise caught the boy's attention and he spun around, staring at me with alert violet orbs, a knife held tightly in his hand.

"You!" We both said, in unison.

I pointed at him, limping out from behind the tree I had been hiding behind and towards him. I stopped a few feet away from his form.

"What are you doing here??" I hollered, obviously shocking him with the volume of my voice.

"I was about to ask you that, but seeing as how we both got blown up over the same place, it doesn't seem like it should be so surprising." He said, matter-of-factly, having already returned to bandaging his arm.

"Don't give me that shit." I huffed, crossing my arms and shifting my weight to my other foot. However, I had somehow forgotten about the pain in my ankle. "Ouch!" I hissed, immediately standing on my right foot once more, tears being brought to my eyes at the sudden pain. "Damn ankle…"

"What'd you do?"

I was surprised by this question, and stared at the boy who still sat crouched on the ground, looking at my ankle. The material of the leg of my battle suit had been torn, making my swollen ankle very visible. "Why should I tell you?!"

"Just wondering." He said, shrugging. "Looks like it's broken."

"No shit, Sherlock."

He stared up at me, eyebrow raised, before shaking his head. "How does Athrun put up with you?"

"Why do you care?"

Once again, he shook his head, disturbing the locks of brown that hung down in his face. "You sure are stubborn." He said, standing, and popping his neck. He looked at me for a moment, which is when I noticed that he was taller than me by, at least, good five or six inches. However, I pushed this thought to the back of my mind and glared at him angrily with dark brown orbs.

He stared back at me for a moment, before pointing to a nearby tree stump. "Sit."

"What am I?! A dog?? I am not going to take orders from you!"

He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples, before picking up the first aid kit. "Look. It's obvious that you haven't got one of these. I do. If you don't get that bandaged up and put a splint on it, it's going to swell."

"So, what are you now? The all-knowing doctor?"

Once more, he sighed and shook his head, turning away as he raked a hand through his hair. "Fine. If you want to be stuck with that limp, go ahead. I could care less." As he began to walk away, I realized that what he said was right. It was basic knowledge really. I didn't want to accept help from this guy. Especially since he was an enemy who had attacked my best friend, but he made a point.

"W-" I couldn't believe I was doing this. "Wait…"

At this, he stopped, looking at me over his shoulder, eyebrows raised. With a roll of my eyes and a reluctant sigh, I seated myself on the tree stump and he smiled, turning back around and walking back over to where I now sat.

I watched silently as he seated himself, removing the bandages from the first aid kit and placing my ankle very carefully in his lap. He looked at it for a minute before looking up at me, eyebrows raised.

"What?" I snapped, unable to stop myself, but restraining my urge to glare at him.

"I've got to snap it back into place…" He paused, obviously waiting for me to reply, but when I said nothing he continued. "It's broken pretty badly."

I flinched a bit at these words. No doubt it was going to hurt severely, but I couldn't really help it. I bit my lip and looked him in the eye before moving my gaze to my ankle. I had only just noticed how swollen it already was and sighed, swallowing the lump gathering in my throat, before looking back up at him nodding, gripping the sides of the stump as tightly as possible. He blinked a few times before looking back down at my ankle, and placing his thumbs gingerly on either side of it. "Alright… One… Two-"

"Just do it."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard a horrible crunch, and a wave of pain was sent through my legs, running from my toes to my thigh. I heard myself whimper and bit my lip, closing my eyes to keep the tears down. The pain remained for what seemed like forever, during which I heard him gathering the bandages, using a few sturdy sticks that he found nearby as splints. I sighed, opening my eyes, looking at the dark midnight sky, and wiping tears away from the corners of my eyes quickly. The last thing I wanted was to have this stranger see me cry.

His hands traveled carefully over my foot, wrapping my ankle with the bandages, and I could tell he was trying his best not to hurt me again, although I wondered why. I had attacked him less than twenty-four hours ago - attempted to kill him - and here he was, tending to my wounds.

I absentmindedly wondered why I wasn't wrapping my own ankle, why I wasn't taking care of myself, but I didn't care. The sooner this was done and over with, the sooner I could go back to my own camp and go about my business.

I began to think about Athrun and the rest of the crew. Were they worried about me? I wouldn't have been too surprised if the commander and everyone else weren't too bothered with my disappearance. However, I began to wonder if Athrun was worried at all. Sending out search parties and such in order to find me.

…Okay. So search parties could be perhaps defined as extreme, but you get my drift. I suppose it was to be expected of a best friend for them to look for you, but he had been there when I went down. Why hadn't he come after me? He was more than capable of doing such.

I was suddenly pulled from my thoughts as what's-his-face appeared in front of me - and I mentally noted that I hadn't any idea what his name was - holding out a very small serving of food in his hand, situated on what looked to be a scrap of metal. He had finished wrapping my ankle within five minutes and was now offering me food. Raising an eyebrow, I looked up at him, confused bewilderment evident in my eyes. He copied my action and raised his eyebrow as well, holding the food a bit closer to me. "Here."

"I'm not eating that." I replied, shrinking away slightly from the food. He seemed a bit surprised and his eyebrow rose even higher on his forehead.

"Why?"

I scoffed. "You probably poisoned it, that's why."

He chuckled quietly, an amused smile playing across his face. "I didn't… I promise." He added this on when he saw my look of disbelief. "Here…" Reaching up, he ripped off a small piece of the bread and put it in his mouth. I watched carefully as he chewed and swallowed. "See? It's fine."

Still unsure of whether or not to trust him, I eyed the food suspiciously. However, after a few moments, I reached up and took the food in my hand cautiously. He smiled and returned to seat himself beside the fire, the light dancing across his face as he did so, while he picked up his own food. I began to nibble on the small serving of food I had been given - I was hungry, after all - and finished only minutes later. Although it hadn't been much, the scraps had been enough to settle my starving stomach and I sighed, moving from the stump to seat myself on the dirt. I looked over my shoulder to where I had come from, before realizing that I didn't know where I had to go in order to return to my own camp.

Heaving yet another sigh, I stared up at the stars, locating certain constellations as I did so. It helped me take my mind off of things for a moment or two. I shivered, noticing how cold it was and suddenly longed to be seated by the fire as well. It looked so warm. However, I was too far away to be able to feel the warmth of the flame and allowed myself to curl up on the ground - although being very wary of my injured ankle - using my own body heat to warm myself. I would lie down, just for a moment, and rest my eyes. Then I'd get up and go find my own camp. No worries. My eyelids began to grow heavy, and I allowed them to drift shut. Before I knew it, I was asleep, drifting in a silent, easy, and dreamless darkness.

I found myself opening my eyes what seemed like only a second later, to the sudden light of morning, telling me that I had been asleep for quite a few hours. I blinked sleepily, before noticing I wasn't where I had been last night. I was lying in front of what appeared to be a burnt out fire, covered by a rather warm, but tattered, uniform jacket. I sat up quickly, staring around, realizing I was still in the camp I had been in last night, but instead was by the fire.

"Morning."

I jumped slightly at the sound of a familiar voice and looked over my shoulder, pushing my white bangs out of my eyes to see what's-his-face coming out of the edge of the forest, carrying wood in his arms. He walked forward, crouching beside the extinguished fire and placing the twigs and sticks in a pile before seating himself, Indian-style.

"What….? Why…? I was…" I pointed to the fire ashes and then to the tree stump. I don't know why it took me so long to realize how I had moved, but I suppose I was just a little slow, having not fully awakened yet. He chuckled and I looked at him once more.

"I moved you." He stated, matter-of-factly.

"Wha-? Why?!"

"It was about forty degrees last night…" He said, looking at me. "I figured you were cold."

"W.. Well, I wasn't!" I retorted, crossing my arms stubbornly as I growled mentally and glared at the fire ashes, praying that I would be getting rescued sometime that day. He made no move to reply and it grew silent throughout the camp.

"So, I realized earlier… I don't know your name." His voice suddenly pulled me away from prayers, and I looked over at him, eyebrow raised.

"So?" I snapped. "Why do you care?"

He looked at me, calm stare telling me that my attitude wasn't fazing him at all, and I huffed, glaring at him. There was silence for a moment before I sighed. "Leiko… Leiko Hirada."

"Ah. I see…" He paused. "I'm Kira Yamato."

Our introductions to each other probably weren't under the best circumstances, but I would remember those moments for the rest of my life. He had changed me in a way that even I didn't know was possible.

And that's it for Chapter One! More to come, but let me know how you like the story first! It'll be greatly appreciated! D