Chapter 79
It was the day after the attack on the Eternal, and having a somewhat faint idea about the outcome of the battle, the atmosphere on the Archangel was relatively calm right now.
Yet down in the med-bay there was a serious discussion going on between Cagalli and Athrun, since today was the day where the old Doctor from the Kusanagi was going to show up with that scanning equipment to take a look at the baby, the two of them was trying hard to decide what they were going to name their child.
One thing they had agree on almost instantly after starting the conversation, was that if it was a girl, they were going to call it either, Juri, Mayura or Asagi.
Yet coming up with a boy's name was quite a bit harder for them, since one of the people they had both consider naming it after was presently laying over on the other bed, obviously listening in on their conversation, and naming it after Cagalli's father, was something they had quickly agree on sound kinda weird.
While it was true that Cagalli loved her father and would do everything she could to honor his memory. She could not help but feel like it would be a somewhat odd to name their kid after him, since it would then be Uzumi Zala, and no matter how much she wished otherwise, that just sounded wrong in her head.
"What about...Umm John" Athrun mumbled, clearly having a bit of trouble coming up with a boy's name, since Cagalli had reject every single one he had suggest up until now.
"No that doesn't work either, I know it sounds weird Athrun, but I know what I want to call him when I hear it!" Cagalli explained in a loud bossy tone, looking straight up at the ceiling, with a deeply thoughtful look on her face, that made it clear that she was thinking very hard about what they should name their child, if it was a boy.
Looking a bit at her, Athrun could not deny that he was starting to find this a bit annoying, Cagalli didn't even seem to be considering the names he was suggesting, before rejecting them out-right. It was like she had decide right from the begin of this, that whatever names he suggest she was going to say no to them immediately.
"Can I make a suggestion?" Mu asked over from the other bed.
Tearing her gaze away from the ceiling, Cagalli looked thoughtfully over at the Hawk of Endymion, and while she was having a bed feeling about this she still said yes to his request. "I guess so" she said a bit uncertain.
"Great! What about Aizen then, that's a cool name" the blond man said with a mischievous grin on his face.
Sending the childish man a displeased glare, Cagalli rapidly shook her head back and forth a few times. "No way, we are NOT calling him that!" The girl yelled angrily.
"Hmm what about Naraku then?"
"We are NOT naming our kid after an anime villain, you stupid idiot! And if you as much as think about mentioning Orochimaru, I am going to hurt you Mu, that whole snake thing he got going, is totally disgusting!" The pregnant blonde shouted at the top of her lungs, Cagalli honestly had nothing against snakes, as long as they stayed inside a TV, or at least a few thousand miles away from her.
"Ok girl I got it, no anime villains. So what about Monokuma? That name is pretty slick" the grinning man suggest next.
Glaring even more angrily at Mu La Flaga now, Cagalli's hand flew out and pick up the small pillow, laying beside her, and without any hesitation, she hurl the fluffy object at the still smirking man.
"I said no anime villains, you idiot! Especially insane teddy bears!" Cagalli yelled, looking around the room for something else to throw at Mu, he was really getting on her nerves right now.
Pushing the pillow away from his face, the mischievous expression on Mu's face made it perfectly clear that he was far from done teasing Cagalli. "Geez talking about being picky here girl, you do know that Monokuma was a video game villain first? He is from one of my favorite games"
"I don't care, what he was first! I still DO NOT want to name my kid after him! He creeps me OUT!" Cagalli shouted so loudly, that Athrun who was laying on the bed beside her was actually forced to cover his ears, until she was done giving Mu a piece of her mind.
Yet with Mu having fun teasing and annoying Cagalli, and with her so busy telling Mu how childish and immature he was. None of them noticed that Athrun was having tough time keeping his laughter, under control, while it was most certainly true, that Athrun did not want to give his child any of the names Mu had suggest, listening to Cagalli scold the blond haired man and hearing him suggest the name Darth Sidious next, was still hilarious.
Unfortunately much to Athrun's small disappointment, Cagalli did not get a chance to tell what she thought about that name, when the door to the room suddenly flew open and Murrue step inside. Yet while she was obviously in a pleasant mood, the smile on her face briefly disappeared when she noticed how angry Cagalli looked.
Sighing softly, and rolling her eyes. "What did you do now, Mu?" Murrue asked, finding it quite hard to keep her amusement from showing. It did not help much, that Athrun looked like he was about to break down, and start laughing at any moment now.
"I have not done anything I was just trying to help the two of them, come up with a good name for their kid, yet every time I suggest something she gets more and more angry" he said in a innocent tone.
Those words did make Athrun laugh out loud, which instantly made Cagalli swirl around to glare at him, instead of Mu. "Don't you laugh at me, this is not funny, you jerk. Those names...those names were just aw...awful" she said sound very much like she was about ready to start crying.
Reaching out, Athrun took a hold on her hand, squeezing it gently. "I know Cagalli, but you do realize that Mu is just messing with you. I don't think he actually expect us to call our kid any of those names" Athrun softly told her as he pull her in close, hugging her strongly for a brief moment.
Having been so piss off at Mu for all of his dumb suggestions, it was only once she heard Athrun explain it to her, that Cagalli understood Mu had just been messing with her. And knowing that, Cagalli quickly broke away from her's and Athrun's otherwise nice embrace, mentally scolding herself for not having realized, that all of the names Mu had suggest, had had only been for kicks-and-giggles.
And while asking herself why the hell Mu had to be so God damn annoying. Cagalli slowly turned around, and glared murderously at the blond haired man, who was clearly trying his best to look innocent.
"You got one minute Mu, to come up with a good suggestion. Otherwise I am telling Mayu to start playing pranks on you, since you are tied up pretty neatly down here, it's not like you can just run away, no matter what she does" the pregnant woman informed him with an evil look in her eyes.
"Ok, ok girl there is no need for you to make threats like that. What about Kenji? Kenji Zala doesn't really sound all that bad in my ears" he said, using his tied up hands to rub his chin in a thoughtful manner.
Blinking rapidly a couple of times a small yet barely visible smile slowly appeared on Cagalli's lips, and her eyes lit up in joy, as she kept on softly whispering the name Kenji Zala again and again. Yet that sincerely happy look was quickly forced away from her face, as she looked back Mu.
"Weeell I guess that is a name, worth considering" the girl said in a prideful stubborn tone, not really having a whole lot of luck hiding the fact, that she did liked that name quite a bit.
Honestly kinda amazed at how stubborn Cagalli could be at times, Murrue rolled both of her eyes a single time, not really understanding why exactly it was so important for the girl, that Mu did not find out, that he had been the one to find the name Cagalli desired. Yet before Murrue could comment on that, she just so happened to get eye contact with Athrun, who slowly shook his head as a sign for her not to say anything, and that they should all just let Cagalli have this moment.
And as Murrue turned her head and took a glance over at Mu, that huge grin on his face, instantly made it clear to her, that he knew he had hit the mark with that name, and that he did not mind Cagalli behaving like it was no big deal, and not telling him how much she adored the name, Kenji. Apparently just the sight of her trying so hard to hide it, was thanks enough for Hawk of Endymion.
"Anyway, I got some good news for you guys. Not all that long ago we got a short message from the Factory, Kira made it there in time, both Lacus and the Eternal are alright. They are apparently going into hiding for awhile to fix all the damage the Eternal took throughout the battle, so it will be awhile before we'll hear anything from them again" Murrue said, sincerely glad that Kira did not lose his wife during the attack. Knowing how much Lacus and Kira loved one another, the Archangel Captain honestly doubt that he would ever be able to get over it.
Letting out a short relieved sigh, Athrun forced himself despite his body still being in pain, up into a sitting position. "It's good to hear that Lacus is ok, I was pretty concerned about her and everybody else on the Eternal" the blue haired soon to be father said, as he reach out and pick up a glass of water standing on the table beside his bed, taking a big mouthful of the lukewarm liquid, then made a face, that made it clear that he would have preferred that the water had been cold.
Instantly realizing what the problem was, Cagalli took the glass away from Athrun, then stood from her location on the bed, then walked slowly over to the small sink in there to refill the glass with fresh water. Yet while she was doing that, Mu start talking in a cheerful tone.
"I do not think there was one person on this ship, who wasn't worried about the pin...emmm the kid's wife, buddy" the blond man said, seriously hoping that none them had noticed that little slip up, he still was not ready to reveal that he remembered much more than he let on.
Fortunately much to Mu's relief none of the had much time to think about his words, before the door to the room flew open, and Dearka rush inside pushing an empty wheelchair.
"Hey there Mr and Mrs Zala, Murrue and Mu I come bearing good news, the Kusanagi's doctor have just shown up not long ago, and with me being the first one to greet her. She told me in a not so friendly tone, to hurry the hell up and find, Cagalli. And since I kinda figured that you want to be a part of this Athrun, I swung by the storage room, and got this thing for you" Dearka said, nodding a single time down towards the wheelchair.
While Athrun could not deny that there was a small part of him kinda hate being so weak, that he had to be transport around in a wheelchair. He still smiled slightly at Dearka's thoughtfulness, there was simply no way he was going to miss this. Athrun was absolutely determined to be there, when his and Cagalli's baby got scanned. He already felt like he had missed so, SO much because he had made the mistake of joining Zaft again, it seriously was one of the most stupid things he had ever done in his life, and Athrun realized that it was going to take a very long time, before he forgave himself for making that mistake, in the first place.
And as Murrue carefully helped Cagalli get him over into the wheelchair, Athrun mumbled a small thank you to Dearka, just as Cagalli took a hold on the wheelchair handles, and began pushing him gently out of the room, with Murrue following not that far behind. Leaving Dearka and Mu to look after them, until the door flew shut behind them.
Once gone, Dearka stretch both arms up over his head, and let out a tired sigh, not really sure what he should do now. Yet as Dearka took a glance over at Mu, the former Zaft pilot immediately noticed the somewhat gloomy look the other man face. If Dearka had to describe it, he would say that it looked kinda like Mu was trying to solve the world's biggest mystery with not one clue about what it even was to being with, and when he could not do it, he angrily shook his head, clearly more than a little frustrate about it.
"Are you ok over there, Mu buddy? You seem kinda restless" Dearka said in a friendly tone.
Having been so far away in his own thoughts right now, Mu was actually a bit surprised to hear Dearka's voice. "It's nothing you should worry about, I am just getting a bit sick of being stuck in this room for so long, it is boring as hell in here"
"Mu, I think you should know that before he left, Kira let me in on the secret about how some of your memories have returned. So if you need somebody to talk with, I am all ears" Dearka told him.
Not saying anything to that at first, Mu just stayed completely silent on the bed, not moving a muscle, quietly staring at the blond haired teenager, obviously having a bit of trouble figuring out, if he was annoyed or happy that Kira had let somebody else in on the secret.
Yet since it was impossible to change the past, even for him. Mu finally let out a deep sigh. "There is not really much to talk about Dearka, I know that all of you are important to me, that I care about you all. But there is still something missing, it's like my brain is is stuck in a loop, trying to assemble a messed up jigsaw puzzle, that I need to put together before it all makes sense, but the most vital pieces is missing, and what's even more frustrating about it Dearka, is that have no idea about what those pieces, or even what the puzzle looks like"
Slowly scratching the back of his neck, Dearka looked thoughtfully down at the floor. "I...really wish, that I could come up with something to say that would help you recover your memories, Mu. But to be honest, I am totally blank here. Why don't I...Why don't I go find Miriallia, and some chips and sodas? Then the three of us can spend some time together playing poker, we have done that in the past. Maybe hanging out with some of us, will have a positive effect on your memories, Mu" Dearka said in a hopeful tone.
"Hmm it might, it's just that, the person who I think would help most for me to hang out with, is kinda avoiding me" Mu said in a low tone, while staring somewhat absentmindedly down into his lap.
"You can't blame Murrue for that Mu, she loves you. I don't think any of us here on the Archangel, can even begin to understand how unbelievable hard it is for her, that you don't remember. While you forget about her Mu, I do not think one day went by since you disappeared, after being shot down by the Dominion, where Murrue did not think about you"
Those words hit pretty hard, and as one image after another of him and the Captain flashed rapidly through his messed up mind, Mu felt a couple tears leave his eyes, running slowly down each one of his cheeks, only to land on his tied up hands a brief moment later. He want to remember the feelings he had for Murrue so badly, yet everything he remembered still in someways felt like another person's memories. It was almost like his two identities, Mu La Flaga and Neo Roanoke, was fighting inside his head over which ones of his memories was real.
It was at that point, Mu felt a hand give his left shoulder a couple of friendly slaps. "Just give it time Mu, I am sure that sooner or later, you are going to find what you are missing, and then come back to us completely" he heard Dearka tell him in a kind reassuring tone.
Slowly raising his unfocused gaze, Mu looked quietly at the teen a few long seconds, completely speechless, he really had no idea what to say back to Dearka right now, so in the end, the only response Mu could come up with to give his young friend, was a couple of short barely visible nods. Sincerely hoping with all of his being that Dearka was right, that time was all he need to regain what he had lost.
Yet as Mu sat there thinking so unbelievable hard about that, he was barely listening when Dearka loudly announced, that he was going to go get find Miriallia, and that he hoped that he was ready to get beaten in cards, since his lovely girlfriend just so happened to be a mega genius, when it comes to playing poker.
Immediately upon hearing those words, Mu snapped back out of his deeply conflicting thoughts, and while smiling slightly at Dearka, he began talking in a low confident tone. "Hmmm that sounds quite interesting, I am looking forward to see if I can beat her"
"Good luck with that Mu, you are going to need it" Dearka said with a small grin on his face, as he quickly made his way over to the door, but even as he was doing that, he heard Mu turn on the small TV, and start zapping rapidly through the canals, obviously hoping to find something, that was relatively interesting to watch, while he was waiting for Dearka to get back there with Miriallia.
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Meanwhile up on the Eternal, Hilda was quietly eating breakfast by herself or to be more precise she was quietly playing with her breakfast. It had been a pretty long night for the one eyed woman, with her unable to get Mars out of her head, she had only gotten about two hours of troubled sleep, which of course meant that she was pretty much completely exhaust.
And as she sat there half asleep, Hilda simply did not notice the individual that was slowly approaching the very table, she was sitting at. It was only when a tray of food was placed down across from her, that Hilda realized that she was not alone anymore, which made her slowly raise her tired gaze and look up at Shiho Hahnenfuss, just as the younger woman said good morning to her.
"Good morning Shiho, how was your first night here on the Eternal?" Hilda asked trying hard to at least sound somewhat cheerful.
"A bit awkward actually. You see I always had a bit of trouble getting sleeping some place new, and it does not help much that I kinda miss my pillow and my nightgown. I was actually kinda hoping that I could convince you Hilda, or perhaps somebody else to go with me over to the Hydra to get all of my stuff, it would be much easier for me to get use to being here on the Eternal, if I at least had my things" Shiho explained, then took a huge bite of the slightly overcooked piece of bread on her plate.
Watching the girl eat for a second or two, Hilda reached out and picked up her glass of chocolate milk. "I do not mind going with you, Shiho. If I don't keep myself distract today, I will likely spend the whole day coop up in my room staring mindlessly at the wall" she said quietly, before taking a small sip of the brown sweet tasting liquid.
"I appreciate it, Hilda. By the way, if it's not a bother I would very much like to meet Miss Lacus, I might not be her biggest fan, but I really do like a great deal of her music, so it would be kinda fun, to met her in person" the girl said, while taking yet another bite of her food.
"The two of us can go see her, once we are done eating, Shiho. Knowing her she should already be hard at work" Hilda said, having just barely finished that sentence, when somebody else cut into the conversation.
"I for one highly doubt that, Hilda. While it is definitely truth that Lacus is a very hard working girl, who is doing everything possible to stop the Gilbert Durandal. Yet with Kira here now, I do not think you should be surprised to discover Hilda, that Lacus is going to fall back into the habit of sleeping half of the morning away. Not that I think we should disturb her, both she and Kira deserve all of the rest they can get" Andrew said. As Herbert and him made their way over to the table.
Blinking rapidly a couple of times, Hilda tilted her head slightly to the left, as she send the Desert Tiger a questionable look. "Do you really think that she is still asleep?" She asked, somewhat doubtful. In Hilda's mind Miss Lacus was the definition of a morning person, the pink haired woman always seemed to be doing some sort of work the early hours of the morning. So Hilda quite frankly had a very difficult time believing that it was going change, simply because the girl's husband had shown up.
"That I do Hilda. If you are interest I am actually willing to bet on it, that Kira and her, are still sound asleep" Andrew said, then quickly emptying the first cup of vending machine coffee he had brought with him to the table.
Frowning slightly the orange haired woman took a quick glance down at the two remaining cups of coffee on his tray, which served to briefly make her wonder how the heck somebody could drink so much of that crappy tasting coffee, without getting totally sick of it. Yet as she raised her gaze again and looked back up at the Desert Tiger, the expression on his face made it clear to her, that he was likely even more exhaust than she was, which honestly made Hilda feel more than a little sorry for him, he had after all known Mars a lot longer than she had. So perhaps making this small playful bet with him would help give Commander Waltfeld something else to think about, and it might serve as a bit of a distraction for her too.
"I'll take that bet Mr Waltfeld, it might be fun. Ten bucks?"
"Ten bucks" Andrew answered.
Yet even as the two of them shook hands on the bet, each one of them could not help but find the whole thing a tiny bit idiotic and pointless. Even if they won, there wasn't really overly much out there to squander the money away on. It was not like there was a brand new department store anchor to the next asteroid they passed.
After that all four of them where quiet a few minutes, until Herbert brought the silence to an end. "By the way you three, I have been thinking about something important, that I would like to talk with you about. Since it's only a matter of time before Mars' DOM Trooper is repaired, I was thinking that if this young lady is up for it, she should take over as the pilot of that mobile suit. It does not really take a fully educate mechanic to tell, that your ZAKU is pretty much ready for a one way trip to the scrap heap, girl"
Narrowing both of her purple eyes slightly at that, Shiho could not deny that she really disliked the overall blunt way, this man was remaining her of the beaten up condition her mobile suit had been put into yesterday, while she was using it to protect the Eternal. Both legs and the left arm had been blown to bits, and according to the talkative mechanic she had spoken with this morning, the head and the chest had also gotten some damaged, which pretty much meant, that the right arm was the only thing left that was still intact on her ZAKU Warrior, after the battle.
"Couldn't you have come up with an even more insulting way to phrase that, Herbert? Buuut anyway, I agree with him Shiho, you are the best choice to take over as the pilot of Mars' DOM Trooper. Despite all the damage your ZAKU took yesterday, you still manage to take out an impressive number of Zaft mobile suits. You piloting skills, are definitely something that deserves respect, Shiho" Hilda said in a thoughtful yet serious tone.
Finding it kinda embarrassing to be praised like that, Shiho felt a light blush appear on both of her cheeks, something which she was honestly a bit angry at herself over, Shiho did not want any of these people to think that she was behaving too girly, she want them to see her as a fellow warrior they could count on no matter the situation. Behaving girly was something she could do in her private time, not in front of her new Commanding Officer. Yet as the brunette slowly turned her head, and looked over at the Desert Tiger, to see what he had to say, about what they were been discussing, she saw the man smiling slightly at her.
"Try not to be so tense girl, there is no need for you to be so serious around me, especially this early. You are a part of the family now, so relax and enjoy your breakfast. As for the matter of you piloting Mars' DOM Trooper if those two believes you can do it, I got nothing against it, as a matter of fact, I think Mars would be pleased to know, that his mobile suit, is in such capable hands" Andrew said, before taking a big mouthful of his second cup vending machine coffee.
Not saying anything at first, Shiho just sat there slowly rubbing her chin in a thoughtful manner. "Hmm after seeing the DOM Trooper's almost gundam like fighting capabilities yesterday, I think that it would be quite interesting to pilot one of those mobile suits. By the way, do any of you mind if I ask the mechanics to paint it blue? All of my mobile suits up until now have always been in that color, so it would feel kinda weird to suddenly change that" Shiho explained.
"I don't think there is anything wrong with you doing that, it might be kinda cool seeing that mobile suit, with that color scheme. But at least wait until they are done with the repairs, Shiho" Andrew told her in a soft tone, before using his hand to cover his mouth just as a long tired yawn left him.
"Yes Sir!" Shiho hastily answered. Honestly finding it a bit difficult to relax in front of the Eternal's Commander, the young woman was simply so use to behave all serious and completely respectful in front of the Commander of the Hydra, even though Shiho could honestly say, that she did not have overly much respect for that man. He was anti-social, always eating alone in his room, and at other times she thought he was kinda mean. So meeting a Commander that was the total opposite of that moron, was a bit weird, and would take some time getting use to.
Shiho did however not get long to wonder about how much time it would take for her to feel slightly less on edge, in Commander Waltfeld's presence and not expect the clearly coffee addicted man, to start shouting out orders left and right, whenever he made an appearance. Once she heard Herbert ask about where exactly they were heading, the girl instantly focused all of her attention on hearing the answer to that question, since that was something she was also quite a bit interest in knowing.
"We are heading for the old junkyard, guys. We hide out there for awhile during the last war, other then the Junk Guild, nobody ever goes there anymore, it's a pretty insulate place. And even if the Junk Guild does shows up while we are there, I can guarantee you that Lowe and the others are not going to tell on us, heck they might even be able to help us get a hold on a few of the parts we need" Andrew explained.
"I heard about the Junk Guild, but I never actually met any of them, what kind of people are they?" Shiho asked in a curious tone.
Letting out a small chuckle, Andrew slowly scratch the back of his neck in a thoughtful manner. "Pretty much the only gripe I have with them, is that a girl named Kisato is using my old BuCUE, buuut since I got the Gaia now, I guess that's ok. Everybody I know from the Junk Guild Shiho, are all really good people, especially Lowe, that man is incapable of turning his back on anybody needing help, he saved both me, Lacus and Kira during the last war" the one eyed man said in a tone, that made it clear to all of them that he had a great deal of respect for this Lowe person.
The four of them continued small talking about the Junk Guild the rest of the meal. One of the subjects Herbert brought up, was the name of the Junk Guild's ship, which the Desert Tiger at first insist quite strongly on was call the ReFORMED, only to hastily correct himself a second later by saying that it was the ReHOME instead.
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It was a little over fifteen minutes later when Shiho and Hilda step out of the mess hall and began making their way down the hallway, heading towards the very room Miss Lacus was sharing with her husband.
Yet having seen the thoughtful vein on Hilda's forehead when they left the mess hall, Shiho could easily tell that the other woman was not really overly interest in talking right now, which was something Shiho respect, until she saw three mechanics working on a small control panel, that had apparently been damage at some point during yesterday's battle.
"How long do you think it will take before the ship is fully repaired?" The brunette asked softly.
Narrowing her one grey eye at that question, Hilda took a short glance back at the three hard working mechanics, before she looked over at the younger woman floating beside her.
"Three weeks if we are lucky and things goes smoothly. If not, then perhaps a month" the one eyed woman said.
"Damn, I really hope that we can stay out of trouble for so long. Hopefully the Commander was right about nobody ever going to that old junkyard, he was talking about" Shiho said in a low displeased tone, knowing that if the Eternal fell under a major attack again, like yesterday. They were going to have a very difficult time handling it, even with that new Freedom backing them up.
Thinking a brief moment or two about the girl's words, Hilda finally nodded slowly in agreement. "Yeah no kidding, trouble really does seem like it has the tendency to finding us. Hopefully Zaft will be so busy running around after Logos and that Djibril bastard, that they don't have time to search for us" the tired woman said hopefully.
Afterwards both ladies was quiet a few minutes, each of them thinking their own thoughts, as they continued floating beside each other down the hall, until Hilda finally stopped at a certain door, that had the words 'Lacus and Kira's honeymoon suite' written on it, which according to Miss Lacus was something Commander Waltfeld, had written there at some point during the last war.
And while smiling softly at the words, the orange haired woman brought the silence to an end. "I really hope that they are awake in there, I would hate to lose my bet" she mumbled before knocking softly on the metal door.
Yet when she get no response from inside the room, a look of annoyance ran over Hilda's face, as she wondered briefly if it might have been a mistake on her part to make that bet with Mr Waltfeld about the married couple being awake. It might only be ten bucks that was at stake here, but Hilda had always been the type of person, that greatly disliked losing a bet, or any type of game, in her mind it was just so, so much more enjoyable winning a game and having the fun boasting about winning, then it was having lost a game and being forced to listen to the other person's boasting.
And just thinking about what the Commander might say to her, when she handed him the ten bucks, was enough to make Hilda knock even harder on the door. Yet like before there was no response, which made her take a short glance back at Shiho, who did nothing at all to hide the small smirk on her face, and seeing that, only served to make Hilda feel even more determined to find out if Miss Lacus and her husband was awake.
And so while mentally apologizing to the young couple, for disturbing their privacy, Hilda reached out and hurried pressed the button, that got the door to the room to open up. Yet since the slightly bigger than average room was almost completely bathe in darkness, neither Shiho or Hilda, could see anything in there, which lead Shiho to ask in a low tone, if Hilda was even sure that they where in there.
"Where else could they be? They where not down in the mess hall, and it's not like Miss Lacus is needed up on the bridge right now" the one eyed woman answered, before stepping into the room with Shiho following not that far behind her.
Yet as the two female pilots got a bit further into the room. They each saw the two shapes snuggling together on the bed, Miss Lacus was laying half on top of her husband, with her head resting against his chest, while he had both of his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
"Ugh, guess that means Waltfeld wins that bet" Hilda mumbled softly under her breath, yet since there was no other sound in there, Shiho was still able to hear what Hilda had just said, not that the young brunette cared overly much about Hilda's and the Commander's bet right now, she was far more interest in looking at the sleeping couple and thinking about how adorable the looked together.
Yet when Hilda mumbled a few more displeased words, about having lost the bet, Shiho slowly turned her purple gaze away from the sleeping couple and looked over at Hilda, who was standing beside her.
"Look on the bright side, at least you got to see the two of them looking all cute and adorable" Shiho said, doing nothing to hide, how unbelievable romantic she thought this was. Even when she was a child, Shiho had always had a bit of a soft spot, for romance.
Watching Kira and Miss Lacus quietly a few seconds, Hilda had to admit that Shiho was right about the two of them looking cute together, they really were an adorable couple. Yet there was a small part of Hilda that was a bit jealous, not because she wanted Kira herself or anything like that, while it was true that she thought Kira was a handsome young man, and that she had a great deal of respect for his skills in a mobile suit, Hilda was not the type of girl to run around after somebody else's man.
No the reason why she felt slightly jealous was because these two teens had been able to build such a strong and sincere relationship, while her last relationship had last less then half a year, and had ended pretty badly when the last war broke out.
The dumbass she had been dating, had insist firmly on Chairman Zala being right about Coordinators being superior, and that they should hurry up and kill all of the Naturals, which was something Hilda had been completely against, she just couldn't understand how somebody could speak so openly about committing genocide like that. The argument that had followed, had end with her screaming that she NEVER want to see him again, and that he could go straight to hell, which he had apparently decide to do along with the rest of those crazy terrorists, that had been responsible for the Junius Seven drop.
Yet not wanting to think anymore about that moron than she had too, Hilda rapidly shook her head a few times to get her thoughts away from him. Then after taking one last glance at the sound asleep couple she slowly turned and looked over at Shiho, who was staring at Lacus and Kira with a small happy smile on her face.
"Lets hurry up and get out of here so we don't disturb them. I don't know about you but I think they deserve whatever rest they can get" Hilda said in a low tone that made Shiho nod slowly in agreement, and with nothing else to say to each other, the two women hurried left the room.
Yet as the door flew shut after the two women. A certain someone who had been laying quietly beside the bed this entire time, slowly woke up, at first it made no sound, but after only a few short seconds it leaped away from the floor, flapping and yelling loudly.
"INTRUDER, INTRUDER! LACUS, KIRA, HELLO, HELLO!" Mr Pink yelled out happily.
"Wha...What's going on Kira? Are we under attack" Lacus asked groggily from where she was resting on Kira's chest. If she didn't have to move right now, Lacus would very much prefer to stay put where she was.
"No...it's...it's Haro, that's busy making noise" Kira mumbled back even more groggily than his wife.
Half opeing her eyes, Lacus looked around the room for the one responsible for all of the noise, and she spot her pink friend hopping around all over the room like a crazy frog, that had miraculously obtained superpowers, she let out a small sigh. As much as Lacus loved Mr Pink, she really wished that she had left him down on the Archangel right now.
"Mr Pink...Please be quiet, Kira and I are trying to sleep".
Yet those tired words did not have the want effect on the little robot, quite the opposite as a matter of fact, Haro start shouting their names even louder at the sound of Lacus' voice.
"Ahh geez Haaaaro, you really are the most noisy and annoying alarm clock ever made. Even Mayu, could learn a thing or two about making noise from you" Kira sighed softly, as he reluctantly moved his hands away from Lacus' waist, which immediately made a few sounds of protest leave her, and those sounds instantly became that much louder, when he gently moved her to the other side of the bed.
"Mmmm no don't leave Kira, I do not want to get up yet...I want to stay here with you..." Lacus moaned displeased.
Hearing those words leave Lacus' mouth, only served to make Kira feel all the more annoyed about Haro's yelling, and that it was necessary for him to leave their comfortable bed, and the even more comfortable embrace he was sharing with his wife, so he could get the small annoying robot to shut up.
And so while doing his best to ignore the longing, slightly displeased look Lacus was sending him, Kira slowly leaned in and placed a light gentle kiss on his wife's forehead, and after softly promising her that he would be right back, Kira leaped away from the still warm bed snatching Haro in midair, then hastily continued over towards the door.
Once over there, Kira immediately got the door open. "Go bother DaCosta up on the bridge, or something" he told the still noisy robot, before throwing him out of the room, which Haro did not seem to mind, he simply went off in a random direction now loudly shouting his own name again and again.
Rolling his eyes a single time at the robot's behavior, Kira hurried shut the door again before Haro had a chance to come back that way, and try to get back in there again, and once Kira was absolutely certain that the door was securely locked, he turned around leaped away from the floor then propelled himself back towards the bed.
And as Kira touched down beside the bed, Lacus raised the cover and send him a tired yet still somewhat cute look, that made it perfectly clear to Kira that he should hurry up and get back in there, which he did without the least bit hesitation.
Yet Kira had just barely laid back down again, when he felt Lacus snuggled in towards him, wrapping her arms tightly around him, and resting her head against his chest.
"Mmm, I missed this so much Kira...I love you...I want to hurry up and find away to end this stupid war, so you, me, and everybody else can go back to the peaceful days we cherish so much..." Lacus mumbled.
Slowly running his fingers through her long soft pink hair, Kira moved in and placed yet another kiss on Lacus' forehead. "I miss this too, Lacus. I do not think one day has gone by since I woke up after being shot down by the Impulse brat, where I haven't thought about those peaceful days too, it really does feel like an eternity since all of us was together, either playing a good old board game, or watching a movie" Kira said.
"Speaking of movies, I think I have a few up here you haven't seen, Kira. Do you want to watch one of them later?" Lacus asked, looking up into his eyes from where she was resting on his chest.
Of course not needing a whole lot of time to come up with a answer to that request, Kira smiled slightly at her, as he nodded slowly a single time. "That does sound nice, Lacus. Maybe if we are a bit lucky we can find some things down in the mess hall that would make it feel like a date, even though it will be a date in our own room"
"I actually think that sounds pretty great Kira, it can't possibly be as bad as the last date we went out on" the girl said thoughtfully.
That was true, the last date the two of them had been out on before the war broke out, had been pretty bad. Not because they hadn't enjoyed each other's company. No it was the waiter at the restaurant they had gone to, that had been annoying as hell. The man had kept on asking ever ten minute if they need anything, even when they were dancing the idiot had cut into it, ask them if he could bring them a bottle of wine, or something else, once they were done. And those constant interruptions of his had result in them leaving the stupid restaurant, after only an hour, something which Lacus had been far from pleased about, since she was the one who want to go out dancing in the first place, she had pretty much spend the next two or three days after that date, complaining about that highly annoying waiter, that just couldn't take a hint and leave the two of them alone.
"If you want, I would be more than happy to take you out on a proper date once this war is over, and we get back to Orb. We can go to an amusement park, out dancing, dinner, or see are play. Whatever you want, Lacus" Kira promised her in a sincere tone.
"Dinner, and a movie does sounds really nice, Kira. As for the amusement park, I think the whole family should go to that. You know how much Mayu love that place, especially the haunted house" Lacus said, doing nothing to hide that she really didn't understand Mayu's fascination with horror movies and just about all other spooky things, Lacus herself had never liked seeing those seeing those types of movies, she would honestly much rather watch a comedy and get a good laugh, instead of getting scared shirtless and feeling like hiding under a blanket the next couple of days.
Kira too was having his fair share of trouble understanding how Mayu could be so utterly fascinate, with the horror franchise. "It's a wonder that she doesn't have nightmares more often, it is a good thing that Dearka is there to share that hobby with her" he said, knowing that there wasn't anybody else in the family who liked to watch those totally creepy movies.
That was true, Murrue was understandably very much against her daughter watching such movies on her own. So it truly was a good thing that Dearka was there, to keep the girl company, when one of those movies was shown on TV.
The young married couple did however not discuss Mayu's more distinctive hobby for very long, when Lacus in a low tone of voice, change the subject over on to another girl in their family.
"So how is Cagalli handling her pregnancy?" She asked curious.
"Ohh real well I think, she is suuuch a delight to be around these days, I can not even remember how many times she threaten to hit me, but didn't do it. I really hope the next time a girl gets pregnant in our family, she will be a little less hostile" Kira said.
Giggling softly, Lacus slowly rubbed her face back and forth against Kira's strong chest. "I am just glad to hear that she is doing ok, I don't think any of us can even begin to image how difficult it most be to be pregnant during all of this"
Nodding slowly in agreement, Kira could not deny, that there had been times these last many weeks, since he found out his sister was pregnant, where he had been pretty concerned about his twin sister's and her unborn child's well being. Especially those times, where Cagalli had obviously been completely stressed out about something, like when she was worrying like crazy about Athrun, or what those idiotic Seirans, was doing back in Orb.
"At least now that Athrun is back where he belongs, it should make things a little easier for her" Kira said in a reassuring tone.
Of course knowing how much Cagalli and Athrun loved one another, Lacus had to agree with Kira on that. "Yeah, the two of them have always made a cute couple, not as cute as the two of us, but they are close" Lacus said with a bit of humor in her voice.
Upon hearing those words, Kira let out a short laugh, he had always found it quite a bit amusing, when Lacus, Cagalli and Miriallia was debating who of the three couples in the family, was the cutest one, that was something the three of them could spend many hours, talking about. Yet Kira along with Dearka and Athrun, had quickly realized that it was not a good idea for them to get involved, in that matter, it was after all highly obvious that the girls simply did not care about their opinion, when they were playfully debating who made the best couple.
"Just as long as they are happy, then that's find with me" Kira said. Honestly still a bit pissed off at Athrun, for getting his sister pregnant, yet the brown haired teen knew that if he start bellyaching about that now, he would likely ruin the romantic atmosphere in there, which was most definitely something Kira did not want to do, it had after all been a very long time since Lacus and he last had a chance to just lay in each other's arms and talk like this.
And as Kira ran his hand down over Lacus' back, she asked him about how Miriallia, Dearka and Murrue was doing these days.
"Both Miriallia and Dearka are doing just fine Lacus, I am however kinda worried about, Murrue" Kira said in a thoughtful tone.
"And why is that?" The girl asked curiously.
"Well it's because..." Kira began. Then quietly told his dear wife everything that was going on with Mu, about how they had found him after the battle at Berlin, about how the Hawk of Endymion had apparently forgotten all about them, but had later not long after Kira had been shot down by the brat in the Impulse revealed to him, that he did actually remember something, but not everything. Next Kira told Lacus about how much their sarcastic friend was struggling to remember everything he had forgotten, and finally about how unbelievable hard it clearly was for Murrue that Mu did not remember.
"I'm...I'm...really glad to hear that he is still alive...But do you think that he will ever regain all of his memories?" Lacus asked in a low tone of voice.
"I don't know Lacus, I wish I did, but I just don't know" Kira answered in a likewise low tone.
Afterwards, neither Kira nor Lacus said anything else to each other. They just laid there, quietly holding one another, each one of them thinking their own thoughts, truly enjoying the feeling of being in each others arms. It did however not take very long before Kira noticed a change in Lacus' breathing which could only mean that she had fallen asleep again, and that alone made Kira realize that he too was still a bit tired, and that of course meant that it did not take long for him to join Lacus in dreamland.
The young married couple were however only able to sleep for another hour or so, before somebody began pounding almost violently on the door, which not all that surprisingly instantly woke both of them up. Neither one of them overly pleased about having their slumber interrupt.
And it was in a tired whiny tone, that did nothing to hide the annoyance she was feeling, that Lacus called out for the person outside the room, to come on in.
Immediately after those words had left Lacus' mouth. The door to the room flew open and the man known as the Desert Tiger stepped inside, and just seeing the way the two tired teens was presently glaring at him, was enough to make Andrew chuckle slightly.
"I am sorry to disturb the two of you, I just want to let you know that it wouldn't be long now, before we are going to held a gathering down in the hangar to honor Mars, and everybody else who fought and died so valiantly yesterday, I would very much like, for you guys to be there" the coffee addicted man said.
Those words was all the pink haired girl need to hear, to make the annoyed expression disappear from her face, and make a much more sad one appear instead.
"Of course we'll be there. Just give Kira and I a couple of minutes to get into some proper clothes, then we will head on down to the hangar together with you, Mr Waltfeld" Lacus said in a soft tone.
Nodding slowly a single time in understanding, Andrew turned around and quickly left the room, so the two married teenagers could get the privacy they required to get out of their sleeping attire.
Once gone, it did not take long for Kira and Lacus to get out of the bed. yet as Kira watched his wife fly over to the wardrobe closet in there, and seeing Lacus pull out a long mostly black dress, that was far from as colorful, as the once she usually preferred to wear, served as a pretty clear sign to Kira that she was deeply touched and sadden over how many people that had lost their lives yesterday.
And so while once more mentally cursing the fact that he had been unable to get there sooner yesterday, Kira leaped away from the floor and flew silently over towards his wife, and as he landed behind her, he gently wrapped both of his arms around her, hugging her tightly from behind.
"Once this gathering over sweetheart, do you want to get a bit of breakfast and then watch one of those movies, you talked about before?" Kira asked her softly.
Leaning back towards her husband, Lacus nodded slowly a couple of times at that question, sincerely relieved, that Kira would be there with her once they got down to the hangar. The pink haired girl really didn't want to go to this memorial gathering on her own, she want Kira there so he could hold her hand. While it was true that Lacus had not known Mars all that well, she had only spoken with the bearded man two or three times, the girl was still touched by his death, and just the thought of how devastated Hilda, Mr Waltfeld and Herbert had to be right now, pained her greatly, like most normal people she did not like seeing the once she cared about sad.
And just seconds after she heard Kira whispering into her ear that he loved her and that he would always be there for her, he stepped slowly away from her and start search for some clothes too.
It wasn't long after that when the young couple stepped out of the room and saw the Desert Tiger leaning against the opposite wall waiting for them, and without saying one word to each other the three of them began making their way down the mostly empty hallway, heading towards the hangar.
000000
Meanwhile back down on board the Archangel, Cagalli was throwing a bit of a temper tantrum over the news Athrun and her had just gotten from the Kusanagi's old doctor.
"TWO!? What do you mean TWO?!" The blonde girl screamed at the other woman.
Raising her right eyebrow slightly in a somewhat skeptical manner. "What's so hard to understand about it, Cagalli? Two I said, the number between one and three!" The brown haired woman said loudly, doing nothing to hide her annoyance over having to explain something that simple to the girl.
"I...I know that doc...It's just...It's just..." Cagalli said then looked over at her fiancé who was sitting silently in his wheelchair, with a completely dumbfounded look on his face.
"This is all you fault, you idiot!" She yelled at him.
Blinking rapidly a half dozen times, Athrun raised his gaze and looked over at her, like she had just grown a second head. "My fault? How can it be my fault? It's not like I got the option to choose, how many I want the last time we did it" the young blue haired man said back, honestly just as startle and surprised as Cagalli was over the fact, that they were not just going to have one child, no according to the doctor they were going to have TWINS, a boy and a girl.
"I don't know how! But it still is your fault numskull, I was already freaked out about having to raise one kid, how do you think I feel about two!?" She asked so loudly that Athrun was forced to cover up his ears.
Yet even while doing that, Athrun thought hard about what Cagalli had just said to him. The two of them might be back together now, but Athrun honestly still felt more than just a little guilty about not having been there for her, when she first had found out that she was pregnant, and even more so when he thought about how many times he could have gone back to the Archangel after Kira told him about it.
"Ok it's my fault, ever since this war broke out, I mess up so much. Letting Durandal talk me into joining Zaft again, not listening to your's and Kira's warnings those times when you told me, how dangerous that man is. But I promise you Cagalli, that I will never leave you again, no matter how many kids the two of us ends up getting, I'll be right there beside you helping you raise them, I can't even begin to describe how much I am looking forward to the day, when the two of us can finally get married"
Hearing the man she loved so dearly, tell her how much he was looking forward to their wedding day, and all those other things he had said, was all that was need to make a couple of truly happy tears run down each one of Cagalli's cheeks. And as she looked away with a slightly embarrassed look on her face, she said a few things back to him.
"Geez you can be such a sweet bonehead at times...emm...You do know that I love you don't you...bonehead?" She asked though a small happy sniffle.
Rolling his eyes and letting out a light chuckle at his fiancée's persistent name calling, Athrun rolled the old wheelchair a bit closer to her. And with a small reassuring smile on his lips, Athrun reached out and took a hold on her left hand.
"I know you love me Cagalli, I love you too" he softly told her.
"Ok enough with the mushy stuff you two, it is kinda mean of you to behave all cute and adorable like that, in front of a thirty-year-old single woman. So please knock it of already until you are alone! Anyway, roll up your sleeve a bit Cagalli, I need a blood sample, before you guys leave" the female doctor said.
Immediately upon hearing that the good doctor, want to stick needle in her and take some of her blood, Cagalli let out a loud sound of annoyance. "Ah geez just hurry up and get it over with" the blond growled displeased, as she stuck out her arm towards the other woman, and squeezed both of her eyes tightly shut. Only to flinch slightly a brief moment later, and look up at the doctor like she had just done something truly terrible and cruel.
"Aww stop glaring at me already, if you can't handle that bit of pain, you are in for a real field day, when the time comes for you to give birth" the doctor said, then carefully start putting away the blood sample, and all of the other medical equipment she had used to inspect Cagalli.
Yet as Cagalli looked away insulted, and kept on softly muttering something about how she was going to be just fine, once the two trouble makers finally decide that it was time to vacate her uterus and join them out there, Athrun was watching the doctor work, and as he saw her put her stethoscope down into her medical bag, he start talking to her.
"Thank you for all of your help doctor, Cagalli and I really appreciate it" he said in a polite tone.
"Don't mention it Athrun, just make sure that you invite me to your wedding I need to be there so I can catch the bouquet" the woman said with a slightly dreamy look in her eyes.
Nodding slowly a single time, Athrun send the woman a friendly smile. "Of course doctor, we look forward to seeing you there"
After that all three of them were silent a few minutes, each of them thinking their own thoughts. Amazingly enough without realizing it, both Cagalli and Athrun were both thinking about what was awaiting them and their children in the future. Especially if they did not find a way to put a stop to the war.
The female doctor's thoughts however, was not quite as worrisome as the two teenagers, something which she made clear to both of them, when she softly mumbled something about needing to use the restroom before leaving the Archangel again.
And as the young engaged couple said their goodbyes to the still mumbling doctor, they watched as she disappear hastily out of the room.
Once gone, Athrun slowly turned his head and looked over at Cagalli. "Well since there is no reason for us to stay here any longer, do you want to head on back to the room with Mu and the others? I am pretty sure, that they are all quite curious about the kid's gender, nooot to mention how many we are actually getting"
"Hmm I kinda want to keep both the genders and the fact that we are having twins a secret, but if we do that I doubt Mayu is going to stop pestering me until I tell her, she is pretty keen on the idea of getting a little sister" Cagalli said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Knowing that Cagalli was right about Mayu not shutting up before they had told her what she want to know Athrun let out a light chuckle, while Cagalli on the other hand narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, and gave her lower lips a small bite.
"Speaking of Mayu Athrun, there is actually something extremely important I want your opinion on, regarding her"
Seeing the deeply serious look Cagalli was sending him, Athrun send her an equally serious look back. "If this is because you want her to participate in the wedding, like her being the flower girl or something like that I am toally fine with that, Cagalli"
"I really, reeeally wish that was the subject, I needed to talk with you about, Athrun. Unfortunately it is not. You see not that long ago I asked Kisaka to look into Shinn's family history, his mother and father really are dead, they were killed two years ago during the battle of Orb. The thing is Athrun, the stupid idiot also had a little sister and...umm and that girl just so happened to be called, Mayu..." Cagalli said.
Blinking rapidly, Athrun quickly tried to stand up, yet since his body still wasn't fully healed, the bit of pain the shoot thought his left leg immediately made him stumble back down into wheelchair.
"You...?You don't think it's our Mayu, do you?!" Athrun cried out, not even realizing that he was actually yelling at his fiancée.
Sobbing loudly. "I don't know Athrun, I really don't know" Cagalli said with a waterfall of tears running each of her round cheeks.
"You know how Mayu reacts whenever she tries to remember her past, I am afraid to say anything to her about it Athrun, I don't want to be responsible for her having one of those episodes, it's just...So terrible when that happens, it literally makes me feel like me heart is being torn out of my chest and then stomped on...And it's not like we have the option to call up the mindless moron better known as Shinn Asuka, and ask him to swing by the Archangel to take a look at her, so he can verify if the two of them are related...I...I just don't know what to do, Athrun...!" Cagalli sobbed.
Sincerely hating seeing the woman he loved, like this, Athrun moved the wheelchair even closer to the bed Cagalli was sitting on, then reached out and slowly wrapped both of his arms around her, hugging her tightly, as she cried disconsolately into his shoulder.
Also crying softly now, Athrun gently stroked Cagalli's back, and kept on rocking her slowly back and forth, doing everything to comfort his weeping fiancée, seeing her in this state was heartbreaking, and Athrun literally had to force his unbelievable dry lips apart to tell Cagalli, what he thought about everything she had told him just now, regarding Mayu and Shinn.
"I really hate the thought of keeping something that important a secret from Mayu, I kinda feel like she deserves to know, that she might have a living relative out there somewhere...But...But on the other hand, if it becomes necessary me to kill Shinn, before this war is over, I don't want her to know about it...How could I ever look Mayu in the eyes again if I am forced to kill her real brother, to end this war...God DAMN it, Cagalli! I don't know what we should do...We...We need to talk with Murrue, and see what she has to say about it...!" Athrun sobbed loudly.
Nodding two short times in agreement, Cagalli snuggle even closer in towards Athrun, talking with Murrue, really was a good idea. "Maybe the next time you run into Shinn, you could try and tell the simpleton that Mayu is still alive"
"I wish it was as simple as that, Cagalli. But with Shinn's stubborn nature, I highly doubt that he is willing to listen to me while I explain things. Especially after what happened at Gibraltar, I think he would rather kill me than have a rational conversation with me. To tell the truth Cagalli, I can not even count how many times I tried to reason with him, while on the Minerva. Like that time when he wanted revenge against Kira, for the death of the Chaos pilot"
Needing a few minutes to remember which one of the three stolen gundams she had at seen at Armory One, was the Chaos. "That was the green colored one of them, right?" She asked, only receiving a small nod as a reply.
Thinking briefly about how that mobile suit had been destroyed, at Berlin. Cagalli honestly did not understand how exactly, that was Kira fault, which was something she did not hesitate to ask Athrun about.
"I don't really get it either, Cagalli. We captured the girl when she attacked the Minerva all on her own, using the Gaia gundam. Shinn had apparently met her before and had some kind of bound, with her, so he gave her back to the Earth Alliance after a little while, she then piloted the Chaos during the battle at Berlin, and was shot down and killed by one of her own, which for some weird reason was Kira's fault" Athrun explained in a low tone, doing nothing to hide, that he really did not understand what connection Kira had with that Stella girl's death.
"I really hate how stubborn that idiot can be at times"
"Me too Cagalli...Me too...Especially if Rey is nearby...It's like Shinn lose all of his abilities to think for himself, when that guy or the Chairman start spouting their dumb nonsense" Athrun mumbled.
Letting out a long sob, Cagalli slowly rubbed her face back and forth against Athrun's shoulder. "Just like the rest of the world. Are there really nobody else other than us, that can tell just how awful a person, Gilbert Durandal truly is?" She asked.
"I don't know Cagalli, I really don't know! Hopefully someday others will realize that the Chairman is not the hero, he makes himself out to be. I just hope that when that day finally comes, it is not too late to save this world. I do not want our son and daughter, to grow up in whatever messed up world Durandal is trying to make, though all of his lies and manipulation" the blue haired teenager said, seriously hating the fact that they still had so few clues about what exactly it was, the Zaft leader was trying to accomplish.
Athrun did however not get very long to mentally curse Gilbert Durandal, and Shinn's almost mind-boggling inability to tell, that he was being used by Rey and the Chairman, when he heard Cagalli, who he was still holding in his arms let out another deep sniffle.
"So we can't tell either of them what we might have discovered. We have no idea about what Mayu's reaction will be, and Shinn is impossible to talk reasonable with. All of this really stinks, Athrun!"
Nodding slowly in agreement. "Yeah...no kidding..."
After that nothing more was said between them, they just continued sitting there holding each other until the doctor returned. "I am sorry to disturb you guys, but I need to ask you to leave, so I can get the scanning equipment out of here, and before you ask, no I can not let you borrow it. I was barely able to convince the lead doctor, at the hospital I work at, to let me take it out of the hospital in the first place...I can't believe I promised to go out on a date with her son, he is just so disgusting..." she growled displeased.
Doing their utmost not to laugh out loud at that, Cagalli and Athrun quickly said their goodbyes to the doctor, then hurried left the small room.
000000
It did not take much time for Cagalli and Athrun to get back to the med-bay room, and as Cagalli rolled Athrun's wheelchair inside, they saw that there was quite a few people in there.
Miriallia, Dearka and Mu was sitting on one bed playing poker, while Murrue and Mayu was on there other bed. The older Ramius reading in a book, while the younger one was playing on her handheld gaming console.
Yet the very instant they entered the room, Dearka smiled brightly at them as he placed his cards down into his pocket, like he was afraid that somebody was actually going to steal them.
"So whats the verdict, guys?" He asked, as he and everybody else looked at them with great expectation.
"Twins! A boy and a girl" Cagalli answered with a light blush on her cheeks.
Upon hearing that, everybody in there immediately fell silent, as they stared at the couple with a dumbfounded look on their faces, each of them struggling to think of something to say to them.
It was however Mayu that broke the silent, as she hastily leaped out of the bed then rushed over to Cagalli, hugging her tightly. "That's just so awesome big sis, congratulations!" The girl yelled, which was all that was need to make everybody else say congratulations too.
"Thank you very much all of you! We really appreciate all of your help and support" Athrun said back.
Yet as he was saying that Mayu wasn't paying any attention to him, she was looking excitingly up into Cagalli's eyes. "SO! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO CALL THEM!?" The girl asked loudly.
Only haft listening to the girl, Cagalli simply could not help but wonder if it really was true that their sweet Mayu really was related to the obnoxious pilot of the Impulse. Shinn Asuka truly had been one of them most annoying and self-centred people Cagalli had ever met, the complete and total opposite of Mayu. Cagalli simple did not understand how in the world, Shinn could be Mayu's, real brother, and as the blond stood there staring at Mayu she felt a deep nagging guilt in the pit of her stomach for keeping what she knew about the girl's past, a secret from her.
Yet as eleven-year-old girl, who Cagalli saw as the younger sister she never had, again asked what they were going to name the kids, a single lonely tear ran down Cagalli's left cheek and land on top of Mayu's short brown hair.
"The boy's name is, Kenji Zala..." Cagalli answered, completely forgetting all about how she had want to keep that a secret from Mu at least, since he was the one who had come up with that name a short while ago, when trying to get on her nerves. She was actually so distract and far away in her own conflicting thoughts, that she did not even notice the slightly mischievous smirk, the blond haired man send her when she revealed to all of them, what her son's name was going to be.
"That's a great name! But what about my little sister? WHAT'S HER NAME GOING TO BE?!" Mayu practically screamed at the top of her lungs.
Yet while those words could not possibly have been any louder, Cagalli barely heard them, she just kept on standing there staring at Mayu while doing everything she could to fight down the guilt, that got worse every time she heard Mayu's voice. As a matter fact, Cagalli mostly want to turn around and rush full speed out of the room, actually the only reason why she did not do that, was because Athrun was holding tightly on to her left hand, if it wasn't for that, she would most certainly have broken down, from just one look into Mayu's anxious eyes.
One brief look up at totally spaced out expression on Cagalli's face, was all it took for Athrun to tell that his pregnant fiancée, was not going to give Mayu a response anytime soon, she was simply too absent-minded at the moment trying to make just a little sense of the whole matter with Mayu and Shinn. It was obvious, that Cagalli found the very thought of those two being related quite a bit disturbing, not that Athrun did not share those feelings.
'Damn you, Shinn! You stupid...stupid brain dead moron!' Athrun thought angrily, then smiled slightly at Mayu who was obviously still waiting eagerly for a response.
"Asagi...her name is going to be Asagi Yula Zala..." Athrun said, in his head that really was the most natural sounding name for the girl, he just hoped that Cagalli agreed with him on that. He seriously wasn't in the mood for a long drawn-out discussion about the girl's name, yet once he saw a hint of a smile appear on Cagalli's lips, Athrun immediately knew that he had made the right choice, Asagi was going to be the name of their daughter.
It was Dearka who first came up with something to say about that name. "I for one really like that name, you guys, even thought I most admit that there was a tiny part of me that was kinda hoping that you would go with, Juri" the former pilot of the Buster said, his tone of voice making it clear to all of them that it still bother him, that all he had been able to do when Juri's Astray had been destroyed was watch the bluenette haired girl die, without being able to do anything to save her.
Watching quietly, as Miriallia slowly reached over and gave Dearka's hand a light squeeze, Athrun smiled slightly at his old at times childish friend. "It was a difficult choice Dearka, those girls were all so nice and brave! Truth be told old friend, I would be honored to name my daughter after either one of those girls, and I have no doubt that Cagalli feels the same way" Athrun said.
Nodding slowly in agreement, Cagalli wondered how her three old friends would have reacted if they had still been alive and had found out that she was pregnant with twins. Knowing Asagi, Juri and Mayura, they would without a doubt have teased her to no end, which was something she would definitely have hated. But since it was impossible her three friends to do that now, Cagalli found herself sincerely missing the at times childish yet playful bantering, which the four of them often had going when they hung out together.
Cagalli did however not get very long to think about her three old friends, when Mayu's much more cheerful voice interrupted her gloomy thoughts. "I think Asagi is an adorable cute name big sis Cagalli, I am sooo looking forward to teach my little sister and brother, the wonders of horror movies"
Letting out a light chuckle at those words, Cagalli reached down and ruffled Mayu's hair a bit. "You have to wait with that you little troublemaker until they are quite a bit older, I do not want them to have nightmares through their entire childhood because you want to watch horror movies with them" the blond said, just before she moved away from Mayu and start helping Athrun up from the wheelchair, and over on to the bed.
"Hmm you big spoilsport..." Mayu mumbled displeased, which immediately made everybody in there laugh loudly.
It was at that very moment Amagi came storming into the room. "I'm sorry to disturb you Captain, but we got a small problem, apparently we did not get nearly as many Wombat missiles in our supplies as we request, we have only about twenty five of them left!" The man yelled.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Murrue stood up from where she was sitting at the foot of Athrun's bed. "Geez it seems so unlike Erica to forget to include something that important, I'll go talk with her immediately" the brunette haired woman said, as she began hastily making her way over to the door.
Yet before she could leave the room, Athrun called out after her. "Emm Miss Murrue, once you are not too busy, Cagalli and I, would like to talk with you in private"
Looking back at him, Murrue smiled softly at at the blue haired teenager, not even close to realizing how important the matter Athrun and Cagalli want to discuss with her was.
"Of course, Athrun. Once this matter with the Wombat missiles have been sorted out, I'll call both of you to my room, I'll see you then" she said, then hurried left the small room.
After that, it did not take long for the engaged couple to fall asleep, Athrun in the bed while Cagalli amazingly enough managed drift off in the wheelchair, and not wanting to disturb them Mayu started messing around with her handheld gaming console again, while the three others went back to their poker game.
To be continued.
Hey guys I want to talk a little about the last three chapters, while writing those I really did give some serious thoughts to killing of Andrew Waltfeld, but I want Kira and Lacus reunite to be at least somewhat romantic, and I did not see that happening if Andrew went an died during his battle with Akuto.
So what do you think are you happy that the Desert Tiger is still alive and drinking coffee, or would you have liked for him to die in this story?.