Hey guys I'm sorry for the long delay with this chapter.
I had a few personal problems I need to deal with. Fortunately they are all resolved now, so I should be updating again like I usually do.
Chapter 48
It was a couple of days after Amagi and the other Orb people had joined the Archangel.
And right now Mayu Ramius was walking slowly through the ship's halls with a water balloon in each hand looking around, after her new favorite victim to prank.
None other then grandpa Amagi.
I title which the man had very quickly earned when he had prank her back.
After that one time where she had screw the top of the saltshaker loose, the second day they had gotten on board the ship, which had resulted in him getting his food completely ruined, and her getting the contents of his glass thrown right in to her face.
Once that had happened, the eleven-year-old girl had instantly decided to declare prank war against the man. Now pretty much doing everything that she could think of to get on the lieutenant's nerves.
She couldn't even remember how many times the funny man had chase her through the Archangel's halls, with the promise of throwing her out of the ship and in to the cold snow outside, not that he had yet succeeded in capturing her.
But the chase was just as hilarious as the hunt itself.
He was much more on guard from all of her tricks then anybody else on the ship, which of course served to make the whole thing even more amusing.
Yet as she continued walking around searching for the ship's new second in-command. She suddenly spotted him all by himself by one of the windows looking out at the huge blizzard outside.
And immediately noticing that he had his guard down, she hurried lift her hand and was just back to hurl the first water fill weapon at the man. When she heard him let out a long depressed sigh, which made her lower her hand again.
It was only now that she took a real good look at him that she was able to tell that he was feeling sad about something, and even true she honestly liked bothering her newest grandpa quite a bit, she knew that now was properly not the best time for it.
So after watching the man a bit longer, she placed both of the tiny weapons over by the wall, so nobody would accidently step on them.
After that, she slowly made her way over to the low spirited lieutenant. "Hey grandpa are you all right? You look really, really depressed right now" the brown haired girl said, with a deeply concerned expression on her face.
Hearing the voice of the Archangel's youngest crew member ask him that. Amagi slowly turned and looked back at the brown haired girl, where he immediately gave her a small yet friendly smile.
At the beginning he honestly did find many of her pranks annoying, yet after a little while he had realized that every time the girl tried or did prank him.
He got something else to think about, other then what had happened to his best friend. Which was something that he was honestly very grateful for.
There wasn't really that many people around the enormous war ship he could talk with about Todaka's death, which had actually served to make the whole thing that much more unbearable.
Yet once the eleven-year-old had decided to declare prank war against him.
He had at long last, finally been able to get his mind away from his dead buddy and over on something else.
Keeping an eye out for the girl and her traps, had quickly proven to be quite a difficult task, and he had been caught more then a couple of times now simply because he had been busy with something else.
Yet as he was thinking about everything that had happened, since he and the other Orb soldiers had joined the Archangel, the little girl beside him once again asked if he was all right, which made him look down at her again, where he could easily tell that the child was concerned about his well being. And just knowing that made the smile on his face grew a little bigger.
"I'm find Mayu dear, I just have a lot on my mind, these last few days has been kinda tough, I lost a lot of good friends in the last battle" he explained in a deeply sad tone, while he again looked out of the window with a far away look in his eyes.
Hearing what the problem was. Mayu thought hard about what to say to the man. And finally after a few seconds, she decided to just say, what was on her mind.
"I actually think that you are a bit lucky grandpa. Apparently I lost both of my real parents two years ago at the battle of Orb. But I can not remember anything about them, not what they looked like or even their names. So I do think you should cherish the time you had with your friends, and do your best to honor them from now on" she said in a loud tone.
Once more looking back at her. Amagi could not help but be somewhat shocked at hearing such clever words from a child, yet when he went through what she had said it did make a lot of sense to him.
He should cherish the time with Todaka and the others, and do his best to make them proud. "You are right Mayu. I'll stop feeling sorry for myself, and do my best to put an end to this war, that was after all what Todaka asked me to do!" The man said in a determined tone.
Smiling a bit at that the girl, slowly reached over and took a hold on her newest grandpa's hand, which she instantly gave a small squeeze.
"I'm glad to hear that grandpa, I don't like seeing you all depressed like that. Now I better get going. I have a pair of water balloons with grandpa Murdoch's name on. I believe that he has been having more then a few days off from my pranks!" Mayu said. Then removed her hand and went over to where she had left the water balloons, now determined to give them to her other grandpa instead.
Watching the child leave like that and knowing what she was up too. Amagi could not help but let out a small laugh. "She really is quite the kid, the captain truly much be proud of her" the man said, knowing that the kid had just won a great deal of his respect.
But just as he turned and was about to continued watching the view, another person began talking to him. "I am, she is such a sweet girl and she cares so much about the people around her. It's actually a bit of a shame that not all people are like her" Murrue told the man, as she slowly walked over beside him and took a glance out of the window at all the snow that was blowing around out there.
Looking a bit at the woman, Amagi used the next couple of minutes to think about her words. "Yeah it truly would be great if we could all trust each other and get along without having to fight" he said in a far away slightly dreamy tone.
He did however not think about that for long, before he asked the brown haired woman what she was doing there. Up until now the only other person who had been there had been Mayu, not that he really minded having some company.
"Well I saw Mayu a little while back walking around with two water balloons. And knowing what she was going to use them for I decided to follow her so that things would not get to far out of hand" Murrue explained, while wondering how Murdoch was going to react once her little mischief dumped the two water fill weapons on him.
As far as she knew the chief engineer had really enjoyed not having to deal with all of Mayu's pranks these last few days. So it was without a doubt going to be really interesting seeing how the man was going to react, once her daughter got down to the hangar.
Realizing that he had been the girl's indented target, the lieutenant let out another laugh.
Then once again turned his attention out towards the rough weather outside, sincerely wondering if all of this snow, was going to cost trouble for the Archangel when the time came for them to leave this place.
And seeing as the captain was standing right next to him. He decided to bring his minor concern to her attention. He frankly didn't want to be stuck there because the engines was fill with snow.
And with that in mind, he again turned his gaze over at the brown haired woman, who by now was watching the view with a far away expression her face.
Yet once he started asking questions about the ship's condition, she was quick to give him the answers he was looking for.
000000
At the same time else where on the ship.
Mayu slowly stuck her head inside the hangar and took a look around after her new target.
And it did not take many seconds for the small trouble maker to find the large man, over by one of the newer Murasames. Obviously busy debating with another one of the mechanics how they where going to fix the transformble machine.
And knowing quite well how big a workaholic grandpa Murdoch could be at times. Mayu knew that there was simply noway he was going to turn his attention away from the other man, which actually gave her quite the advantage.
So while smiling wickedly at that she began tiptoeing slowly towards the man, seriously hoping that the other mechanic would keep her grandpa distract until she was close enough to give the man her two 'gifts'.
And even true most of the other mechanics realized what the girl was up to, there was not a single one between them that actually felt like giving their boss some kind of warning about what was going on.
To be absolutely honest most of them was actually looking forward to see what was going to happen, once Mayu where so close that she could throw the two water balloons at the chief engineer.
But as excited as they all where about this, each of them where smart enough to continued working like nothing was going on. If they all suddenly stopped doing their jobs, Murdoch would most definitely realize that something wasn't right around here.
Unfortunately as luck would have it, the man Murdoch was talking with had a really terrible poker face. And the tiny smirk that was treating to make an appearance on his lips, was of course not something the chief engineer could avoid noticing.
"What the heck is wrong with you? Why are you standing there grinning like a total idiot?!" Murdoch asked loudly, still having no idea about what was going on not all that far behind him.
Noticing just how close the little girl was to the chief engineer, the grinning man quickly tried to come up with some kind of clever excuse that would not ruin the whole show that was just about to start.
"Well you see sir, I was just thinking about what kind of strategy I was going to use in tonight's poker game. I did take quite the beating the last time we played and I am completely determined to get revenge for that!" The grinning man said in a loud tone, that could be heard through the entire hangar.
Somewhat taken back by that Murdoch could not help but give the young man a deep skeptical look, just as his loud laughter could be heard echoing out through the hangar.
"Hah! That's a really good one, no offense Justin but you are really terrible at poker!" The chief engineer laught, while at the same tome trying to gain at least a little control, over his almost deafening outburst of feelings.
Not overly happy about getting his poker skills insult like that, Justin narrowed both of his eyes a bit then start talking to the chief engineer in a loud determined voice. "Well tonight I'm going to beat each and everyone of you, you just wait and see!" He yelled, while taking another glance back at Mayu that was now only a few steps away from Murdoch.
Seeing that he once more turned his somewhat displeased gaze back at the large man.
That by now actually looked more then a bit like he was ready to fall down on to his knees because of his almost hysterical laughter. He just didn't understand why Justin was suddenly so confident in his poker games skills, up until now the blue haired lad had yet to win even one game. So it just didn't make any sense why he suddenly thought he could win.
But just as he was about to mention that to Justin he noticed that the grin on his face was even bigger now then before, which finally made him realized that something just wasn't right here and when he realize that just about all of the other mechanics was looking at him too, he felt more then a few drops of sweat run down his face and land on the floor.
Yet before he could get his mouth open and ask Justin what was going on a sweet familiar voice suddenly call out to him from behind. "Ohh grandpa! I got something for you, which I'm pretty sure that you are just going to love!" The eleven-year-old girl said.
And just hearing her was more then enough to immediately make him turn around where he was quick to notice two specific things, first Mayu's grining face and then the yellow water balloon heading straight for him.
"Ohhh crap!" He thought out loud.
Just before the harmless weapons hit him and soak him from top to bottom.
But before he could start complaining about that. He saw the brown haired girl throw of her second balloon which land precisely on top of his head, once more sending a small amount of water down over him.
And as the entire crew down there broke out laughing he looked down at the girl with a unhappy glimmer in both of his eyes. "Hah...hah...very funny guess you had more then enough of teasing lieutenant Amagi, which means that I am your primary target again!" The slightly cranky man said, while using his sleeve to remove some of the water from his face.
Still smiling brightly at the man, Mayu began explaining her reason for this minor attack. "Well I was planing on giving him the balloons originally, but once I found him, he seemed to have a awful lot on his mind, and I really didn't want to disturb him too much. But that was when I realized that having things on your mind is not really something you are good at grandpa Murdoch" she said proudly.
Which of course resulted in the laugher down there grew even high, as a few of the other mechanics shouted out a few comments to that remark, much of them about how they all agreed with Mayu on that.
Taking a small glance around at all the laughing people currently in the hangar.
Murdoch let out a enormous sigh as he once more turned his eyes downwards towards the grinning eleven-year-old girl.
"You know what Mayu, you really are the biggest trouble make I have ever met, and I have know more then a few people with a truly sick sense of humor" he softly told her.
Then reached down and slowly rubbed the black oil on his fingers of on her face, making it look like the brown haired girl actually, had a big ugly moustache just under her tiny nose.
And just the sight of her like that, was enough to make a few of the mechanics yell out a few loud comments about her suddenly being senior Mayu, and that she was way to old to be down there.
Glaring at bit at her grandpa for the moustache thing. Mayu once more began talking to the large man in the same overly proud tone as before.
"Well I'm really happy getting such a big compliment from you grandpa. It really means a lot to me that you think, I'm such a grand trouble make. To tell you the truth it can be really tough to keep on making up new pranks like this. If that Murasame pilot Ikeya hadn't given me these water balloons I might have done something else instead!" The little girl said, sounding very much like she already had a bunch of other ideas, for pranks to pull of around the ship.
And knowing that it was either him or Amagi that was on the receiving end of whatever she was planing.
Murdoch slowly moved his left hand up, and removed a few drops of sweat from his forehead, while rolling his eyes a single time at the child's love for pranks.
But after wondering briefly what exactly the child's next scheme was going to be, his rummaging thoughts was brought to an end when he let out a huge sneeze that could easily be heard through the entire hangar.
"As much as I would like to hear what you are planing for the future, trouble make. I think I better hurry head back to my room and get in to a dry set of clothes, so if you are done torturing me I'll see you later" he said, then turned around on one foot and began swiftly making his way towards the exit of the hangar.
He did however not get very far, before he turned around again and looked back at the other mechanics that was still busy laughing at him. "And all of you lazy bums have better be hard at work once I get back. We need to run a complete check-up on both the Freedom and Dearka's Murasame, we haven't had the opportunity to do that for quite awhile now. Because we have been so damn busy, with all of those other Murasames!" The chief engineer said loudly, making certain that they all knew, he was serious about this.
But true they all knew that this was just his way of getting back at them for laughing at him in the first place, there was not a single one of the mechanics who stopped laughing.
Each and every one of them where simply having to good a time to take his minor threats for more work serious.
And noticing that, Murdoch slowly shook his head a couple of times, before walking the rest of the way out of the hangar with a small grin on his face.
He might not ever admit it out loud, but there was a small part of him which actually thought it was kinda nice when Mayu came by to lighten the mood down there in the hangar. It really did help make the other mechanics work that much harder, when they had something to laugh and talk about for the rest of the day.
Once out of sight, the other mechanics instantly started preparing for the check-up on the Freedom gundam and the light blue Murasame, pretty much all of them talking loudly about how silly Murdoch's face had looked when the water balloons had hit him.
Especially Justin who had only been a few steps away from Murdoch had a few things to say about what had occur down there not long ago.
Yet while they where discoursing that, the main source of the humorous entertainment slowly turned around and walked quietly out of the hangar, with a big delightful smirk covering her face.
000000
Meanwhile elsewhere on the ship.
Cagalli was in the mess hall busy devouring her third lemon fruit, not all that surprisingly she had really been craving something sour lately, and fortunately the ship had more then enough lemons on board to satisfy her big appetite for that.
But unfortunately she was also starting to have yet another craving and without her handsome fiancé around, there was simply no way for the young woman to get rid of her deep somewhat lustful desires, which pretty much resulted in that she was in a real foul mood at the moment.
Something that was violently shown by the way she practically tore through the bitter piece of yellow fruit, making it completely obvious for just about all that saw her that disturbing her right now, was a really bad idea.
"Damn it all, once I get my hands on Athrun he is really going to regret this. I know that I told Kira that I was going to make Athrun change the baby's diaper the first six months after it was born. But I think I'll change that punishment to a whole year!" She growled unhappily, before chewing down yet another piece of fruit, while at the same time wondering, why she had to suffer for something that she firmly believed was Athrun's fault.
She just didn't get why it was fair, that men had to get of so easy while the women had to go through all of this stupid crap.
And as she once more slammed her teeth so hard in to the yellow fruit that a large amount of the sticky fruit juice ran slowly down both of her cheeks, she once again promised herself, that the next time she saw her fiancé he was going to get a nice huge bump on his head.
Yet even true that thought did make the extremely cranky woman feel a little better. It did not take many seconds before that angry frown could again be seen on her forehead, she just couldn't figure out what she was suppose to do with herself right now. She was just so damn frustrated that she honestly felt like going down to the hangar and just take the Duel Rouge out for a small spin around the area.
But as appealing as that thought was to her, she knew that there was just no way she could do that.
It was simply way to dangerous for the small infant growing inside her belly to take a trip around in a mobile suit, even true it wasn't in real life combat, so she just had to think of some other way, to went out some of the deep frustration and stress, she was feeling at the moment.
"There has to be something around this ship that can help me calm down" she growled quietly, while enjoying the completely bitter taste of the fruit as it disappeared down her throat.
Yet as she kept on trying so hard to make up her mind about what to do now, she suddenly heard a pair of loud voices coming towards her location. "I just can't get over how luxurious this ship is, the hot spring is just great after a hard day of work, and the shooting range is much more advance then any other ship I have ever been station on" one of the Orb soldiers said loudly.
Letting out a big laugh at those words, the other soldier immediately began telling his opinion about the white space ship.
"Yeah tell me about it. If I had know that the Archangel was like this, I would have joined this ship a long time ago" the other man said back.
Then used the next couple of minutes to swiftly go through all of the things on this ship that was made to make the trip even more pleasant for the crew, and as he did that it quickly became clear to him that he wouldn't really mind spending the rest of his life on board the Archangel.
Especially if he could convince his girlfriend to come along too, if that where to happen, then everything truly would be perfect.
Yet while he was dreaming about the lovely woman he had left behind back home in Orb so many weeks ago, his comrade next to him soon brought him back out of his thoughts.
"I do know that this trip is really important, but I kinda wish that we where out over the sea, so I could fish a bit. I haven't been able to do that since we left Orb. And I honestly miss it quite a bit" the first one of the soldiers said.
Hearing what his friend's problem was at the moment, the second one of the Murasame pilot's let out a loud thoughtful sound, which Cagalli had trouble hearing from her position down in the mess hall.
"Well if you are so bored that you want to do something like that, why don't you come with me down to the game room and play a few video games? I'm certain that blowing the head off a few monsters will help greatly on your boredom" the man suggest in a loud slightly excited tone, which made it pretty obvious for all that was listening, that he really wanted to beat the crap out of a few monsters right now.
Yet as the first one of the pilots was considering his buddy's suggestion, Cagalli too was doing the same thing. She knew that tearing a bunch of monsters apart would surely help on her bad mood.
So before the other had the opportunity to come up with a reply.
Cagalli instantly rubbed away the sticky fruit juice that was covering her face then stood up and hurried made her way over to the door, where she saw the two pilots only a few steps away from the entrance to the mess hall.
"If he doesn't want to play, I'll be more then happy to challenge you to a game or two. I'm quite frustrated and stressed out right now, so I could really use something that could help me relax!" The blond haired woman said, while taking a short glance in at the one lemon fruit she had left behind on the table. There was actually a tiny part of her, that was slightly tempted to go back in there and get it.
But while she stood there looking at the bitter fruit, she did not notice that the two pilots was somewhat taken back at her eagerness to play video games, and it was only when she tore her gazes away from the fruit and back towards them, that she noticed the slightly surprised look they each had on their faces.
"Ahhhh don't tell me that you guys are afraid to get beaten up by a girl, I had the impression that Orb pilots was some of the most brave soldiers around" she teased in a loud tone, while she gave the two of them a highly daring smirk. Which she hoped would make them forget who she was, and somewhat hurt their male pride so they would be more then willing to take her up on her challenge.
And their response didn't really disappoint her. "If you really want to see just how exactly we Orb pilots do battle lady Cagalli then I accept your challenge. But just so you know I will not be holding back!" The second pilot said determined.
Hearing that Cagalli gave him a small yet somewhat wicked smile. "Great I wouldn't have it any other way. I really do look forward to see what you fellows can do in a video game, beside I find myself really wanting to whip that stupid smirk of your face" the blond girl said, then turn around on one foot and started making her way to the Archangel's game room.
Looking a bit after the blond woman, the two pilots turned and took a glance over at each other. "Well that definitely didn't go as I expected. But I guess it's going to be kinda interesting seeing just what lady Cagalli can do in a video game" the second one said.
Then took of after the short tempered pregnant woman, with his friend following only a few steps behind him.
000000
Yet while Cagalli was off showing the two Orb pilots just how good she was at playing video games.
Kira was up on the Archangel's bridge, sitting in the chair Murrue's usual sat in, talking with his beautiful wife, who was presently a few thousands kilometers away from the mostly green and blue planet.
And judging from the tired look on her face, she had been extremely busy the last few weeks, since she and Waltfeld had left earth to join up with the Eternal.
"So have you found any information about what the Chairman is really up to?" The male Yamato asked, even true there was just no way he could deny that he would much rather speak with her about something else other then the war.
But he figure that it was properly best to get that out of the way first, before they started on a more pleasant conversation which they where each longing to have with one another.
And even true Lacus would sincerely have loved to just sit there for hours watching her husband's strong determined eyes. She slowly moved her attention away from him, and downwards at the paper in front of her.
"I haven't really been able to figure much out about his plans yet, but I been able to gather together some support from a few people up here, who is also having some serious doubts about the Chairman's true intentions for this world" Lacus said, while thinking about the two former male Zaft pilots and the female one that had joined them not long ago.
But as she did that she once more looked back up, at her handsome husband.
Where she pretty much instantly realized that it took a great deal of her willpower not to get pulled completely in to his deep purple eyes. She practically had to force her gaze away from him, and back down at her desk.
So while her heart was literally screaming over how much she missed the one she loved. The young woman once more began telling her husband about what process she had made since she and Mr Waltfeld had gotten out there.
"They all seem to be really good pilots, and I'm certain that they will be a great help should we have no other means to stop the Chairman but brute force" Lacus said a bit disappointed that she hadn't been able to figure out anything about the Chairman's intentions.
Hearing that they had some new allies, Kira smiled a bit as he watched his gorgeous wife. A huge part of him where really longing to have her back in his arms, and to once more take in the lovely scent of her long pink hair.
It kinda felt like the few weeks they had been apart from each other had been just as long as a couple of years.
And he truly missed her with every last fiber of his very being, and just about every single part of him where sincerely looking forward to the day when the woman he loved and cared about, would return back home to him.
So while once more trying to recall the soft feeling of her long silky hair between his fingers. The male Yamato opened his mouth to tell his wife what he thought about the news she had just given him.
"That's really great news sweet heart, I honestly think we are going to need all the help we can get. But never mind that now, how are you doing up there?" The brown haired man asked in a slightly anxious tone.
He frankly didn't like being this far away from her when the Chairman and Zaft was after her life, he wanted her right next to him, so he could protect her.
Thinking briefly about her husband's question. Lacus played around a bit with the ring he had given her two years ago, just before the battle at Jachin Due. "I'm doing just fine Kira. But I really miss you at lot, it's kinda lonely out here without you, the bed in our room just feel so big without you beside me" the pink haired goddess explained, just as she stopped twirling with ring and again looked back at Kira.
Where she instantly found herself capture by Kira's eyes, something which she did not realize was happening to him too.
Both of them simply sat there for God knew how many minutes, just staring intensely in to each other's eyes, the two of them practically hypnotized, at the mere sight of the one they loved.
And it was only once the male Yamato saw his wife turned her head slightly to the side, that he was finally able to give her a reply to her sweet words. "I miss you too Lacus, I miss you a lot" he softly told her, not once moving his gazes away from her two lovely blue shining orbs.
And even true Lacus' heart start beating that much faster, just from hearing him say those few words to her. She still didn't say anything back, she just kept on staring lovingly in to Kira's eyes, fantasying and daydreaming about the day, when they would be together again.
Yet as much as they would both have loved to just continue sitting there watching one another.
The deep silence was brought to a unwelcome hold, when each of them heard a tiny sound from Lacus' computer which made it obvious, that somebody else wanted to talk with the pink haired woman now.
But even with the knowledge that this could be important, they could after all be under attack or something like that, Lacus still had a few things she wanted to speak with Kira about.
So once the computer made another small yet annoying sound the female Yamato, asked her husband one of the questions she truly wanted some kind of answer to.
"So have you had any luck convincing Athrun to come back home to where he belongs?" The girl asked, sincerely hoping that Kira had somehow found away to talk some sense in to Athrun, about him working together with Zaft and the Chairman.
She knew better then most, how difficult it had been for Kira fighting against Athrun doing the last war, and she was sure that this time around was no different.
Fortunately the small smile on Kira's face made it clear that he had some good news about this matter. "Well for now he is still a part of the Minerva's crew, but once I told him that Cagalli was pregnant he really did seem to be giving the idea of returning back to us some serious thought. He even let me destroy the Saviour, without any resistance" Kira said, while thinking back to how he had torn through his friend's red gundam.
He did however only do that for a few seconds, before he continued telling his wife about what kind of progress he had made, in getting Athrun to see the truth about Chairman Durandal.
"But unfortunately he did seem quite determined to find his own information about the Chairman's agenda. And I seriously doubt he will come back to us before he is able to somehow figure out the truth on his own" the brown haired man said.
While thinking back to how determined his best friend, had sounded doing their last conversation at the battle at Crete.
Quickly going through everything Kira had just told her, Lacus got a somewhat thoughtful look on her face. "That does sound overly risky Kira. If he really does start searching through the Minerva for information about the Chairman, he could end up in serious danger. Especially when he is all alone on that ship" the pink haired girl said.
Honestly deeply concerned that if somebody where to figure out that Athrun was now acting like a spy, he could end up getting either seriously injured or maybe even killed, and Lacus most definitely didn't want for Athrun and Cagalli's child to grew up without a father.
Yet as she sat there worrying about that, it only took a brief moment or two before Kira's low yet serious voice interrupted her concerned thoughts.
"I'm actually quite worried about him too, Lacus. But Athrun knows better then most people how to look after himself. And I'm pretty certain he wouldn't do anything too dangerous with the baby on the way" the pilot of the Freedom assured his wife, in a somewhat confident tone, while seriously wondering what his best friend was doing right now.
He just hoped that he wasn't doing anything totally lunacies and alarming, that would result in him getting a whole lot of unwanted attention.
If Athrun where to end up in a prison cell somewhere on a secret Zaft base, it was going to be extremely difficult, if not even impossible to get him out of there again.
Immediately noticing the thoughtful look which Kira had on his face. Lacus had little trouble figuring out what he was thinking about. "Hmmm I'll make absolutely sure to tell both Mr Waltfeld and DaCosta to keep a close eye on any information about the Minerva. That way we will eventually know if Athrun is in any kind of danger on that ship" Lacus said.
And even true Kira of course realized that it was almost completely impossible for them to figure out, everything that what was happening on the Minerva.
He was happy to know that Lacus would at least ask Mr Waltfeld and DaCosta to do this. Both of them where after all pretty good at sticking their noses in to things which frankly did not concern them.
Especially the Desert Tiger, seemed to know a few shady characters here and there, who seemed to be experts in figure out stuff which was not suppose to be known by anybody else.
But Kira kinda doubt that even people such as them, where actually able to dig up anything about what was going on inside the enormous grey Zaft ship. "I'm happy to hear that Lacus. But please do make certain Lacus that you do not do anything that can be easily track. Athrun wouldn't want our help, if it turned out that you got in danger instead of him" Kira said, knowing that their friend would not appreciate their assistance if Lacus ran a bunch of unnecessary risks.
Already knowing that Kira was properly right about that. Lacus nodded a single time in agreement. "I'll be extra careful Kira, just as long as you promise me that you will do the same. I definitely don't want anything to happen to you" the pink haired woman said, with a slightly worried glimmer in her eyes.
Seeing that Kira gave her a small yet reassuring smile. "Trust me sweet heart I will be careful down here, there is after all so many people that I want to continue living my life with, when the war is over" the brown haired man said in a low tone, while a small image of their odd little family appearing in his head.
He did however not get long to wonder what exactly was going to happen once the second Bloody Valentine War war was brought to an end, before they each heard an extremely hard knock on the door to Lacus' room, which made it clear that there was somebody out there that really wanted to get in.
"Hmm I wonder who that can be" Lacus said in a thoughtful tone, then call out to the person outside of the room to come on in.
And it didn't even take a second before the door flew open and in rushed a orange haired woman with a eyepatch over her right eye. And once she got to the middle of the room, she immediately took a quick look around for any threats. But when she realized that there was nobody else in there, she visibly relax as she looked over at the pink haired woman she respect so much.
"Thank God you are all right miss Lacus, I was really starting to get worried about you when you didn't answer any of my calls!" Hilda said, before taking yet another speedy glance around the chamber.
Hearing what the problem was, Lacus smiled slightly at the one eyed woman. "I'm sorry about that Hilda. But I was so busy talking with my husband that I didn't pay much attention to what was going on around me" Lacus explained, a small part of her still wanting very much to keep on talking with Kira, about what else the two of them could do to help out Athrun. And she was also highly curious about, hearing how Cagalli was handling being pregnant.
Immediately realizing that she had chosen to disturb the pink haired girl at a bad time. Hilda seriously started considering leaving the room again so the husband and wife could continue their conversation.
Yet now that she was in there, her deep curiosity about the very person miss Lacus obviously loved so deeply quickly won her over, which instantly made her take a couple of steps closer to the small computer, so she could get a good look at the person the pink haired girl had been speaking to.
And it did not take long before she saw a brown haired young man with purple eyes, looking right back at her with a somewhat confused look on his face. Which was all she need to tell, that he didn't really understand what was going on, at the moment.
Not that she blamed him for that. She too had actually been quite surprised, when she had been told that the mysterious pilot of the Freedom gundam was a kid, only a few months younger then miss Lacus.
But knowing what this kid had done in the last war, was more then enough for Hilda to know that this young man, deserved a lot of her respect. "It's a true honor to meet you Kira Yamato, I have heard a lot of great things about you from miss Lacus. I am especially impressed, that you where able to take down that heartless fool to Rau Le Creuset. That's definitely not an achievement many pilots could accomplish!" Hilda said, knowing from experiences just how dangerous the mask wearing man had been.
Looking a bit at the woman Kira smiled slightly at her. Even true he did not really liked being reminded about his battle with the insane blond man and the Providence gundam, he did after all see one of his close friends die during that fight.
But it was not like the orange haired woman had any knowledge about that. So once he was done shaking away those painful images of Asagi's M1 getting pierced by one of the Providence's DRAGOONs, he softly started talking to the former Zaft pilot.
"I guess from what you are saying, that you knew him at some point doing the last war?" The male Yamato asked, not once taking his gaze away from the one eyed woman on the screen, where he could easily tell that she was thinking quite hard about what kind of reply she should give him.
And finally after a brief moment or two the woman decided that it didn't really do much harm, that she told the boy about her one meeting, with the utterly insane mask man.
"I fought along side him doing the battle Battle of Yggdrasil, where I witness first hand just how crazy he could be. And once he got promoted it to commander I was actually asked to join the Le Creuset team. Which I refused almost instantly, that man was simply way to cold and heartless for my taste. I just didn't want to go in to battle with a guy, who didn't care one bit about the lives he took!" Hilda explained, while thinking about some of her past experiences with Zaft, before she had joined up with the Clyne Faction.
Quickly going over everything the woman had just told him, Kira had a somewhat thoughtful look in his eyes, while he nodded a few times in understanding. "I see, thank you for telling me about that miss Hilda, I'm thankful that a person as kind as you are looking after my wife" Kira said, then gave the orange haired woman a small yet grateful nod to show his appreciation.
Seeing the brown haired man do that Hilda looked away from the screen and over at the wall.
Whenever somebody was acting so kindly towards her, she always had a bit of trouble, figuring out just how she was supposed to response. She did after all prefer taking action, then sitting around behaving all friendly and pleasant.
"Ahh kid please don't mention it, you are making me feel all embarrassed up here, but you are quite welcome. Seeing as both of us are so determined to protect miss Lacus. I do believe that the two of us should at the very least trust each other, so please put you worries to rest kid. I swear on my life that I will not let anybody hurt her, while she is on board the Eternal" Hilda said, while giving both of the teens a determined look.
Truly grateful that the former Zaft pilot was so protective of her, Lacus decided to put in her two cents, about the subject.
"I'm am truly deeply honored that you would go to such length to protect me. But please don't get yourself kill needlessly Hilda, we might not have know each other all that long. Yet it would sadden me greatly should anything happen to you, or your two friends" Lacus said, while looking directly in to Hilda's remaining eye.
Which instantly made Hilda realize just how serious the other woman was about this. And she knew for sure that both Mars and Herbert would be glad to know that miss Lacus was concerned about their safety.
"I'll be sure to mention what you just said miss Lacus, to those two numskulls the next time I see them. But I better get going now, I'm certain that you still have a few things you need to talk with your husband about, so I'll be seeing you later miss Lacus" she said loudly.
Then gave the girl a brief salute before she turned around and started making her way over to the door.
She did however not get very far, before she call back that it was nice to talk with Kira and that she was really looking forward to work together with him in the near future. Which Kira response to, by telling her that it had been a pleasure to meet her too.
After that it did not take long before Hilda disappeared out of the room, leaving the young couple to continue with their conversation.
Once gone Kira smiled gently at his lovely wife, as he began telling her his opinion on the orange haired woman.
"Hm she seemed like a generally nice person. I'm really happy that somebody like that is around to protect you, while you are up there. I most admit that I have been kinda worried about you since you left" Kira said, honestly glad to know that there was more then just Mr Waltfeld around to keep Zaft, and that Durandal fool away from Lacus.
Hearing that Lacus turned her attention away from the door which Hilda had left through a few moments ago and back towards her husband, where she smiled calmly at him.
"I really don't think you have to worry Kira. It's not like Zaft actually knows where we are hiding out, and if they did happen to find us, it's not like we are completely defenseless. We do have a few mobile suits stash away up here, both the Gaia gundam and a few older Zaft models" Lacus said, while thinking about the three black upgraded CGUEs and the two GINNs in the same colour.
Not saying anything to that at first, Kira slowly turned his purple gazes downwards in a somewhat thoughtful manner.
"I know that you guys are more then capable of handling yourself sweet heart. But you are my wife and I love you, so I just can't help but be at least a little concerned about your well-being while you are away" The young man said, then once more looked back up in to Lacus' lovely blue eyes.
Where he instantly took notice of the gentle look she now had on her face. "I love you too Kira, and I'm happy that you are concerned about me. Yet if you look at it from my point of view, I should be the one to be concerned. I do think that piloting the Freedom gundam is much more dangerous then hiding out in this huge asteroid field" Lacus softly told him.
While using a few short moments to try and count just how many times she had been concerned about Kira's safety, whenever he went out first in the Strike and then the Freedom.
That was when Kira cut in to her wandering thoughts about him piloting a mobile suit. "I know that fighting in the Freedom is dangerous Lacus, but I honestly feel like it's something I have to do. I really don't want a repeat of what Rau Le Creuset was trying to do. I have to make absolutely sure that this doesn't turn out like the last war, with Naturals and Coordinators trying everything to exterminate each other again!" Kira said determined.
Then wondered briefly if Rau Le Creuset's plan and whatever the Chairman was scheming had anything in common. He did however only get a few brief moments to think about that before Lacus interrupted his rummaging thoughts.
"I do understand why it's so important that you pilot the Freedom again Kira. I too don't want to see the world end up like that once more. It really was terrible what happened back then. But that does not mean that I like seeing you go out in to battle, there is actually a tiny part of me that wished that we hadn't gotten involved in this war" Lacus said, as she reached over and gave Haro a small push.
Not really having a tough time telling that she was feeling a kinda bad about what she had just said. Kira really wanted to reach out, and wrap both of his arms around her, and just hold her as long as humanly possible.
But knowing he couldn't do that through the screen, he thought a small second or two about what would be the most clever thing to say at the moment. He really did want to calm her down right now.
"I don't think you have to feel bad about that Lacus sweet heart. I'm pretty sure that most people out there fighting this war, would most rather have stayed home with their friends and family, so why should you feel any different? If you take a trip around the Eternal and ask the crew about it, I'm certain that most of them would say that they preferred being together with their loved once, instead of fighting and killing other people" Kira said, sounding very thoughtful about the whole matter.
Looking straight at him, Lacus thought hard about her husband's words, and it did not take long before she found herself nodding slowly in agreement.
"Yeah you are right Kira. I'm sure that what most of us is thinking about right now, is when this war will be over" the pink haired woman said, while at the same time wondering just how many weeks and months all of this fighting would continue.
That was actually something both of them where wondering about right now, so they where each pretty quiet the next few seconds, while those thoughts flew through their heads.
And it was only when Lacus shook away those depressing thoughts. And asked Kira how Cagalli was handling the whole baby thing. That they got something a lot more cheerful discursion.
000000
It was about ten minutes later when Kira left the bridge.
And began making his way down to the Archangel's mess hall to get some lunch.
He was honestly quite hungry right now, seeing as he had skipped breakfast this morning. But even true his stomach was making quite a lot of noise, the deep hunger he was feeling was the farthest thing on his mind.
The young man was simply far more occupied thinking about the conversation he had just had with his wife.
He might have done his very best to hide it doing their talk, but seeing her through the small screen had really remind him just how much he actually missed her, and wanted for her to come back home to all of them, here on the Archangel.
Yet as he wander onwards with those thoughts flying through his mind.
He didn't really pay all that much attention to his surroundings, which resulted in that he was almost run over by a blue and black radio control car that came racing down the hall.
And it was only because Mayu's voice call out to him that he was able to make sure that the small fast moving vehicle didn't collided with his left foot. "You shouldn't walk around daydreaming like that big brother Kira, you almost got hit by Blue Racer!" Mayu said loudly, making it sound very much like he would have been badly injured had the small toy actually hit him.
But seeing the displeased look on her face, made Kira feel somewhat uncertain about what his response should be to that statement. So the Freedom pilot just stood there for an unknown number of seconds looking at the girl until he slowly took a glance down at the car, where he could easily tell that the small toy had seen quite a tough time around the ship.
Especially the front of it had more then a few minor dents here and there from hitting the ship's thick walls. It was actually pretty obvious to him that it would only be a matter of time before the toy would break apart completely.
Which wasn't really much of a surprise seeing as the eleven-year-old had always been kinda rough on her toys, she had actually broken more then a few things in the two years Kira had known her.
And that was properly the main reason why she was a bit concerned about this piece of toy, seeing as there was simply noway to replace it should it end up breaking now.
So while still looking at the car Kira briefly wonder if there was away for him to repair the toy, it wasn't nearly as complicated as Haro and Birdy.
The two robots did after all have some things that made them kinda unique, Haro was intelligent enough to talk and recognize the people around him, while Birdy could fly just like a normal living bird.
And seeing as it wasn't all that difficult repairing the two robots if somebody knew what he was doing. Kira was pretty certain that he could fix the small radio control car, should it suddenly stop working.
But before he could get his mouth open and say anything to the small girl about that, Mayu cut him off by loudly asking him what he had been daydreaming about just now.
And seeing the deeply curious look Mayu now had on her face, Kira decided that he could always talk with her about the toy later. It was completely obvious to him that she really wanted to know, what exactly had been going through his mind, before she had met up with him.
"Well you see Mayu it's not long since I finished talking with Lacus, and that kinda remind me just how much I miss her" Kira told her in a far away tone, that was all Mayu need to tell that there was a whole lot going through her big brother's mind right now.
So as she kneel down and picked up Blue Racer, which she had decided to name the small toy because of the blue strips on it. "I miss her too big bro. It's been such a long time since they left, and I kinda miss playing with Haro, maybe the next time I see big brother Athrun I should tell him that I want a Haro of my own. Perhaps I could get Mr Light Blue or Mr Purple!" Mayu said, sounding very excited about the idea of having a small noise making robot of her own.
And even true Kira would honestly like to tell Mayu, that he could easily make a Haro for her. He knew that he just didn't have all the necessary parts for the small, yet highly irritating robot.
But giving her a Haro of her own was actually a pretty good idea for a gift.
If there was one thing Mayu had made absolutely clear almost immediately after she start living with them. Then it was, that she had a certain fondness of playing with Mr Pink and all of Lacus' other Haros.
And just thinking about how happy she was, when playing with the many robots was more then enough to make Kira decide, that once he had to opportunity to get all the right parts, he was going to make her a Mr Purple.
But for now it was properly best not to mention that to her.
If he did that, Kira had no doubt that the overly impatient child would be asking him about it every single day, until they finally got back home to Orb where he could get whatever he needed to assemble a Haro for her.
So while thinking about how happy a gift such as that was going to make her, there was a tiny part of him that literally began yelling at him, that it had been quite some time now, since he last spend anytime with the girl. Which he actually felt more then a little guilty, considering he saw Mayu as a younger sister.
And as he watched her look the toy car over. Kira tried his very best to come up with a suggestion to something the two of them could do together. And it did not take very long before he realized that it had been quite a while now, since they had last played a game of Risk against each other. Which he knew was something that they each had enjoyed a lot back home in Orb.
And with that in mind he gave the girl a small yet challenging smirk. "So Mayu do you want to be green like usual, or do you want another color for a change while I conquer your countries?" Kira asked in a teasing tone.
That was all that was needed to make her look away from the toy car and up at him, where she immediately realized what it was he was asking her. "All right you are on big bro! And I'll be green like always, while I whip your pathetic countries of the map!" The girl boasted loudly.
With that said, the two of them turned around and started making there way down, to the Archangel's mess hall, where all of the board games was stashed away.
000000
At the same time elsewhere.
Miriallia Haw was laying on her front on top of her's and Dearka's bed.
Just about all of the young woman's attention was turned downwards towards the thick book which she had borrowed from Arnold a few days ago.
But as humorous as she found the book, she did have a bit of a tough time keeping all of her attention on it, seeing as her handsome boyfriend was at this very moment busy making push-ups over by the entrance to the room.
And just the sight of the large amount of sweat that was slowly running down his muscular upper body, was more then enough to distract the eighteen-year-old girl more then a little bit.
Yet one look at his stupid grinning face made it pretty clear that he wasn't doing that to get exercise any longer, there was only one reason why the big fool was doing this, and that was simply to mess around with her.
Which frankly did bother her slightly, there was just no way she was going to let him win this socalled game or whatever it was call. So after once more forcing her eyes away from him, she thought hard about what her countermove to this was going to be.
And after a small moment or two she realized that she was still dressed in most of her Orb military uniform. The only things missing, was the long stocking that was supposed to cover both of her legs, which she had removed before getting on the bed.
And she hadn't really been dating Dearka Elsman for very long, before she had realized that he was a bit of a leg man. And he had shown on more then one occasion that he especially loved her legs.
So while still thinking about that, Miriallia slowly lifted her left bare leg away from the mattress and up in the air, making it so he couldn't avoid getting a really good look at it.
And to make it even more tempting and flirtatious, she began slowly dangling it back and forth in a almost hypnotizing rhythm. Something which Miriallia highly doubt he would be able to resist looking at, for very long.
But even true the young man was quick to figure out what his lovely girlfriend was up to, he just couldn't help but take a glance up at her long bare leg.
Yet as much as he yearned to feel her smooth skin underneath his fingers and as tempting as it was to get up in to the bed together with her. He was quite determined not lose this somewhat weird competition the two of them had going, about who of them could keep their hands of each other the longest.
And knowing that it was now his turn to make a move he thought hard about what the best strategy would be. He seriously needed to do something that would really get to her, the whole leg thing was a pretty 'slick move' and he was honestly having quite a tough time keeping his eyes away from it.
So after thinking a few seconds about it he slowly turned over, and started doing sit-ups instead, hoping that this would show of just enough of his muscles, so Miriallia wouldn't be able to keep on staring so intensely at that stupid book.
But once he started on that, Miriallia just took a short glance down at him where she gave a smile that couldn't be interpreted as nothing else then seductive, after that she slowly reached up and unbutton the first three buttons on her blouse.
"Whiiiffff! It sure is hot in here" she sighed softly, while pretending to pull the blouse away from her sweaty body a few times. Making it so that Dearka caught a small flash of the light blue bra she had on underneath her uniform.
And when she saw his face get slightly red she gave him a small kissing sound, before she once more continued behaving like the book, was the most interesting thing in this room.
And just the sight of her doing that, was more then enough to make the young Coordinator narrow his eyes slightly. 'Damn she is definitely playing dirty now, how the heck am I suppose to counter that move? It's not like I have anything on my upper body that I can just take off, she definitely got the advantages now' he thought to himself, while trying his best to keep his eyes away from her.
Which proved to be quite the challenge, especially when she began with the whole seductive movement with her left leg again.
And that alone was almost enough to make him give her the victory in their slightly weird game. It certain did take a great deal of his willpower to tear his gaze away from her again and downwards towards the floor.
But as he tried so hard to come up with a response to her last daring attack, his overly flirtatious girlfriend let out a small sigh as she said a few things about just how hot she felt right now, and how sticky all of her clothes felt because of the warm in there.
And just hearing her say that, was more then enough to make Dearka realize a few things. 'Ok that's it, I admit defeat! But who in their right mind would actually care about that now' he thought to himself as he stood up straight and began making his way towards the bed.
"Well if you are really that hot my lady, then why don't you allow me to help you get out of those bothersome clothes?" Dearka asked with a small yet naughty grin on his face, as he got down on the bed beside Miriallia where he slowly ran his right hand gently over the soft skin on her left leg.
Feeling him do that Miriallia turned a bit to the side and looked up at him. "Hmmm that's a really interesting offer Dearka, so why not" she said, with a happy smile on her face.
Just as he moved down and softly pressed his lips against her's, kissing her gently. While he slowly removed his hand from her leg, then reached up and began working on the buttons left on her blouse, doing his best not to miss any of them, even true he was honestly was more then a little bit distract by the whole fighting around with her exploring pink tongue, which was now halfway over in his mouth.
And it really didn't help much on his concentration when she let out a deep passion fill moan right in to his mouth. While she slowly moved her hands up and down his back a few time, until she wrapped both of her arms around his neck pulling him down on top of her.
Which was of course more then enough to make Dearka take a small break in the highly important task of removing her clothes, and once he felt all ten of her fingers start playing around with the hair at the back of his neck, he instantly put a lot more passion and love in to the kiss, trying his very best to show the lovely girl beneath him, just how much she truly meant to him.
And the only reason why they actually broke their deep lip lock was because they each needed a little time to regain their breath. But even as they laid there trying to get over the highly passionate kiss they had just shared.
They continued staring directly in to each other's lecherous eyes for an unknown number of seconds, until Miriallia gave the man a warm content smile.
"I love you Dearka, you know that right?" She asked, still breathing quite hard after their small yet pleasurable makeout session.
"Yeah I know Mir, I love you too" he told her.
Just as the man and woman once more pressed their lips back together. While at the same time working hard on getting the one they loved so dearly out of what little clothes they had left on their bodies.
To be continued.