Chapter 3 Guests
Disclaimer on well you know. R&R
"And baby I just melt away, fall like rain. And every time I see your face I go off..."
Cagalli heaved an irritated sigh as she stood at the bus stop. It was her least favorite day of the week-Sunday. This day transportation ran the slowest and nearly everything was closed. The only good thing about it was that she would always finish work before three o'clock, giving her the rest of the day to eat junk and binge watch television.
However, her weekly routine was being stalled due to the unbearably slow bus. She wondered how long it had been since she walked to the stop. 30, 20 minutes? An hour perhaps? However long it may have been, it was driving her crazy. She even considered going back to the café, but dreaded climbing that hill once more. It didn't help that the sky was dark and that the wind was picking up way too rapidly and powerfully. She shivered and began to button her jean jacket.
Then the sky roared, causing Cagalli to nearly jump out of her jacket.
"Where the hell is this bus?" she said, and at the moment it poured.
She looked up at the gloomy sky, observing the millions of water droplets crashing down. Her hair was now clinging to her face, her red shirt was hugging her chest, and her pants became a shade darker. She felt rage in the pit of her stomach. Squeezing her hands into tight fists, she wanted to scream and was so close to doing so when she saw something yellow hover above her. She turned her head and noticed Athrun-who was getting soaked by the second-holding his umbrella over her.
"What are you doing? You're getting wet," Cagalli said.
"You could just say thank you," Athrun said.
"I'm already soaked, so there's no point in me having it."
Athrun sighed.
"I'm drenched now too, so I guess it's pointless for the both of us."
The umbrella was wide enough to fit two people, so Athrun made his way under it. Their closeness caused Cagalli to quickly warm up.
"Are you headed home?" Athrun asked.
"Yes, but the bus is taking forever."
"You shouldn't stand out here in this rain. You could catch a cold that way. Come on," he put his arm around her shoulders and started leading her away from the bus stop, "you can come to my place. I live pretty close. We can get you some dry clothes and you can warm up."
Athrun could feel Cagalli's shoulders tense up. She froze.
"Wait, Athrun..."
"Is something wrong?"
She opened her mouth, but immediately closed it. Her cheeks reddened. She felt as though her thoughts were too embarrassing to say aloud. What was she suppose to say: Whenever you touch me a flood of images run through my mind; both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time? The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was crazy.
"Um...are you sure? I mean, you don't have to. I don't want to be a burden."
"We're friends right? It's no big deal."
Those words got her feet moving again. She always knew that they had some type of relationship, but to actually hear him say they were friends made the day seem not so bad. She nodded her head and allowed Athrun to guide her.
He was right, he didn't live to far. The walk only took about ten minutes or less. They were making their way up the stairs to the second floor of his apartment's building.
"Don't you live with Dearka?" Cagalli asked.
"Yeah."
"Would he mind?"
"No not at all. Besides, he isn't in now. He's working."
"You two also work together right? At his dad's law firm?"
"Yeah, we're both Mr. Elsman's assistant," Athrun opened the door to the second floor.
The hall was short and they were only a few feet away from Athrun's door when they noticed a young woman leaning against it. Her hair was pink and long. She wore a black mini skirt with a matching black, fur collared jacket. As they made their way closer she turned her head and smiled, but upon seeing Cagalli, she frowned. She pushed herself off the wall and stood in front of Athrun.
"I've been waiting for you," she spoke directly to Athrun, ignoring Cagalli's presence.
Athrun's brows furrowed.
"What are you doing here, Meer?" he said.
"I was bored. I wanted to see if you wanted to hang," she winked.
Cagalli didn't like this girl's gestures, nor did she like the tone of her voice. She was being too casual with Athrun, and Cagalli hoped that the two weren't so close.
"I'm sorry, but I have a guest."
Once he said that Meer shot Cagalli a disgusted look. Cagalli momentarily felt like scum by the way the girl was glaring at her. As if Cagalli was beneath her; not worth anyone's time. However, Cagalli quickly shook off those unwanted feelings and stood up straight with equal confidence.
"I guess some other time," Meer snorted.
Athrun nodded, maneuvered around her and unlocked his door. He grabbed Cagalli's hand, who was glaring at Meer's back, as she walked away, and pulled her inside.
His apartment wasn't decorated much. A sofa sat in the middle of the living room with a big screen television in front of it. The kitchen was behind the couch, with nothing but a small table and a microwave occupying it. Two doors were across from where Cagalli stood, and a small hallway. the place looked boring compared to her and Miriallia's, which was covered in sunset colors, plants, pictures and many other home accessories.
Athrun lead Cagalli to one of the doors, opened it, and lead her inside. She presumed it to be his room, for he made his way inside the bedroom's closet. While he rummaged through the closet, she looked around. His room was tidy-tidier than hers. He had a neat study area with a small bookshelf next to his desk, and his bed was made as if he never slept in it.
"So was that a friend of yours," Cagalli said.
The bitterness in her voice didn't go unnoticed. He stepped out of his closet.
"I...well she's a music major at my school."
"She was pretty, and the way she was dressed...any guy would be her friend," she said that more so to herself. "If you wanted to go, you could've. I'm not trying to ruin your afternoon."
"You're not, I assure you. Meer and I are not really close. I met her a few weeks ago, and she looked familiar...like I've met her before, so I approached her, tried to get to know her, or at least see if I did."
Cagalli didn't speak. The look on his face, the tone in his voice...it was all so melancholy, with a tinge of desperation. She felt as though there was nothing to say of the matter, so she let it be. Athrun went back into his closet.
"You can sit on the bed if you like," he said over his shoulder.
"Oh, that's alright. I wouldn't want to get it wet."
"You sure?"
"It's alright, thanks."
Athrun stepped out of the closet with a pile of clothes in each hand. He came closer to Cagalli and handed her a big black t-shirt and a fuzzy, blue bathrobe.
"You can change in here, and I'll change in the bathroom," he said. "You can place your clothes on the radiator that's by my bed. Just step into the living room when you're done." He walked over to the door. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"
She nodded and he made his way out. Once he was out of sight, Cagalli began removing her clothes. Walking towards the radiator, with her pile of wet clothes, she stopped in front of a floor mirror. For a while she stared at her reflection, her eyes gazing all over her body, and with a mix of disgust and disappointment, her fingers traced the marks on her body.
A few minutes passed before she made her way into the living room. Sitting on the couch, she looked over to Athrun's direction. He stood by the kitchen window, staring out of it, with two steaming mugs in his hands. The sky was darker than before, almost looking as if it was night, and the pitter patter of the rain grew louder.
"Doesn't look like it'll be stopping anytime soon," he said.
He sat down next to Cagalli who was occupied eyeing the pictures aligned under the entertainment system. With her eyes still on the photographs, she took the mug from Athrun's hand.
"These are all pictures of Dearka and his family. Do you have any?"
And that's when a frown formed on Athrun's face. He took a long slip from his glass before answering.
"I don't have any. At least I don't know if I do, and if I do, I don't know where they are or who may have them."
"I see...I don't have any either. Well...I guess a couple Miriallia took on her phone, but none like this. None printed or from the past, my beginning."
Athrun looked up and stared at Cagalli for a while. She noticed from her peripheral and the expression on his face made her uncomfortable.
"What is it?"
"Why not?"
"Excuse me?" she said.
"Why is it that you don't have any pictures?"
"I'm like you I guess. I don't know if I have any. I don't even know where I came from. I remember an old man, a hobo I suppose. Then I remember Miriallia finding me on the streets. I didn't know anything, but she taught me and I adapted to all of this in these past several months..."
She sheepishly looked at Athrun who viewed her with awe.
"It must sound crazy to you," she said.
"No...it sounds just like me. Similar. My earliest memory is meeting Dearka while wondering through a parking lot."
They were silent, staring at each other, looking into each other's eyes, finding comfort in their similarities. Knowing that they weren't alone in their experiences gave them a satisfaction they had never felt before, but also caused their minds to spiral in a whirlwind of confusion. One question sat on both of their minds: Who are you?
"I wonder if the way we lost our memory is similar," Athrun broke the silence, "and that is why we both have similar stories."
Cagalli looked down. Unable to give a response, she started fiddling with her necklace.
"You always have that on," Athrun said. "Something that I've noticed."
"It's always been with me."
"Is there writing on it? What does it say?"
She held the heart half up to him. The blue stone glistened in the light. Carved in cursive, Athrun could make out the word "Love."
"I wonder who has the other half," Athrun said.
"I wonder that everyday...Oh my gosh, I'm missing it!"
Athrun nearly spilled his drink.
"What?"
Her hands were clasped on both sides of her face, and she looked like she had seen a ghost.
"There's a marathon of 'Daughter of Momoko' on right now."
"We can watch it if you like."
Her face lit up.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to watch it, but with school and work-"
"You're gonna love it. Misaki is the best."
And with that she vehemently searched for the remote.
"So you guys spent hours together alone," Miriallia carried a mischievous smirk on her face.
It was slow at the café, and she and Cagalli, wear seating at the counter sharing a slice of cherry pie. Cagalli took a hefty bite out with her spoon.
"Yeah, it was cool. I told him that he would like 'Daughter of Momoko' and he was so into it. We watched the marathon, had snacks and chatted until it was over."
"I'm glad," Miriallia said, her smile shifting from taunting to sincere. "You know Cagalli," she took a spoonful of pie, "I think you should do stuff like that more often. Ya know spending time with people, getting out more. Hang out with Athrun more, heck even hang with Dearka, but I do think it'll benefit you."
"It did feel nice."
The two turned their heads due to the sudden chime of the bell. In came a young man. Instantly Cagalli recognized him and stood up from her seat. She stormed over to him.
"Are you sure you're not a stalker?" She was leaning close to his face with her hands on her hips.
"I assure you," he said with a light chuckle. "I've been meaning to come in here, but it is a pleasure to see you."
"Cagalli, why are you harassing our guest?" Miriallia said from her seat.
"If anyone's harassing, it would be him," she responded, momentarily facing Miriallia. She turned back to the young man. "Why are you here?"
"Cagalli," Miriallia warned.
"It's alright," the young man said to Miriallia. "I wanted to grab a treat."
Miriallia got up from her seat and walked over to the pair.
"What can I get ya?"
"I'll have a piece of that delicious looking cake you're displaying."
"Coming right up!"
As Miriallia packed him a slice, Cagalli glared at him, but his kind expression did not waver.
"Here you go," Miriallia handed him a small, brown paper bag.
"Thank you, Miss," he politely bowed.
"Not a problem, please come again."
"Or not," Cagalli mumbled. Miriallia elbowed her side.
"You should really get to know me Miss Cagalli," he grabbed Cagalli's hand and slipped a piece of paper in it. "I look forward to coming back," he said to Miriallia, and then he was on his way.
"He seems to like you," Miriallia said once he was gone. "What's that in your hand?"
Cagalli unwrinkled the paper and held it out for her and Miriallia to see. It was crumbled, but they could make out the dark print of a name and a phone number.
"So, his name is Kira."
It was a full moon that night. It shone bright over the castle, illuminating light onto the princess's balcony. From outside of her room, a passing maiden could hear giggles. She stopped in front of her lady's door, curious to who else could be in the room. Her lady's giggles were the loudest, but she was sure she heard another's. Though it was faint.
"My lady?" the maiden continuously knocked on the grand door. "My lady-"
The door swung open and the princess stepped out closing the door behind her.
"Your Grace, I heard laughter coming from thy bedroom. Art thou alright? Methinks thither someone else about."
The princess shook her head, but a huge grin remained on her face.
"Tis such a beautiful night as all!" she threw her head back with booming laughter, closing the door on her puzzled servant.
She made sure to lock her door behind her. Once everything was secure, the figure behind her balcony curtain made an appearance. She smiled at him, ran to him and jumped in his arms. Her arms and legs were wrapped around his body like a snake catching its prey. His arms encircled her form tenderly.
"We must be quiet, mine knight," she whispered in his ear.
"As thou wisheth," his warm breath caused her to quiver and the sensation in his voice made her melt.
With quiet steps, he carried her to her grand bed and gently laid her down.
"I just wanna break it down anytime you come around, and baby I could melt away in your arms..."
Thank you readers and reviewers :)
