Epilogue

The bells kept ringing outside the church with the same repetitive tune. If they kept it up, she would use the garter under her gown Lacus had forced her to put on. She'd grab it off her thigh and throw it as a boomerang to hit the bell-ringer so he'd stop that bloody racket. Cagalli never understood why they had to go ring those gargantuar bells on wedding days, it just made her ears ring painfully which she really didn't appreciate.

And then she cursed under her breath and was glad the veil she was wearing would not show that she was a bit miffed at the thousands Athrun, Lacus and Kira had invited. She knew that they had many friends and well-wishers, but surely inviting the whole ASUCAGA fan club was going too far? She didn't even know half-of them!

She knew Yzak Joule was somewhere in the middle row of the huge church, because she heard him yelp from that area when Shiho pinched his leg to make him wake up after he had dozed off while the sermon went on and on. She wished it would end soon too so she could get out of the church where thousands of eyes were on Athrun and her. She was used to being in the public's eye, he was too, just that she wasn't used to having so many watching her in something so unfamiliar to her. Well, she'd only have it once in her life, she might as well grit her teeth and go through the whole thing. They all said she was very beautiful, and she just scowled because she didn't really care.

Kira was smirking, she was positively certain of that. Almost everyone heard Yzak yelp in shock and pain, and she had to stop herself from looking over to see the little scene that was ongoing in the pews.

She tried hard not to peek at him from under her veil, strapping and handsome in his suit that was actually taken from the white ZAFT commander uniform design. There were millions outside the church cheering and throwing confetti, and she felt a little embarrassed as she realised that he was looking slyly at her too, not quite listening to what the pastor was saying. He mouthed something at her her, but she couldn't see, so she shrugged and he just grinned.

Athrun was peeking at her and thinking how beautiful she looked as a bride, not in the white dress she had worn when she had almost been forced to marry Yuna, but a cobalt-green, but almost white dress with red flowers in her hair, a veil thrown over her face. The veil was semi-transparent, so he could see how lovely she was, even though brides in general were considered to be the prettiest they had ever been in their lives.

Cagalli could sense her twin and Lacus smiling behind her, and then she heard Athrun say clearly, effectively interrupting the pastor who was droning on and on, "Sorry to interrupt, but could you just pronounce us husband and wife now?"

The church was exploding into warm laughter and the pastor chuckled and said, "Well, if it makes you happy, Chairman Zala. I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may thus kiss the bride."

She threw up her veil, flustered and quite forgetting he was supposed to do it and not her, but that wasn't the point, and she cried embarassedly, "Nobody gets through wedding like that!"

But he laughed and said, "I'm not nobody, I'm your husband now," and was already kissing her fiercely and the whole congregation was up on their feet and applauding insanely and there were whoops of approval multifold.. She could see Kira from the corner of her eye, and he was making catcalls while Lacus put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. A few important people turned around to look in surprise at her unpredictable actions, but Lacus merely laughed and threw confetti into the air.

Then he carried her up and out of the chapel where Kira and Lacus also ran and hopped into the car to send them off as the maid-of-honour and the best man. Lacus was wearing pink as per usual but the slight swell of Lacus' stomach could be seen only very very slightly if she hunched her back a lot. She was like a fairy-child, slim and very petite, so her pregnancy didn't show, in fact, it was barely visible.

Kira was going to be a proud father soon, and she looked at her brother in a black suit, and thought that he'd make a fine one.But Cagalli would have to make sure that he didn't spoil his children too much, Kira was so giving and generous that she was sure his children would be little devils with angel faces.

And as they moved swiftly out of the chapel to avoid the huge crowds of people cheering and throwing more confetti everywhere, Cagalli remembered something and looked down at the flowers she held in her hands. Through the noise and the roar of everyone around them,she felt Athrun take her by the waist and whisper into her ear, "Are you going to throw that for someone to catch?"

She looked at him with sparkling eyes and he had to swallow a bit as she suddenly laughed, a bright, lovely sound, and then she undid the ribbon in a swift motion and tossed all the flowers into the air where more than one person would catch hold of a stalk.

As they moved into the car and he helped her in so her train wouldn't get caught, she looked at Athrun and asked abruptly, "Did you pack your things last night?"

He glanced back at her as they sat in the backseat and answered cheerfully, "I did, I brought enough warm clothes to open a winter-wear shop in Berlin."

Cagalli laughed as Kira steered the wheel and Lacus was busy pointing out some roadblock at the side, then she said quietly, "Did you know Lacus is expecting?"

He looked at her in astonishment and said softly too so nobody would hear, "I didn't know until you told me, Girl or boy?"

Laughing at his stunned face, she mouthed, "Boy," then she squeezed his hand in excitement. He grinned at her and mouthed back, "Kira's going to have a son."

Then Kira turned to them and said loudly, "I know what you were talking about. Just to let you know, we thought we'd let you name the boy, since Lacus and I don't have anything in particular that we both like.Oh, and don't name it after some dessert like what you named the dog, I think it'd be a shock for the media."

Athrun looked steadily at her and turned to the front, then he said firmly, "Leon."

"After your mother?" Cagalli guessed, and he slipped an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer and nodded, and she hugged him and rested her head on his shoulder while he smiled and closed his eyes. The cheers and applause as they travelled echoed around and they both could hear it even through the bullet-proof windows. And suddenly, Cagalli remembered the way Yuna had forced her to smile and wave like a performing moneky, but then she looked up at Athrun and smiled only at him and for him.

"I like it," Kira said absently while he tried to manoeuver the car through the crowds,and Lacus nodded and said sweetly, "They are good at naming aren't they? I'm glad we let them choose."

"But why didn't you name the boy yourself?" Cagalli asked, puzzled. Surely they could find something they both liked?

"Oh, that," Kira answered mildly, "We thought we'd let you name our child and then we could name your children in exchange."

Eyes widening in shock, Cagalli turned to Athrun who was looking terribly calm, and then she cried anxiously, "Kids? But I don't think.."

And he cut her off and said smoothly to Kira, not quite in jest, "Get ready about six names then."

And eight years later, Kira tugged slightly at the collar of the white ZAFT commander uniform he had gotten used to and looked over at Lacus who had come to his office with Leon. But she had been held up, since all the ZAFTies, soldiers and mechanics had wanted to meet Leon and play with the adorable, loving child with messy brown hair and large blue eyes.

Then she was excitedly running over and the child was running with her too, quite excitable his son was, really like Lacus. The boy was like her too, sweet natured and very beautiful,but oh, he couldn't sing for nuts. But that was alright, he liked to hear his mother singing and he would play with Tori and make Tori sing with his mother. The haros had become an orchestra because of his son, and Kira had to keep Leon out of his office almost the whole day.

"Athrun's on the line!" she called loudly, and he hurried over.

"Alright," he said obligingly as he took the phone and imagined Athrun Zala in a similar uniform to what he had once worn, only now they had switched roles, grinning as he heard the familiar, sonorous voice say, "It' me."

"How is Cagalli? Oh, and the twins too?" Kira inquired, looking at the beaming Lacus bouncing the brown-haired boy with her beautiful blue eyes on her knee.The boy was yelping happily to his amusement, and then Leon quietened down and asked to see something. Nobody could refuse Leon, really, so Kira absently passed it to Lacus to give to Leon.

"Fine, fine," the reply was, quite amused sounding, "But Cagalli had to yell at them for leaving their things everywhere, and they apologised and picked flowers for her, they're good boys they are but the mischief they get up to is insanity. She put those flowers in the house where she works sometimes and she's been sneezing non-stop since then."

And as they spoke, Lacus allowed Leon to take the framed photograph Kira had on his desk and she beamed proudly as he pointed with a small finger and accurately named each and everyone in the photograph. And the boy knew everyone in the photograph was smiling and would be happy for a very long time to come.

There were Leon's parents, and then his twin cousins, and of course, Athrun and Cagalli.

The End.

Sequel to Truth: Truth Be Told