Notes:

I didn't want to write a third part for this unofficial date arc so I squeezed everything in in two chapters! It's so long and took me a while to finish bc I'm alternating between writing this and SEED Justice.

Chapter 3: Valentines' Day Part 2

This movie is absolutely insane.

While watching it, Athrun couldn't figure out if it was insane in a good way or a bad way. He had very mixed feelings all throughout.

He was so thrilled to see all his beloved characters after all this time. There was no doubt that Akira and Nanako were the coolest characters in this movie, a stark contrast to how their writing was very poor in the SEED Destiny series. When they first appeared, he almost cheered but he had to control himself. Especially when Nanako was shown in her new Orb uniform, she was so beautifully drawn and that reminded him why she was his only anime crush ever, despite the many anime series that he had already watched.

The new mobile suit designs were pretty neat and he also appreciated how the animation of the battle scenes have drastically improved throughout the years. They were more fluid and more details were painstakingly added to each frame. The fight scenes were exciting, most especially the ones where Akira was in it. He was so cool fighting in various mobile suits and how he was keeping up with the enemy despite being at a big disadvantage.

But the plotline was so unexpected. He felt like the existence of "Accords" and the "Kingdom of the Foundation" came out of nowhere, especially when there was no build up or even mention of them in the previous series. Seeing some of the new characters having abilities that could be akin to psychic superpowers was so odd to him.

The pacing of the movie was a bit fast for his liking too. Before he could register what was going on in one scene, they were already moving on to the next. So he was really focused on absorbing everything even though he probably missed some details here and there.

While watching, his emotions were swinging between "I can't believe they did that!" — in an enthusiastic and favorable light and then a version of "I can't believe they did that!" — but on a displeased note for scenes that were aggravating. For the most part, he was really happy and hyped about this movie and he was very much nostalgic on finally getting a sequel after years of long wait. He would form his opinions on how the movie was overall when it ends and he processes everything that happened.

Occasionally, he turned to his companion, Cagalli, to see how she was liking it. She was too engrossed watching and didn't pay him any attention at all. He could tell that she was really enjoying it. While she didn't really yelp or cheer loudly, her body language in specific scenes indicated which ones she liked, which matched to be the same ones he liked.

He heard her gasp softly when Nanako and Akira first appeared in their respective scenes. She did a fist pump when Akira showed up in the Z'gok to save Soichiro from getting killed. She held back from laughing during the fist fight of the two best friends. She was whispering how cool Nanako was when she gave orders to the Orb military and when boarded her gundam. She controlled herself from squealing uncontrollably when Akira was piloting the Strike Freedom and then the Infinite Justice.

But she did forget her self control a little when it came to the part where Akira and Nanako used a remote control tactic to defeat the enemy. She let out a yelp when Akira's delusions of Nanako were on the screen and immediately muttered an apology to the crowd, which earned some laughter from everyone inside the theater. Instead of thinking that the noise was rude or annoying, they must have found her reaction funny.

Cute.

He understood why she reacted like that though. The part where Akira and Nanako did the remote fighting was hilariously iconic. He couldn't believe that Akira, a very serious character, would resort to such a method and roped Nanako into it. The idea of "remote piloting" was unique and very interesting. Out of everything that he saw so far, he was sure that this was his favorite part of the movie.

However, that was quickly pushed down to second best when he saw the scene of Akira and Nanako at the very end. After the battle, Akira's first order of business was to go back to Nanako's side. He then showed her the haumea amulet which he had been keeping all this time. Nanako smiled softly and took out her ring, which she apparently was wearing as a necklace, in turn.

At that moment, he felt himself smile at the heartwarming scene. These two were his favorite characters and he felt like SEED Destiny didn't do them justice, especially Nanako. Even though the ending could be left up to interpretation, he was pretty confident that Akira would choose to wait for Nanako, despite her choosing to prioritize her own country at the time. But even still, it wasn't as satisfying as seeing them meeting and talking with each other in the final scene.

Now, it implies that they worked it out somehow. He didn't know how, but nevertheless, he was still happy about it.

Before he could take in the scene even further, he heard some sniffling sounds coming from next to him. When he tilted his head, he found it was from Cagalli. In the dark, he could still make out that she had her right hand covering her mouth and she was trembling as the ending credits continued to roll.

Eh!?

Cagalli's crying?

Athrun panicked, not knowing what to do in this situation. It's not as if this was the first time he saw a girl cry, he had been rejecting girls since their school days which brought them to tears. But this time around, it was so sudden and it would make him unsettled if he didn't do anything. He scrambled to find anything that she could use to wipe her tears. He didn't bring a handkerchief with him so the next best thing would be the tissue that was given to them at the start as a giveaway.

Thinking about it now, she must have been so moved as a SEED fan. Even though he didn't react in the same way, he understood that other people would feel emotional after watching a movie from a series they really loved after years of waiting. Is this why they were giving away tissues? Did they expect people to cry?

"Cagalli…" Before everything else, he called out to her gently and handed her the small tissue pack that he opened. "Here, use this."

"Aaah! The movie was great! Even though it's my second time seeing it, I'm still so thrilled!" Cagalli raised her hands and stretched once they exited the theatre. "Sorry about earlier, Athrun. I'm embarrassed that you had to see me like that." She was apologetic as she referred to her crying fit just moments ago.

"Don't worry about it." He reassured her that it was no big deal. "The movie left such an impact on you, didn't it?"

"The scene of Akira and Nanako at the very end… It was so beautiful." She then sniffled as she remembered the scene. "Even though they had very little screen time, that scene was so touching. Both of them had the keepsake from the other on them all this time. Akira still wore the haumea amulet and Nanako was wearing the ring as a necklace, even though she removed it in SEED Destiny!"

"Indeed, it was a lovely scene." He wholeheartedly agreed, as someone who was also pleasantly surprised by it. "I'm really happy for them. Although I wonder what happened in between SEED Destiny and Freedom… Because Nanako removed the ring, right?" He didn't know if there was some media that he missed. Was there a side story or CD Drama that explained why Nanako was wearing the ring again? As far as he could recall, the previous CD Dramas, novel and manga didn't have anything on that either.

"Oh! There's a mini novel that was distributed during the opening weekend!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. "The mini novel focused on the two of them spending time together during their day off! It's called 'Escape for Two'!"

"Escape for Two?"

"Yup! I can lend it to you so you can read it! I don't want to spoil you that much by telling you what happened!" She generously offered. "I can hand it over when we're in the office or something?"

"Sure, if it's not a bother to you, I'd like to read it." He obliged. He was curious to know. He remembered from the forums that users mentioned these side stories, but he skipped those comments to avoid spoilers.

"It's no problem at all!" She was happy to share it with him. She then stopped in her tracks. "Speaking of giveaways, we were in such a rush a while ago that I didn't see what filmstrip we got. I want to take a peak."

The line to buy tickets was a bit long and when they did get to buy them, they were already rushing to get inside as the movie was about to start. The staff distributed the giveaways, the tissue pack and the filmstrip, to which they just took and didn't check until now.

Athrun pulled out the thin piece of envelope from his jacket's pocket. The envelope was made of metallic paper that was sealed. Cagalli mentioned that the giveaway was a small filmstrip of a random scene from the movie and she hoped that she could get a filmstrip of either Akira or Nanako.

When he opened it, he was stunned that the filmstrip was none other than Nanako. It was the touching scene at the very end where she was showing Akira the ring that he gave him.

Why was he somehow lucky with these?

He turned to Cagalli who was still in the process of opening hers. If he already got Nanako, then he hoped that she at least got Akira?

But once she pulled it out, she had a frown on her face yet again.

"Not your favorite?" He asked. He couldn't see what she got, but he was sure, it wasn't what she liked.

She held up the filmstrip up to the light to show him. "Yeah… It's the Impulse Gundam… I don't even like the Impulse Gundam… Maybe if it was the Strike Rouge, the Z'gok or the Infinite Justice…"

She had impeccable taste, upon hearing her preferred mobile suits. But somehow luck wasn't on her side today.

"If you'd like, you can have mine. I got Nanako's from the last scene." He offered and handed the filmstrip to her. Like the other freebie, he really didn't mind giving it away, especially if it was to her since she would definitely appreciate it.

"Ehh? You got the one where she's holding the ring? That's incredible! Amazing!" She couldn't believe that this seemingly coveted visual was something that he casually got. She held it carefully, treating it like a spiritual charm. "Really? Do you really not mind giving it to me? This is the second time… Or at least trade this other one?" She felt bad that she was receiving another freebie that he rightfully received.

He shook his head yes to confirm. "It's fine. I'm a Gundam SEED fan, but I collect their plastic models and books. So you can really have this."

Her eyes sparkling in gratitude with his generosity. "Thank you Athrun! You're really such a nice person."

Somehow at that moment, he started to feel self-conscious and that his cheeks were starting to warm up with her compliment. How could he not when he was looking at her like that with such a cute expression? "D-don't mention it."

He didn't know what was going on with him today. He was enjoying her company so much and was finding everything that she did so cute and adorable. This wasn't a normal thing for him too, being this much taken by a girl. If anything, this was the first time that he was seeing someone in this light. It was as if…

It was as if he was attracted to her.

"Excuse me…" A man their age suddenly approached them, distracting him from his thoughts.

"Yes? Is there anything we can help you with?" Cagalli asked the person politely. Athrun wondered if he was someone that she knew but judging by her reaction, it was a complete stranger.

"Uhm…" The man seemed hesitant to speak, but still continued. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation on the Impulse Gundam. You see…" He paused and took out the same filmstrip envelope from his bag and pulled out the content. "I'm a very big fan of the Impulse Gundam and if you'd like, I could trade you for this one?"

The person then showed to them the one that he had, it was a filmstrip of Akira holding the haumea amulet. It matched the one that Athrun just gave her!

"Eh? Really?" Cagalli was reeling with excitement for the nth time today and then immediately offered the one that she originally had without any reservations. "Yes please, I would like to trade the Akira one for the Impulse Gundam! Thank you so much!"

They then traded and bowed to each other, thanking the other for the mutually beneficial man then abruptly left, not wishing to interact any further than that, which Athrun respected. He probably just wanted the Impulse Gundam one very badly and spoke to them out of necessity.

Athrun turned to Cagalli, who was currently admiring both of the filmstrips like they were sacred artifacts that she would be setting up an altar of when she got home.

She was really so cute.

"Isn't that great? You got both of them." Even though he wasn't the one keeping it and he didn't really care about these types of merchandise, seeing her completely elated with the turn of events also made him happy.

"That's right…" She was speechless and her eyes were still fixated on the two strips that were probably coveted by a lot of Akira and Nanako fans. "I really can't believe that this happened. I'm so grateful. It's really thanks to you and that other guy."

After a while, after being satisfied gazing at the filmstrips, they finally moved along and came across some gashapon capsule toy vending machines. There were some SEED FREEDOM mini acrylic stands that she tried to get an Akira and Nanako one of.

Just by looking at the number of characters she could get, Athrun had some doubts on whether she could easily get them. Right now, it was her tenth attempt and it wasn't looking good for her.

Rie. Houko. Houko. Maaya. Rie. Fumiko. Soichiro. Fumiko. Fumiko. Kenichi.

She got every single character except the one that she wanted. If you were to ask him he would have just tried getting them from second hand stores or on Mercari [1] but he understood that some people like the thrill of trying to play these gashapon vending machines and getting the one that they want themselves. There were also cases that the rarer ones would be priced higher in those stores or online too, so trying the gashapon vending machines would still be much cheaper.

Although in this case, it wasn't working out for Cagalli and she was getting more and more frustrated. Somehow, luck was not on her side that day with these kinds of things, starting from the Round 1 collaboration freebie, to the movie giveaway and now to the gashapon vending machine goods.

She had a handful of the capsule containers and looked at him in defeat. "You know, I think I should give up on this one… I spent a lot already."

He felt sorry for her but also didn't encourage her even more. Even though it was her money, she was practically gambling it away and unlike the filmstrip, there seems to be no one else trying for the SEED FREEDOM goods so there was no one to exchange goods with. "I guess so? Maybe you can find them online too for the same price?"

"You're right. Good thing there are shops here that I can re-sell all these goods to. They will buy it a lot cheaper than the original price, but at least I get back some of the money I spent." Cagalli sighed again.

She was putting them all in her bag, arranging them along with her other things since they were a bit bulky. While she was doing that, Athrun decided to check the time and searched for his phone that was in his pocket but instead his hands grabbed his purse first, which was full of coins.

What if he gave it a shot for her?

After all, he did have a lot of coins.

Having too many coins was an excuse that he made up in his mind to justify what he was about to do.

Before she could even see what he was doing, he was already inserting four one hundred yen coins into the slot and twisted the handle. He got the first capsule out and before checking it, he put some coins again into the slot machine. He was gunning to get two items that she wanted even though it's not likely for him to be that lucky as well, but he still had more coins to spare.

"Oh, you also gave it a shot? I thought you didn't collect these kinds of goods?" Cagalli just finished with keeping all her stuff and then went to him, curious. "Who did you get?" She peered at the capsule just before he was about to try again.

Akira and Nanako.

"Seriously?" Cagalli threw her hands up in the air, both in disbelief and amazement. "How come you always get the ones that I want? First the Round 1 visuals, then the filmstrip and now even this? Do you have the god of luck as your guardian or something?"

"I honestly have no idea." Athrun shrugged and handed it to her like it was second nature. "But think about it this way, if you gave it two more tries, you would have gotten them both!"

"Seriously Athrun, you're like my lucky charm today." She was full of gratitude for everything that he'd done for her today. "I'm really glad that you came today, both for bowling and for the movie. Of course, it's not just because of the goods, don't get me wrong!" She quickly realized that it might come off the wrong way and corrected herself.

"You're welcome." There it was again. Aside from his face, his insides were starting to become warm as well. Well, Cagalli did say that he was her lucky charm, which made him feel very flustered after hearing that.

"Wait, let me pay you." She was scrambling through her bag again to get to her purse.

"No, it's okay, those were just extra coins…" He tried to dissuade her. After all, one of the reasons why he did that was because he had one too many coins. Besides, it was just eight hundred yen and he was having fun with her so he didn't mind.

"No, no!" She insisted and finally found her purse. "You gave me two of your giveaways already for free so this is the least I can do."

It felt like the conversation would just loop back and forth so he just let it be, even though it meant having more coins that he was trying to get rid off. While she was counting the coins from her purse, he finally checked his phone and saw that there was a message from Dearka and an idea came to him.

Before she could hand him coins in various denominations of a hundred, fifty and ten, he showed her a photo from a link that Dearka sent him. It was a picture of the SEED FREEDOM x Animate Collaboration menu with drinks costing 700 yen each. [2] "How about you buy me this drink and we'll call it even? I'm feeling thirsty anyways."

While the drink was not wasn't necessarily something that he would go out of his way to purchase, it was better than receiving more coins that he didn't need since he mostly used his IC card to purchase things nowadays. Also, this would be something that she'd enjoy since she seemed to be into these kinds of collaborations.

"Oh okay! That's fine by me!" She agreed immediately like she was accepting a challenge, happy to return the favors that he'd done for her so far.

Cute.

He lost track of how many times he thought of Cagalli that way.

There was an Animate Cafe stand right outside the big store where they could purchase the drink. Cagalli was about to ask that they go inside but upon seeing the crowd, Athrun had a look of discomfort. She took the hint that he probably didn't want to be in that kind of setting, even though he didn't say anything. It was a good thing that there was a stand so she could still get him the drink that he requested.

It was the first time she was hanging out with someone that liked Gundam SEED so she was extremely happy. Some of her friends watch anime, but unfortunately were not into Gundam SEED that much. While they were quite curious to see it, because they were all adults now with differing schedules, it was hard to set up a time with them.

Now, her brother and her closest friends like Miriallia were the only ones that went along with her whims and were willing to watch with her. She appreciated them very much for that, but it still was a different experience spending time with a fellow SEED fan even though she hasn't talked with Athrun at length about what they just watched yet.

She wanted to talk to him more about the movie and the series in general. How did he find the movie? What was his favorite scene in the movie? Which characters did he like? What did he think about Akira and Nanako? Which specific Gundam model kit did he collect? Could she see his collection?

They had so much to talk about.

"Here you go." She handed him the drink that she just bought. Athrun said that he was fine with anything and when she pressed further, he said that whatever she was getting, that would be his order too. She ended up getting the drink that was inspired by Akira, which was a juice in a shade of red with orange slices.

"Thank you." He thanked her and carefully got the drink from her and took a sip. "Oh, it's not bad." He shook his head as he examined the drink. "Is that coconut I taste?"

"I think there is some coconut syrup here!" She nodded and drank hers as well. She was parched. As they were running late to catch the movie, they weren't able to buy drinks and snacks to the theatre.

"Oh, by the way, since we're near, can we pass by the crane machines in Round 1? I just remembered there were some SEED FREEDOM plushies." She invited him after they finished their drinks and threw their cups in the trash bin.

"Sure! It's pretty much just a few steps away." She was actually half-expecting him to already excuse himself to leave, which was perfectly understandable. Even though it was Valentine's Day, he didn't seem to have any plans afterwards or even and was okay to spend some more time with her.

Did he not have a girlfriend? Now that she thought about it, his looks were catching the attention of some girls that they passed by. He was really turning heads!

But in any case, she was glad that he was still here!

"Let's go!" She cheered as they walked back towards Round 1.

When they went back, they instantly saw the crane machine that had SEED FREEDOM plushies [3] that were on display. There were two cranes, one had Akira, Nanako and Kenichi. The other had Hoshi, Rie and Maaya plushies. But she wasn't interested in the latter one. Unlike the random goods, Cagalli was pretty confident with her crane skills. It wasn't as if she got things on the first try, but doesn't spend a ridiculous amount of money when she plays.

She got the Akira plushie on her third attempt and she was so proud of herself. She got the plushie from the prize compartment and proudly showed it to Athrun. "He's here! And it only cost me three hundred yen!"

He smiled and she could tell that he was genuinely glad for her. "Congratulations! Is there a technique to it? The claws always look so flimsy and nothing really attaches to them." He showed some interest and was examining the machine.

"Oh you haven't tried playing crane games before?" Everyone she knew had tried it at least once!

"No…" He shook his head. "Back when we were in high school, Dearka always used to spend a lot of money on this to impress girls–" He quickly stopped himself and cleared his throat. "But that was a long time ago of course… In any case, I think the machines are rigged." Cagalli almost laughed at that. Maybe he didn't feel it was appropriate to bring that topic up to the best friend of Dearka's current girlfriend?

"Well, there is a really low chance to get a prize…." Cagalli agreed with him and just ignored the bit about Dearka. "But if you play it right, you can get prizes for as low as 100 yen. In this case, I just targeted the one near the edge and tried to slide it over using the crane instead of grabbing at the plush itself. Sometimes, it doesn't fall off the first time around so you have to be patient and keep inching it closer to the drop point." She shared with him her crane game experience.

"I understand now…" He still was looking at it intently and was observing the other guy in the next machine that had a stash of figures that he won from the crane machine. What the guy did was instead of grabbing the box, he was using the crane to tilt the box on its edge so that it would fall over. "It seems like the way to get the prizes is not by the conventional way, but rather, to outsmart it…"

"That's right!" He was getting art of playing claw games now. "Shall I show you something amazing?" During bowling, he was pretty impressive so now she thought it was high time that she would take him by surprise. "It's my secret technique and I don't use it often because the staff might kick me out."

"Sure, show me." He nodded and focused on her, now curious as to what it could possibly be that she could get asked to leave the arcade. Now she had to entertain him.

Cagalli inserted a 100 yen coin into the slot and took a deep breath to get into the zone. She was feeling good about this. "Here I go!"

When the light signaled that it was okay to play, she then grabbed the joystick and used it to spin the crane around and around. The crane was spinning around like an electric fan and she kept on going.

Her secret technique was what she called a "spin attack". Essentially, she would make the crane spin around to knock off the prizes that were usually on the shelves. This way, she would get multiple prizes in just one go. This time, all she had to do was make the crane stick onto one of the thin acrylic bars that were lined up as shelves inside the machine where a ton of Nanako and Akira plushies were perched on, sitting cutely on display.

"Cagalli… Is that fine to do? Won't that break or something?" Athrun sounded worried with what she was doing to the overhead claw. Judging by his reaction, this was his first time seeing such a hack being used.

She couldn't answer him yet because she might lose focus and she just kept on rotating the joystick until it finally hooked, not on the acrylic shelves but onto the display board itself.

Even better!

"Athrun, watch closely!" She then moved the joystick down, prompting the claw to move towards them, effectively dragging the whole display board. Finally, it tilted the whole thing in such a way that a number of Nanako and Akira plushies fell to the prize area.

"Ehh?" Athrun was in shock with the amount of plushies that fell over. If she counted correctly, there were at least a dozen of them. "That's… amazing…" He was at a loss for words, which was what she was going for.

"Wow look at the loot!" She excitedly grabbed each one that she rightfully won. In total, she won seven Akira and Nanako plushies each, then two Kenichi ones. It was a good thing that all the Akira and Nanako ones were paired up because the crane looked like there had been a typhoon inside. It was a mess with her pulling the display board and letting it fall inside the machine.

They also got the attention of several other arcade goers who were very much impressed with what happened. Some gasped, some cheered and hollered, which were all something that she didn't expect.

"Uhmm… excuse me…" A staff from Round1 stepped in and handed her a plastic bag to put all her prizes. The staff then turned to the crane machine and sighed seeing the mess that Cagalli just made with the crane. She then proceeded to open the crane with her keys to fix the display. Cagalli now felt embarrassed and stashed the prizes she won quickly inside the bag and dragged Athrun out of there by the hand. She muttered a quick thank you and an apology for the extra work that she had the staff do.

"Caga–" He seemed surprised by the gesture. She realized that she just grabbed him without a warning and ran off. But at the moment, she found it awkward if she stayed there after she wreaked havoc with that crane with everyone watching.

When they were finally out of Round1, they were a little out of breath and they looked at each other at the same time. When their eyes met, both of them just burst out laughing with how silly and absurd that was.

"Well, that was some crazy secret technique… You wiped out most of the prizes there." Athrun said after a hearty laugh. She could see that he was almost tearing up. "No wonder you said the staff might kick you out. You made her do some extra work to fix that!"

"That's why I almost always never do it. I feel bad for the staff that would rearrange the whole crane and put things back." Cagalli reasoned after she too had calmed down. She only did that technique on desperate occasions. She could probably get a Nanako plushie the normal way, but she wanted to make it flashy for Athrun just this one time. "Besides, I feel like whenever I do it, I get so much for so little money that it's like cheating if that makes sense?"

"That was still an impressive way to do it." He still was very much fascinated by her secret move. "Don't worry too much about the crane game companies. If the odds of winning a prize are very low, then even if you got more than a dozen plushies for just 100 yen, they're still profitable. So, I think it's fine that a few people are outsmarting those claw machines."

His words wiped the tinge of guilt that she was feeling. She was sure that others possibly even spent more than ten thousand yen just to go home empty-handed. So in a way, this was a way for consumers to get back at the crane game companies for rigging it so much.

"You're ri–" She was about to say that she completely agreed with him when she heard something rumble. At first they were both confused as to where that sound came from. Then it went on again and they found that it actually came from her own stomach. It dawned on her that it was her insides protesting that they haven't had food for hours now.

It was not a graceful sound. It was like she was housing a growling tiny monster inside of her. A grumpy one at that.

Her last meal was an early breakfast and she's just been consuming water or the drink from Round1 and Animate Cafe the whole day. She was having so much fun enjoying all things Gundam SEED today that her body took it upon itself to remind her that it was time to eat.

Athrun kept silent when this happened, which made her feel mortified. Why wasn't he saying anything?

Somehow, looking at him and seeing what his reaction might be was now extremely embarrassing for her, but she did anyway.

He just stood there stared at her blankly for a few seconds, processing what just happened and what he just heard. He blinked. Once. Twice in quick succession. His mouth was twitching and his shoulders started to tremble and she could tell that he was trying to hold back on what she deemed was a normal reaction between friends when these things happen.

Then her stomach went at it again, breaking the deafening silence between them. It was horrifying that it happened the second time.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Finally, he cracked up.

It was a very hearty one at that.

He genuinely was enjoying himself with the way that laughed mirthfully. His eyelids were shut and his eyes were tearing up from so much laughter. It seemed like if they weren't at a public setting, he wouldn't have held back and guffawed loudly, complete with him stomping his feet and the works.

Cagalli pouted and she felt her cheeks heating up. It must have already been flushed red in embarrassment. "Mou, stop laughing! I'm hungry okay!"

"Ahh, I'm sorry…" Athrun seemed to have calmed down after his laughing fit, wiping the tears that welled up in his surprisingly long and pretty eyelashes, in Cagall's opinion. "I didn't mean to… It was just…"

"Haven't you heard somebody else's stomach rumble before?" Cagalli raised a brow on him, staring at him accusingly. She wasn't upset with him in any way, but this was her way to save face after what just happened.

He cleared his throat and had his serious expression back on. The realization dawned on him that he just cackled at her expense. "Well… To be perfectly frank, this actually is the first time…" He admitted sheepishly.

"What? Really?" It wasn't that big of a deal but to have this impression with an officemate was a bit…

Athrun then smiled in understanding instead of teasing her further. "Shall we get a bite to eat then?" He suggested and that instantaneously perked her mood up. She was very famished and appreciated if got to satiate her hunger. Besides, if he invited her, then that meant he really didn't have plans and could still hang out with her, which was really great! Now they could really sit down and discuss the movie!

"Yes, let's get dinner!" She must have sounded so excited but she didn't care. "We still need to chat about the movie! I want to know your thoughts on it!"

"Sure." He looked like he wasn't against the idea at all, which was a relief.

Before they started walking, she asked him. "Where do you want to have dinner? Do you have any restaurant in mind?"

"I'm good with anything." He responded, which reminded her that Dearka also mentioned that when they do go out, Athrun just goes along with anything that he wanted to do or eat so it was up to her to decide.

"You sure?" She inquired more and was already searching her phone for possible places they could go. "Any allergies?"

"No." He confirmed and she thought it best if they could just go to the food area of the Parco mall nearby so that they could have a lot of food choices so she led the way.

"By the way, do you need help carrying all that?" He motioned to the large plastic which contained all of the plushies that she just won. She was now carrying this large plastic bag and her tote that also became bulky with the gashapon goods she also bought. She must have looked like she was struggling to carry them.

"No, it's fine!" She shook her head no. While it looked like her bags were bulky, they weren't heavy at all. It was just the gashapon capsules and the plushies taking too much space.

"I see… Okay then…" He seemed like he wanted to insist but left it at that. "Just let me know if I can help though…"

He's such a nice person!

Dearka gave her an extensive briefing yesterday of what Athrun was like so that she'd know what to expect. He mentioned that Athrun was an introvert and kept to himself most of the time. Back when they were students, their classmates would get the wrong impression of him. He would come off as cold and disinterested in his responses if someone they weren't close with were to engage him in conversation. He had the vibe that he wanted to end the chat quickly and would rather be somewhere else.

Even though he was like that, Dearka said that once you get to know him better and become friends with him, you'd find out that he's a nice person after all and he was always willing to help a friend in need.

This morning, Cagalli really didn't know how it would turn out and whether she would get along with him. She predicted that he would only speak with Dearka the whole time they were bowling. That was fine with her too, if he wanted to check out the SEED FREEDOM collaboration but didn't want to interact with new people that much. She figured she'd just talk to him normally and get a feel if she should leave him be.

But getting to spend time with Athrun today, Cagalli never felt that he was this unfriendly and emotionally detached guy. Sure, he was reserved at first but isn't that how most are when meeting new people? During their bowling session and now, she felt that he eventually warmed up to her and now he could laugh freely around her. Perhaps it was because they teamed up together and Dearka was too preoccupied with Miriallia? Or that they liked the same anime series even though they haven't even talked much about it yet?

In any case, she made a new friend and she was very happy about it.

In her eyes, Athrun was just a very kind person. While he wasn't a big ball of energy like she was, instead of matching it, he complimented it with his more cool and collected aura. She was enjoying spending time with him and was at ease in his company.

They settled on a tonkatsu place in one of the department stores near the station for dinner. It wasn't crowded so they were seated almost immediately when they arrived. The atmosphere was very relaxed and they could take their time to enjoy their meal and chat.

Once they decided on their orders and informed the waitress, Cagalli wasted no time in asking him about SEED FREEDOM.

"So, what did you think of the movie?"

Athrun sat back and gave it a thought before responding. As a big fan, there was no better news than to find out that his favorite anime series that he thought had been shelved permanently was having a sequel. If he was being honest, he woke up this morning more excited to watch it today rather than going bowling. If Cagalli didn't watch it with him today, he would have gone to the movie theatres by himself right after they all parted ways.

"I think it's great that we finally get a movie. It's always exciting to see the characters returning for a sequel and all grown from SEED Destiny. The animation is using the most updated technology, so it was really awesome watching all the battle scenes. They also put so many entertaining scenes in there which made it a feel-good movie for us fans…" Athrun had enumerated all the things that he liked in the movie to start.

Cagalli nodded enthusiastically with what he said. "I agree! We've waited so long for a sequel and they tried to cater to what the fans wanted to see! It's a good thing that the movie didn't disappoint!"

"Hmmm…" Athrun didn't know if he shared the same opinion that it didn't disappoint, now that he pondered on it more. It was certainly terrific for them that a movie came out after years of being in limbo and that the characters had their good moments. It wasn't as if he wasn't grateful for that. But at the same time, being older and having consumed so much more media, he was being critical of the plot and the characterization of the cast. "But…"

"But…?" She was curious by this remark and wanted to hear more. As Cagalli was brought to tears with the ending scene even if it was her second time seeing it, she must have loved it so he was being careful with his words. "You didn't like it?"

"That's not it… How do I say this…" Athrun tried to find the right words to explain himself more. "It's just that… the plot is so strange… It's… Just where did these 'Accords' come from? In the previous installments, 'Accords' or the 'Kingdom of Foundation' weren't even mentioned or even alluded to. So it's like they popped out of nowhere but are now very central to the Cosmic Era plot. The connection between the Queen of the Accords with Soichiro and Nanako's parents and the Chairman seemed forced."

"It does seem like they came out of left field… " Cagalli also sat back and made sense of it in her head. "Even during the episode where Soichiro with the masked man was inside the Mendel Colony or when they found the notes to the Destiny Plan in SEED Destiny, the 'Accords' were never hinted at. And now there were these Coordinators that have psychic superpowers."

"And if there were Accords that could do all that psychic abilities, then wouldn't that have diminished Soichiro being the 'Ultimate Coordinator' in the previous two series?" He asked her incredulously.

"It would!" She agreed with him and was taken aback with his opinions on the movie.

"The masked commander even called him 'humanity's dream' but apparently he just wasn't aware of the Coordinators with abilities that were far greater than Socihiro's… It just doesn't fit well with where we were at in the story. What was even the meaning of being an 'Ultimate Coordinator' now with the existence of 'Accords'? It felt like the creators came up with the idea only after the two series had ended and tried to fit it in the timeline." He finally figured out what was bothering him while they watched. He just wasn't able to formulate his thoughts clearly until now.

"What we knew about Soichiro and the way the plot unfolded around him being the 'Ultimate Coordinator' in the previous installments seems too trivial with the introduction of the Accords. And now there's also the revelation that Rie too is actually an Accord and was created to rule the world." She added on. She wasn't as pressed as him but she understood why he would feel that way.

"That's another thing." He shook his head in disappointment. "Even Rie's development in this movie was too much for me. She's an influential pop star who became a leader of an insurgency in SEED. In SEED Destiny, she decided to use her influence for good and became more relevant in political work. This led to her being the President of COMPASS. I think these are all fine, but when she is also revealed to be an Accord that's where things got too much…"

Cagalli didn't say anything but was listening intently to him, which Athrun took as a cue to continue.

"Everything about that final battle scene, from that pilot suit that was very unlike her to how she could use the Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam to its full capability without being the one moving the controls. How could she suddenly do all that without any experience?" Athrun became more and more frustrated just remembering it.

"Yeah, somehow she just did it so naturally on her first try!" Cagalli kept nodding and let him talk even more.

"Even Soichiro took a while before improving his skills as a pilot, but it seems that with Rie, who had never used a mobile suit for combat, a swipe of a hand was enough to lock on multiple targets! I think she even locked in more targets compared to Soichiro! I found it so absurd! It was like she really didn't need Soichiro there to pilot if she had those skills. I understand that they wanted to show that Rie would fight alongside Soichiro, but didn't they take it too literally? Rie has always been fighting alongside Soichiro in her own way."

Athrun was usually a very quiet guy, but once he got too comfortable, he could get carried away and could go on and on about the things that he liked. Right now, he had a lot of his opinions on the movie and he didn't hold back.

He continued. "It feels like Rie was catapulted into becoming a demi goddess. She already was presented as somebody who really didn't have a character arc unlike Soichiro, Akira and Nanako. But it's fine, she's the type that already formed her opinions on the war and those kinds of things even before the series and had a mysterious air about her. But with her being an 'Accord', she became more untouchable, if that makes sense…"

"I know what you mean…" Now it seemed that the tide had shifted and it was Cagalli who was listening to him chattering. "It seemed like she really doesn't have a flaw."

"That even puts into question her influence. Was she really influential or was she unknowingly using her Accord abilities to control others?" He posed the question.

"That's an interesting point." She leaned back in her seat and shook her head. "It would be a pity if after all, the people pledged their allegiance with her not because they believed in her but rather because they were somehow controlled into following her. That would be quite sad if it were the case."

"Right?" He then huffed like a frustrated old man and then realized that he had suddenly started ranting to her unprompted. She was still looking at him and Athrun wasn't able to read her expression. Was she getting annoyed with all his yapping? [4] Was he upsetting her? "Uh- I'm sorry Cagalli! I got carried away! I know that you really loved the movie so what I'm saying might already be offending you…"

"No no, there's no need to apologize, Athrun. You have very good points. Honestly, I'm still riding high from Akira and Nanako's touching end scene which is why I don't haven't given much thought or feel too strongly with the rest of the things that happened in the movie." He felt relieved that Cagalli didn't take offense to all the things that he just said. "But even so, I think that all of what you said made sense. I'm happy that you are sharing them with me. I didn't even know you could talk this much!" She grinned.

Cute.

"S-sure. Don't mention it." He suddenly forgot that he was just frustrated by some of the plot points of the movie with her smile and stuttered.

"But anyway…" He cleared his throat and switched the topic to become more positive. "Akira and Nanako were the coolest weren't they? I don't want to be biased just because they're my favorite characters, but I think that all the scenes they were in were fantastic and the best parts of the movie!"

Cagalli of course got excited when Akira and Nanako were brought up in this light. "Yes, yes! Even though they had little scree–" She abruptly paused mid-sentence and stared at him in horror, which worried Athrun.

"What is it, Cagalli?" He was worried at the sudden change in her expression when she was just beaming about their favorite characters.

"Akira and Nanako are your favorite characters…?" Her reaction seemed to be of utter disbelief, which confused him. Wouldn't she be thrilled that he also liked the same characters?

"They are…" He confirmed. "I don't think I mentioned it earlier…?"

Her demeanor changed and she looked very worried and guilty. "But if they're your favorite characters, then the Round 1 visual, the filmstrip and the gashapon acrylic standees… You gave them all to me even though…"

Oh so that was it. She felt uneasy that she received the goods of his favorite characters that he rightfully got by his own luck. She must think that while he wanted to keep it, he just gave it to her so that she wouldn't feel bad.

"Cagalli, don't worry." He reassured her that everything was fine. "Even though I like Akira and Nanako, I want you to have them. It's the truth when I said that I didn't collect those types of goods so don't feel bad keeping them." When he said that, he wholeheartedly meant it. Those goods really didn't mean that much for him but meant the world to her so it was better off in her hands.

Besides, her eyes sparkling with joy getting them was more than what he could have asked for in exchange for letting go of the items. Of course, he didn't say that last part out loud to her.

"I see." Cagalli felt more at ease after hearing that from him. "Thank you so much, Athrun."

"It's no problem." He found himself smiling seeing that she relaxed after that.

"Excuse me! Here are your orders!" The waitress finally came back carrying their set meals and laid them on the table for them to eat.

"Well then, itadakimasu!" Cagalli split her chopsticks and enthusiastically dug into her food. "Ahh, it's so good!" She was almost dancing in joy that she finally got to eat.

Athrun took a bite of it and found it delicious as well. The tonkatsu was perfectly fried and the meat was very tender. He heard from the waitress that the sides could be refillable too. Cagalli made a good call in selecting the restaurant.

As they ate, they kept on chatting about the movie, now mostly about Akira and Nanako. They both shared the same opinion that Akira was the strongest pilot in the cosmic era universe and all the scenes where he was in were the coolest. They both laughed recalling the fist fight and his shameless delusions because that latter one was so out of character for him.

"Who knew that Akira would do that in the middle of the battle? He flashed Nanako's naked body to the enemy! Really so shameless!" She still hadn't gotten over it and was having some second hand embarrassment remembering it.

"Well… I suppose he did what he could to win against a mind reader…" Athrun couldn't even make excuses for him. But if he was facing off with the strongest Black Knight pilot that could read his mind, then Akira would really have needed to come up with a strategy that would throw him off so he could defeat him. What a guy though, to use such a tactic in such a serious battle!

"Also, I can't believe he piloted the Strike FREEDOM and used the DRAGOONS! He even got to damage the leader of the Black Knight Squad's mobile suit with! Ahhh, he's just so cool!" She was swooning as she recollected another part of the movie.

"Akira is truly a super soldier. While he might not be the Ultimate Coordinator or an Accord, he can take on enemies in any type of mobile suit. Give him a grunt suit like the Z'gok, he will still get the job done, especially when he gets serious about wanting to defeat his opponent." Athrun shared with her his analysis of Akira's skills. "Well, mobile suit aside, he is also skilled in guns and martial arts."

"That's why I wonder why Soichiro even started a fist fight with him!" Cagalli chuckled. "What was he thinking? Coordinators can still be stupid at times!"

They also wished that Nanako appeared more in the movie but that her character really grew a lot. She was no longer the naive politician and became a better leader for Orb. It was also nice that she also piloted her mobile suit as well.

"I'm glad that the creators found a way for Nanako-sama to participate in the final battle. The last time this happened, she had to stay back as the leader of Orb. Remote piloting is such an innovative idea!" She told him before asking for seconds of the rice.

"Nanako-sama…?" Athrun was surprised that she was addressing the character with such reverence.

"Yes, Nanako-sama!" She was giddy in confirming that he didn't mishear her. "I think she deserves to be called as such after all of her sacrifices that she's made. Putting aside her personal happiness to prioritize the well-being of her citizens, isn't that the most noble? She didn't want Akira to be bound to her and set him free. He's just stubborn and wants to be with her no matter what." She spoke of them with so much fondness.

"Which is why the ending scene was just wonderful and touching. If Nanako was wearing the ring again, then it meant that she realized that she didn't need to give up on her happiness to be a great leader. Akira accepted her as she is and chose to be by her side even though it would be tough. For their hearts to be connected like that, it's just a beautiful thing. I think they embody the message of the movie 'You are inside me, am I inside of you?' so well." She had a very soft expression as she went on that specific scene in more detail.

Athrun discovered that while Cagalli didn't have much to say on the plot and other characters yet, she had overflowing love for Akira and Nanako. It seems that she was the type of person to focus on things that went right in a particular situation instead of those that went wrong. While he was being overly critical of the movie overall, she was just happy for the outcome for the two characters she liked. She just enjoyed it for what it is.

They continued talking more about the movie to a great extent until they realized that they were overstaying their welcome in the restaurant and should probably get going.

"Wow, I didn't notice that it got so late!" Cagalli's wrist watch read that it was already half past eight in the evening. They both lost track of the time as they enjoyed the conversations that they were having.

"I'm the same. It felt like time just flew by didn't it?" Athrun was surprised himself. He supposed that was the effect when two otakus unite and talk about the series that they were a big fan of.

"There were just so many things to talk about." She giggled. Heck, that was just the movie, they haven't gotten to talking about SEED and SEED Destiny yet. They might be there the whole night if they went into that territory.

They decided that it was time to call it a day and headed to the station. On the way there, they passed by a dessert shop selling various sweets. Cagalli said she wanted to get something sweet to cap off the day.

Athrun was with her by the counter as she made her order, browsing through the products they were offering. He wasn't much of a sweet tooth, but he was just curious as there were quite a number of people lining up for it compared to other shops. But he found that it was the usual crepes, soft cream, and parfaits with the common flavors. There was nothing that was unique or exclusive to their shop in particular.

"Here you go, one matcha soft cream! Thank you for the wait." The staff at the counter was very efficient and quick. She handed her a matcha soft cream on a cone.

As they were about to walk away, the staff called out to them. "Ah, please wait a moment, dear customers!" That got both of their attention. When they turned to the staff's direction, she was indeed calling out to them. He wondered what it could be? Did Cagalli leave something on the counter? Her change perhaps?

The staff went out of the counter with another cone and handed it to Athrun. "Here is the other soft cream cone for you, sir."

"Eh? Why?" He was surprised but he somehow took it from the staff anyway. "I think there's a mistake because I didn't order anything…"

"Oh, don't worry, this one is free!" The staff grinned at him and when they still looked both clueless, she pointed to one of their banners at the start of the line. "There is a buy 1 take 1 valentines' day promo today for couples!"

They both looked at the large banner and it did say in bold letters:

FOR VALENTINES DAY, ANY DESSERT IS BUY 1 TAKE 1 FOR COUPLES!

Eh? Is that what they looked like to the staff? They looked like a couple on a date on Valentines day? He was feeling so flustered with that realization. Athrun didn't know what to feel, whether to feel honored or horrified.

So that's why the line was long too! Now that he thought about it, most of the people that were lined up and eating desserts in this shop were all couples. No wonder why the staff didn't even hesitate and brought it over to him.

Before they could react and correct her, the staff excused herself and rushed back to the counter where a long line was still waiting to be served. Athrun looked at Cagalli with so much concern. She must feel so uncomfortable that this happened. "Uhmm–"

She looked a bit shell-shocked but once that passed she just looked at him and shrugged. "Well, even with that misunderstanding, at least you got one for free…?" While she looked calm, he did notice that she was also a bit flushed in that moment. Athrun was also somewhat relieved that she felt shy over it and didn't have a visceral reaction over it with him. At least she wasn't repulsed by the idea?

"I guess so…?" If she didn't want to make a big deal out of it, then neither will he. He stared at the ice cream cone and sighed. It looked very appetizing but he really wasn't a fan of sweets. But he just couldn't give it away to some random stranger.

He then turned to observe her, who was in bliss and enjoying her dessert. She was humming as she ate which made him wonder what it tasted like. He wanted to understand why she could make that face while eating a simple dessert.

Cute.

Well since he got his for free, wouldn't it be a waste to just throw it away?

He then decided to just go for it and give it a taste. To his surprise, it wasn't that bad. It was pretty good and wasn't excessively sweet. It wasn't really anything out of the ordinary, and he presumed that she was generally just in a good mood and that influenced him to give the dessert a try.

They finished eating soon after and she checked her watch again. "Well, then, let's go home?" She motioned to the path to the station and he followed suit.

Knowing that they would soon part ways, Athrun felt a sense of emptiness cloud over him. It was only logical that they head home at some point. But still, his heart felt heavy. He usually wanted to go home during social events, but today was different. He had such a great time today that he found himself wishing this day would stretch out longer so that he could spend a lot more time with her.

He technically could still see her often since they were officemates. However, their respective departments were far apart from each other, with Cagalli's team going out of the office to meet with client's most of the time. They would barely get to cross paths. Besides, if they were in a workplace setting, then they had to act more professionally. He wouldn't get to see this side of her, which he found so adorable and it was such a shame.

He wished they could hang out like this again…

He didn't know if the opportunity would arise again. After all, they invited him because her brother could not make it today. Maybe in the future he wouldn't be invited to these kinds of things anymore.

That made him so gloomy.

"By the way," He was already dejected but Cagalli didn't notice. She caught his attention but was pulling something out from her bag. "Let's exchange contacts! That way, we can send each other updates on SEED FREEDOM. I'll send you some links from the recent interviews and the upcoming SEED-related events! We can go and attend together!" She already brought out her phone with the Line app open, showing her QR code.

That's it! Exchanging contacts! Why didn't he think of that instead of instantly moping? And she asked him so naturally too!

By what she just said, aside from messaging, she also didn't seem to mind spending time with him again.

His mood was instantly lifted at the prospect of getting to converse casually with her online and hang out with her again. Even if it wasn't a SEED-related event, he would probably go if she asked him.

"Oh, sure." He tried to contain himself and not to sound too excited that they were exchanging contacts. This was coming from someone who refused to give it to his classmates and colleagues unless they had already become his friends or if there was a need to do so. This time, he was all too willing to give it to her, no questions asked.

With just a beep, he then saw Cagalli's contact on his screen and he felt some type of way. This was just a contact ID but Athrun was unusually elated about it. He looked forward to messaging with her and hopefully he could get to know her more through this. He didn't notice it himself, but he smiled just looking at his phone.

Technology is such a wonderful thing. Whoever created messaging applications was a god-send.

Yesterday, he didn't know what to expect and didn't even want to go in the first place. But he was thankful that he changed his mind and decided to go anyway. For once, he was very excited about something unrelated to work and he hadn't felt this in the longest time since Gundam SEED from his childhood.

Spending time with her today, Athrun had experienced too many firsts and he wasn't complaining at all! He didn't think that he would feel overwhelming indebtedness to his yesterday self for deciding to come with them instead of spending the weekend by himself, doing his usual routine. If he didn't, he wouldn't have gotten to know such an amazing person such as Cagalli.

This was all because of Gundam SEED.

Notes:

[1] Mercari is a marketplace website where you can buy second hand goods. This is where I buy my Gundam SEED merch that aren't available for pre-order like the crane game goods, event giveaways, vintage SEED goods and those random chibi axtas that I don't wanna gamble so much money on.

[2] .jp/event/ac000567 - they got the Athrun drink (#4 menu item) of course.

[3] . ?prd_id=2704322 _id=10000 is the specific plushie I'm talking about.

[4] Ok, this is actually me ranting and using this fic as an avenue to air my frustrations about SEED FREEDOM HAHAHA. I don't mean to offend anyone, these are just my honest thoughts on the movie.