Disclaimer: Gundam SEED is owned by Sunrise and Bandai.
A/N: This story was written 2 years ago and used to be titled "Love and War" (I changed it cuz it was too cheesy) and now I'm reposting it in the correct category with fixed names and edits. This is an AU because it follows quite a different path from the actual series, starting around episode 42. It may or may not include new characters from Destiny. Watch out for major angst ehehe. Btw, thoughts are in /slashes/.
Our Way to FallChapter 1: Irony
(After Ep. 42)
/Will I always be second in your heart/ Athrun thought as he watched the silent Cagalli. They both stood, trying hard to stand strong, watching Lacus and Kira from afar. After her father's murder and a long separation, Lacus was finally reunited with Kira, but not before she commandeered the Eternal (which had the launching capacity for both Freedom and Justice) and left PLANT. The pink princess hugged the surprised Freedom pilot then, and after much ecstatic chatter amongst themselves, Lacus and Kira resorted to gazing at each other shyly.
Cagalli's eyes reddened, and believing that nobody noticed, she looked away, laughing instead.
"I guess I'm a fool," she said.
"Then I'll be a fool with you."
Always. Cagalli was always watching. She would often approach Eternal from the Archangel, appear to be visiting him, but stand outside Kira's closed door, in a sad and quiet way as she stared blankly into space. It was all the more sadder because her usual demeanor was so tomboyish and full of energy… Her presence somehow electrified him, sent shivers down his spine… and he seemed to always know- when she arrived, when she drifted across the halls of the ship, and when she left. He watched her too, of course. The amulet that she graced upon him that fateful day was always there, reminding him. She said that it would protect him, but now, it only reminded him how close he was to being the most important person to her.
Kira was not oblivious either, but he was always occupied with other things, and Lacus. There was always Lacus. They were an odd couple. Both were so pure that they emitted something like an invisible glow, unconsciously attracting everyone to their sides- Kira as the ace pilot and Lacus as a leader who received the loyalty of the entire crew. They spoke to each other only of the important things in life- philosophy, war, diplomacy... It made Athrun feel inferior, but only slightly. He wasn't too jealous, for Lacus' relationship with him was always more like a relationship between brother and sister. And although their engagement was set, it never seemed very real to him.
"Irony," Asuran muttered to himself, while lying face up on his bed in the room he shared with Kira, who was currently on deck doing something or other.
/Irony./
That she loves him, and they are real brother and sister.
/Irony./
That this time what he felt was all too real. But fate had it made it so she felt none of the passion he had for her. Asuran cracked a dry laugh, and then resumed sulking on the bed.
(After Ep. 44)
"Freedom, please answer me. This is Eternal, do you copy?" Lacus had been signaling Kira for over 4 hours now, and Freedom had not yet returned with Mwu la Fllaga or the Srike Gundam.
"Archangel, anything from Srike?" said Andrew Wardfeld.
"Nothing," replied Murrue Ramius.
Lacus sighed. Logic reassured her that Kira was fine because he was the best gundam pilot she had ever seen, but she felt nothing but a constant chaos of anxiety and doubt. It wasn't that bad, but then again, Kira wasn't fighting when he was with her on PLANT. Now it was different, and Kira was always in danger. It was as if something cold was pressed up against her heart, suffocating her, whenever he went out with Freedom. Her hands would become hot and then cold and sweaty, "Is this the feeling they call love? If so, I wish…"
Cagalli's image popped up on the screen. In an tense voice she inquired, "Freedom? Any response?"
Lacus shook her head and looked down, so that her eyelashes brushed against her cheeks, "Nothing."
Cagalli's screen closed. From the look on her face, she was very worried as well. Lacus sighed yet again. The Mendel Colonies were dangerous. Not many people inhabited the place now, but some do, and they were neither belonging to ZAFT nor the Earth Alliance. /Just like us/ Lacus thought/of course, they are more like fugitives and syndicate members than a bunch of people striving for peace./
"Something may have happened to them in the facilities down there. We should send someone to investigate. I don't feel especially safe when Kreuze's ship is down there as well," Andrew Wardfeld said.
"It's too dangerous," Lacus replied.
"Not if a gundam of the same class is sent down," Wardfeld smiled.
"Ohhh!" and realization hit upon Lacus.
"Athrun Zala: report to main deck, prepare for battle mode. I repeat. Athrun Zala: report to main deck, prepare for..," the intercom wailed.
Athrun sat up from his bed swiftly. He knew exactly why he was being called. He had already changed into his pilot suit earlier and waited in his room for the call. Instead of reporting to the main deck, he went straight for where his gundam, Justice, was located.
"Why has Justice taken off?" Cagalli's screen popped up once more on Eternal's main deck.
"He is going to check up on Kira and Major Fllaga," Lacus replied.
"Then I will go too!" Cagalli exclaimed without hesitation, demonstrating her predilection for rushing into decisions once more.
"Wait!…" said Lacus, but Cagalli had already closed the connection.
Read and Review. Hopefully it's not too confusing because now everybody's watching SEED Destiny and forgetting the drama of the original Seed.