Last chapter before I hop on my flight in which I'll be gone for a week. There will be TWO MORE CHAPTERS after this one for this fic. So that everything for now, I'll see you when I get back. Enjoy

Torment

Chapter Nine

Athrun sighed as he turned the envelope over in his hand once again. He looked at the small writing on the front, it was his first piece of mail he'd gotten in the longest time. It gave him a weird feeling.

"Your not going to open it?" came the blondes voice, impatiently tapping her foot. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her as she continued to stand in front of him after bringing him the small envelope.

"No, I already know" he said, waving in the air towards her as if to tease her. The blonde was behaving like a small child, always inquisitive to what he was up to. Never being overbearing though, but in all honesty it simply amused him. She snapped a hand forward, grabbing the envelope. He shrugged it off, merely walking off down the hallway towards his temporary bedroom. The blonde followed in tow as she shredded through the paper shell. The blue haired man laid down in his bed, watching Cagalli as she leaned against the doorway reading the contents.

"Athrun...Lenore... Zala" she said slowly, looking over over the parchment at him.

"I have a name again" he said boredly, slowly closing his eyes. Tiredness tugged at the corners, his strength was still returning ever so slowly. There was a soft click as the blonde hit the light, walking off without saying another word. Once again she was gone just as quick as she appeared, always leaving abruptly. It was quite the odd friendship they had, if could even be considered that. He kept to himself mostly, but the blonde would come and go throughout the day. Sometimes saying nothing at all and others talking briefly like good friends. It was odd, but he went with it. The company would do him some good. His guilt had resided for the most part aswell, Cagalli really seemed to have really forgiven him. It helped ease his consciousness, but he still wasn't completely happy with himself.

His thoughts shifted once again. He had a legal name now and could start applying for jobs, he didn't have much time left here. The tiredness persisted and he could feel himself being sucked in. Slowly his mind drifted towards the darkness until he could prevent it no longer.

XXX

Athrun woke up hours later in the nights darkness. It was a bad habit. He slept at random hours and usually found himself up in the early hours of the night. Loud droplets of rain could be heard as each one pounded the outside exterior of the house. He ran a quick hand through his hair, smoothing it back into place. He hit the lamp to his bedside, lighting up the small room. It was cosy, housing all the necessaries along with a desk in the corner. The room was located in the basement, which he found ideal for himself. He could easily go unnoticed should the brown haired man stop by again. Kira always gave him trouble in one form or another. Aside from that it was usually just him and the blonde in the house, sometimes the occasional visitor stopping by to pay their respects. She stayed mostly in her study on the main floor, slowly easing herself back into work.

He could see the envelope and the contents sitting onto of the table from where he sat. He sighed at the heaviness of his limbs, he couldn't wait to be back to his regular strength. Taking a deep breathe he realized the back of his throat was quite dry, he was really thirst. A small walk upstairs wouldn't be bad to get his blood moving. Steadily he got his feet, sluggishly making his way up stairs. The microwave clock glowed 3:39AM beside him as he ran the tap. Down the hall a small glow could be seen from the study, the blonde must've still been up. A loud crack of thunder shook the house as rain continued to bombard against the windows, He leaned against the counter as he downed the glass of water in seconds. Glancing down the hallway he watched the study, half expecting the blonde to appear any moment. Another deafening clash was heard as the storm battled overhead. Lightning flashed, illuminating the entire floor for a split second as it ripped the sky above in two. It shadowed quite the depressive gloom on everything. He spun back around, hitting the tap. Once again filling his glass.

A sudden loud thud startled him, making him freeze mid drink. Looking down the hallway, his eyes landed on a small ball of a figure. It took him a moment to realise it was Cagalli, she must of tripped. He finished his glass of water, sticking the dirty glass in the dishwasher before turning around. The blonde remained unchanged, not moving in the slightest. Something wasn't right. He warily approached her, assuming that she'd get up any second. After crossing half the space between them, it was noticeable she was trembling slightly.

"You okay" he said, crouching over her. She shakily tried to push herself up, keeping her head down. The tremors becoming increasingly worst in mere seconds as she paused to try and steady herself. One of her hands suddenly slipped across the wood surface, sending her hurdling towards the floor. Luckily Athrun managed to grab her shoulders, preventing the fall. Just what was wrong with her. He sat her upright, trying to figure out the odd behaviour. Her features hid behind a veil of hair, so he couldn't see her expression. Maybe she was just tired, but that didn't exactly answer why she was trembling. He felt a single drop of water land on his hand. She was crying? He looked at her in disbelief, as if to see through the mess of hair.

"What's wrong?" Athrun said, frowning at the situation. She was silent, curling her legs towards her as if protect herself. He sighed as he brushed the hair from her face, he was right. She was crying. Her eyes stared at the floor lifelessly as they avoided his own. "This about what happened?" he said softly. Maybe it was a bad idea for him to be here. The blonde didn't move a muscle as her emotions slowly consumed her. He could only guess what had caused this. It was just like before, no doubt being triggered by the rain.

"You should go to bed" he said, getting to his feet slowly. Guilt slowly churned in his stomach making him increasingly uneasy as he looked down at her. He felt so bad every time he saw her like this. She sat there unresponsive to everything said, merely being sucked into the vortex of it all. He sighed, she probably wasn't even capable of processing anything in this state. It wouldn't be right to just leave her there on the cold floor. Before he knew what he was doing, he scooped her up in his arms. Even with the little strength he had, he was able to carry her, she seemed so light. After making his way up the stairs, he took the first right. Walking into her room, he gently placed her on the bed.

Her eye's held a glassy, far away look. Emotions running rampart over her. Tears continued to stream down her face, it was so devastating. She could play it off as if it never happened all she wanted but he had known it would eventually come to this. Maybe a good night sleep would help her. She was a giant case of PSD with him to blame. The guilt was unbearable as he looked at her now. He turned to leave, stopping midway as he felt something grab his wrist. He looked down to find the small hand of Cagalli loosely clutching him. He raised an eyebrow at the gesture, he could never understand what was going on in her mind.

"Stay..please. Just for a while" the blonde said sheepishly. She was calming down now, her trembling slowly dissipating aswell. What a predicament this was. There wasn't a way in hell he'd be able to say no to her, even when it ate away at his consciousness. Maybe a little while wouldn't hurt. He sighed, taking a seat on the edge of bed. The blondes hand still wrapped around arm. She was like a small vulnerable child, clinging to him for the protection. He would never understand how things came to be this way.

XXX

His mind got pulled from it's slumber as he felt a sharp jab in his hip. He sat up groggily as he tried to make sense of the blurry blobs of light infront of him. There was another jab, causing him to groan.

"What is it" he mumbled, brushing some of the stray hairs from his face.

"Out!" came the angry voice of the blonde.

"What?" Athrun said, blinking his eyes a few times, trying to understand what was happening. Why was she yelling?

"I said out with you" she said, pushing him forward. The blue haired man stumbled forward, still trying to fully wake from his slumber. He heard the door slam shut behind him as he entered the hallway. It took him a while to think over what had happened before he walked sighed as he hit the second set of stairs. Why was she so angry? He didn't understand her. What he should do? The blonde obviously wasn't happy. Laying down in the bed, he stared at the ceiling. Why were things were so complicated?

Hours passed before a loud creak of stairs could be heard down the hallway, most likely the blonde returning for round two. He sat upright preparing to brace himself for another blast. A loud whine was heard open as she pushed open the door. She stood in the doorway for a while watching him, carefully choosing her words.

"I can leave if you want" he said bluntly, taking a guess at the source of anger. She continued to stay eerily quiet as if to agree with him, it was tormenting now. His brain tried to understand her actions, but sadly it made little sense to him.

"You can sa-"

"Shhh!" she shushed, frowning. He rolled his eye's, just what was she planning. She kept watching him, thinking meticulously behind her amber eyes.

"I'm broken" she said suddenly, her words were heavy, full of truth and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on. She was stating something he already knew, where could this be going? "I'm scared and I can hardly go two seconds without being reminded of everything. I feel I'm going to be crushed under it all if I'm left alone" She kept a straight face, completely void of any emotion. She took another breath. "I can't bother my brother with any of it and I've been using you" His ear twitched at the last statement, just what was she talking about. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde, waiting for her to continue.

"I have my kidnapper hiding in my basement and I don't understand why I feel like everything's going to be okay while I'm around you. I'm sorry for not telling you" she said, taking another large breathe. It looked like a giant burden had been lifted off her chest. Athrun tilted his head to the side, slowly thinking.

"I understand if you want to go, It not fair of me to have done this with out telling you" Cagalli said, her face now registering disappointment. Although her eyes told another story, one that held a decisiveness and renewed strength. This was the most forward she'd been yet, it was a nice progression.

"It's fine. I mean I'm more then happy to be there for you. It's the least I can do after everything... There's no hard feelings" he said, sighing. A human punching bag wouldn't be so bad. Relief registered on her face, she must of felt guilty herself. "I'll stay here so long as it's okay with you" She nodded in approval, before turning on her heels and walking away. Gone as quick as she came again he thought. The blue haired man flopped back in his bed, thinking about the mornings events.

"Hey Athrun" came the blondes voice from down the hallway.

"What" he said, partially sitting sitting up so he could see her.

"Friends?"

"Yea.. friends" he called back, laying back down. He could of swore he saw the smallest of smile for a fraction of a second. It suddenly hit him what the look in her eyes was. It was the old her returning ever so slowly. Before he knew it, his lips creased to the same grin.

Seeya in a week, sorry for the long wait. Thanks in advance! One day they will have a full conversation. I swear.