Jenny: Hi everyone! A very warm welcome to you all as we begin chapter six!
Jason: Hey babe, where our author be at?
Jenny: Oh…we won't be seeing her today she's rather depressed.
Nikki: (walks in) Hey guys
Jenny: Oh Nikki! How is she?
Nikki: Not so good, she isn't responding to much.
Jenny: Poor girl
Kai: What's the matter with her?
Nikki: Boy issues
Jason: (snorts) She's so dramatic
Nikki: (grabs his shirt) SHUT THE HELL UP YOU INSENSITIVE GIT! HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF JENNY DUMPED YOUR SORRY ARSE?
Kai: Woah! Nikki calm down!
Jenny: …Well…not much happening here so…enjoy the next chapter folks!
Jason kept his tight hold on Jenny; not wanting to ever let her go. He couldn't believe that she was alive, was here holding him. He glanced up at Kai, who was smiling at the couple. He grinned and nodded at him, pulling back from Jenny he looked back and forth between the two of them.
"I don't understand…how is this possible? We saw the ship and-"
Kai interrupted him. "Slow down mate, we'll tell you everything, but not until everyone is here."
He looked at Jason "Where's Nikki? We can't explain everything until she is here as well."
Jason suddenly felt excited, Kai was alive and seeing him will hopefully bring Nikki back to her normal self.
Throwing him a grin, Jason told him, "She's at the park a little ways from here" He gave Kai a smirk. "She'll definitely be happy to see you"
Kai smirked back at him, "Thanks mate, I'll go and find her" He then smiled at Jenny, then back at Jason. "I'll leave you two alone."
He clamped Jason on the shoulder, before leaving the room. Jason turned back to his girlfriend to see her smiling at him; he smiled back at her. He lifted his hand and gently lifted her bangs from her face to gaze into her eyes.
"I thought you were dead…I thought…I thought I had lost you"
Jenny saw how sad he was and could only imagine how hard the last few days had been for him. She reached up and brushed her fingers across his cheek in an effort to comfort him.
"I'm sorry Jason, we desperately wanted to tell you that we were ok, it pained me to have to keep everything from you."
Jason smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm sure it was for a good cause, and besides that's behind us now. All that matters is that you're here and alive, that's all I care about."
Removing his hand from her face, he reached down and once again wrapped his arms around her lovingly. Jenny put her arms around him and returned his hug and the two stood there in silence just happy to stay in the others embrace.
Kai made his way towards Cagalli's office. If he wanted to see Nikki, he needed the Representatives permission to leave the building. But he knew that despite her answer he'd head for the park anyway, there was nothing that would keep him from seeing his girlfriend.
Once reaching the office door, he walked straight in without bothering to knock and immediately regretted it. Athrun and Cagalli were making out heavily on the desk and when they heard the door open, Athrun sprung off her in fright from the sudden arrival. He glared when he saw it was only Kai, who gave him a sheepish and embarrassed grin. Cagalli lifted herself off the desk, and straightened her clothes before facing Kai.
"There better be a good reason for you barging in here without knocking, Rodgericks"
Kai gulped, knowing he was in trouble from the use of his last name. Squaring his shoulders, he walked forward.
"Actually I do have a good reason."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "And what might that be?"
He leaned forward, determined to get his way. "Jason arrived alone; he informed me that Nikki had gone off to a park not too far away from here."
Cagalli knew where he was going with this. "So you want to go out and see her, am I correct?
Kai nodded in affirmation. "She may not make her way here for hours, considering the mood she's in. I need to see her; I can bring her back here myself."
Cagalli knew how badly he wanted to see Nikki, but the possible danger was digging on her conscience. Sighing she looked at him closely.
"I'm sorry Kai... you know I can't allow that."
Kai wasn't one to lose his temper much, but in situations like this, he can be very angry when he wanted to be, especially when it came down to Nikki. Slamming his hands on her desk he glared at the blonde girl across from him.
"Don't you have a frigging heart? The girl I love more than anything is out there, probably have suicidal thoughts! Why? Because she thinks I'm DEAD! And if you think I'm just going to idly sit by and take these pathetic orders from you, well you're mistaken! I'm going to find Nikki, and don't even think about stopping me!"
In a rage, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Cagalli flinched while Athrun stared in awe.
"Wow, didn't know Kai had it in him, he always seems like such a soft guy."
Cagalli sighed, "When it comes to Nikki, all things are possible I guess."
Athrun turned to her. "Should I have someone follow him, just in case?"
She shook her head. "No, leave him be, he wants to be left alone with her. After everything that's happened, he at least deserves that much."
Walking along the street, Kai was regretting his outburst in the office. It was rare for him to explode like that, but he couldn't help himself. Nikki needed him, and from what Jason told him, he was the only person that could make her happy again. The thought of his girlfriend caused him to quicken his pace. He wove through the crowd; humbly apologizing to anyone he bumped into. Finally reaching the park, he hastily looked around. There were a few children running around, their mother desperately trying to keep them together. An elderly couple were snuggled on a bench, watching the now setting sun. It was when he turned towards the sunset that he saw her. From where he was standing, the person looked like nothing more than a silhouette. But he could see the long hair blowing gently in the wind, and he knew it was the girl he was looking for. Walking around, he decided to approach her from the side so he could see her face before revealing himself, but also kept himself hidden enough so she wouldn't know who he was. He stopped once he was a close enough distance from her, and when he looked at her, he could feel his heart break. Never before had he seen such an empty look on Nikki, she always had a smile whenever she was around him. But looking at her now, all he saw was a broken girl, who looked like she had nothing else to live for. He felt guilt tear at his heart; he had done this to her. His supposed death had affected her so much that it had broken her. He wanted to see her smile again; he wanted to see the sparkle in her eyes that could light up any sky. He wanted her to be happy again. Slowly he began to walk forward, her voice stopping him momentarily in his tracks.
"What did Lacus want?"
Her voice was so cold, so lifeless. He figured she must've thought he was Jason from the way she sounded, so he softly spoke her name.
"Nikki"
Nikki didn't move an inch after Jason left. She just continued to stand there looking out into the city. She wasn't sure how much time had past, but figured it was getting late when she saw the sun starting to go down. She decided to watch the sunset, giving her more of a reason to stay where she was.
She suddenly heard footsteps behind her, she ignored them thinking it must be Jason. She saw someone stop beside her, and they simply stared at her. Thinking that the blonde idiot was probably trying to annoy her, she spoke. "What did Lacus want?" The person, who had walked forward again, had stopped in their tracks. Hearing no response, she was about to speak again when she heard her name being whispered by a voice she never thought she would hear again. "Nikki" She shook her head, thinking she was hearing things, but the person next to her was still there staring at her. Slowly she turned and saw Kai smiling gently at her. Her eyes widened, hardly believing what she was seeing.
"K…Kai? But…it can't be! How is this possible?"
Kai smiled bemusedly at the expression on Nikki's face, he supposed he couldn't blame her for being so shocked. For days she thinks he's dead, and now all of a sudden he's standing right in front of her. He knew he'd definitely be surprised if it was the other way around. He noticed she was still staring open mouthed at him and was feeling the slight impression that maybe she thought he was an impostor or something.
"Well we certainly can't have that," He thought with amusement. Slowly he started walking towards her.
Nikki's heart was thumping loudly in her chest and it only increased when he started walking towards her. She couldn't move, couldn't even blink. Before she knew it he was right in front of her, gazing at her with his soft green eyes. Her breath hitched in her throat from the intense stare he was giving her. He lifted his right hand and gently brushed it across her cheek. She almost shivered at his touch, but didn't break her gaze from his. It was when he once again spoke to her, that she knew that it was really him.
"Nikki…it's me"
Her eyes shone with emotion as tears flowed down her face. The sorrow she had felt during the last three days burst out and the emotional walls she had barricaded around herself came crashing down. Letting out a sob, she threw her arms around his neck, burying herself into his chest. Kai wrapped his arms around her waist; he could feel her shaking and noticed his shirt becoming wet from her tears. She was letting everything out; the anger towards those she thought had killed him, the pain as she cried for hours every night and the emptiness she felt without having him in her life.
With tears still flowing, she lifted her head. Choking on her voice, she whispered in his ear.
"You're alive."
Feeling an emotional lump in his throat, he tightened his hold on her as he bent down and spoke softly.
"I promised I would never leave you."
For the first time in a long time, Nikki smiled.
The two lovers continued to hold each other, neither one wanting to let go. Finally though, Kai remembered the risk of being outside so he gently pulled out of the hug to look at Nikki's face. She had stopped crying, her eyes were shining with love for him and she was wearing a bright smile. He leaned down and kissed her gently. She responded back, her hand reaching up to stroke the side of his face. The moment was short-lived however as they parted and smiled lovingly at each other. Walking to her side, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"We should head back... it's getting late, besides Jenny is anxious to see you too."
Nikki's eyes lit up even more (if it were possible) at hearing her best friends name.
"Jenny's alive too?"
Kai chuckled at her excited expression. "Yeah, she is. She's with Jason at the moment; I gave the two of them some time alone."
She smiled at him, as the two started making their way back to their friends.
While walking, Nikki suddenly felt tired. She lent her head on Kai's shoulder, who turned his head to look at her.
"Feeling tired?"
She yawned in response before smiling at him. " A little."
She let out a startled squeal when Kai suddenly picked her up bridal style. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Are you planning on carrying me the whole way?"
He grinned and motioned to his shoulder with a jerk of his head.
"Get some rest. Don't worry you're light as a feather"
Nikki smiled. Leaning forward she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before settling her head down on his shoulder near the crook of his neck, falling asleep almost instantly. Kai smiled down at her, and he continued the walk back to where their friends were waiting for them, his girlfriend sleeping peacefully in his arms.
Back in their room, Jason and Jenny were sitting comfortably together on the bed. Her head was on his shoulder while he had his arm sitting snugly around her waist.
Jenny peered up at her boyfriend. "They're taking a while aren't they?"
Jason snorted. "Probably having mushy time together, knowing what those two are like."
He slightly flinched when the girl next to him lightly slapped him on the arm.
"And what do you mean by that Kazahana?"
Before Jason could retort back, the door opened revealing Kai carrying a sleeping Nikki. He smiled at the two of them before making his way to the bed. Jason and Jenny stood up to give him room. Kai placed his girlfriend on the bed, and covered her with the bed sheets. He kissed her forehead and stood up to face the other couple to find them both staring in awe at him. He raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Jason grinned at his best friend. "Mate you never cease to amaze me."
Kai shrugged. "She was tired, so I let her sleep and carried her. What's so amazing about that?
"The blonde stared incredulously at him. "Are you kidding me, she's actually sleeping! That's a miracle in itself!"
Kai stared at his best friend. "You saying she hasn't been sleeping well either?"
Jason shook his head. "She barely slept at all. I made a habit of walking past her room at night, and each time I could hear her crying. She would sleep for a little while, but only after she bawled her eyes out for several hours."
Kai turned and gazed sadly at the sleeping brunette, realizing that she had suffered a lot more than he thought she had. With a heavy heart he turned to Jenny.
"Maybe it couldn't have hurt to tell them Jen, it would've spared them the pain they had to go through."
Jenny sighed, "I know, but it wasn't my decision, I protested against the idea. I wanted to tell Jason straight away that we had survived."
Jason reached over and gripped his girlfriend's hand. "It's alright now Jen, we know you're alive now."
He then turned to look at Nikki. She had a peaceful smile on her face. He hadn't seen her this happy in days and he was relieved to see that she was now going to be ok, Jason turned to smile at Kai.
"Thanks for bringing her back mate; she really wasn't the same without you around."
Kai smiled in return "I'd do anything for her, you know I would."
Jason started pulling Jenny towards the door. "We'll go back to our own room, you can tell us everything when Nikki wakes up."
Kai nodded at him "Thanks, we'll catch up later then."
Jason nodded and was about to leave before something crossed his mind. He turned back to Kai. "By the way, I noticed Nikki didn't have her bag, she probably left it at the park. We'll go back there and grab it for her"
Kai gave him a grin. "Thanks mate, I'm sure she'll appreciate that."
Jason grinned back, before leaving the room with Jenny behind him.
After they left, Kai turned and walked back to his sleeping girlfriend. He stared at her sleeping figure, deep in thought.
"She'll be asleep for a while. I should go grab a shower while I have the chance. Hopefully she'll stay this way until I'm done; the last thing is to see her in tears again."
With that in mind, he grabbed some spare clothes and walked into the bathroom. He kept the door open, just in case she woke up and called out to him.
Nikki happened to wake up just after Kai had finished his shower. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. For a moment she forgot where she was, and wondered if she was still on the Eternal. Then she remembered everything in a flash; standing at the park, seeing Kai, hugging and kissing him. Her eyes widened.
"Was it all a dream? Was…was he really dead?"
She shook her head, not wanting to believe that none of it was real. Desperately she cried out Kai's name.
Kai, who was in the middle of getting dressed, heard her yell out to him. Dressed only in pants, he rushed out of the bathroom to see Nikki sitting up in bed hugging her self, tears once again pouring down her face. He hurried over to her and gathered her into his arms. He rocked her back and forth, whispering softly in her ear.
"Ssshh, it's alright, I'm here. Nikki, calm down its ok, I'm right here."
As soon as she felt his arms around her, she buried herself into his chest, crying uncontrollably. She didn't know why she was acting this way, but if Kai wasn't with her she would panic. The fear of losing him forever was still inside her heart.
She finally calmed down after a few minutes, the whole time Kai holding her close and whispering words of comfort in her ear. When he heard she had stopped crying, he pulled back and gently lifted her chin to look at him. He could see her eyes begging him to stay; they shone brightly at him making him internally melt at how gorgeous he thought she was.
Kai smiled at her "It's alright, Nikki I was just in the bathroom taking a shower"
Nikki looked down and suddenly realized he was only half-dressed. She blushed slightly at the sight of his bare chest, and looked shyly back at him.
"I'm sorry…I overreacted. When I woke up and saw you weren't there, I…I assumed the worst and thought that everything that had happened before was a dream…"
Kai smiled reassuringly at her "No it certainly wasn't a dream. You fell asleep on the way here."
Nikki's eyes suddenly went wide "Jason and Jenny! Where are they?"
She pulled away from Kai's arms and hurried out of the bed. Her boyfriend sat there watching her in amusement, when she stopped and turned to stare at him.
"Wait…my bag; I left it at the park…"
Kai chuckled before standing up and walking over to her, "It's alright, Jason and Jenny went out to get that for you"
She raised her eyebrows in surprise "Who volunteered to do that?"
Her boyfriend laughed, "Believe it or not, Jason did"
She crossed her arms "I hardly believe that"
Kai shrugged "You can talk to him about it when they get back"
Nikki walked forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, breathing his scent in.
"My gosh you smell good, what do you use on yourself in the shower?"
Kai grinned, using the opportunity to tease her. "It's a great thing they call "soap", shaped like a brick, and has nice fragrance. Pretty handy actually"
Nikki lifted her head and playfully glared at him. "Alright then, smartass"
This just caused her boyfriend to laugh, making her step away from him. She crossed her arms and pouted.
"You're so meaaann!"
He just shot her a lopsided smirk, finding her expression adorable. He walked forward and gently ran his thumb along her bottom lip.
"And just what are you going to do about it, Miss Clyne?"
The small gesture made Nikki weak in the knees. Sometimes she hated that Kai could make her melt like this, but at the same time she couldn't get enough of it. Not being able to resist any longer, she reached up and kissed him. Kai wasted no time, as he wrapped his arms around her and returned the gesture, deepening the kiss even more. Nikki wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her, pressing their mouths further into each other.
There were so engrossed with each other that they didn't notice Jason and Jenny walk in with Nikki's luggage. When they spotted the kissing couple, their eyes went wide and their jaws dropped. Jason thought about whether he should interrupt them or not, but decided that it would be better if he let them be. Last time he walked in on Nikki and Kai, he had relentlessly teased them. He flinched remembering the beating Nikki had inflicted on him.
Carefully he placed her bag down near the bed, before ushering Jenny out of the room. They gently closed the door, leaving the two lovers alone.
Nikki and Kai never noticed the other couple walk in, but they broke apart upon hearing the door close and turned to see who was there. Seeing no one, Nikki turned back around and gave a quizzical look at her boyfriend while he just shrugged. She spotted something at the corner of her eye and turned to see her bag near the end of the bed. She walked over and stared at it.
"That's strange."
Kai scratched his head nervously as a possibility come into his mind,
"Do you think Jason and Jenny walked in on us?"
Nikki looked at him "Maybe, but that's what I find weird, Jason usually interrupts us with never ending teasing." She snorted, "Maybe he remembered what I did to him last time he had the nerve to do that."
Kai grinned at the memory. Nikki was tougher than she looked, most probably something to do with the fact that she was a coordinator. But even then she had given Jason some pretty nasty bruises, and he was meant to be a coordinator himself.
He was broken out of his thoughts when Nikki sat down on the bed. She turned and looked at him, suddenly looking tired.
"I'm going to sack out properly this time…what is the time anyway?"
Kai looked at his watch "Late" He bluntly replied.
Nikki rolled her eyes "I figured, a specific time would be nice though."
Kai gave her a cheeky grin "Well alright, its almost 11"
Hearing that seemed to make her all the more exhausted and she let out a big yawn. She removed her shirt and jeans before lying down and making herself comfortable under the covers. Looking up, she saw Kai standing in the middle of the room staring at her. Giving him a smile she pulled back the covers and pointed to the space next to her.
"Get in, it's cold."
Grinning at his girlfriend's obvious order, he made his way over to the bed before lying down on his back next to her. As soon as he lay down, she snuggled up next to him, stretching her arm across his stomach. Kai brought his hand up to meet hers and intertwined their fingers, resting them on his stomach. He wrapped his other arm around her, bringing her close to him. Nikki sighed contently, falling asleep in her boyfriends' arms, with her head resting on his shoulder.
Kai watched as she fell asleep, he brought his free arm up and ran his hand gently down her arm. Leaning his head on hers, he fell into his own slumber holding his beloved girlfriend close, the two lovers dreaming of the other.
End of Chapter
Jenny: Aaaww what a adorable ending!
Jason: Those two are so typical and mushy
Jenny: Now, now Jason you know we have our moments too (winks)
Jason Well…I…(blushes)
Nikki: (sniggers) Wow rendered speechless, never thought I'd see the day.
Jason: (glares) Like you're any better around pretty boy over there
Kai: Wait what?
(Walks in) Hey guys
Jenny: Hey! How're you feeling?
Fine…why?
Nikki: Please you're as transparent as glass…you are NOT fine.
I'd rather not talk about it
Jason: Having guy problems are you?
….
Kai: Guys leave her alone; also we need to introduce the next chapter.
(Smiles) Cheers Kai
Kai: No worries, now… to all you readers out there! This is what's coming up next in chapter seven!
Jenny: SEE YOU NEXT TIME!
"Why? Was it so hard to let us know? You keep this big secret to yourselves, but you tell my sister?"
Kai stood up, "But we had to! It was the only way to bring the Eternal to Orb!"
Nikki glared at him. "Why couldn't Cagalli do that then?"
He stepped closer to her. "She didn't have any other reason, so she figured if Lacus knew that we were alive, then she'd want to come down."
Nikki shook her head. "But…why did Lacus keep it from me then?"
Kai sighed sadly. "Because I asked her not to…"
She stared at him, hardly believing what she had just heard.
"But…why? I was so lost and hurt without you…why would you keep such a thing from me?"