Part 2

Previously-

"Do you want to see Cagalli?"

Athrun's head snapped up and he met Meyrin's eyes. She smiled gently and then looked down at her food.

"I don't mind, go see her Athrun."

"I…Meyrin…"

"I understand."

Reluctantly, Athrun grinned.

"What do you understand?"

"You still love her, don't you Athrun?"

Her question caught him by surprise and he gaped at her.

"I…I don't know, Meyrin. I don't know."


The way Athrun Zala was driving would have made the traffic police raise their eyebrows and throw a couple of fine tickets at him, that is, if they could even catch him. It was highly uncharacteristic for him to be driving so recklessly, but he was disturbed by the flatness of Cagalli's voice over the phone.

"I said I'm fine" She had insisted when he tried to probe into her troubles, but Cagalli was never good at hiding her feelings, especially from him.

But I have to admit; she's gotten a whole lot better at disguising her emotions nowadays. He mused thoughtfully to himself. She remembered how transparent she used to be in the past, and how easily she flared up when she got irritated. She was like the sun – fiery, warm and full of life.

Why is she hiding? He thought desperately, Where was that girl I once knew?

He stopped at the gates of the palace, a guard asked him who he was and business he had.

"Good Evening. This is Mr. Athrun Zala, I'm here to see the Princess." He dug into his pockets and showed the guard a pass.

"Have you made any prior appointment, Mr. Zala?"

"No."

"Just a moment please." There was a short pause, and the guard mumbled a while on the walkie-talkie. A minute later, the gates were opened and Athrun drove in.

Meanwhile, Cagalli Yula Attha was pacing around her room like a nervous chicken. She had jumped when the phone rung, and she steadied her voice before answering.

"Your Highness, a Mr. Athrun Zala has come to see you. Should I let him in?" Her breath stilled in that moment, and she hesitated. Then, squaring her shoulders, she agreed. After she had hung up, she had rushed to the toilet, washed her face, and tried to reduce the size of the puffiness around her red-rimmed eyes. She could have laughed at herself had she not been so nervous. It was Athrun, for Pete's sake, Athrun, the one who had held her hand, kissed her, hugged her, and probably seen her cry about a hundred times before. Why was she feeling nervous? Why were there millions of overly energetic butterflies in her stomach fluttering around?

There was a sharp rap at the door. "Mr. Athrun Zala."

She breathed deeply and tried to tell her that such excitement was ridiculous. She said it to herself so convincingly that it would have worked – if it had been anyone but Athrun.

"Come in." Her voice wavered a bit, but she at least she managed to get them out despite her heart feeling like it was going to burst. The door opened and he walked in, tall and handsome as she had remembered him to be. He smiled at her, and suddenly she felt like smiling too. He shut the door softly and walked towards her.

"Hello Cagalli." He said gently.

"Hey…" Cagalli replied stumblingly, "So. Erm. To what do I owe the honour of your visit?"

"I just wanted to see how you were, and I… suppose I wanted to talk to you."

"Erm. Okay."

They stood there in awkward silence, staring at each other. There was a queer tension in the background, hanging over them tangibly as they tried to put into words what they had been feeling for the past few months. Finally, Athrun started-

"Cagalli, is something wrong? You haven't really been yourself since… well… since the war."

Cagalli stiffened visibly, then she shook her head.

"Nothing's wrong. I've just been… busy with ORB and all that, and, well you know how it is, there's too much to do and so little time and, everything seems to be different nowadays – I guess what I'm trying to say is, I really miss you."

Cagalli gaped in horror when she realized what she had just said. They had just slipped out of her mouth once they popped into her head. Furiously blushing, she glared at Athrun, who was smiling amusedly to himself.

"What's so funny?" She snapped, annoyed with herself rather than at him.

"N…Nothing." Athrun said, looking as though he was trying to contain his laughter.

"Th-Then why are you smiling that way!"

"Because, Cagalli, I feel the same way."

It would have been a perfectly romantic moment, if not for the fact that at that very second, Cagalli stepped back and tripped on something that had been lurking underneath the carpet. She cursed as she stumbled, her shoe had caught on the edge of the carpet – and revealed something rather sinister underneath.

It was a blinking black device, and as Athrun stepped toward it, his face paled when he confirmed his suspicion.

"Cagalli. You're going to have to leave."

"What?"

"Cagalli. There's a bomb attached to your floor. And it's going to blow in 5 minutes."

Note:

This is my first time writing fanfic so heartheartheart to all who reviewed. Haha. I feel so loved. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try to keep them in mind, and hopefully this story turns out alright (Y). -Nacei