JC: Hey, sorry if this took a while to update. I've been busy with school and I'm also working on another fic as well. Here's chapter 8. Please read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in Gundam Seed. I only own Jean and Kai.

Entwined Hearts

Phase 08: A Not-so-Thrilling Day

Cagalli smiled at her brunette brother mischievously. She wiped her mouth with a clean napkin, stood up from the table, and spun on her heels. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Kira. "Let's just say they're acquaintances of yours," she said, giggling like a little girl.

He had a bad feeling about these guests. "All right… Where are they?"

"Right behind you," replied Cagalli and left the dining room in a hurry.

"Behind me?" he muttered. Slowly, he turned his head and saw two persons gawking at him. He gasped and accidentally knocked over his glass of milk on the table. "What?! What are you doing here?"

"Oh my, the glass," a pink-haired young beauty said, covering her mouth with her hand. She reached for the glass and placed it properly again on the table. "You should really be careful, Representative." Her voice and her smile were oh-so-pleasant, as she gave a wonderful cheerfully aura.

"Um…yeah…" was all Kira could say. Obviously, he was still flabbergasted at the fact that his two fiancées were in his mansion. He had a lot of questions in mind like when and how did they get here.

The other girl with red hair shot him a stern look, while her right hand was on her waist. "What's with that face? Aren't you happy to see us?" she said. Frankly, she gave out a dangerous aura, which Kira had sensed in her.

Regaining his composure, he stood up and bowed to the ladies. "I'm sorry for my rudeness, Lacus-san, Fllay-san…" He raised his head to stare up at the beautiful girls. "It's just that I didn't expect you two to be here." He managed to present a small smile, though he wanted to wither inside.

"We are very sorry for not telling you of our arrival, Representative," Lacus said, clasping her hands together before her chest. "We just wanted to surprise you."

"What do you mean 'we'?" Fllay countered, folding her arms. "It's all your idea." She pointed out, boredom written on her face. She definitely didn't want to make any surprises for the young Ultimate Coordinator. She didn't even want to be in ORB in the first place. She totally despised the whole engagement thing. If only her father didn't force her, she would still be happily doing her job back at her homeland.

"But you still came here with me," Lacus replied, not minding Fllay's snobbish attitude at all. Well, Lacus was always friendly and she wasn't the type to get affected by another's person's attitude.

Fllay rolled her eyes away. "Whatever…" She then glared at Kira, giving him a very strange feeling. From what he had observed, Fllay had one serious attitude problem. He just hoped he could get along with her despite that fact.

Since Cagalli forced him to entertain the girls, he had no choice but to be with them and do whatever it takes to know them better. Judging from the two of them, he can see himself getting along with Lacus well, but he was pretty unsure with Fllay. "So, where do you want me to take you? I'm free for the whole day." Yeah free, thanks to his sly blonde sister. And he thought Cagalli was against the engagement.

"I don't know ORB that well," Lacus replied, taking hold of Kira's hands. "How about if you take us on a tour, Representative?"

Kira glanced at their hands before looking back at Lacus. His cheeks flushed up, much to his chagrin. In response to her question, he nodded his head and made the pink-haired girl smiled with delight.

"Thank you very much, Representative!"

"You can drop the Representative name," Kira told her, lowering his head due to his abnormal blush on his face. Lacus was still holding his hand, making him so uncomfortable. "Just call me Kira, okay?"

"Really?" Lacus beamed with a radiant smile as she released his hands. "Then please call me Lacus." She pointed at her dear old self.

Kira gazed upon her pretty face and her crystal blue eyes. Somehow, he felt like gazing upon an angel. He nodded his head in reply, as his heart skipped a beat.

The red-haired daughter of the Vice-Foreign Minister had taken notice of all of Kira's reaction with Lacus. She had a pretty good idea on why he was acting that way. Her lips curved into a malicious grin, as a plan came into her mind.

Parliament House

Riding in her exquisite and flashy limousine, Cagalli arrived at her destination where a group of soldiers were already lined up at the entrance to greet her. When the limo pulled to a stop, one of the soldiers opened the door. The blonde sister of the Head Representative hopped off of the limo and saluted at the soldiers. After that, she walked into the building and saw her good friend, Miriallia.

"Good Morning, Cagalli-sama," said Miriallia with formality. Normally, she just addressed Cagalli by her name, but she has to be formal every time around other people—even if they are friends. Clutching onto her clipboard with some report papers on it, Miriallia approached the young blonde and flashed the first page of the report. "I managed to finish it yesterday night, Cagalli-sama."

Although it was for respect, Cagalli cringed every time she hears Miriallia speak with her so formally. But the others were oblivious to her reactions. She glanced at the report for only a brief moment. "I'll read all of it later," she said. "For now, I have an important meeting to attend to."

Miriallia blinked twice. "Meeting? I thought the Head Representative was going to handle it." She always knew of Kira's schedules and she sometimes managed them.

"I'm here to relieve him," Cagalli replied, a smirk came to her face.

"Did he ask you to do that?" the honey-brown haired girl asked in a lower voice this time.

Sighing, the blonde shook her head.

"Eh? Don't tell me you volunteered?" That would be a shock. Since when did Cagalli do Kira's job without ever forcing her or maybe blackmailing her? She knew it had to be something else or a joke perhaps.

"Yes, since it was necessary," Cagalli replied, her head sinking down, as she started walking.

Miriallia's eyes widen. She followed Cagalli closely and asked some more questions. She had to know why Kira just let Cagalli take his job for the day. After knowing him for so long, she knew it wasn't like Kira to do that. Something was definitely up.

Cagalli looked at her brown-haired friend, her lips curving into a small smile. "Kira's fiancées came to visit him. It looks like the battle to win Kira's heart had began and it's all because of a stupid bet. It's kinda ridiculous, don't you think?" She let out an exasperated sigh and held her temple with her right hand.

"But it's kinda interesting at the same time," Miriallia added, folding her arms, as she stared hard at the floor.

"You think?"

"Yeah!" Miriallia said, turning to face Cagalli with a sly smile. She had this strange twinkle in her eyes that made the blonde wonder what she was up to. "Since Kira can't escape his fate, we might as well support him. Who do you think is better for him?"

"I can't really tell," Cagalli replied. Honestly, she wasn't quite familiar with the two girls either. All she knew was they were the daughters of great leaders.

"Hey, let's help him out," Miriallia suggested.

"Help him?" Cagalli raised an eyebrow. "And why? It's his love life after all."

"Exactly!" Miriallia cupped her chin with her hand. "Kira is absolutely clueless about love. Believe me, Cagalli, I know!" she said it louder this time, since no one was around to hear them.

Cagalli had to agree with her. Her brother was definitely a shy-type of guy and he usually stays away from girls who are flirting with him. Well, he had the looks and everything. He can practically get girls to date him from almost anywhere in ORB. However, Kira refused to indulge himself in a relationship. He kept telling her before that the country was his top-most priority. Cagalli understood all his responsibilities and she admired him for that. Still, it wouldn't hurt if he had a love life.

Downtown

The streets were busy as usual with people buzzing over boutiques and shops. Girls with revealing outfits marched around the city, clearly trying to catch the attentions of boys. Well, most girls were out shopping and some were just flirting. But a certain blonde girl with magenta eyes was just strolling around, taking a look at the latest items on sale. She was clad in a white-tank top with blue linings and denim mini-skirt. For footwear, she wore a pair of flat white sandals with lacey straps.

She stopped in front of a particular boutique where it sells some fine clothes for teens. She stared at her reflection for a moment before taking a good look at the midnight-blue gown on display. She imagined herself wearing the gown while dancing with a crimson-eyed coordinator she knew and has grown to like. She merely smiled at the thought.

"Shinn…" she muttered his name with sadness. She had missed him dearly. His visit in ORB really made her happy, but because of his work in ZAFT, he had to return to PLANT. How she wished to see him again. She considered Shinn as a very good companion, and he does manage to make her laugh and smile.

Taking a few steps forward, she stared into the sky. As a weak wind blew pass her, she took a deep breath and continued her walk. But she immediately stopped at the sight of a familiar guy with orange-hair. "Isn't that…?" she said, placing a finger on her cheek. "It is him! Rusty!" She waved a hand at him to catch his attention.

Rusty turned his head at the direction of the voice who called him. To his surprise, it was one of Cagalli's friends, Stellar Loussier. "Hey, you still remember me. I'm pleased," said Rusty, facing her with a full front.

"Of course! "

"So, what's a cute girl like you doing here in town?"

"It's my day-off. I have nothing to do at home, so I figured to do some window shopping."

"I see." Rusty then thought about Cagalli and what he did to her the other day. "Stellar-chan, how's Cagalli?" he asked rather awkwardly.

"She's doing fine!" Stellar answered. "Why do you ask?"

Rusty chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I was just wondering. Hehe…" He was kind of relief. Since Stellar was still talking to him, it could only mean that Cagalli hasn't told her yet about the kiss.

"Rusty…Hello?" Stellar waved a hand in front of his face since he was spacing out.

With that action, the guy snapped back to reality. "Sorry…"

"What were you thinking just now?" Stellar leaned forward with curiosity written all over her face, but she still looked so adorable.

Anxiety filled his heart in an instant. How could he tell Stellar that he actually kissed Cagalli on purpose? He was going to be killed if Stellar finds out, he thought quietly. He tried to avert his gaze away from Stellar, but the young girl still pestered him with her question.

"Come on, you can tell me." Stellar was smiling at him, yet her smile had a strange feeling to it. Frankly, it was giving Rusty the creeps. "I can keep a secret."

She was being nosy for a cute girl, he thought. But then again, it was his fault for making his feelings obvious in the first place. "Don't get mad, okay?" he muttered, as his shoulders slumped down.

"Why would I get mad?"

"Listen to me closely, Stellar-chan…" Rusty mustered up all his courage and started explaining all his worries to Stellar. He was still afraid of what Stellar's reaction might be, but he couldn't keep his problems any longer. He had to tell someone.

Office

The young blonde princess sat down on the couch to finally rest. She never expected the meeting to be that long. Seriously, some of the supervising officials were getting on her last nerves. She wondered how Kira can put up with them. But she remembered how her personality differed from Kira. She had to admit that Kira was way nicer than her. She was known to be a hot-headed princess, while Kira was the level-headed prince. At least, that was what she heard from random people.

The door creaked open, alerting her senses. She quickly turned her head at the door and saw a dashing blue-haired coordinator clad in his usual ORB uniform. Cagalli simply threw a smile, feeling happy to finally be able to spend some time with him. For the past few days, her attention was all on her work. She felt sorry for not going on a date with Athrun for a long time.

"It's rather unusual for you to take over Kira's job," Athrun said, sounding like Miriallia all of a sudden.

Cagalli didn't want to explain what she explained earlier to Miriallia, because she was in no mood. "Just ask Miriallia why, okay?" she grunted, leaning her cheek on her hand.

"Don't worry," said Athrun, as he took a seat beside her. "She told me everything."

"Life is getting complicated for Kira."

"I have to agree."

"I hope he's enjoying his time with those girls." Cagalli faced her fiancé with an annoyed look on her face. "Kira, being the idiotic yet responsible brother that he is, better choose the right girl for him."

"Why can't you have faith in him?" Athrun asked with a slight chuckle.

"Because I just can't!" she pouted.

Despite her strong front, Athrun could see how worried she was for Kira. He might also feel the same way if his little sister was ever in the place of the brunette prince. Okay, that would be horrible for him too. However, he somehow wanted to laugh at the thought of Jean being engaged.

"Cagalli, your brother will be fine," he said in assurance. "Besides, it's not as if those two girls will eat him. I can see that they're both good."

The blonde instantly gave him a death glare. "And what do you mean by 'good'?"

"Good in terms of personality, Cagalli," he said sarcastically, seeing that Cagalli had thought of something suspicious with him when he mentioned the girls.

"Oh, is that so?" She eyed him so keenly that it was starting to bug him.

"Don't tell me you're jealous?" Athrun said just to tease her, which works every time.

Cagalli narrowed her gaze even more and turned away. "Don't get so cocky! I'm no where near jealous!" she said in a loud voice.

"There's no need to shout. I'm sitting right next to you," Athrun told her, while covering his ears. Honestly, Cagalli's loud voice was enough to make him deaf for a few minutes. He was thankful enough that her voice wasn't like those flirty girls.

"It's your fault," she grumbled, slowly facing him again. Her amber eyes were still furious. She just doesn't want to admit that she got jealous. It would definitely hurt her pride.

Athrun sighed in defeat. He was always the first one to give in. If he continued teasing her, it would result to a very angry Cagalli, and he would have to suffer some major consequences. He didn't want that. Therefore, he clasped Cagalli's hand and caressed it gently.

The blonde blushed at his action and tried to hide her face from him. "Don't try to act all sweet to me now!" she shouted.

True, he was trying to be sweet to her. But he absolutely enjoyed touching her hand. "Cagalli…" He tilted her head, making her look at his emerald-green orbs. He formed a gentle smile on his handsome face. "It's been a while since we went out."

"You don't have to tell me that," she answered in her unruly voice.

"How about if I'll take you to dinner tonight?" he asked, gently squeezing her hand.

Cagalli would never say no to such an offer. She had missed Athrun greatly—even though he was just around. Her work was taking a lot of her time and she felt guilty for leaving Athrun alone. This was the time to make up her lost time. "That sounds good," she said pleasantly.

"Be sure to wear a dress," he said, remembering how the princess hated wearing fancy clothes. But he thought it would be only proper since they were going on a formal date in a fine restaurant downtown. Plus, he liked seeing Cagalli in a beautiful dress.

All the blonde did was shrug. Dresses, gowns, and stuff like that don't interest her, unlike other girls. But she decided to wear a dress for the sake of Athrun.

Athrun, who still had his luscious emerald-green eyes set on her, touched her cheek and brushed some strands of her away from her eyes. The way he looked at her was still the same—full of love and compassion. He saw the blush on her face, making him smile. He had always found her cute whenever she was blushing. As he glanced at her lips, his heart skipped a beat. An urge to kiss was building inside of him, though he still looked calm outside. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward to give her a kiss on the lips.

Her amber orbs grew wide in surprise. Her fiancé was going to kiss her. She wanted to kiss him too, but an unexpected scene flashbacked in her mind. As she looked at Athrun again, she saw a different face. To her dismay, she saw Rusty right before her eyes. Sadly, she stood up in an instant, apologizing to Athrun.

However, Athrun thought Cagalli was only feeling embarrassed. "I'm the one who should say sorry. I know how you feel whenever I do this," he said. Whenever he acted sweet around her, Cagalli would blush madly and get all awkward, and he understood that well.

Cagalli cast him a pleasant face just to assure him that everything was all right with her. But, as she spun on her heels, her bright face darkened. Her thoughts were once again haunted by Rusty who undeniably stole her kiss. Thank goodness it wasn't her first kiss. Still, she felt bad about it.

"You still have something to do?" Athrun asked, standing up from his seat.

"Yeah…" she lied, feeling guiltier. "It won't take long." She peered over her shoulder and smiled at Athrun.

"I'll pick you up at 7," Athrun told her. "I'm excited for our date."

She was excited too, but a part of her was a bit down. "Don't be late or else!" She balled her hands into fists to show she was serious. She has a knack of threatening Athrun whenever it comes to dates. Besides, it was good way to hide her concerns for the meantime.

To be continued…

JC: It seems like Rusty had a big impact on Cagalli. I usually like writing about Athrun and Cagalli kissing, but I didn't seem to let them kiss here. Well, I had to make some changes to make things interesting for my part too. Kira is blushing a lot at Lacus, and Fllay has a wild hunch about him. That's all for this chapter. Please review! No flaming please!