Shinn listened to Mayu's playlist as he spent his break in the Minerva's lounge. Apart from him and Rey, who was reading a novel from before the Cosmic Era, several crewmen that he didn't recognize were also in the lounge, talking about how they wished the captain would authorize shore leave for a day or two.
While Shinn turned up the volume on Mayu's phone so he could hear the pop music she liked over the conversation, he had to admit being cooped up on the ship since arriving at Orb was making him stir-crazy. Having spent the past few days doing the same routine of his regular duties, additional weapons training, and making sure the engineers from Morgenröte weren't snooping around places they weren't supposed to be in, he was now suffering from an ennui so intense, he almost wished the people who attacked Armory One would show up so he had something to do.
At the same time, however, even though he hoped shore leave would eventually be granted, he'd rather have it anywhere but in Orb. Just being docked at Onogoro had made his nightmares worse, and he was afraid of potentially seeing people he and his family had known from before the Earth Alliance's invasion. Trying to drown these thoughts out by turning the music up as loud as his ears would tolerate, Shinn's attention was quickly drawn to the sight of Luna, grinning from ear to ear, entering the lounge.
"Hey everyone," she announced to anyone and everyone in the lounge while Shinn turned the volume down to hear her. "I heard the captain might start granting requests for shore leave tomorrow!"
Hearing this, several of the crew let out a cheer before starting new conversations about what they were going to do if they were allowed leave. On the other hand, Shinn and Rey simply shrugged and went back to what they were doing, much to Luna's consternation. Walking over to Shinn, who had closed his eyes to lose himself in his sister's music, she reached over and pulled one of his earbuds out, prompting him to open his eyes, press the pause button, and glare at her.
"What the hell, Luna!? I was listening to that!" he demandingly asked.
Hearing Shinn's outburst, Rey looked up at his friends. He considered telling Luna to leave Shinn alone again, but bit his lip when he realized she would just start ignoring him if he kept doing that. Instead, he simply closed his book and placed it on his lap as he observed the impending conversation.
For her part, sighing in disbelief at how dense her friend could be, Luna dropped the earbud before placing her hands on her hips and returning Shinn's glare with an even sterner expression of her own. Since the Minerva landed on Earth, he'd spent most of his free time playing with his sister's phone, and she knew he needed at least some time away from it.
"Don't 'what the hell' me, Shinn," she sharply chided, as if she were a mother scolding her son. "You're from Orb. Don't you want to see how the place where you grew up is doing?"
"No, not really," he simply replied as he put the earbud back in and unpaused the music, annoyed over how she could even think he wanted to be in Orb or go sightseeing. "There's nothing left for me here."
Briefly looking at Rey to make sure he wouldn't try to stop her, which he noticed and returned an approving nod, Luna changed gears and sat down next to Shinn, who groaned in exasperation before he paused the music again and took out his earbuds before facing her. He wanted to be angry at her, but his expression softened when he saw the concerned look she was giving him.
"Why does this matter so much to you, Luna?" he asked her, feeling like she was treating him as her pet project.
Shinn thought she was going to immediately respond to him, but instead, after a moment of hesitation, she surprised him by reaching out and touching his shoulder, making him involuntarily recoil.
"Because I've seen how angry you've been this past week, Shinn," she calmly began to explain. "And I know that phone means a lot to you. But as your friend, I think it would be good for you to go out, especially when we could receive new orders any day now."
Shinn looked down at Mayu's phone as he considered Luna's words. He knew she had a point, but he could still only think of one thing he really wanted to do.
"I heard Orb built a memorial to honor everyone who died during the Earth Alliance's invasion," he quietly replied. "I think I'd like to go pay my respects, but I'm afraid of doing it by myself."
Hearing this, Rey opened his mouth to offer to accompany Shinn, but Luna beat him to the punch.
"Well, why don't I come with you?" Luna encouragingly offered, giving Shinn a soft smile that made his heart race.
"B-b-but don't you want to spend time with Meyrin?" Shinn stammered in response as his face slowly turned red, his emotions making him half-heartedly look for a way out.
Seeing her friend blush made Luna suddenly think about how cute he could be when he wasn't angry, a thought that made her own cheeks turn red from embarrassment as she tried to maintain control over the situation. Awkwardly scratching her head, she then remembered who else was in the room.
"It's… it's not like I don't see my sister every day here," she tried to assure him. "And besides, I know exactly who can keep an eye on her."
Trying to keep her cool, Luna then looked over to Rey, who, having been paying attention to the conversation this entire time, bore an amused smirk on his lips.
"Hey Rey, would you mind keeping an eye on Meyrin while she's on shore leave?" she asked him, to which he nodded in the affirmative.
"Of course, Luna," he replied, pretending to go back to his book, continuing to eavesdrop.
Satisfied, Luna turned back to Shinn, who looked at her with willing resignation on his face.
"Fine, let's go apply for shore leave," he said as he put Mayu's phone in his pocket and got up.
"Thank you, Shinn, really," she appreciatively told him before addressing Rey again. "You too, Rey."
Sighing in amusement, Rey put the book away before getting up and following them out of the lounge. While he still thought Luna was being too pushy with Shinn, at the same time, he could concede that it might be good for them to spend some time together. While the two of them seemed almost stubbornly unwilling to see it, he suspected they had feelings for each other, and if he was right, it might be good for the two of them to air things out.
Athrun appreciatively nodded at the maid who took his finished breakfast plate before he returned his attention to his laptop. Knowing that Cagalli had been up to her neck in cabinet meetings ever since they returned to Orb, he'd been keeping up to date on news reports about the dropping of Junius Seven, an incident most outlets were now calling "Break the World." Between everything he was hearing and having been unable to speak with his girlfriend about Orb's official position these past few days, he was becoming increasingly pessimistic about there being a peaceful resolution.
"Athrun!" he suddenly heard Cagalli calling out, briefly pulling him from his thoughts.
Turning to his right, Athrun saw Cagalli pulling on her coat as she entered the dining room, an apologetic look on her face.
"Good morning," he said to her, feeling a bit better just from being able to exchange pleasantries with her, but this just made her feel more guilty.
"I'm so sorry about these past few days," she told him, walking around her boyfriend's chair to place a hand on his shoulder and see what he was looking at. "It's just been meeting after meeting, and now something else has come up. I hope you're not..."
Cagalli's words trailed off when Athrun looked up at her, his soft expression putting her at ease.
"It's okay, I understand. Don't worry about it," he assured her, the look on her face reminding him of their first kiss, before remembering what he wanted to ask her. "But, if you don't mind my asking, what's the Orb government's position on Break the World?"
Cagalli's heart sank as she heard the question. Sighing, she tried to give a good explanation, but Athrun, keenly aware of the Atlantic Federation's prior pressuring of Orb and the Seiran family's increasing influence amongst the emirs, got his answer from her silence.
"I see," he grimly remarked as he returned his attention to a broadcast of Durandal clarifying the PLANTs' stance on the incident, his sense of impotence worsening.
"I guess, given the circumstances, it's not surprising that some of the emirs are pushing for a more pro-Earth Alliance stance," Cagalli finally admitted, trying to word things as gently as possible. "While it wasn't as bad as other places, Orb was still affected."
Turning away from the broadcasts, Cagalli walked towards the dining room window, her growing frustration over the presence of warhawks in her government becoming harder to contain.
"But even then, that doesn't mean we should have to join the cries for revenge," she continued, turning back around to face Athrun. "Nor should it mean we have to hate the PLANTs!"
Athrun took Cagalli's words in as he considered what he could do. As of right now, not only was war becoming more likely, but it was even possible that Orb could be forced to abandon its principle of neutrality and join the Earth Alliance. He didn't want that, nor did he want an escalation of violence and extremism that would inevitably lead to men like his father trying to destroy the world. He had to do something to stop another war, to stop another Patrick Zala, but he couldn't do it while on Orb.
"I'm going to the PLANTs," he declared to Cagalli as he got up and walked to her, steeling himself against the guilt he felt from the shocked look she gave him. "I don't want to leave you and Orb in this situation, but I can't afford to sit around and do nothing."
"Athrun… are you sure you want to do that?" Cagalli tried to dissuade him as she felt her heart sink. She knew Athrun had a point, but, even if she was being selfish, she didn't want to be without him, not while it felt like her own government was trying to destroy her father's legacy.
"I'm worried about what the PLANTs might do," he reluctantly explained to her, part of him wishing they could come up with a magical solution that solved their problem without him having to leave. "I think Durandal is a strong leader, but remember, the terrorists used my father's name. There are people who are still influenced by him, so I have to see the chairman. I have to do whatever I can to stop Earth and the PLANTs from becoming enemies again, or everything we've worked for will be for nothing."
Cagalli, knowing she couldn't convince Athrun to stay with her, swallowed the lump in her throat before turning to the maids and dismissing them with a nod, after which she looked back at her boyfriend. If she couldn't dissuade him, then she would help him get to the PLANTs.
"If that's what you need to do, then you should know Lacus called me last night," she began to explain, eliciting an arched eyebrow from Athrun. "She told me that Durandal contacted her through the PLANT embassy and requested her presence to help him negotiate with Earth. She accepted his request, and I gave her and Mr. Waltfeld permission to use the Kayuga mass driver in an hour from now."
Athrun's other eyebrow now also arched as he tried to wrap his head around Durandal's reason for bringing Lacus to the PLANTs. Sure, she was certainly charismatic and had a commanding presence, but how would that appeal to Earth, who might just view her as another Coordinator?
Keenly aware of what her boyfriend was trying to process, Cagalli took it upon herself to clear things up for him as best as she could. "I don't know why he wants her there either," she admitted. "But it seems like both of you want to help stop a war before it's declared, so why not just go together?"
Athrun's expression softened as he realized Cagalli had a point, but at the same time, it occurred to him that this might be the last moment alone he had with her for a while, meaning there was a loose end he needed to tie up.
"If you're going to see me off with Lacus and Mr. Waltfeld, Cagalli, then there's something I need to do before we go meet them," he told her as he suddenly reached out and gently clasped her left hand in his right while using his left to dig through his pocket for something.
Taken aback by Athrun's sudden gesture, Cagalli was about to ask him what he was doing, but the words failed to leave her mouth when she saw him pull a silver banded ring with an embedded ruby out of his pocket. Having found it, he then returned his attention to her, sheepishly smiling.
"I was going to give this to you after we got back from the PLANTs, but then everything happened and there wasn't an appropriate time to bring it up," he explained to his girlfriend, who regarded him with a dumbstruck expression. "But since we have less than an hour before I leave, I guess this is as good a time as any."
Not waiting for Cagalli to respond, Athrun then slipped the ring onto her finger, after which he let her hand go and watched as she pulled it back to take a closer look at the gift.
Cagalli sheepishly smiled as she looked at the ring, still not entirely sure what she was supposed to think or feel. It certainly was beautiful in its simplicity, but it felt weird that Athrun had chosen to give it to her right now, when everything was seemingly going to hell. A moment later, it finally clicked, and her smile faded as she felt her heart racing and face reddening, fully realizing her boyfriend just proposed to her. Trying to find her words, she quickly gave up and instead just exploded at him.
"DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT GIVING A GIRL SOMETHING LIKE THIS MEANS!?" she indignantly screamed at the top of her lungs, uncaring if the household staff heard her. Expecting Athrun to at least flinch, Cagalli's face turned even redder when she saw he just kept smiling at her. "Come on, say something, Athrun!" she started demanding, which only elicited a chuckle from her boyfriend before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, further flustering her.
"It's a promise," he contentedly answered, just wanting to lose himself in this moment for as long as he could.
"A… promise?" Cagalli stammered, unsure of how redder her face could get, especially when Athrun just nodded.
At that moment, the absurdity of everything that was going on, the mobile suit thefts, the near destruction of Earth, the rising international tensions, and now being proposed to, just made Cagalli laugh. Briefly taken aback by his girlfriend's giggling, Athrun began laughing with her, the bathos they accidentally caused amusing both of them.
"Then I'm going to hold you to that promise, Athrun," Cagalli told him once she stopped laughing and had a moment to catch her breath. "And I promise you'll always have a place here, no matter what happens."
Before Athrun could reply, Cagalli then wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pecked him on the lips, as if she were a normal housewife seeing her husband off before he went to work. Now feeling his face redden and wanting more, Athrun pulled her back in for a longer and more passionate kiss, which she enthusiastically accepted, wanting to feel his lips on hers for as long as she could. After a while, they broke off the kiss and lovingly looked at each other for time before Cagalli broke the silence.
"Come on, let's get you ready to go," she bittersweetly told him, still not wanting him to leave her, even if she understood why he needed to do this.
Feeling the exact same way, Athrun just nodded at her, after which he let her leave his embrace, take his hand, and lead him out of the dining room so he could quickly pack and meet with Lacus and Andrew.
Despite having tried to emotionally prepare himself for being without Lacus for a while, Kira couldn't help but feel anxious as he and Birdy, who was flying around overhead, waited with her, Mr. Pink and Andrew at the airfield where the white helicopter that was supposed to take the latter three to Kayuga was undergoing a sudden and unexpected refueling and weight adjustment. Murrue wasn't able to join him in seeing them off because she was still busy with the Minerva's repairs, so he already felt a sense of loneliness come over him.
Lacus, dressed in a black and pink kimono with a white and purple long coat, having sensed her partner's discomfort and wanting to alleviate her own anxiety, had wrapped her left arm around his shoulder and pulled him close, letting him rest his head on her shoulder while she held a briefcase in her right hand. While it did provide some degree of comfort for the two of them, ultimately they both knew it would be fleeting. For his part, Andrew, who was wearing his old blue trenchcoat and custom yellow ZAFT uniform, also carrying a briefcase along with a duffel bag slung over his right shoulder, looked at the young couple solemnly, knowing from experience that this would be hard for the both of them.
"I'm going to miss you, Lacus," Kira finally admitted to his partner, who responded by tightening her grip on his shoulder.
"And I you, Kira," she replied, trying her best to suppress the second thoughts she was having. "But I promise that once this is done, I will come back to you, because you are my home."
Feeling an unbidden tear falling down his cheek as he heard his partner's words, Kira lifted his head from her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek, the sensation of his lips on her skin making her blush slightly.
"I know, Lacus, but thank you," he gratefully told her, even if that comfort was itself also fleeting. "And I promise to take care of all your Haros while you're away."
"I won't accept it!" Mr. Pink, who had been resting to Lacus's right, suddenly announced with a bounce, as if he were annoyed that he couldn't stay home and be pampered by Kira, eliciting a chuckle from the young couple and Andrew.
"Don't worry, Mr. Pink, Kira can take care of you when we come back," Lacus playfully assured her robotic companion, who seemed momentarily placated.
Right after Lacus finished speaking, Birdy, who had since been circling overhead, suddenly flew straight towards the driveway leading up to the shuttleport, loudly chirping along the way. Hearing the robotic bird's cries, Kira, Lacus, and Andrew looked up to see where it was going, quickly noticing a plain white sedan, one they all recognized as the car Cagalli drove in when she wanted to be anonymous, come to a stop at the end of the driveway. After it came to a stop, Athrun and Cagalli, the former holding a briefcase of his own in his right hand, exited the rear passenger doors and began walking towards the airfield, much to the surprise of Kira, Lacus, and Andrew.
"Hello! Hello!" Mr. Pink exclaimed as he hastily bounced towards his creator, with a chirping Birdy following him, as did their respective owners, both of them trying to figure out what was going on, while Andrew simply looked on.
Athrun, seeing two of his robotic creations approaching him, smiled as he extended his left hand to let Birdy perch on his fingers, after which he set his briefcase down and scooped Mr. Pink up in his right hand. Cagalli, observing this, couldn't help but give a bittersweet smile.
"Hey guys," he fondly told them before letting them go back to Kira and Lacus, who had come to a stop in front of them, a lump suddenly forming in his throat. "Hi Kira. Hi Lacus."
Kira briefly looked up at Birdy, who had resumed its regular flight patterns, before looking back to his sister and his best friend, noticing the briefcase the latter was holding, and asked them the first question he had on his mind. "Athrun, Cagalli. What are you doing here?"
Realizing Cagalli never mentioned if Kira would be going to the PLANTs as well, Athrun's smile went away as he unconsciously bit his lip, prompting his girlfriend, who was now also aware of her own ignorance, to interject with an answer for him.
"Athrun… wants to go to the PLANTs as well, Kira," she reluctantly explained to her brother, whose eyes widened with surprise, whereas Lacus, now holding Mr. Pink in her hands like a normal ball, seemed to have expected this after what Kira told her about the terrorists and just gave him an understanding look and asked her own question.
"Is it because of your father?" she empathetically asked, eliciting a nod from her ex-fiancé before he regained his words.
"It is," Athrun solemnly admitted as he turned to face the retired songstress. "I don't want to leave Orb, but if I stay here and don't at least try to do something, then everything we fought for will have been for nothing… and it seems like you feel the same way, Lacus."
While Lacus initially nodded in agreement with Athrun, she, along with him and Cagalli, quickly noticed that Kira was tensing up as he listened to their conversation. Even if he understood why Athrun felt the need to go back to the PLANTs, Kira couldn't help but think his friend risked going back to square one, especially if war did break out. Moreover, even if he was being selfish, he felt like he was being betrayed, now that someone else he loved was going down a path his partner didn't want him to follow.
"But… I thought we were going to search for the right side together," he meekly said, the sorrow in this voice being punctuated by Birdy suddenly coming to rest on his shoulder, as if it could understand its master's mood.
Athrun felt a pang of regret in his heart as his best friend, who he loved like a brother, finished speaking, along with the realization that he wasn't going with them. They had said that to each other, both at Orb and after Jachin Due, but now here he was, going back to the PLANTs, a place that, apart from going with Cagalli for her meeting with Durandal, he hadn't been to since the war, for the express purpose of trying to stop another war from happening. He didn't want to hurt Kira, just like he didn't want to hurt Cagalli, but what other choice did he have right now?
"I know, Kira, and I'm sorry to spring this on you, but the only way I think I can keep us from having to fight again is by going to PLANTs," he explained as best as he could, even though he knew it probably wouldn't help that much.
As Kira took this in, Cagalli, sympathetic to what her brother was going through right now, reached out and placed her hand on the shoulder Birdy wasn't currently occupying and gave him an understanding look, drawing his attention to her and the hand.
"Trust me, I don't like this any more than you do. We're going to be without some of the people we love for a while, but we both know Athrun and Lacus are doing this because they love us," she assured him and to an equal extent herself.
Kira was about to respond to his sister, but then he noticed the ring on her finger.
"Cagalli, where did you get that ring?" he asked, completely focused on it now, taking her completely off guard as she tried to respond.
"Well, uh…" she awkwardly stammered, her and Athrun's faces both turning red as their embarrassment allowed Kira and Lacus to put two and two together.
Despite the extenuating circumstances, Kira and Lacus quickly moved to embrace Athrun and Cagalli, which they tightly reciprocated. The four of them supported each other in that group hug, not even registering the sounds of Mr. Pink's quips and Birdy's chirps as the two robots respectively flew and bounced around them.
"Ah, kids," Andrew affectionately remarked as he watched the four friends support each other, having listened to the prior conversation beforehand. He still didn't know why Athrun was coming along, but he knew this was going to be hard for all of them, so it was good for them to get this out of their systems before it was too late.
After a while, the four friends ended the hug and shared looks with each other, suddenly, if fleetingly, feeling better about being separated for a while. Kira, a small smile now forming on his lips, looked to his partner and best friend.
"Lacus, Athrun, I still don't want either of you to go, but please, be safe," he told the two of them before saying something specifically to Athrun. "And you better be good to Cagalli when you get back, Athrun."
Blushing from essentially being given his friend's blessing, Athrun looked to Cagalli, whose face was already flush from embarrassment, before looking back to Kira.
"Of course, Kira," he promised on both counts, playfully smiling. "Just be sure to take care of her until I get back."
Kira nodded and was about to say he would, but found himself interrupted by Cagalli.
"And you two be sure to call us when you get to wherever you'll be staying, okay?" she requested, eliciting an assuring nod from Lacus.
"We will, Cagalli, and thank you for helping us get to the PLANTs," she replied before lovingly looking back at Kira.
Wanting to end this moment before their shared sadness came back, Lacus quickly embraced her partner and kissed him on the cheek as he hugged her back, both of them savoring the moment for as long as they could. Not wanting to be outdone, Athrun pulled a willing Cagalli in for one last kiss. After the two couples were done, Athrun and Lacus bid Kira and Cagalli goodbye before boarding the helicopter, accompanied by Andrew and Mr. Pink, and taking off.
As they watched the aircraft disappear from view, during which time Birdy returned to its master's shoulder, Kira, knowing Cagalli was hurting as much as he was, reached out and held her hand in his, which she tightly clasped back until they couldn't see the spacecraft anymore.
"It's going to be okay, Cagalli," he tried to assure his sister, which she appreciated even though it didn't improve her mood.
"Same to you, Kira," she replied before remembering she still had half a dozen meetings to attend. "I'm in a bit of a time crunch, but I can give you a lift home if you need it."
"I'd actually like to go to the memorial, so I'll take a cab the rest of the way if you're willing to drop me off there," he asked, which elicited a bittersweet smile from his sister before the two of them went to her car and drove off.
Having finally been allowed shore leave, Luna looked around the park the memorial was built in as she and Shinn walked through it, the solemn atmosphere keeping both of them silent. Despite the devastation Junius Seven's fragments had wrought upon Earth, the flowers surrounding the walkways continued to bloom, a representation of life carrying on even in the face of death.
Keeping this thought to herself, Luna then glanced at Shinn, guiltily wondering if he dressed the way he did because his mother wasn't around to manage his wardrobe for him. Between his naturally unkempt hair and the sleeveless hoodie he wore over a red wife-beater and baggy cargo pants, he looked like a dork. A cute dork, perhaps, but a dork nonetheless.
Feeling as though Luna was looking at him, Shinn turned his head to face hers, the small smile she gave him upon being caught flustering him. Trying to suppress the feeling, his eyes then unconsciously darted to her outfit, a pair of reddish-brown jeans and a grey T-shirt that showed off part of her midriff. While Shinn had seen Luna in this outfit before, he always found it funny that she wore a skirt as part of her ZAFT uniform and pants only when off-duty. He briefly wondered if she ever wore dresses before a mental image of her wearing a red and purple dress sprung unbidden into his head, the thought of it making him blush a new shade of red, his friend's smile widening at the sight of his embarrassment.
"What are you thinking about, Shinn?" she asked, making him stammer as he tried to come up with an answer.
"Uh, well… just that I'm glad you convinced me to come here, Luna," he answered, even though both of them knew that wasn't what he was thinking about. "And that you came along."
"Thank you, Shinn!" she replied, flattered, her tone of voice only flustering him more. "And you're welcome!"
Giving a small smile, Shinn nodded at Luna before the two of them continued walking towards the memorial. Despite her presence and banter, however, his smile quickly faded away as the memories that haunted his nightmares replayed in his head. When he blinked, he saw the forest he and his family had run through, the mobile suits fighting overhead, and the fateful explosion that took Mayu and his parents away from him and left behind their mutilated bodies.
It was too much, too much for Shinn to handle. Coming to a stop, he stood in the middle of the park, almost immobile, as he looked down, clenched his fists and tried to fight back the tears welling in his eyes, something that Luna quickly noticed.
"Shinn, what's wrong?" she asked him, even though she already knew the answer.
Looking up at Luna, Shinn tried to answer, but all he could do was start crying. Seeing her friend's anguish, Luna didn't hesitate to immediately embrace him.
"It's okay, I'm here. You can let it out now," she assured him, stroking his back to comfort him.
Clinging tightly to Luna, who let him rest his head on her shoulder, Shinn, unable to keep it in any longer, bitterly wept for his family, his loud sobs ringing in his friend's ear as she continued holding him. He knew setting foot on Orb would intensify those painful memories, but this was more than he had anticipated. The only escape he had was Luna, and he was grateful for her being there with him and providing a literal shoulder for him to cry on.
After a few minutes of listening to Shinn's sobs, Luna felt him calm down and loosen his grip on her, which she did in turn to let him straighten himself out. Once he felt like he could, he raised his head from his friend's shoulder and gave her an appreciative nod as they let go of each other..
"Are you alright, Shinn?" she cautiously asked, the mostly neutral expression he regarded her with remaining unchanged.
"No, Luna, I'm not, but I still want to see the memorial before we go back to the Minerva," he admitted before realizing he could've sounded less curt. "But… thanks for asking."
Feeling brave enough to give a small smile in response to her friend's gratitude, Luna surprised Shinn by suddenly taking his hand, a gesture that made him blush. "Come on, let's do it!" she declared, trying to hide her own blushing as she led him towards the monument, her burst of confidence leaving him momentarily stunned.
If Shinn could say anything nice about Orb, it was their sense of austerity. As Luna brought him to the edge of the park, he could finally see the actual memorial. It was a small stone cenotaph erected at a cliff overlooking the sea, surrounded by flowers and with a Japanese text commemorating the soldiers and civilians who died during the war carved into it. He didn't know why, but he respected the simplicity of the monument, finding it more genuine and honest than something more big and extravagant. At the same time, though, his appreciation was tempered by the reminder that it was also a monument to Orb's failure to protect its people, his family included.
While Shinn single-mindedly gazed at the cenotaph, Luna quickly noticed that they weren't alone there. Standing closer to the monument was a brown-haired boy, not much older than the two of them, dressed in a black and red outfit with more buckles than seemed necessary. Perched on his shoulder was a green and yellow bird, which flew off when its owner noticed that he wasn't alone anymore and turned around to see who was there, its beady red eyes, artificial chirping and the sound of its wings flapping revealing it to be a robot. Taking note of Shinn and Luna, he regarded them with a kind and sad smile.
"Have you come to pay your respects as well?" he politely asked them.
"Well, uh, yeah," Luna replied as she tugged at Shinn's hand, shaking him from his thoughts. "My friend lost his family during the invasion, so he wanted to come see the memorial."
Shinn shot a quick glare at Luna before he looked at the boy near the cenotaph, who gave him a sympathetic nod in response.
"I'm sorry," he said before looking back to the memorial. "It's actually my first time here too. I meant to come earlier, but I never really found the time until now."
Unsure of what to say, Shinn and Luna simply continued listening to the boy as he continued talking, the gentle sway of ocean's waves the only other sound they could hear.
"My sister told me the flowers have finally started to bloom, but unfortunately, I think they're going to wither in the sea spray."
A dark thought entered Shinn's mind as he heard the boy's words, and he didn't hesitate to voice them.
"Perhaps it means they can't be fooled," he said, taking Luna and the boy by surprise. "No matter how beautiful the flowers are, people will just destroy them."
"Come on, Shinn, you shouldn't say things like that here," Luna chided, which elicited a sense of remorse from him.
"I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything," he nervously said before turning back to Luna, withdrawing his hand from hers. "I'd like to go back now."
"Alright, I understand," she conceded, deciding not to push her luck anymore than she had these past few days, before following him away from the memorial, leaving the boy alone to dwell on Shinn's words.
Author's Note
If I have one regret about my decision to have Lacus return to the PLANTs with Athrun, it's that I won't get to write her onsen scene with Cagalli (and not necessarily for horny reasons). Ignoring the logistics of the Archangel even having a hot spring, it was nice having Lacus and Cagalli being friends after only meeting late in SEED. Still, sacrifices must be made, and this is a necessary one.
Also, while I like Shinn and Luna's relationship, not least because their Japanese VAs are married, I felt like it needed more time to develop, and I think the best way to do that is to show they have feelings for each other from the beginning, and have Luna act as Shinn's shoulder angel in contrast to Rey being his well-intentioned shoulder devil.
Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and, as always, feedback is appreciated. Until next time.