JC: I'm up and running with my school requirements. It's a miracle that I am still able to write fanfictions. This chapter will probably add some more flavors to the plot. Remember the meeting Fllay and Lacus arranged for Kira? Please read and find out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED!!!

Entwined Hearts

Phase 04: A Surprise Arrangement

Athrun was driving through the open streets of ORB in his flashy black car, which would make any car fanatic drool. He was clad in black shirt, over-coated with a crimson jacket, and black pants. His emerald-green eyes lay hidden behind his sunglasses, but his striking looks still dazzled the females as he passed by them. For being the fiancé of the ORB Princess, he had gained popularity in the city and practically more admirers than before. He used to have fan girls stalking him during his school days and military training days. But none of them had ever captured his heart. The only girl forever in his eyes was Cagalli Yula Athha.

He pulled over at a café where he was supposed to meet some of his friends. He stepped into the café and got stares from all over the place. The female population there was extremely happy to see the dashing Zala. Whispers boomed from here and there and got louder every second. He even heard a guy whispered something about him being not worthy for Cagalli. It kinda pissed him off, but he decided to leave him. He wasn't the type of guy to cause trouble anyway.

He walked passed some tables and smiled at the girls waving at him. He approached a certain table where 4 men were seated. "Sorry if I took so long," he said, looking apologetically.

A silver-haired guy shrugged as he narrowed his icy blue eyes at Athrun. "You slowpoke! We were supposed to meet an half an hour ago!" he uttered.

"Yzak, settle down," a blonde guy with the tan skin told his best friend.

"Shut up, Dearka! You were late too!"

Dearka laughed nervously as he turned to Athrun. "Hey… Sorry if he's such a hot-head." After saying that, he felt someone giving a death glare. He slowly turned back at Yzak and faced his furious eyes. "Hey, chill man…"

"Now that we're all here," another blonde guy spoke and stood up. He had this stoic expression that was able to catch some attention from the girls. "Let's go…"

"Where to, Chairman?" a black-haired person with fierce crimson eyes teased, as he smirked.

The Chairman, otherwise known as Rey Za Burrel, glanced over his shoulder to look at Shinn. "Didn't I tell you not to call me that here, Shinn?" He was offering one of his scary glares.

Shinn snickered and nodded. "Yeah… I know…" He stood up and slid his hands into his pocket. "So, we guys are going to hang out for the whole day, huh?" He sighed in disappointed.

"Shinn, don't be so selfish. Stellar-san deserves a day-out with the girls," Rey told him, knowing the reasons behind his sigh.

Dearka's lips curved into a smile as he eyed the red-eyed coordinator mischievously. "Oh… So that's why you weren't so keen with this boys-hang-out," he said.

Shinn's face turned bright red since it was all true. He wanted to have a date with Stellar, but it wasn't granted. Instead, he had to date with 4 men and one of them had a temper like him. He slipped away from the table and turned his back against them to hide his blush. "Are we going or not?!" he grumbled.

Athrun understood Shinn's feeling because he wanted do the same thing. Of course, he had planned to go out with Cagalli, but the blonde girl already planned to hang out with her friends. He wasn't selfish enough to have Cagalli all to himself. He knew Cagalli had spent less time with her friends since she got engaged to him.

He patted Shinn's shoulder before passing him. He turned his head slightly at the unruly guy and presented a smile. "We have the whole day to ourselves. We can't waste time here, right?"

"Whatever…" Shinn rolled his eyes.

"How about we hit the arcade first?" Dearka suggested, beaming with excitement. "It's been a long time since I last played a game."

"What are you—15?" Yzak muttered, crossing his arms. "But your idea is not that bad." He also wanted to go to the arcade, but he didn't want to admit it.

Rey nodded in agreement. "Then the arcade it is."

At the other side of town, a particular group of girls clad in the latest trends of fashion strolled down the streets. Two girls were blonde, one had honey-brown hair, and the last one had flaming red hair. With the bags in their hands, anyone can see that they have done a round of shopping. Sets of eyes stared at them from everywhere. Some boys even whistled at them due to their hotness and some boys passing by greeted them with malicious smiles and eyes.

"This getting annoying," Cagalli pointed out, noticing the stares from the guys around. She was wearing a sporty outfit, which included a cherry colored tank-top, white mini-short with a rose print on the left lower part, and white sneakers. She knew that her outfit would gain some attention that she didn't want in the first place. She just hoped that none of them would go fan-mode and start asking for her autograph. It was a good thing that she can hide herself with her sunglasses and a white cap.

Jean, the red haired young Zala, tugged on the princess's hand and smiled. "Ignore them, Cagalli-sama," she said, her emerald-green eyes sparkling. She wore a fitting black shirt with 'Danger' printed on it, denim hip-hugger pants, and white sneakers. She also wore skull bracelets and an occult pendant.

Fascinating how Jean's eyes always reminded Cagalli about Athrun. Well, Jean was Athrun's sister of course and it was only natural that she would be reminded of Athrun. "Yeah, I know. I should be happy that no one here knows me except for you three. And just call me Cagalli!" She looked at Jean, as she smiled, before she turned to her other companions.

"Just keep those glasses on at all times, Cagalli," Miriallia said, walking in front of them. She was dressed in a green haltered top, white mini-skirt, and silvery sandals. "Okay now, how about we get some ice cream?" She happily pointed a finger at the ice cream shop right across the street.

The second blonde girl smiled widely and nodded her head in a cute manner. "I love ice cream!" She clutched onto Miriallia's right arm and started pulling her. She was dressed in a blue tube blouse that revealed her belly-button, low-waist denim shorts, and a multi colored sandals.

"Stellar, woah!" Miriallia uttered, almost tripping.

Jean and Cagalli giggled and followed them to the ice cream shop.

As the group entered the shop, they were greeted by the warm smile of a carrot-head guy. Cagalli immediately acknowledged the guy. It was the same guy she met at the park, the guy who touched her and complimented her singing. It was Rusty Mackenzie.

"What are you doing here?" asked Cagalli, getting confused looks from her friends.

"This is a pleasant surprise," Rusty said, smiling, as he knelt down before the princess. He took hold of her hand and kissed it gently. "It's nice to see you again, princess."

Jean, Miriallia, and Stellar gasped in surprise to see such actions. Furthermore, they wondered how the guy recognized Cagalli since she was wearing her glasses and cap. Well, so much for hiding her identity.

"You… You're that guy umm…" Cagalli placed a hand on her head. "Rusty, am I right?"

Rusty stood up and smiled at her. "Yes, that's right. I'm quite flattered that the princess remembers me."

Stellar couldn't hold her curiosity any longer and decided to ask Cagalli about Rusty. "How come you know him? Is he your friend?"

"Huh? Well, that's—" She blinked several times as she faced Stellar. She was lost with her words.

"Friend? Oh no… The princess and I just met once in the park and that was all. We're not close enough to be friends."

"Okay then…" Stellar then took notice of his uniform. She looked at him again and smiled cheerfully. "Stellar wants a banana split topped with strawberry and vanilla flavored ice cream. I want cherries on top of the creams and don't hold back on the chocolate fudge," she said it in the cutest of faces.

Rusty laughed a little before taking his notepad and pencil out. "Will that be regular or large?" he asked.

"You work here?!" Cagalli, Miriallia, and Jean all asked at the same time.

"Ah—yes, as a matter of fact…" He thought they would've guessed it since they first saw him. He was wearing the uniform of the ice cream shop. "May I take your orders?"

The girls stared at each other for a moment before placing their orders.

Alaska Josh-A (Earth Alliance HQ)

It was the day when the young Representative Kira Yamato was going to meet with the daughter of the Vice-Foreign Minister, Fllay Alster. His mind kept wondering what she was going to discuss with him since it seemed pretty important. He thought that it was probably some word-for-word talk about the military equipment of ORB or maybe some new designs for Mobile Suits. Well, the only way he would figure out was by talking to her.

He arrived at the Josh-A base where he was greeted by a hefty amount of soldiers. They were all lined up before his aircraft, standing stiff, while they saluted. Kira, along with his bodyguard, Kai Kazuya, disembarked from the craft, and as he walked pass the soldiers, he also gave a salute. At the end of the line, he saw Fllay Alster and a man beside her. Kira recognized him to be Fllay's father, Vice-Foreign Minister George Alster.

"So good of you to come, Prince Kira Yamato of ORB," George Alster greeted him, his voice so firm.

Kira furrowed his eyebrows at the name 'Prince' but he didn't dare to comment it. Like Cagalli, he also hated being addressed as royalty. "Thank you for having me, Vice-Foreign Minister." He extended his hand to shake with the man.

George shook hands with him as he smirked. "You're very welcome." He then placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder and moved her forward a bit. "I know you already met my daughter, Fllay."

"It's nice to see you again, Representative," said Fllay, her voice so gentle unlike her father's.

"I feel the same way," Kira replied, showing a well-toothed smile that can melt any girl's heart.

"Prince Kira, what do you think for my daughter?" George asked, looking proudly, as he placed his hands on Kira's shoulders. "Isn't she a beauty?" His face had a big smug smile, which gave Kira the chills.

"Umm… Err… Y-yes, Fllay-san is really beautiful," he managed to say it respectfully, despite his weird feeling for the old man. But he did think of Fllay as a beautiful girl.

Fllay blushed at his comment and quickly lowered her head, causing her bangs to cover her eyes. "Thank you…" she muttered softly.

The father's smirk seemed to grow wider when he glanced at Fllay and Kira. He patted Kira's shoulder before spinning on his heels. "Why don't we talk in the meeting room?" he said, clasping his hands together behind him.

Kira regained composure and nodded. "All right…"

With George Alster leading the way, Kira, Fllay, Kai, and some soldiers followed him. During their walk towards the meeting room, Kai suddenly had a strange feeling about the Vice-Foreign Minister and his daughter. He didn't know why, but his heart was telling him to watch out for Kira.

The meeting room they entered was as big as the room back in the ORB. The soldier lined up around the table as the superiors seated themselves on the chairs. Kai positioned himself behind Kira just like any bodyguard would do and stared at the young girl who was feeling a bit uneasy. Kai wondered what was wrong with her, but he couldn't ask questions out of turn. Somehow, his strange feeling got even stranger.

"What is this important matter you want to discuss about, Vice-Foreign Minister?" Kira asked promptly, setting his elbows on the table.

George smirked widely as he cupped his chin with his hand. "You do know that genius scientist Ulen Hibiki was a very good friend of mine, am I right?" he started.

Kira just nodded at that fact.

"Before he passed away, we both made an agreement,"

"I didn't know that. What is the agreement?"

Fllay sank her head lower and bit her lip. It seemed she didn't want to hear what her father was about to say.

"If ever I had a child, be it a daughter or a son," George started, and Kai's eyes grew wide. Kai had finally guessed what the meeting was all about. He had strong senses for this sort of things. "My child will marry Ulen's child in the future."

Kira felt his heart skipped a bit as his jaw dropped open. "W-what?"

"Since I have a daughter here right now, she would marry Ulen's son," George continued. He looked at Kira kindly this time. "And that would be you, Prince Kira."

Kira and Kai swallowed hard, surprised to hear such statement, especially the brunette. He felt his world spinning and his heart pumping with anxiety. He getting married, he thought, was way too soon! He stood up, palms on the table, and said, "This is too sudden. I, for one—"

"Happy to have my daughter?" The old man Alster continued for him, though that wasn't what Kira had in mind. "I'm flattered, Prince Kira."

Fllay neither said a word nor budged from her seat.

"Vice foreign Minister… I-I…" Kira was trying to find the right words to get him out of this situation. He glanced at Kai with eyes screaming for help.

Kai smiled awkwardly and offered an apologetic look.

"Now, Fllay, why don't you and the Prince spend some quality time together?" George pleasantly asked his daughter.

When Fllay looked up at her father, she had tears in her eyes, which shocked Kira and Kai. She narrowed her gaze and gritted her teeth. "Oto-sama no baka!" she boomed before running out of the room.

"Fllay, come back here!" George shouted. He sank back into his chair and massaged his temple. "That daughter of mind is such trouble. I'm really sorry that you had to see that. Please don't think ill of her. She's actually a kind-hearted girl."

Kira's eyes softened. "I believe you. But what—" He sat back and faced the man seriously. "Why was she crying?"

George heaved a sigh. "Well, she is actually against this whole marriage arrangement."

No kidding. I'm against it too, Kira thought silently.

"However, I can't break my promise with Ulen. He was my friend."

Kira could see how sincere George was when talking about his father. He knew that a promise was important, but he also knew that marriage was a tough decision to make. He wasn't ready for it. He wasn't even ready to get engaged. Besides, he had a country to run, a sister to take care of, and some other businesses to attend. He has no time for a girlfriend, fiancée, or whatsoever.

"You know, I just want the best for my daughter. I don't want her getting hook up with some random guys I don't know," he explained, sighing once more. "If you would to be her husband, then I will have no regrets."

"But your daughter is against it," Kira reminded him as he also wanted to add So am I, but he wasn't mean. "I don't think Fllay-san would be happy if she would marry someone like me."

"Don't worry, Prince Kira," George assured, his lips curving into a smile. "She'll be happy in your hands. I'm sure of it. I know my daughter best."

Kira didn't know what else to say after seeing his smile. This was something he couldn't back out, since it was a promise made by two friends long ago. Maybe he could give it a shot. Who knows? He might fall in love with Fllay sooner or later. But these things take a lot of time and he bet that George wants him to marry his daughter right away. This was a lot pressure.

On the other hand, Kai fully disagreed with the arrangement. He held back his urge to complain about it, because it was improper for a soldier like him to talk there. But he swore to have a heart-to-heart talk with Kira when they board the aircraft again.

To be continued…

JC: An arranged marriage for Kira and Fllay! Kira/Lacus fans please don't jump to conclusions yet. I have yet to reveal Lacus's intentions here. Kira's meeting with Lacus is in the next chapter. And oh, Rusty will be there too and he's going to spend some time alone with Cagalli. What about Athrun? Please review and no flaming.