Cagalli is twenty and she's just run away from home for what seems like the millionth time in her life, but it's the first time she's done anything like since she was appointed head representative. And you know what? It feels good.
She's already promised herself a million times that she'll be back in her office first thing tomorrow mourning signing papers and assuring everybody that she wasn't kidnapped by some idiot terrorist. That mourning, she called in sick, but she knows that's not going to change a thing. Her ministers know her too well. The Orb representative would make it to work with a lethal fever or worse rather than take a day off.
Except for today.
Today Cagalli had woken up and for some reason or another had just said: "fuck it." She needed an escape and today was the day she took it. She didn't do anything-extraordinary really, just put on pair of shades and went to see a movie. After that she went back to bed and caught up on what seemed like a hundred or so hours of lost sleep. And then she put on a fancy headscarf and some fake glasses and decided to check out a local bar.
And that's where she is now. She's been drinking sake for the past hour or so and she's so close to the bottle that she'd drink right out of it if it weren't for the cute guy serving her. She kind of wishes they had champagne though, because being raised rich, it's her favorite drink in the world.
"You're drinking a lot," says the sudden and mocking voice of some guy. He's a new guy, tan and blond and obviously a player. If this was a normal occasion, Cagalli would just botch-slap the guy and be on her way, but tonight she doesn't have the energy. Besides, in her half-drunk state, the idea of a steamy one-night stand is starting to sound like fun…
"What do you care?" she asks the newcomer with a sly smile; she's not going to give it too him that easily.
"I just happened to notice, that's all," replies the stranger. The blonde girl rolls her carefully hidden eyes; he's an arrogant one, he is. "I find that women are more fun to be with once they've had a glass or two."
"What? You're not even going to try to hide your true intentions from me?" demands Cagalli, trying to sound flirty but in the end it comes out as just plain shock.
"There's no need," replies the young man, "you seem pretty willing."
"Am I really that desperate?" she mumbles, more to herself than the guy next to her. He doesn't seem to care though.
"Who knows?" he muses the way Miriallia's always told Cagalli player's muse, "Maybe you're just looking for an escape."
Damn. He's hit her straight where it hurt and now there's no going back; she's going to be joining him in bed tonight.
--
"Huh-huh" Cagalli's panting madly. There's in the middle of the act, she and her blonde and tan stranger that is, and he's no doubt figured out who she is by now. Even so, he hasn't mentioned it and the blonde girl's betting that he'll only bring it up when he's safely drinking beers with his buddies and swapping conquest stories.
She doesn't care though, as long he doesn't tell the media, she's ok with him knowing.
"Huh-huh" she's pants some more, harder this time. He's on top of her and doing as he pleases; it feels so liberating not to have to worry about anything for once, just to go with the flow without worrying about the consequences.
Well, there is one thing that's bugging Cagalli. It's not at the front of her mind right now, but she's worrying about it all right. She's doing it with a guy she knows nothing about and yes, it's liberating, but what if this becomes a habit? She can't allow that to happen -what would people think of their Head Representative if she spent her nights sleeping around?
"That's not going to happen," she whispers by accident. Her partner for the night doesn't notice, or if he does, he's too busy to ask. She's fine with that, in fact, Cagalli quite likes the idea of it. It's been a while since she's been able to say something without being interrogated about it.
"Huh-huh-huh!" their act is coming to its end and the blonde girl shining eyes roll back in her head. This is amazing! Wonderful! Magical!
And it's not going to happen again for a very long time.
--
When Cagalli wakes up the next morning, it's still dark outside. Her watch, the one her father gave her that she never takes off, reads 5:15 a.m. She really should get going. Slowly, she forces herself up and away from the warm bed sheets, only to be brought back down by her throbbing head.
Shit.
She drank too much sake last night, way too much. Looks like it's going to be another hellish day at work today. Crashing back down onto the mattress, Cagalli takes a look at her partner. He's sleeping blissfully, completely unaware of her struggles. For the first time since she came here, the blonde girl realizes that they're in his apartment and she has no clue where exactly that is.
She groans. She needs to get up, to at least look out the window. Maybe if she can find a street name she can call Kira and tell him to track her down with his special spidey-senses that find her wherever she goes.
"Mi-Milly…"mumbles her companion, surprising her. Milly? As in Miriallia Haww? No way…
Cagalli takes a closer look at the guy. Now that she's not so drunk, only hung over, his blonde hair and tan skin do seem somewhat familiar and she's pretty sure she's seen him before. If only she could figure out who he is.
But, whatever. It's not like knowing is going to change much. The Orb representative finally gets up and finds the window. She peers out and realizes she knows where she is and that she can easily get back home from here.
She dresses quickly, not giving much thought to her appearance; she can do that later. Later, they'll be people around to critique her every move, but right now, the streets are empty and there's no one. She tries to open the door but –damn- it's locked. Glancing at the guy, she sighs knowing he's her only way out asides from the window (guys always hide there keys in places too complicated to even bother looking for them –or at least, that's what Kira and Athrun have taught her).
Eventually, after a lot of self-cheering, she wakes him up.
"I need your keys," she says flatly, not even bothering to act friendly. Why should she? It got her what she wanted last night, but now direct orders are more likely to work.
"Wh-what for?" comes the voice of her companion, slightly dazed and very sleepy.
"I have to leave."
"At this time in the morning?"
"Urgh, yes."
The guy just stares at Cagalli for a moment, but then he steps out of bed and picks out his keys from inside his shoe, making the blonde girl squint. Thank god she didn't try looking for them. He unlocks the door and opens it for like a true gentleman.
Just before she leaves, Cagalli asks him: "just who are you anyways?" unable to help herself.
He smirks.
"Dearka Elsman," he says.
So that's why he seemed so familiar; he was the creep that Miriallia kept hanging around with at the end of the first war! Ok, so sure, he also served aboard the Archangel and he just happens to be Athrun's friend, but the blonde girl's first description is the one that sticks in her mind.
"I see," she replies a bit embarrassed. She's sort of gone against every single comforting word she told Milly after her break-up with the guy by sleeping with him. "Don't tell…you know, please," she asks of him, a guilty blush colouring her cheeks.
"As long as you don't either."
She nods. Why does it suddenly feel as if Cagalli's going to have to become an accomplice in getting Dearka and Miriallia back together?
Finally, she leaves mumbling a neutral "good-bye". Her shame won't let her admit it, but Cagalli's rather glad that her one night stand happened to be with Dearka, someone she has a history with, instead of a random stranger. She feels like less of a whore because of it.
A couple of hours later, Cagalli's back on the job and she simply cannot believe how crazy things went without her there yesterday. She's going to have to pay for her absence with three weeks of overtime now, and she's already regretting last night.
But still, it was a nice escape.
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