Title: Crossfire

Author: Jusrecht

See Disclaimer and Warnings in chapter one.

A/N: This chapter's theme is let's GLORIFY Athrun, so consider yourself warned. I have told you that I love him, right? Anyway, thanks for everyone who has reviewed chapter fifteen. I'm afraid no one gets the cookies, but soulcollector had a close guess. It's a previous member of the Archangel. So without further ado, let me present you, Ssigh Argyle.

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Chapter Sixteen: Ssigh – Caught in The Storm

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Ssigh ran through mid-October drizzle, careful to keep his feet from slipping on the cobblestone path leading to the hotel's entrance. It was more like an inn than a hotel, he reflected as he noticed a small wooden plank showered by a dim yellow light from a lantern-like lamp overhead. The front door produced a creaking sound when he pushed it open, but any concern about it was quickly forgotten as he stepped into the hotel, the warm atmosphere a stark contrast to the heavy torrent and ruthless wind outside.

A bored-looking girl with long brown hair tied in a high ponytail was sitting behind the front desk, her chin propped by a hand as the other doodled something on a piece of paper. She looked up when he approached and stood up, smiling brightly.

"Welcome, Sir. You need a room for the night? It's a nasty rain out there."

Ssigh took off his eyeglasses, wiping them with the front of his shirt, and nodded. "Yes. Two rooms if it's possible, for me and my friend."

Her smile dimmed a little. "Uh, sorry, Sir, but we only have two single rooms and they're all currently out. But what about the twin rooms? They're still available if you want."

"Alright, we'll take that," he said quickly. Anything was better than spending a raining night in his car.

She quickly recovered her smile. "Okay then. And your name, Sir?"

"Ssigh Argyle."

She wrote it down quickly in a big, thick-covered book and fished out a key numbered 09 from her drawer. "I can show you the way to your room now, Sir. And your friend?"

"I'll fetch him," he told her.

Reluctant but aware that he should hurry, Ssigh walked back outside and let his serge jacket once again be a prey to the violent downpour. His rented car was parked in a small piece of vacant land next to the hotel's building along with two other vehicles. Must be avoiding the storm, Ssigh thought as he crossed the muddy ground, just like they were. The fog was thin now, but from past experiences, he knew it was bound to change soon.

He knocked on his car's window to notify Athrun who was sitting in the passenger seat. The blue-haired man was wearing his grey sweater since the white T-shirt he had been wearing was wet and splashed with mud. He looked up at Ssigh's coming and opened the car's door.

"We get a room," Ssigh told him. "A twin room actually. I hope it's okay with you."

"It's fine, thanks," Athrun replied quietly and got out of the shelter of the car. "And please call me Alex for now, Ssigh."

"Okay," he nodded uncomfortably, "Alex."

Athrun shot him a grateful smile and put the hood a little tighter around his head, which Ssigh realized had very little to do with the pouring rain. The Chairman of PLANT had been in a deeply anxious state since their accidental second meeting after the first war where they had been fighting together for a brief period of time. He had kept his face down during the entire journey here, only glancing at Ssigh when he was replying to his questions. He didn't want to be recognized, Ssigh had finally arrived at this conclusion after they had arrived in this village and quickly insisted that Athrun should stay in the car while he was inquiring about their rooms for the night.

He had seen the other man often in the newspaper or on television, even more so in the last two weeks when the news of an accident involving him had taken the headlines everywhere. Ssigh remembered wondering about Kira and even considering a call, but then realized that he didn't know his old friend's number. He and Athrun seemed like such good friends and every time they had gone out there in their mobile suits, it had never failed to awe Ssigh.

But in the end of the war, they had gone their separate ways. He had heard of the Archangel's reemergence during the second war and a part of him had wanted to go back, to fight for what he believed again, but he had a future ahead of him – bright, a lot less dangerous – and Ssigh had made his choice. Still, he had been relieved when he heard that Archangel had once more proved that miracles did exist and survived.

Everything was settled. The world started to recover and atone for its past mistakes. He had gotten a job at the International Bank in Bern and earned a promotion to a managerial position a year ago. He continued working hard, sometimes too hard, even during the holidays that his supervisor plainly ordered him to take a few days off. You're gonna have my position in six months, she had said firmly, so don't work your ass off or I'll be forced to reconsider.

He had agreed with a little smile. Ssigh had always loved traveling and his mind soon already brewed a plan. He liked visiting places he had never gone to, only accompanied by his own car and a stack of CDs from his collection at home. His mother called it an adventurous-streak-that-will-kill-my-son-someday and fretted a little when he had told her about his going out into the wild, but finally relented once he promised her that he would come home for Christmas.

Never once Ssigh imagined that he would run into Athrun in his little adventure. Transylvania was a quiet corner of the world and he had been cruising through its most remote parts when his car almost had almost done the unforgivable by injuring the Chairman of PLANT. When it had turned out to be no more than a sprained arm, Ssigh couldn't say enough how relieved he was. The appendage in question seemed to be better now, although he couldn't say for sure since his passenger had stayed relatively quiet during the journey.

They crossed the rain again after Ssigh took his big rucksack from the backseat. The girl was still waiting at the front desk, her eyes brightening and her smile widening when she saw Athrun. Ssigh wanted to raise eyebrows at this but decided not to. Right now, the blue-haired Coordinator needed support and not teasing.

Their room was the second one at the top of the staircase, a small but cozy space with two beds, a desk and a chair, a wardrobe big enough to fit a person inside it and a window that overlooked to the road. He was pleased to find that the room was quite clean, unlike some of the inns he had been forced to spend his previous nights in. The girl was explaining their extra services excitedly – including breakfast but not dinner unfortunately – and was visibly pouring all her attention to his traveling companion. Ssigh hid a little smile and walked over to the window.

Raindrops were still fiercely beating everything outside, making the world look like it was seen from behind a broken glass. At least the windowpane wasn't really broken, he consoled himself, although it was obvious that their journey tomorrow would be slower and more difficult. Sludge and mud had never been a good friend to a traveler, but he was reasonably prepared for them.

Before that though, they needed a plan. He only hoped that Athrun had come up with one.

Ssigh was relieved when the girl closed the door with a warm wish of goodnight and finally left them alone, a sentiment that was evidently shared by his roommate. Athrun looked tired and his long hair was still damp and sprinkled with dried mud when he loosened the tie. Still, Ssigh found himself staring. The chairman was truly a picture to behold, one that a master painter would desire to express with his brush, and while he had already been very good-looking when he was sixteen, Ssigh didn't remember him being affected as much as this. It was like seeing the Coordinator with a different pair of glasses, better, newer, because he must have been near blind six years ago. Or it could be the light, the not-too-bright but soft golden light enveloping the room that lessened the ghostly paleness of Athrun's skin and added a little touch of ethereality.

Disturbingly attractive.

It was then when Ssigh decided that his thoughts had strayed far enough. Doing all he could to hold off the blush which was threatening to take over his face, he put down his bag on the floor next to the chair with as much noise as possible and cleared his throat, drawing the other man's attention.

"I'll go buy some dinner for us," he said, feeling awkward when those emerald eyes settled on his. He really had to get out of this room. Maybe a little rain would do him good.

"It's raining cats-and-dogs out there," his companion told him, a disapproving note in his voice.

"We still have to eat," he responded with a shrug that hopefully looked nonchalant enough. "I'll borrow an umbrella downstairs. You should go wash yourself off those mud and stuff. And take care of that arm of yours."

For a moment Athrun only looked at him, his expression unreadable, and what followed five seconds later was a quiet whisper. "Thank you."

He nodded quickly and made the getaway, only to turn around at the threshold because something was bugging him about it, and declare, "Listen, you don't have to act so formal around me. It isn't like we don't know each other. Maybe we didn't talk much back then, but you're a good friend of Kira and I do consider you a friend. So don't feel indebted or anything, okay? I'm just trying to help and–" He paused and the realization that he was speaking with the Chairman of PLANT dawned on him along with horror with the approximate weight of a meteor.

He grimaced. "I'm not allowed to speak that way to you, am I?"

"Ssigh," Athrun looked amused but there was something else in his eyes that spoke of much more solemn gravity, "you're the one who helps me out. Obviously I'm in no position to tell you in what way you can speak to me."

A good point, but Ssigh refused to get his hopes up too high while there was still an unopened card on the table. "So we're friends?" he tried tentatively.

"If you will have me as your friend." Athrun's smile was soft and Ssigh knew that he had to get out of the room fast.

"Okay, so that's a deal," he said, too hurried to his liking but honestly he seemed to have misplaced his ability to care at the moment. "Now I'll go buy our food."

He was practically running down the stairs during his attempt of escape, though from what he wasn't exactly sure. It would be ridiculous to say that he was running from Athrun, even if he was talking about the eminent Chairman of PLANT who could easily order a group of mobile suits to raze a small country on Earth. That wasn't it at all, but then again, Ssigh didn't think he needed to know right now.

The pony-tailed girl was still sitting behind the front desk when he appeared from the stairs. Before she could open her mouth, he had asked, "I'm sorry, Miss, but do you know where I can buy dinner around here?"

"The store has closed up for the day but there is a diner just across the street," she answered, pointing at the general direction of the street. "It's still open until eleven and the food is really good. I can take the order and run over there if you want, Sir."

"No, thank you, I think I'll go myself but if you have an umbrella it will be a big help," he said quickly. Call him conservative, but Ssigh would never, ever ask a girl to cross so ferocious a storm when he still could do it himself. "And can I have some ice delivered to my room?" he added a moment later. "My friend sprained his arm earlier."

She smiled sweetly, handing him the requested umbrella. "Certainly, Sir."

"Thanks a lot," he nodded at her and prepared to go outside. The umbrella was dark green, the kind of green which Ssigh would throw to the back of his closet and not bother to look at again for the next five years or so, but at least it was quite big. The rain had intensified but he was able to squeeze himself under the umbrella without too much difficulty.

Visibility was another matter entirely. The whole road was rather dark and the downpour obviously didn't help as it spattered raindrops of various sizes onto his glasses on a regular basis. The first building he noticed was dark and no matter how hard he squinted, Ssigh couldn't make out what was written on the plank above. He trudged along and arrived in front of the second. This one had its light still on and he saw that on the door was hung an 'open' sign. Counting on his luck – what the worst it could be anyway – he pushed the door open and went in.

Inside, a man was standing behind the bar and another was sitting on a stool, reading a newspaper. Both men looked up at his entrance and the first nodded toward his umbrella.

"Just leave it there. You're ordering anything?"

"Yes, please," he quickly answered, running his gaze over to the small blackboard sitting on the long table with a few selections of dishes written on it. "Can I have two take-out orders of cheeseburger and fries? And two cups of hot coffee too."

"Coming right up," the man nodded and disappeared to the back room, which Ssigh assumed was the kitchen. He looked around, taking in the homely interior, and decided to take a seat two stools away from the only other customer of the diner. It was a man in his mid fifties with brown hair stippled with grey, probably another traveler whose journey had been delayed by the rainstorm. He glanced up from his reading material as Ssigh sat himself down and smiled a little.

"Getting away from the rain too?"

"Yes, it's pretty nasty out there," Ssigh answered after a moment of hesitance. The other man nodded and folded his newspaper, returning to the front page.

"Yeah. I only hope it'll let up a bit in the morning. Nice choice, by the way."

He blinked. "I'm sorry?"

His companion waved toward the kitchen door. "The cheeseburger. It's excellent, I've just had one myself. You won't regret it."

Ssigh gave him a polite smile and turned his attention to the small TV at the corner of the room. This day had been very tiring for him and he wasn't exactly looking for a conversation with a total stranger. Besides, the TV was broadcasting late night news. He tried to listen as the reporter announced that investigation was continued on the Cygnusia case. The process to identify the bodies was currently underway and there were people who had claimed that a family member might be among the victims. Ssigh suppressed a shiver. He couldn't imagine how it felt to find out that a person close to you had died in a way so horrible.

That reminded him, he should call his parents as soon as his cell phone could work again, at least to tell them that he was well even if soaked to the bone. If not, he could ask the girl if there was a payphone in the hotel.

The next topic was about PLANT and the repetitive news that their chairman had not been found. Ssigh had to resist a smile at this one. He wondered idly how much the media would pay to know what he knew right now. Five or six digit numbers was a big possibility if he were any judge to the insatiable nature of the press. And speaking of the media, he had to buy a newspaper. Maybe tomorrow when the grocery store had opened. Athrun would want to know what was going on.

The man next to him heaved a deep sigh and Ssigh felt his gaze involuntarily drifted to the source of the sound.

"So he wasn't found yet," his companion muttered, sounding very much unhappy, his eyes never leaving the television.

Well, he's here, was what Ssigh wanted to say, but he settled for a noncommittal hum. His interest, however, was tickled by the remark and he continued to stare at the man, expecting him to say more.

"It's too bad if he really died in that accident," he said again, still with the same dejected tone. "There's a good man if I ever saw one."

"Have you ever met him, Sir?" Ssigh finally asked.

"Not face-to-face, no, but I've been there at PLANT a couple of times," his companion answered ruefully. "I owe him big time."

Ssigh waited and was not disappointed when the older man looked at him again and plunged into a deep, contemplative narrative. "My second son is a soldier. There was this terrorist outbreak in South America about a year ago and he got sent there with his platoon in a joint operation with PLANT. There was an ambush and some of them were captured, including my son. Do you know what Zala did? He got down there and did the negotiation himself. I ain't exaggerating if I said that he saved my son's life through sheer charisma."

Ssigh put a hand under his chin, vague recollections about the incident popping up in his head. "Yes, I think I remember that on the news," he said slowly. "He must be very good at it."

"Obviously, and now my son is still alive because of him. I can't thank him enough," the man murmured, shaking his head. "He cares, you see. He cares about people, Natural or Coordinator doesn't matter. You just get that impression out of him. Sadly, there aren't many leaders like him out there."

Ssigh didn't say anything and only stared at the half-filled cup in front of the man. He knew why Athrun would do it. The chairman had been once in the position of a soldier and he knew how they felt. As a matter of fact, many leaders and great politicians did have that knowledge. The only difference was some were willing to do something about it while the rest were not, content to pretend that it didn't exist. And sadly, like his companion said, not many belonged to the first group.

But Athrun had always been like that, he reflected, even when he was only a boy of sixteen, on board of Archangel. In this case, he was no different from Kira. They had a habit to take loads of responsibilities, more than they could actually handle, which sometimes frustrated people around them who couldn't really say anything because the only options were that or die. But the amazing thing was, they always managed to do it in the end, although the condition they ended up in was usually far from good.

And apparently the habit didn't disappear with age.

"Maybe that's why he was targeted," Ssigh mumbled, only half-aware that he had actually said it out loud.

"I dare say you're right," the other man was nodding his head vigorously. "People like him surely have many enemies in this kind of world we're living in. But you know, he was one of those who stopped two world wars and it's hard to think that there are people who still don't like him."

Actually Ssigh was able to mention a few of them but their conversation was interrupted by the return of the owner. Two paper bags were set on the table in front of him and he stood up to pay, a bad feeling trapping him out of nowhere. Suddenly leaving Athrun alone in their hotel room didn't seem to be a good idea. He said goodbye to his new acquaintance in a hurry and rushed out, almost forgetting his umbrella in process. To find his way back to the hotel was not difficult, but keeping the paper bags secure from the lashing rain with one hand proved to be quite a challenge.

The pony-tailed girl was not there when he and his dinner had arrived at the hotel undamaged, the only obvious victim his sneakers which had forfeited their beige colour for something much grimmer. A shame, but he had other priorities right now. He left the umbrella near the entrance and sped up the stairs. You are being ridiculous, a dry voice told him and Ssigh had to admit that it was right. No one knew that Athrun was here and it wasn't as if there was a reporter in town or something.

A reporter?

The idea struck him so suddenly that he almost tripped himself over the last step. All previous worry already forgotten, he barged into their room and said, "Alex, listen, I think–" he paused, taking in the sight in front of him, and asked, uncertain, "What are you doing?"

The blue-haired man, already showered but still wearing the grey sweater, was sitting in the middle of the bed farther from the door, newspaper pages spread out all around him as he bent over one of them. He looked up at Ssigh's arrival, a troubled look on his face. "I'm checking the news in case there is something I miss," he explained, frustration clear in his voice. "Am I reading right about this Cygnusia colony?"

"Yes, it's been on the news for days," Ssigh answered carefully and closed the door to give them some privacy. "You didn't know about it?"

"No," Athrun closed his eyes and leant back to the wall behind him, raw pain flickering across his face. Ssigh restrained himself from saying anything as the news he had just heard yesterday from his radio echoed in his head. 417 victims in total had been found, more than half of them dying due to the running out of oxygen. Truly appalling, the announcer had said in a deeply emotional tone and Ssigh couldn't agree more.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Athrun suddenly asked, sounding as tired and withdrawn as he looked.

"Oh, right." Ssigh was quickly reminded to his idea earlier. "About what you said in the car, I think we can get Millie to help us."

"Millie? Miriallia Haww?"

"Yes," he nodded, putting their food on the table near a basin of melting ice, and took off his jacket. He pulled the chair and sat with its back facing his chest. "I'm still in touch with her. She's a freelance journalist, so she has a lot of connections. You said you had to go back to ORB?"

"It's easier to go back to ORB than PLANT," Athrun said, another frown already appearing on his face. "But I don't want to involve her. You see what happened to the shuttle. If she helps me, I'll be putting her life at risk."

"You already involved me," Ssigh pointed out.

The chairman bowed his head, looking miserable as drops of water from his hair fell to his clenched hands. "Yes, and I'm sor–"

"That's not what I mean," he hastily said, seeing the guilt, hearing the distress and immediately sharing them. "Look, I'll just tell Millie. She gets to decide if she wants to help you or not."

"But–"

"Please," Ssigh interrupted. "You are Kira's friend and you said yourself not half-an-hour ago that we're also friends. I just want to help."

For a long moment, Athrun looked like he was about to bring up another reason why he should be avoided at all cost. Ssigh waited, ready to counter whatever argument coming his way, but was immensely relieved when the other man backed down.

"You already do," Athrun said softly, his smile sincere but thin, "and I really thank you for that."

Suddenly Ssigh was ambushed by an intense surge of frustration and before he could identify where it came from, he had already launched a barrage of words. "Okay, you know what? I met this man at the diner and he told me about you saving his son in an incident in South America. You have to see this look in his face when he talked about how you saved his son and how he wished you weren't dead. He said you're a great leader and that's why you have to go back to PLANT, Athrun. My opinion may not mean much but I think that you still have some unfinished jobs. Not that I mean anything by that but maybe, you know, maybe there are things in this world only a handful of people can do and you are one of them."

Athrun remained silent throughout his rant, on his face a stunned look that told Ssigh he had done the right thing, and so he went on, "Look, I'm not trying to lecture you or anything. In fact, maybe I'm the last person who has the right to talk to you like this because I really don't know what you're facing everyday as the chairman. What I know is that you matter, you're important to a lot of people and please don't forget that. You have done something right and I think that's why the shuttle accident happened."

He had overstepped the line somewhere, Ssigh realized with a sinking feeling, ready to accept whatever expression of wrath Athrun would see fit to give him. It was why he was caught utterly unprepared when a smile appeared on the other man's face.

"I did something right and someone wanted to blow me up?" Athrun asked, true amusement slipping into his voice.

"You know what I mean," he said with a huff.

Athrun's smile was, for once, peaceful. "Yes, I think I do. Thank you, Ssigh."

Feeling rather embarrassed and uncomfortable, Ssigh dismissed it with a wave of his hand. It wasn't as if he really knew what he was doing. He just wanted to help and cheering up the other man seemed to fall into that category at the moment.

"I'll call her then," he said, rising from the chair. "I think there's a payphone in this hotel. You can eat first if you want to."

The other shook his head. "No, I'll wait for you. Before that, Ssigh, do you have scissors?"

"Yes," he reached for his rucksack and started to rummage around. "What for?"

"I want to cut my hair."

Ssigh immediately stopped his search and stared at the blue-haired man incredulously. "You aren't serious, are you?"

"My face is too knowledgeable," Athrun said with a shrug as he pulled at the dark blue locks. "But people are used to see me with my hair this long, so if I cut it, maybe I won't be so easily recognized."

Looking down at his bag, Ssigh hid a little smile. "I doubt that."

Athrun suddenly looked serious. "What do you mean? I know it probably won't make a lot of difference but, you know, better than nothing."

"I think you have to hide your face entirely if you want to avoid recognition," he told the other man. "You're good-looking, Athrun. Eyes just gravitate to your direction and it's enough to attract attention."

Did I just say that?

The realization was followed with a deep, mortified flush as Ssigh violently berated himself for not thinking first before sputtering nonsense. He quickly stammered an apology at the astonished look on Athrun's face, "I'm sorry, it's– I'm only joking, you see– of course I won't–"

And this was only his first day.

End Chapter Sixteen

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Notes: Yess, Ssigh/Athrun! No, it wasn't intentional. It just appeared out of nowhere, but don't worry because I have decided a pairing for dear Ssigh. He is one of my favourite characters but the sad thing is I rarely see him written in any fic. Why is that, I wonder.

The phrase 'disturbingly attractive' is taken directly and unashamedly from Suikoden V. Konami makes the best games. Seriously. Suikoden series, WE, MGS...

Thanks for reading and please review!