Lacus could feel Kira tense up in response to the embassy employee informing them that Durandal wished to speak with her, while Murrue, Andrew, and Malchio, still unsure of the man's intentions, moved to her side. Wanting to alleviate her partner's concern, she placed a comforting hand on Kira's shoulder as she walked up to address the man with a polite question.
"Forgive me, but why does the chairman wish to speak with me?"
"I don't know," the black-suited man matter-of-factly answered. "I was simply told he wanted to talk to you and to give you this briefcase."
To emphasize his point, the employee then walked up to the five of them to hand over the briefcase. Kira, despite having never met this man or Durandal and therefore having no reason to distrust them, still felt uneasy enough to walk up and try to take the briefcase himself. Everything in his gut told him to keep this man away from Lacus, even if he didn't know why.
"Thank you, sir, but we can take it from here," he told the man as politely as he could before extending his hand to accept the briefcase, but the latter simply shook his head in refusal before explaining why.
"Sorry, but I was told to hand this only to Lacus Clyne."
Lacus, seeking to avoid a confrontation, quickly walked up to Kira and interjected before he could say anything else.
"It's okay Kira," she gently assured him before placing her hand on his arm, her touch alleviating some of his concern. "I'm sure he means us no harm."
Still feeling uneasy, Kira opened his mouth to protest, but he realized that even if he didn't trust the black-suited man, he did trust Lacus, so he shut his mouth and nodded in agreement. Appreciatively smiling at her partner, which he reciprocated, Lacus then turned to face the embassy employee, her hand extended to take the briefcase, which he immediately handed over.
"Thank you, but what exactly is in this briefcase?"
"A long-range communication laptop keyed directly to the chairman's office in Aprilius One," he respectfully explained in response. "It's simple to use, but there is an instruction booklet in the briefcase in case you don't know how to use it."
"I see. Thank you," Lacus replied with a polite nod, which the man rotely returned before bidding her goodbye.
"I have to go now, Ms. Clyne, but once again, Chairman Durandal urgently needs to speak with you, so I advise contacting him right now."
Lacus once again nodded as the man turned to leave, but before he could get back in his car, Andrew, having his own two cents to give, called out to him.
"Wait a moment. How did you even find out where we lived?"
Without even turning around, the man looked back at Andrew and answered his question. "The chairman provided Ambassador de Lament with this address, which he then passed on to me. That's all I know, Commander Waltfeld."
With that, the embassy employee got into his car and drove off, leaving Kira, Lacus, Murrue, Andrew, and Malchio out on the driveway, briefcase in hand. Having been left uneasy by the man's answer about how the embassy tracked them down, Andrew turned to Murrue to voice his concerns.
"I thought Cagalli said this place would only be listed in her family's private records," he remarked, to which she nodded in agreement.
"She did, which means there could be spies in Orb's government," Murrue replied, having become well-acquainted with covert actions since her time at Heliopolis, before turning her attention to the briefcase in Lacus's hands. "Are you going to open it, Lacus?"
"And why do you think Durandal wants to speak with you?" Malchio politely interjected, not needing his sight to feel the tension in the air.
Before answering either question, Lacus looked at the briefcase she was holding and lightly jostled it, feeling its weight in her hands. Kira, his irrational ease remaining, walked behind his partner and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, as much for his comfort as for hers, while also taking a look at the briefcase. Appreciating her partner's gesture, Lacus looked back at Kira and gave him a soft smile, after which she looked to Malchio.
"I'm not sure why Chairman Durandal wants to speak with me, Reverend," she said to the blind priest, still trying to think of a reason. "When he became Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council, he seemed disinterested in involving Mrs. Eileen or most of my father's other supporters in his new government, so I find it strange that he wants to talk to me now."
Malchio understandingly nodded, whereas Andrew snorted derisively at the mention of how Durandal presented his leadership and shared his own resentful thoughts. "Especially after he stayed on the sidelines until the war was over, then swooped in and took credit for what we did."
Lacus bit her lip as she thought about what Andrew just said. While Andrew was right about Durandal not helping the Clyne Faction during the war, she couldn't immediately assume he had done it purely out of political opportunism. She remembered how the father of Nicol, Athrun's late friend, had become an ally of Patrick Zala simply out of grief for his dead son. His desire to avenge his son wasn't in of itself evil, and neither was it necessarily evil for someone to keep their head down during a period of civil strife.
"Perhaps, perhaps not, Mr. Waltfeld, but I don't think we should judge a book by its color. I don't know enough about the chairman to cast judgement on him yet," she replied to the Desert Tiger before turning her attention to Murrue. "And to finally answer your question, Ms. Murrue, yes, I'm going to open this briefcase and talk with Durandal. I might not know why he wants to speak with me, but there's no harm in using this opportunity to learn more about him."
Murrue nodded, largely unfamiliar with the PLANTs outside of military matters to weigh in further, while Andrew simply shrugged. He didn't particularly care for the current chairman of the PLANTs, but also saw no reason to oppose Lacus hearing him out. Kira, on the other hand, still couldn't bring himself to either be onboard with this or give a concrete reason for his discomfort.
"I'm sorry, Lacus, but the fact that this Durandal is reaching out two years after you and Mr. Waltfeld came to Earth just strikes me as weird."
Hearing Kira's words, Lacus turned to face him and rested her free hand on his shoulder. She wasn't sure why her partner was so worried before she had even talked to Durandal, but she certainly wanted to put him at ease.
"You have a point, Kira," she calmly replied, feeling the agitation she wanted to dispel radiating from him. "But nothing will be learned if we just keep standing around out here and talking about it."
Kira took his partner's words into consideration before realizing she was right, which he acknowledged with a nod and smile, an expression she reciprocated before holding the briefcase up to him.
"Would you mind helping me set this up, please?" she asked, which he responded to with a nod before taking it off her hands, after which the five of them went inside.
While Kira, Lacus, Andrew, and Murrue went upstairs, Malchio went to attend to the children, who had been playing with Mr. Pink and several of Lacus's other Haros. Noticing his owner going upstairs, Mr. Pink followed her, repeating his usual pre-programmed non sequiturs and profanities along the way.
Entering Lacus's bedroom, Kira set the briefcase on her desk, where Birdy, who had been roosting on the open window sill until his owner came in, flew over to while greeting the four humans and fellow robotic pet with his chirps. Opening the briefcase, the four of them were surprised to find that instead of there being a laptop inside of the briefcase, it was the laptop, with its screen, keyboard, mousepad, and power cord. On top of the dashboard was the instruction booklet the embassy employee mentioned, but it felt redundant because of how simple everything looked.
Unable to keep from feeling silly for expecting a more complex layout, Kira looked at Lacus, Murrue, and Andrew with an amused smile on his lips, an expression they all reciprocated, the anticlimactic moment being punctuated with a well-timed "damnit" from Mr. Pink.
Giggling for a moment before remembering the circumstances that had them gathered here, Lacus pressed the power button. After a few seconds, the screen came to life, revealing a list of contacts, or rather, a single contact, marked "Office of the Chairman." Suddenly feeling her heart race, Lacus looked back at everyone in the room after taking a seat.
"Are you all ready?" she asked as evenly as she could.
Andrew and Murrue offered encouraging smiles and nodded in agreement, while Kira, also smiling, placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to him.
"I think we are, Lacus," he replied, which was the final bit of assurance she needed before clicking on the contact and pressing the call button, the screen changing to show a connection was being established.
After what felt like an hours-long span of several seconds, a ping notified the four of them of a successful connection to Aprilius One. The video feed came to life soon after, revealing Gilbert Durandal sitting in front of the communications laptop in his office, a well-rehearsed smile on his lips. Part of Lacus wondered if he had been waiting for her to call him or just had an impeccable sense of timing, but she quickly pushed these thoughts away when he finally addressed her.
"Ah, hello there, Ms. Clyne," Durandal formally yet fondly greeted, as if Lacus were his favorite niece.
Appraising the tone of Durandal's words, Lacus slipped back into the young politician she had been during the final months of the war as she formulated her opening words.
"Greetings, Mr. Chairman," she politely replied, beginning to understand how this man succeeded Eileen as leader of the Supreme Council. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," he assured her as his eyes darted around her room, taking note of who else he could see through his screen. "And I see you count Andrew Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger, Murrue Ramius, the captain of the Archangel, and of course, Kira Yamato, the pilot of the Freedom, among your friends."
Not wanting to look weak, Lacus fought back the urge to look back at her partner and friends, but she could feel them tense up in response to Durandal's words. While it was unsurprising that he would know of Andrew or the Archangel due to the impact both of them had in the war, she hadn't expected anyone from the PLANTs or ZAFT to care about the personnel of an Earth Alliance ship, even an almost unique prototype that had defected to Orb. What truly concerned her, however, was Durandal's knowledge of Kira and his theft of the Freedom. Wanting to protect her traumatized partner, following the Clyne Faction's coup and the declaration of a ceasefire, Lacus had asked Eileen to find and destroy all evidence that could identify Kira as the pilot of the stolen mobile suit, but now it seemed enough had slipped through the cracks for Durandal to find out.
While Durandal held Lacus in high esteem, otherwise he wouldn't have contacted her in the first place, he continued smiling as he watched her and the other three people in the room react to his knowledge. He felt satisfied about finding a chink in her armor so quickly, giving him an early means of dominating the rest of the conversation.
A moment later, Lacus regained her composure and formulated a response.
"Yes, I hold them all near and dear to my heart," she candidly replied before getting to the point. "Now, if you don't mind me being so forward, Mr. Chairman, why did you want to talk to me?"
"Please, Ms. Clyne, call me Gilbert," he warmly offered in a tone Lacus thought sounded less than genuine. "And would it be alright if I called you Lacus?"
Kira unconsciously clenched his fists as he listened to Durandal patronize his partner. Athrun had told him about how the chairman treated Cagalli like a naive child during her inspection of Armory One, and it felt like he was doing the same with Lacus.
For her part, Lacus, having past experience at pretending to be an airheaded popstar, didn't let Durandal's tone get to her, though she did note it down for future reference.
"Of course, Gilbert," she chipperly assured him with a smile. "But may we please get back on topic?"
"I see you have inherited your father's appreciation for honest politics, Lacus," Durandal back-handedly complimented before acquiescing to her request, both of their smiles giving way to neutral expressions as they got to business. "Since we both know you like to be well-informed, even in your… retirement, I assume you know that the PLANTs have acknowledged that terrorists, formerly of ZAFT, were responsible for Junius Seven being pushed into Earth, correct?"
This piece of information had been on news headlines every day since it became public knowledge, so no one was surprised when Lacus nodded in the affirmative before letting Durandal continue.
"As you know, while the PLANTs and ZAFT were unaware of the existence of these terrorists until they attacked our demolition crews, the Earth Alliance, understandably, is skeptical of our claims. They have requested that we turn the surviving terrorists over to them so they can stand trial on Earth. In the interest of preserving the fragile peace created by the Junius Treaty, despite our own suspicions that the raid on Armory One was the handiwork of Earth Alliance proxies, we would oblige their request… if any of the terrorists had survived."
Lacus let this information soak in her head as she thought of a response, but Andrew interjected before she could say anything.
"With all due respect, Mr. Chairman, this is just window dressing for whatever you really want to say, so let's hear it."
Lacus briefly looked back at Andrew with a pointed expression, which he responded to with a nonchalant shrug, before returning her attention to Durandal, who coincidentally also shrugged.
"Point taken, Commander Waltfeld," he respectfully replied. "Because we don't have any terrorists to give to the Earth Alliance, the Supreme Council is afraid that the Atlantic Federation will interpret this as complicity and convince its allies of the necessity for a military response. To make matters worse, Lacus, some of the hardliners in the council are pushing for a pre-emptive action, which is why I humbly request that you return to the PLANTs and, in an official capacity as my deputy, help me negotiate with the Earth Alliance."
Durandal's request hit everyone in the room with the weight of a mobile suit. None of them had been sure why he wanted to speak with Lacus, but that certainly hadn't been it.
Lacus did her best to hide her shock and confusion at the request as she formulated a response, but she could sense Kira's discomfort.
"Forgive me, Gilbert, but why do you need my help?" she calmly asked in response, wondering if he wanted her as an idol or a politician.
Having anticipated such a question, Durandal offered a thin smile before giving his explanation.
"Why? Because of what you represent, Lacus," he replied, her eyes narrowing in response. "You sang the song of peace during the war, and it brought many people to their senses, which is why I believe your help is needed to placate the Earth Alliance and the hardliners in the PLANTs."
Andrew folded his arms and thought about Durandal's points, while Murrue surprised him by interjecting into the conversation.
"He has a point, Lacus," she opined as she walked over and placed a hand on the songstress's chair. "I don't know much about the politics of the PLANTs, but I did see the presence projected by your informal command of the Eternal."
Kira felt conflicting emotions as he listened to the unfolding conversation. On the one hand, he agreed with Murrue and Durandal's assessment of Lacus, but on the other hand, the fact that the Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council had gone out of his way to contact his partner didn't sit right with him.
While Lacus pondered what Murrue and Durandal said, the latter pressed onward with his request, deciding it was time to twist the knife.
"Think about it, Lacus. If you come to the PLANTs and help me diffuse this situation, then the Atlantic Federation might stop pressuring Orb," Durandal argued before swiftly going in for the kill, already reveling in the trump card he was about to play. "And Kira wouldn't have to fight again."
Lacus blanched at Durandal's incentive as he said it, the sight of which made his smile more pronounced. How did he know so much about her? What did he know about her relationship with Kira?
"I won't presume to know why you left the PLANTs after Eileen negotiated a ceasefire with the Earth Alliance, but if you're willing to return and act as my deputy until the situation is resolved, then you can continue the life you've built for yourself on Earth," Durandal concluded, his eyes darting to Kira to gauge his emotions, the boy's face reminding him of his colleagues from Mendel.
Recoiling from his mental state being addressed by Durandal and now noticing that the head of state was looking at him, Kira immediately looked away from him, his fists clenching in impotent frustration as he felt a lump of fury in his throat. He wanted to scream at Durandal for using him against his partner, to tell him that he was wrong, that he didn't need to be protected from fighting, but deep down, he knew the man was right. He didn't want to fight another war, but at the same time, he didn't want Lacus to accept his request.
Unable to maintain her mask of political distance any longer and aware of where Durandal was looking, Lacus also looked to Kira, her heart breaking when she saw the conflicted feelings in his face. Uncaring of how it made her look, she reached out and clasped his hand in hers, prompting him to look at her. She knew fighting hurt him, and she'd do anything to keep him from having to pilot a mobile suit ever again, even if it meant going back to the PLANTs and playing the game of politics again.
"It's okay, Kira. I know what to do," she assured him, feeling a second wind as she reluctantly withdrew her hands from his and looked back at Durandal. "Alright, Gilbert, I will come to the PLANTs for as long as it takes to defuse the current situation, but the moment it's been resolved, I must return to Earth. Do we have an agreement?"
Kira's heart sank with shock and fear as he heard Lacus beginning to strike an agreement with Durandal, while Murrue simply continued listening. For his part, Andrew just shrugged, already anticipating that he'd be accompanying Lacus whether or not she asked him to.
Triumphant, Durandal took a deep breath before exhaling with satisfaction, after which he confirmed Lacus's counter-request.
"Yes, Lacus, we have an agreement," he replied, his thin smile still present on his lips. "If you would like, I can book passage to the PLANTs for you."
"Thank you, but I can make my arrangements," she politely declined, fairly certain that Cagalli would let her use Orb's mass driver to go into space. "I'll send you my itinerary once everything has been finalized."
"I see. In which case, I believe our business is concluded for now, Lacus," Durandal said before reaching for the hang-up button. "It was a pleasure speaking with you."
"Thank you, Gilbert," she replied before the call ended, leaving her alone with Kira, Andrew, and Murrue, none of them sure what to say next.
The sense of victory Durandal felt continued to wash over him as he closed his laptop and looked up to see Rau sitting across from him, an amused smirk on his lips.
"It is done, Rau," Durandal smugly told his friend's apparition as he reclined in his chair. "Lacus will come to the PLANTs because she believes her presence might avert the war and keep Kira Yamato from having to fight again."
Rau's smirk turned into a toothy grin as he let out a small chuckle.
"So, I see you exploited her love for the boy," he remarked, the empty mirth in his voice masking the hatred he felt for Kira Yamato, a hatred that endured beyond death, before turning his attention to the matter of Lacus. "But what will happen when Lacus finds out she can't succeed? How will she react when she meets her most fervent worshiper?"
Durandal shifted in his seat as he thought of a response to Rau's needling before settling on an answer.
"She will start to distrust me, of course, and most likely use her resources to act against me, but I will treat her leniently as I show her what I want her to see. If she comes over to my way of thinking, then the deception won't matter anymore. If not, then I already have her close."
Rau's grin vanished as he stood up, looked down at Durandal, and warned him of what his need for control could lead to.
"Do not underestimate Lacus Clyne just because she is young, Gilbert. Men as powerful as you made that mistake, and look where they are now."
Taken aback by the implication of his impotence, Durandal began to counter his dead friend, but he disappeared before he could say anything. Now alone, Durandal pondered Rau's words as he returned to focus on matters of state.
Seeing that neither Kira, Lacus, nor Andrew seemed willing to share their thoughts, Murrue, taking a note from her time dealing with Kira and other young volunteers aboard the Archangel, took the initiative and turned to Andrew.
"Andrew, why don't we let Kira and Lacus talk in private?" she said in a maternal tone, which he immediately nodded in agreement with.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," he replied before turning to leave the room, with Murrue giving an encouraging look to Kira and Lacus before following him out, leaving the two youngsters alone.
Placing a hand on Lacus's chair, prompting her to turn back around and look at him, a solemn expression on her face, Kira tried to tell his partner how he felt about her decision, but all he could do was stammer before simply asking her a question.
"Why, Lacus? Why did you say yes?" he asked, his fear of being without her outweighing the guilt he felt for being selfish.
Already knowing this conversation was going to be even more painful for Kira, Lacus wordlessly got up, took her partner's hand, led him to the foot of her bed, and sat down with him, softly brushing his knuckles with her thumb in an effort to calm both of them down before answering his question.
"Because Durandal is right," she sadly admitted to him. "I don't want you to ever have to fight again, and if that means going to the PLANTs and helping him avert a new war, then that is a price I'm more than willing to pay."
Lacus's words hit Kira with the force of a sledgehammer as he tried to process his emotions and formulate a response. On the one hand, he felt grateful that she cared so much about him, but on the other hand, he couldn't stand the thought of being a burden on her, especially if it meant the two of them being separated.
"But we don't need to worry about a war. We're in Orb, and they would never compromise their neutrality," he tried to convince her, not truly believing in his words and mentally kicking himself for being so selfish, but unsure of what else he could say.
"I don't know if we can be so sure of that anymore, Kira," Lacus solemnly told him, feeling guilty for having to burst his bubble. "You know Cagalli sends me the minutes from her meetings, and she told me that several of her ministers have been pressuring her to sign a treaty with the Atlantic Federation."
As much as Kira didn't want to admit it, he'd also taken a look at those minutes, and he knew that if war was declared, it was uncomfortably possible that Orb could be forced into it, despite its vaunted neutrality. Briefly lowering his head in defeat, he then looked back up at his partner, taking a deep breath before continuing the conversation.
"You're right, Lacus. Perhaps this is the only way a war can be avoided," he conceded as calmly as he could, gathering his strength to make one last desperate request. "But if you're going to the PLANTs, then I want to come with you. Anything I can do to help you, I will, and I'm sure Mr. Waltfeld and Ms. Murrue would do the same."
Unsure of what else he could say to persuade Lacus, Kira then offered her the best smile he could manage. Even if he wasn't good at handling firearms or fighting outside of a mobile suit, he needed to be there to protect her, no matter what that protection might look like.
Unbeknownst to Kira, his request and hopeful smile made what came next all the more painful for Lacus. Taking his other hand into hers, she silently looked at him, wishing she could just lose herself in his purple eyes, before finally giving her answer.
"Kira, please forgive me," she regretfully began to tell him, his smile already disappearing from her choice of words. "But while I intend to ask Mr. Waltfeld to come with me because of his status as a war hero, despite his defection, the best way you can help me is by staying on Earth and continuing to live the life we've built here."
Kira visibly deflated as soon as Lacus finished speaking, her words throwing him into emotional turmoil as the irrational parts of his mind began to imagine losing his partner forever.
"B-b-but why?" he quietly stammered, tears welling in his eyes. "Why can't I come with you?"
"Because I want to keep you safe," she softly told him, her guilt crushing her heart like a vice. "Because I don't want to add to your burdens, and as much as I want you to come with me, I know that would only make the weight you bear worse."
"But I want to keep you safe too!" Kira desperately cried out, the crushing weight of past failures and lost friends compounding his agony as he imagined being alone. "I don't want to be without you, Lacus! Without you, I'm… I…"
Feeling her heart breaking, Lacus withdrew a hand from her partner's loosened grip and placed it on his cheek, which he nuzzled against as tears began lightly falling down his cheeks.
"Nothing could make me feel safer than to know you care so much, Kira," she comfortingly assured him. "And I swear you will not be without me for long."
Somewhat calming down, Kira, still sniffling, reached up and rested his free hand on Lacus's, wanting to feel the warmth of her palm for as long as he could.
"I don't want to be a leader or a politician," she continued, giving a small smile as she felt him relax. "I just want to be here, with you."
Still feeling a lump in his throat, Kira initially responded to Lacus's comforting words by gently taking her hand off his cheek and kissing it, the sensation of his lips on her skin making her blush. He then locked his fingers with hers and looked into her eyes, finally finding his words.
"I know, and I'm sorry," Kira apologetically replied, aware he was acting like a petulant child. "I'm just scared of backsliding."
Keenly aware of this problem and wanting to find a way to avert it, Lacus's smile widened as a partial solution came to her. In addition to asking Andrew to come with her, she intended to take Mr. Pink, since his spyware was easy to conceal, but that left the rest of her Haros in need of a caretaker.
"Kira, I intend to travel lightly to the PLANTs, which means I'm only taking Mr. Pink with me," she began to tell him, distracting him from his sadness. "So would you please take care of my other Haros while I'm gone?"
Kira knew that Lacus was using basic psychology to focus his mind on something else, since he and Athrun were the only people who could realistically care for them apart from her. However, having something new and concrete to do gave him a sense of purpose, especially since it was for his partner, so he would do it.
"Of course I will, Lacus," he promised, forcing himself to smile to show his partner that he would be okay, that he knew their separation would only be temporary.
Relieved to see that her partner was calming down, Lacus's smile grew even brighter as she pulled Kira into a hug, one he gratefully reciprocated. For a while, the two of them just sat on the bed and held each other, both wishing this moment would never end. After a while, however, Lacus reluctantly pulled out of the hug and stood up, after which she gently grasped Kira's hands and pulled him up with her.
"Come on. I need to get in touch with Cagalli and ask Mr. Waltfeld if he's willing to come to the PLANTs with me," Lacus explained, implicitly asking Kira to join her, which he nodded to in agreement before the two of them left her room.
After she and Andrew left Kira and Lacus alone to discuss their reaction to Durandal's request and the songstress-turned-resistance leader's decision to accept it, Murrue sat down on an upstairs living room couch while the retired Desert Tiger went to get them fresh cups of coffee. She had told him that the now lukewarm cup he gave her earlier would still be good, but he refused to hear it. Soon enough, he came back, holding a tray with two steaming cups of the same blend on it.
"The gods of coffee would smite me if I let you drink lukewarm coffee, Murrue," Andrew sarcastically admonished her as he set the tray down on the coffee table before offering her one of the cups.
Politely accepting the cup, Murrue took a sip, contentedly smiling as she enjoyed the coffee's bitter and nutty taste, much to Andrew's satisfaction as he sat down and sipped from his own cup, admiring his work but already thinking of ways he could improve it in the future.
"I think the gods have been appeased for today, Andrew," Murrue playfully assured him, the two of them sharing a chuckle before their thoughts shifted to mutual speculation about Kira and Lacus's private conversation. "What do you think Kira and Lacus are discussing?"
Taking another sip from his cup before putting it down and reclining in his chair, Andrew rubbed his chin with his prosthetic hand as he pondered the likely topics.
"Honestly, I imagine they're trying to figure out how many among the three of us will be going with her," he finally answered before adding his own opinions, having already thought ahead. "I'm fairly certain Lacus will at least ask me to come, though, since I still have quite a few friends in the PLANTs that can provide us with information and resources her own contacts might not be able to access."
"And your thoughts on Kira and I?" Murrue followed up. "I doubt most people in the PLANTs would be willing to overlook that we fought against them during the war, even though he's a Coordinator and we both left the Earth Alliance."
After Murrue finished speaking, Andrew picked up his cup and took another sip, savoring the flavor on his tongue as he considered her point. While he believed it was possible for Naturals and Coordinators to coexist, he also knew it would still take years for the scars left behind by the war to fade away enough for that coexistence to take its baby steps.
"As much as I'd like for you and the kid to come with us, I'm not sure it would be a good idea," he finally admitted before giving a further explanation. "Durandal knows who you are and what you did, and even if that isn't public knowledge right now, he could make it so fairly quickly, which would definitely put you and Kira in danger, something none of us want to happen."
Murrue nodded in agreement as she thought about her past conversations with Talia. While the ZAFT officer was a pleasant conversationist, she wondered if their talks would've been as cordial had she known Maria Bernes was just an alias.
"I think you're right," she replied before her late boyfriend entered her thoughts and refused to leave. "Though part of me can't help but think about what Mu would say if he were here. I'm sure he'd argue that all of us should go to the PLANTs."
Andrew briefly smiled as he considered Murrue's words, though his expression quickly became somber as he thought of Aisha and unconsciously touched the scar on his left eyelid with his prosthetic fingers, two reminders that like Murrue, he lost his significant other during the war. Not a day went by where he didn't wish he could wake up in Aisha's arms again, and it was for that impossible dream that he'd go to the PLANTs, even if Lacus didn't ask him to.
Before Andrew could give a response, however, his and Murrue's attention were drawn to the sounds of footsteps approaching them. Turning around, both of them saw Kira and Lacus, holding hands and with nervously hopeful expressions on their faces, entering the room.
"Are you kids done with your conversation?" Andrew asked, offering them a friendly smile, which both of them responded to with a nod.
"Yes, we have Mr. Waltfeld," Lacus replied before asking him the question he had anticipated. "I think it's best for me to go to the PLANTs as lightly as possible, but would you be willing to come with me? I plan on leaving tomorrow, if that affects your decision."
Still smiling, Andrew briefly looked back at Murrue and with an expression of vindication, amusing her, before returning his gaze to the young couple and nodded in the affirmative.
"If you hadn't asked, I would've insisted, kid," he fondly told her before getting up. "I'll get our bags packed, and I assume you're going to ask Cagalli if we can use the mass driver to head into space?"
Unsurprised that Andrew already knew what she was doing, Lacus simply nodded back before looking affectionately at Kira, after which she reluctantly let go of his hand.
"I'll be right back, Kira. I just need to call Cagalli and make the arrangements," she told her partner, eliciting an understanding nod from him as she went back to her room.
Andrew, realizing he was now operating on a short time table, looked to Kira and Murrue before leaving to pack what they needed and alert his contacts, leaving the two Earth Alliance defectors alone together. Once again feeling the weight of being without Lacus, Kira walked over and sat down on the chair Andrew vacated and sighed with resignation, his mood something Murrue didn't need to be a captain to notice.
"Are you okay, Kira?" she asked him, already anticipating the answer but wanting to give him the chance to express his emotions on his terms.
Kira looked to Murrue as he pondered what to say. On the one hand, he knew she had her own burdens and didn't want to make them worse, but on the other hand, as much as he loved Lacus, sometimes he needed to confide in someone who wasn't her.
"No, Ms. Murrue, I'm not okay," he frankly admitted. "I feel like everything's falling apart and I'm not able or allowed to do anything about it."
Kira's words reminded Murrue of how she felt about Mu's death, and it was from that pain she found her response.
"I know what it's like to feel that way, but we shouldn't focus on things beyond our control," she understandingly told him. "We can't prevent things from falling apart, but we can survive and rebuild. From the moment we met, we went from one crisis to another. We survived them all, and we will get through what comes next."
Kira sat up as he listened intently to Murrue. Her words didn't particularly alleviate his doubts and fears, but he knew she had a point.
"Thank you, Ms. Murrue," he gratefully replied, which she responded to with a nod, after which they simply sat in silence as they waited for Andrew and Lacus to come back.
Author's Note
Behold, one of the biggest changes I'm making in this fanfic. Instead of trying to kill and replace Lacus, Durandal wants her by his side. I made this choice because I didn't think Lacus was given enough to do in SEED Destiny beyond having some poignant moments and giving Kira a shiny new mobile suit (both of which were great, mind you, but I still want more). Because I don't like just writing out characters, Meer will still be in the story, but you'll have to stick around to see what she'll be like.
Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and, as always, feedback is appreciated. Until next time.