Okay, just a reminder: This all happened during the two years of peace, in case not all of you guys knew. Just wanted to clarify things!

The Proposal

Chapter 3

"No."

"Wait a minute – what?" Milly exclaimed outside. "No? No? What does she mean by 'no'?"

"You're kidding me!" Shiho stared at the screen where Lacus was looking at Kira worriedly who was frozen in his spot, unable to speak.

"She said no," Cagalli said blankly. "Wow."

The men and the kids stared at the screen for what it seemed like hours.

"Kira?" Lacus called. "Kira? Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Kira's tone was shrill and it was more than obvious that he was nervous, anxiety and mild depression taking over him. He really expected Lacus to say yes and well, this was thrown at him and it hit him square in the face. Ouch, was that painful. "You said no, yeah, I get it. No worries, you said no, it's alright. Yeah, yeah, Lacus said no, she said no."

"Kira, Kira," Lacus said. "Please, calm down."

"She said no…no means no," Kira swallowed. "Yes means yes, it's simple, really. She doesn't want to…doesn't want to…"

"Kira, please try to understand," Lacus begged.

"She doesn't…she doesn't…"

"Kira!" Lacus exclaimed and Kira looked up at her, eyes wide. "Please listen."

Lacus sighed and continued, "Kira, it's not that I don't want to marry you. But I think you are taking this rashly. We're so young; I've only turned eighteen and you're still seventeen. And yes, maybe two months is really not that long if you think about it but…"

There was silence.

"We are only recovering, Kira," Lacus then continued. "And right now, we've no idea what we wish, what we want."

"Lacus, but I want –"

"You still think about Flay when you're idle, don't you?" Lacus asked, no sarcasm in her voice.

"Lacus –"

Lacus smiled sadly, "See? You still blame yourself for her death, don't you? And you feel guilty when you think about it."

"Well, yes, but…but…"

"I love you, Kira," Lacus held his hand. "I love you so, very much. It's just that we still need to know, to understand what it is we really wish to be, what it is we want to do with our lives."

"I love you too, Lacus, you know that, don't you?"

Lacus nodded, "And if in ten years – no, maybe even in five – if you still feel the same way towards me – if you still love me, that is – then yes, I will marry you. I will most definitely marry you and spend the rest of my life as your wife."

Kira smiled, almost crying, "Lacus, I…"

And then he hugged her tightly. "I already know what I want, Lacus. I want you and nobody else but I will wait for you until you're ready, until I've proven to you that I'm ready."

"I will wait for that day, Kira," Lacus smiled and hugged him back.

"But for now," Kira released her. "Can I put this ring into your finger? If you changed your mind in any way, it's still yours to keep."

"Of course, Kira."

Cagalli smiled to herself when she recalled Lacus' words to her brother. It made sense and it was so sweet too. If only her and Athrun's situation was the same…

She sighed, her head on her knees as she sat on the sand by the beach.

Yzak, Shiho, Dearkka and Milly already went home, the kids were asleep and they decided to not disturb the happy, albeit unengaged couple. It's already close to midnight, or at least it seemed so. The moon was at its peak, illuminating a beautiful reflection on the calm water. She then stood up and when she started towards the orphanage, that's when she felt that someone had been observing her.

"You can come out now, you know," she stopped walking when she heard him chuckle.

"I thought you were going to stay there forever," Athrun approached her, hands in his pants pockets.

Cagalli arched an eyebrow, "Is that so? And I suppose you planned on hiding in there forever, as you said?"

He smiled softly, "You know I'll always wait for you."

At that, Cagalli blushed and turned her head from him, refusing to meet his eyes, "Well then."

Athrun fingered the box that held his ring. He swallowed nervously then. Should he do it now? But what if Cagalli shot him down like Lacus did to Kira?

"I'm jealous," Cagalli suddenly said and when she saw Athrun gave her a strange look, her eyes widened. "Oh god, did I say that out loud?"

Athrun raised an amused eyebrow. "And may I ask why you are jealous?"

"Kira and Lacus…" She responded softly.

"Lacus rejected Kira," Athrun stated.

"Yes, but that's because they're still confused and too young," Cagalli told him. "All of us are confused. All of us are young. But not all of us are a couple that's composed of an eighteen year old politician and a convicted soldier from the opposing army."

"Oh," Athrun was taken aback. Truth be told, he had spent endless nights thinking about the same thing. All of them have gone through the same pain of fighting in a battle they didn't want to fight, the same pain of losing someone, the same pain of being betrayed but after all of that, the predicament that he and Cagalli were facing was much, much more complicated than Kira and Lacus'.

It was unfair.

Very unfair.

"Do you think that we'll be able to be like that, Athrun?" Cagalli's question snapped Athrun from his thoughts. "Be a normal couple for a change? Worrying only about being too young to be in a commitment and not worrying about what the world will take us for?"

Athrun didn't have an answer to that so he just held her close in his arms. He enveloped her in a tight hug and closed his eyes. "I don't know, Cagalli. I honestly don't know."

"If this continues…"

"I know," he soothed her. "I'm sorry for making you go through all this pain."

Cagalli blinked at him, effectively releasing herself from his grasp. She looked down for a while before cupping his cheek with her hand, "It's not your fault, Athrun. You didn't give me pain. If anything, you gave me the best years of my life."

Athrun smiled at her softly, grasping the hand on his cheek, "And you gave me mine."

For a while, there was silence, neither saying anything, content with only the presence of the other.

"I love you more than anything," Athrun's forehead touched Cagalli's lightly. "I always will."

Cagalli gave a chuckle, "I love you too, more than anyone I've ever loved before."

"I know."

Cagalli scowled and pushed him, but not hard enough that their foreheads were not connected. "Egotistical jerk."

Athrun laughed. And they stayed like that for a little while before Athrun intertwined his fingers with hers. "Say, if I were to propose…"

"Would I reject you?" Cagalli continued for him.

"Well, would you?"

"I'll think about it," Cagalli said.

"Cagalli!" Athrun complained.

"What?" Cagalli asked. "It's better than saying "No, I won't marry you.""

"Saying "I'll think about it" is not an answer!" Athrun said. "It's either yes or no."

"Well then sorry, but you're going to have to deal with that," Cagalli retorted. "And besides, like Lacus said, we are too young. So if you could get back to me on that question in let's say, ten years? Then maybe you could get a straight answer from me."

"Cagalli," Athrun's voice lowered to a terrifying scale.

"Yes?" Cagalli looked up innocently and tilted her head, infuriating Athrun further.

Athrun glared at her and the next thing Cagalli knew, she was hoisted up on his shoulder, spun around and thrown in the sand, landing on her butt.

"Hey!" Cagalli complained. "What was that for?"

"That, my dearest," Athrun leaned forward, taunting her. "Is called payback."

"Fine! Fine!" Cagalli relented. "I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry. But I mean it. I can't answer you even if you ask me seriously. Not only are we young, we've got so many problems to face…"

Athrun looked thoughtful for a moment and sighed, "Sorry I threw you on the sand. And I'm sorry for being hard and well, rash about proposing."

Athrun offered her his hand and she took it, "I'm sorry too…but not sorry enough to do this!"

And she yanked him on the sand with her.

"Hey!" Athrun exclaimed. "Why I ought to…"

Cagalli got up instantly and took a step backward at the glowering Athrun. "Cagalli, you are dead…" he growled.

"Catch me if you can," She stuck her tongue out at him and Athrun chased her all over the beach, once in a while splashing water on each other's faces.

At the end, they sat beside each other, looking up at the moonlight. Cagalli's head was resting on Athrun's shoulder while an arm wrapped around Cagalli's waist tightly, as if she's about to disappear into thin air any second.

"Um," Athrun broke the calming silence. "Um, if…hypothetically, I were to you know, um, propose, if we're not facing our problems and were just normal people – just Athrun and Cagalli. No wars, no political statuses, no deranged and insane fathers or any other family members, no scary and nightmarish pasts, no scars that may not heal…if there weren't any of those things, will you marry me?"

"Athrun," Cagalli looked at him and smiled softly. "I love you so much. If you were to ask me – no limitations, no walls, no anything to stand in our way – I don't even have to think about it. I will marry you. Right here. Right now."

Athrun couldn't suppress his grin and looked at their feet for a while before raising his head up to meet her eyes, his expression now serious, "I promise you, Cagalli, I will protect you. No matter who or what from – from the media, from the opposing army, from the old geezers who just want to piss you off real badly, even from Lacus if she needs a shopping partner."

This earned a snort of laughter from Cagalli.

" – I will never abandon or leave you. If I were to die protecting you, by your side, then so be it."

"Woah, hold it right there," Cagalli interrupted. "If you were to die? I don't think so. I remember it clearly, that day. I told you that I will never let you die. I'm holding onto that promise, Athrun, whether you like it or not."

Athrun gave out a chuckle, "I guess I have no choice in the matter, huh?"

"Nope," Cagalli shook her head playfully. "Definitely not."

"What am I going to do with you?" Athrun teased with Cagalli responding with a laugh.

Cagalli's head found its place on Athrun's shoulder and she snuggled closer towards him, a hand clutching his shirt and she said softly, "I don't need all those promises. I just need to know that your feelings towards me, no matter what kind they are, are sincere. That's all that matters to me. I just want to know that I won't be alone."

"You won't," Athrun tightened his hold on her. "I guarantee it…and as for my feelings, you've got nothing to worry about. I will never hurt you and I will never leave you alone."

Athrun smiled and looked at her in the eye before capturing her lips in his. It was soft and gentle, yet passionate on its own. It was, in its own way, innocent - a symbol of a lifelong promise.

Rather than a proposal of marriage, it's a proposal of a promise that they hope to be able to live through, to fulfill and to forever honor.

So this is the end of "The Proposal". I'm so sorry for the very long delay...Has it been months? Well, anyway, at least I've already uploaded this, at last. It's a relief for me too since you know, another story completed!

Oh, and the characters might be a little bit OOC. Please forgive me for that.

That aside, I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it too.