Like Water in a Stream
It seemed like any other regular day on Aprillius One. The sun was shining, and the little Haros were bouncing gleefully in the garden. Lacus had a little pep in her step as she pushed the tea cart down the hallway. Kira was here away from all the fighting, all the pain. She hoped that he'd be safe in this little oasis of peace. Though his arrival was unexpected, Lacus welcomed him with open arms and vowed to do her best to keep him from harm. And so, here she was, bringing him some afternoon tea and biscuits. However…
"Kira?" Lacus asked aloud.
Of course, keeping Kira safe via a cute little tea party required Kira actually being present. Instead, the glass gazebo was empty aside from the various flowers encircling the bed. Luckily, it didn't take long for Lacus to find her charge. She spotted him nearby as he leaned against a balcony overlooking the bay. It was kind of cute how he stood on the concrete barefoot in the silk pajamas he was given. Slowly Lacus approached him not wanting to break his train of thoughts. As she settled next to him, Kira turned to face her, and he couldn't help but smile.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hello," she tenderly smiled back, "Y'know, you should be resting Mr. Patient."
"Sorry. I wanted to stretch a bit."
"Hmmm. I guess I could allow that," she playfully bumped his shoulder, "But not too long. We don't want to cause any accidents now."
"Haha. Yes, Ms. Nurse."
Lacus turned away hoping to hide the blush Kira just caused. A comfortable silence then fell upon them as seagulls chirped from above. By now, Mr. Pink grew curious and bounced his way next to Lacus. Shyly, she scooted closer to him brushing her shoulder against his. Kira didn't budge. Instead, he continued looking out to sea deep in thought. It pained her to see him like this. He was so solemn and sad. Even now, his guilt seemed to weigh even on Lacus's heart. Sensing her concern, Kira tried to change the subject, not wanting her to worry so much.
"It's really beautiful here," he exclaimed putting on a bright smile, "The engineering is quite remarkable. The light almost feels like the real sun."
"Oh, that's right! You've been to Earth. How is it down there?"
"It feels heavy, I guess? Because of the natural gravity. But the sun feels so warm. Like a really nice hug. And the sea breeze smells so salty but fresh."
"Wow. Must have been nice," Lacus leaned closer to him.
"Uhh yea. It was. I uh saw some dolphins too!" he blushed realizing how close Lacus was.
"Really!" she exclaimed with glee, "What was that like? Were they cute?"
"Y-yea. Well, I mean I was on the Archangel deck and couldn't really get a close look. But they were awesome. Jumping out of the water and everything."
"Hehe my my. That sounds amazing. One day, I hope we can go see them. Not just dolphins, but whales too!"
"W-we?"
"Yes, of course, Kira. I'll need a guide after all. And you seem quite knowledgeable about Earth."
"I er well I wouldn't say I'm THAT knowledgeable. I was only there for a few months. If you really wanted to visit Earth, you should probably find a more qualified guide…"
"Sigh. Oh Kira. You have a lot to learn about women…"
"Huh?"
"Hehehe," she giggled as she bumped his shoulder again.
Realizing that Lacus had been mildly teasing, Kira laughed with her and bumped her right back. It seemed his mood had lightened up a bit. Good. A small mission accomplished for Lacus.
"You have this uncanny ability to make anyone smile, y'know," Kira said to her, "I missed that about you."
"W-well, you're in my care after all. It's my duty to help you recover in body and spirit," she blushed.
"In body?" he smirked quizzically.
"K-Kira Yamato get those dirty thoughts out of your head!" she grabbed his arm as smoked blew out of her ears, "Now come along. I brought you some tea and biscuits!"
"….I didn't mean it like that?!" he blushed as she dragged him back towards the manor.
As Lacus retreated elsewhere, Kira sat on the bed staring off into the distance. He flexed his hand a bit, stretching the muscles slightly. His body was healing. There was no soreness, no pain. No doubt, Lacus's care was doing wonders. But a small part of him wondered why. Was this how things should be? He thought back to that fight with Athrun. There was no hesitation in his actions. Only instinct. Only anger. It wasn't who he was, how he was raised. He didn't deserve to be placed here in what seemed like paradise with a beautiful girl.
"Am I interrupting, Kira?" a calm, soothing voice beckoned him.
"Huh?" the boy turned around.
Reverend Malchio had entered the chamber. Trailing behind him was one of the footmen, who placed a small wooden case on the table.
"Thank you, sir," the Reverend nodded as the footman moved on, "Do you care for a little game?"
"Uhh ok. What are we playing?"
"Chess."
"Y-you can play chess?" Kira tilted his head, "S-sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
"Hehehe," the Reverend smiled, "It's no trouble at all, Kira. In fact, it's a very natural inquiry, how a blind man plays chess. Faith, dear boy."
"Faith? Uhhh…"
"Yes. Faith. As in I have faith that you will read out the positions of the pieces honestly."
"…..OHHHHH hahaha," Kira chuckled at the solution.
Feeling slightly chipper, Kira walked over to the table as the Reverend sat down. The chess case felt so old, yet quite polished in Kira's hand. Clearly, the Reverend had taken care of this antique very well. As he opened the case and unfolded the board, Kira noticed letters and numbers along the sides, evidently used to mark positions on the grid.
"Is the board straight, Kira?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
Wasting no time, the Reverend started picking up the black pieces and placing them perfectly on his side of the board. Stunned, Kira only looked on as the Reverend acted as if he wasn't blind at all.
"I've memorized the board. And the black pieces have small markings on the side," the Reverend smirked.
"Oh. I, wow. This must be a really special board then."
"Yes. It was a gift from Siegel, Lacus's father."
"Really?"
"Yes. He had it specially made to help me adapt to my condition. We've played countless matches since then."
"You must mean a lot to him."
"We are indeed good friends. We may not see eye-to-eye on everything, but we share the same ideals. And the same desire for peace."
"Right," Kira nodded as he finished setting up his side of the board.
"Your move."
"Um pawn to E4."
The Reverend nodded as his hand overed over some of his pieces. Calmly, he picked up a pawn and moved it to C6. Kira moved his little pawn up to E5.
"Oh sorry. Pawn to E5."
"Thank you for remembering," Malchio smiled as he moved another pawn to H6, "If I may, Kira. What goes through your mind most days?"
"I'm sorry?"
"What have you been thinking about when you get a moment to yourself?"
"I sigh. Sometimes I wonder if I'm lucky or cursed. New pawn D4."
"Hmm? How so?"
"I just. I still don't understand why. Why did I survive? Why am I here?"
"Do you know your purpose, Kira?" the Reverend moves pawn to H5.
"No? Not really. Pawn to D5."
"That's alright. Not many people know at your age. Now I may be slightly biased, but I do believe every one of us has a purpose. It takes time, of course, to fully understand the purpose we are given. But good or bad, we all have a calling and a path that takes us there."
"G-good or bad?"
"Yes. We often learn more about ourselves from bad actions than good actions. A man steals some bread from the store. Moments later, he finds that he doesn't like stealing, as it hurts the store owner. So, he grows and doesn't steal anymore."
"Forgive me, Reverend, but some actions have more consequences than just stealing bread."
"Very true."
"So, shouldn't we be discouraging the bad as much as we can?"
"Yes. While we hope people learn without having to deal with dire consequences, we cannot make decisions for everyone. We can only learn and hope they learn as well."
"I-I guess."
"You have killed people, Kira."
"I-…"
"And what have you learned?"
Kira paused for a moment, still recovering from how blunt the Reverend could be. However, slowly he began to let those words sink in. What had he learned, really?
"I learned that I hate it. I hate killing. I don't understand why people resort to such an action. Taking a life is just so cruel. You don't just kill a person. You kill their hopes and dreams. You kill what they could have been. It's terrible."
"Yes. But what have you learned?"
"Huh? But I just"-
"Keep digging, Kira."
"I-I don't want to kill anymore. At my lowest point, I felt rage, and I wanted to kill my best friend. B-but I…"
"Yes?"
"I wish I could have been better. I wish I could have talked to Athrun properly and avoided all the anger and conflict."
"And what else?"
"I…..I don't wish I were dead. I-I want people to see that there are better ways than killing. That all killing does is make you feel wretched inside and make others mourn. I want to be better and help others be better as well."
"I see. Do you think you would have come to that conclusion had you been on a different path?"
"Uhh I'm not sure."
"Me neither. But what do I know," he shrugged.
"Reverend?"
"Kira, you have done some terrible things. But I believe your purpose is far greater than you can possibly imagine. So great, that reprehensible acts were needed for you to learn. You ask why you are not dead, why you are here. Because God believes you can do more, especially when you've learned from your mistakes…"
A lot was learned from those few games of chess with Reverend Malchio. For starters, Kira discovered that the kind man was quite the grand master. Blind or not, the Reverend easily bested the boy in as few as twenty moves. However, Kira also thought about their conversation. Maybe there was some greater purpose awaiting him. Maybe surviving such a fatal duel was a second chance to be better. With heavy thoughts weighing on his mind, Kira wandered into the manor. He didn't really have a destination, but then the sound of a piano caught his attention. The notes were long and soothing. Almost immediately, the sweet sound of Lacus singing filled the air.
"The nighttime fills the sky,
Stars alive go floating by,
So still the evening air,
So warm and soft,
Peace everywhere,
I see a world in harmony,
A world of peace and humanity,
Where people walk free,
Like water in a stream,
Flowing on forevermore…"
*CLAP CLAP CLAP*
"Oh?" Lacus turned to see Kira giving her a small bit of applause.
"Sorry. That was just really pretty. It's been a while since I've heard you sing."
"T-thank you. You're too kind."
"Was that a new song?" he asked sitting next to her on the bench.
"Yes. It's something I've been working on."
"Oh?"
"Mmm hmm. The first song you had heard, on the Archangel, I had written about my mother. She passed when I was very young, and it took me quite some time to really accept what had happened. All I wanted was for her to come back. So, I wrote my first song about waiting for her, waiting to see her again."
"It's a beautiful song, Lacus."
"Thank you, Kira. Singing it uplifts me in a way. It reminds me that those who have passed are never forgotten, we just need to wait a bit before we can see them again."
"What about this new song? What's it about."
"Ermmm…" she hid her face behind stands of her hair.
"What?"
"Well, I wrote it about you…sort of," she scratched her cheek which felt burning red.
"O-oh," Kira stammered as his face matched her blush.
"You've inspired me in a way. As I said before, Kira, you're a kind soul. Someone gentle but forced into impossible odds. You're a peaceful person who doesn't deserve the hand they are dealt. So, I wrote this song in hopes of seeing a world without conflict, without war, so good people like you can be free."
"Like water in a stream," he chuckled.
"Yes! Exactly," she giggled, "Of course this song still needs some minor tweaking."
"Can I help?"
"You play piano?"
"W-well no. But I can sit and uhhh give feedback?"
"My my Mr. Kira, are you simply trying to find an excuse to sit next to me?" she smirked.
"Is that a problem?" he smiled catching onto her little game.
"Not at all. I quite enjoy the company."
Giggles and laughter filled the piano room as Lacus and Kira continued to compose the song. In a dark corner however, a figure leaned against the doorway unbeknownst to the giggling pair. His mouth twitched as his fingers scratched his moustache. Of course, as a father, Siegel had concerns about this mysterious boy who landed on his doorstep. But this same boy might just be the key he had been looking for…
Later that night, after a scrumptious dinner, Lacus retreated to her room, still feeling giddy about the quality time she spent with Kira. So far things had been going as she had hoped. Kira was here, where he was safe. No need to fight. No need to feel pain. She'd be able to protect him here. Lost in her reverie, she almost didn't even hear the knocks at the door.
"Lacus, dear. It's me."
"Oh! Come in, father."
"Hello, my dear," Siegel greeted as he entered the bedroom.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, of course. Everything is fine. I just have a few questions to ask. That's all."
"Ok," she nodded though concerned.
"They're simple questions really," he tried to reassure her as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Is this about Kira?"
"Sigh. Never could get anything past you, huh."
"Daddy, I'm so sorry, but he's my friend and he's not being a bother and-"
"I understand, Lacus. In fact, I am curious. How close are you to young Kira?"
"Um. Well. As I said, he is a dear friend. H-he was very kind to me while I was on the Archangel and…um."
"So, you two are quite close then?"
"Erm I'd like to think we are. I really am quite fond of him."
"Sigh…"
"Father?"
"Lacus, I normally don't try to bring work home or worry you with everything that is going on. But things are looking really bad."
"What do you mean?"
"Sigh. Patrick Zala has really been pushing to escalate the war since he took office. He's imposing his misguided ideology on the people, and for the most part it's working. ZAFT now more than ever is invigorated and hell bent on wiping out Naturals and taking over Earth."
"That's terrible!"
"It's…why I'm here actually."
"….Father?"
"Sigh. Patrick has been using the data gathered from the G-weapons and…..improving upon the design."
"Improving? You don't mean?"
"Yes. He has at least two G-weapon type mobile suits already made. This is beyond top level classification, Lacus. These new mobile suits are faster, stronger, and more dangerous than any of the five original suits."
"W-why are you telling me this, father?"
"Sigh. Because we need to steal one of them. We need to take one of those suits and send them to ORB. If Patrick is allowed to deploy his new weapons, Earth and the naturals won't stand a chance."
"…Where are you going with this, father?" Lacus asked with a firm tone.
Her eyes began glaring at her father. She clenched her teeth somewhat knowing what he was going to ask her. Lacus prayed that her father wouldn't ask the unthinkable. She desperately wished that he wasn't going to make her travel down this dark path. However, it seemed fate wasn't on her side tonight.
"These machines are far too advanced for any ZAFT soldier still loyal to me. However, based on the reports I've been getting regarding the Strike, it appears that Kira is-"
"No," she answered sternly.
"Lacus. Please."
"Absolutely not," she stood up in a huff, "How could you even think of asking me this?!"
"Lacus, my dear, please understand. As it stands, none of the ace pilots we have available can handle the immense power of these new suits. Yzak Joule is the only one remaining of the Le Creuset team, the best of the best. Even if he were ready to pilot the new weapons, he'd never help our cause. Lacus, Kira is an exceptional pilot. He is gifted with abilities no one has ever seen. One G-weapon taking on four others at once while protecting the Archangel. That is skill unheard of."
"I don't care," she spat with venom.
"Lacus! What's gotten into you?"
"Father, I love you. Truly I do. But this is the most heinous thing you have ever asked of me."
"L-Lacus?"
"I stood by and put on a smile while you and the Zala family forced me into an engagement with a boy I had never met. I bore through that ordeal because Athrun was kind and gentle. I never loved him, but I was willing to go through with it for the sake of our families. But this? You are effectively asking me to convince Kira to fight again. You are asking me to have him sneak into a ZAFT facility, steal a mobile suit, and bring it to ORB so that he may use it to fight. Do you know what he has been through? How much pain and agony he has felt during this whole stupid war!? He has killed when he never wanted to. He's had to fight and kill his best friend. He's faced discrimination and judgement on his own ship! He is tired and broken and deserves a place to settle and be safe. I refuse to be the one to thrust him back into conflict when he has no intention of going back out there."
"Lacus. We are desperate. Kira might be our only chance of stifling Patrick's plan for the time being."
"I don't care! Find someone else! Kira has been through enough torment."
"Dammit Lacus we are at war! We cannot afford to miss opportunities like this! We don't have the time!"
"Kira is not a soldier. And I will not ask him to be one."
"Sigh…"
Defeated, Siegel got up to leave. As he opened the door, he gave Lacus one last look.
"I implore you, Lacus. Think about it."
With those final words of the night, Siegel was gone. Lacus, now by herself, couldn't help but fall to the bed in tears. How could he? How could her own father betray her like this? Forcing poor Kira to relive his trauma. Kira nearly died, and her own father wanted to throw him out there like a pawn. Still astonished by that conversation with her father, Lacus grabbed a robe to cover up her nightgown. Quietly opening her door, she walked down the hallway towards Kira's gazebo. To her surprise, she found him wide awake, sitting up against the headboard, and reading a book.
"Kira?"
"Huh? Lacus? What are you doing up so late?"
"I uh couldn't really sleep."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Whatcha reading?"
"Three Musketeers. Your butler erm….Mr. C-Carson? He recommended it to me."
"You've never read?"
"I know bits and pieces, but I've never read the full story."
"Ahh. I see. May I join you?"
"Huh?"
"Well, I've heard reading can help with eventually falling asleep. And I've got nothing better to do."
"Uhhh ok."
Given the green light, Lacus climbed into bed with Kira and settled under the covers. Confused, Kira remained still as Lacus leaned her head against his shoulder and hugged his torso. Her grasp was a tad tight causing Kira to look at her with concern.
"You ok?" he asked.
"Y-yes. Just tired is all."
"Alright. Uh would you like me to read aloud?"
"We can take turns page by page."
A little while later, Lacus finished reading her page and meant to turn it over to Kira. However, the light snoring told her that Kira had dozed off as some point. Careful not to wake him, she snuck out of bed and warmly placed the covers over him. Her hand brushed a few stray strands away as she couldn't help but admire his peaceful face.
"I promise, Kira. I'll protect you…"
AN: Hey everyone! I'm so so sorry this took forever to update. Honestly, it was just trying to find the time with school, traveling and more. But here's a bit more of Kira's stay on Aprillius. I wanted to flesh out these bonding moments a bit more and mayyyyybe inject some minor conflict hehehe.
I also really really love Mizu no Akashi so I had Kira and Lacus bond over making this song. I also ended up using AmaLee's English Lyrics because I think they make the most sense, and because Amanda is BAE! (She also plays Ingrid in Seed Freedom :p ).
I hope you enjoyed the read. Thank you so much for being patient with me. I'm really excited to continue this story and keep the love alive for Kira and Lacus!