Nicol's Savior

Me: And this story has now drawn to a close! Gosh, it's seriously been too long since I've said that. I tend to let ideas get away from me and start more of them than I finish...and half the time I run out of inspiration, which makes finishing them seem difficult! Thank god I saw this one all the way through, I'm quite happy with it actually. It was a bit of a learning curve, and I wish I hadn't lost my data those two times, but the fact that I didn't let that beat me is a good sign. Thank you so much for reading, I'm glad you all enjoyed the story, and I hope you follow me on future writing endeavors - you guys are an awesome audience!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam in any capacity.

Epilogue: Rest

Nightmares woke Athrun early in the morning. Kira only noticed because he'd failed to fall asleep before, and heard soft footsteps heading to the balcony of the Amalfi Estate. Giving himself a small shake, he got out of the armchair he'd sunk into once he realized he wasn't going to sleep and headed for the stairs.

Athrun's current presence in the Amalfi home had a two fold explanation – comfort via closeness to Kira and Nicol, and to avoid going home to his own house where memories of his parents lurked. Nicol had been the one to shoot Patrick Zala, to spare the man's son from having to put the mad dog down. Athrun had been right there, however...he wished he could have told the other boy to close his eyes, but doing so would have cost him the shot.

Thank goodness for space physics; lack of Earth level gravity meant that Athrun wasn't splattered with Patrick's blood.

Kira knew why he personally wasn't sleeping. He was trying to avoid Rau's ghost. It was something of a loosing proposition; even just napping in the aftermath of the battle had filled his mind with bloody images, deranged laughter and the final words of a man...a child, really, who'd suffered for his entire life. If Kira was subtly taking any opportunity to avoid sleeping, or find over-the-counter sleeping aids, could he really be faulted for that? He firmly stomped on the little voice in his head pointing out that such tactics would only produce temporary solutions. The long term ones were something he had neither the energy nor the strength for at the moment.

Reaching the second floor, Kira made sure to walk on the carpet so the floor wouldn't squeak. Nicol seemed to be resting comfortably, and he didn't want to interrupt that. He approached the sliding glass door and stepped through the small opening, a soft wind blowing his hair in his face as he walked out to Athrun's side.

The artificial environment systems, as ludicrously sophisticated as they were, couldn't really mimic Earth's day and night cycle. So while it was five fifteen sharp and therefore 'dawn', the only indication there was of that was the colony lights being turned on their lowest settings. It bathed the colony in a sterile silver-gray light; and while the cooling system was turned up to create a 'breeze', the air tasted recycled. A perfectly stable and serviceable environment, one people could live comfortably in. But if you'd been to Earth, spent significant time there...it felt like a parody. Is that where 'preserving the blue and pure world' came from?, Kira wondered idly, looking down at the streets and buildings below.

"I miss the sunrise."

Athrun's soft voice surprised him. The other boy had lived most of his life, first on the moon, then in the PLANTs themselves. The war had been his first real trip to Earth; a great tragedy in its own right. "When I first saw it...I thought it was a dream," The blunette whispered, still gazing straight ahead. "I'd never seen anything like it. It was as if the sky was alive." He tilted his head. "We were over water, at the time, before approaching Orb. I couldn't sleep, went up onto the deck and watched the sun rise." He let out a soft sigh. "It was beautiful, Kira. There's nothing like it anywhere else."

"Yeah." Kira agreed softly. "Who knows, maybe someday terraforming will show promise, or we'll find a planet outside the milky way that has an Earth-like atmosphere. But until then...Earth is irreplaceable."

"I never noticed recycled air before," Athrun said, lip quirking. "Now it's...almost hard to ignore."

"We were on planet for the better part of a year," Kira noted. "You'll probably readjust after a little while."

Athrun didn't respond to that, placing his hands on the railing. Kira watched him for a moment before placing a hand on his wrist, squeezing lightly and watching the lights brighten by a degree. "You never came upstairs," Athrun murmured after a minute of silence. "Did you not sleep?"

"Couldn't. My mind is too active." Kira shrugged lightly. "I think I'll just find things to do until I nod off, eventually. With my commission suspended, college suspended for the same reason...no, Athrun, don't make that face, it's okay...I don't have anywhere I need to be."

"It's the same for me." Athrun sighed. "The only person between us that going to keep busy is Nicol, with his symphony."

"I'm seriously impressed with it," Kira said, managing a small smile. "I don't know much music theory, but I think a lot of people are going to be impressed. Classical music is a niche genre, but it's surprisingly popular among soldiers...do you know why that is?"

"I don't know...a lot of it is soothing, I guess." Athrun looked upward and let out a shaky breath. "I don't want to stay here, Kira."

"Huh?"

"I feel like something is sitting on my skull the longer I stay here." Athrun's knuckles whitened on the railing. "Every time I turn the corner, I see something that brings up...something I'm trying to bury. I have to get out of here...though I don't know how feasible that is. Travel is congested at the moment, with the peace treaty still being ratified."

"...Let's talk to Nicol and Chancellor Amalfi tomorrow." Kira replied decisively. "Between our collective contacts, we can get a ride to Orb. The alliance treaty will take care of our travel problems, and I'll have a house for us to stay at."

Athrun turned to him. "What about your parents? Won't they be there? ...You've been avoiding them."

"...I can't avoid them forever. I want to go back to Orb; it'll be peaceful, quiet...and I have mostly good memories attached to it. If it'll help you and Nicol, then let's go."

"...Alright." Athrun slowly released the iron bar and put an arm around Kira's shoulders. "You need to sleep, Kira. You've been avoiding it."

"I don't want to dream. And Mu'll be furious if I get myself hooked on sleeping pills." Kira looked down at his feet.

"I'll be close. If you start to shake or tremble, I'll wake you. I promise."

Kira sighed, knowing his fiance would wear him down until he agreed. "...Okay."

~Later~

Kira woke up sprawled on the couch, light from the window in his eyes, at nearly noon. His sleep had been largely undisturbed, perhaps because he'd been awake for long enough that his mind focused on resting rather than tormenting him with his demons. As it turned out, Nicol woke up an hour later and he, his parents and Athrun had hammered out the tickets for the first flight to Orb they could get their hands on; it left at 2100 hours that evening. Apparently that had required a phone call to Cagalli, who was also heading back by virtue of being Princess; as well as some quick messages to their various superiors.

Miriallia called them later in the day, saying that she'd eventually join them in Orb for a vacation – apparently, she'd taken up Diana Elsman on a job offer and would be staying on the PLANTs for a few years. Kira was a little surprised by that, at least up until she'd handed the phone off to Dearka who'd said that he would be coming with her.

"Do you think anything long term will happen between them?" Athrun asked him and Nicol afterwards.

"Have you ever seen Dearka pursue a girl consistently as a friend when he was attracted to her?" Nicol asked. "She matters to him. He wants her to be happy, and she's responding to it – she'd chase him off otherwise."

Kira nodded in agreement. "Mir can be really damn fierce," He said reverently. "She appreciates Dearka's consistency and support. Once she's found her footing and feels more emotionally secure...he'll win her over. In fact...I think they'll be good together, even more than she and Tolle would have been. They push each other to be better, all the time."

Dinner had largely consisted of sandwiches – the three soldiers were used to rations and small portions, and varying low moods often caused a loss of appetite. Then they collected their possessions – which mostly consisted of fitting an electric piano into a travel case and putting Nicol's music work in a single bag, not counting clothes or Tori.

Saying goodbye to people at the terminal had taken longer – Kira had gotten Mu's contacts (he and Captain Ramius were staying together, surprising precisely no one) and promised to stay in contact, Miriallia had given him a hug, Flay had said goodbye and apologized again, Lunamaria waved and promised to take care of the aforementioned girls, and Dearka cracked a joke that made Mir elbow him in the ribs. Never change, Elsman.

The ride was smooth, the drone of chatter among the other passengers providing a buffer against the quiet. Kira couldn't find much to talk about, instead distracting himself by asking Nicol questions about his planned collaboration with Meer and Lacus. Athrun was quiet by comparison, but he listened with visible interest. The trip was several hours long, and re-entering the gravity well made Nicol a little green around the gills. It was only his and Athrun's second time making planetfall after all.

The mere fact that the damage Orb had sustained wasn't obvious from orbit showed how lightly the country had gotten off during the war. Quietly Kira acknowledged that if the small neutral country hadn't had help from ZAFT, it would have been a very different story...thank god that Uzumi was willing to make a pact with True ZAFT in order to protect his people. Sure, many streets and areas that needed reconstruction, and everything was at least a little chaotic, but the city's structure had held, and everyone had power and running water.

That was more than some Eurasian cities could say.

It was a three hour drive from the Orb spaceport to the seaside house owned by Caridad Yamato. It was an old mansion, three stories and many rooms, that had been passed down through the family. Supposedly, a long way back, the Yamatos were old money, though they were a decidedly middle class family now. Bleakly Kira wondered if most of the money had gone into Hibiki's project before his birth mother got cold feet, then quickly shook his head to rid himself of the thought.

"Wow," Nicol said, scrambling out of the car almost as soon as it came to a stop. He ran down the footpath to the hill overlooking the beach; Kira and Athrun exchanged startled smiles and hurried to catch up. "It's beautiful out here, Kira! You didn't say it was this nice!"

"I didn't know how to describe it," Kira said with a faint grin; "it's always just been the home that I spent a few weeks and months here and there at."

Nicol rolled his eyes. "Never, ever try to get work in advertising."

Athrun laughed, which earned him a playful scowl from the boy in question. "I knew this place existed," He remarked. "Though I thought it was smaller. It's a bit big for the three of us, isn't it?"

"Mom doesn't mind. She and dad aren't here as often since they're helping with reconstruction work. As long as we keep everything in order, we can stay as long as we want." Kira dug the keys out of his pocket. "Let's get everything inside. The beach is at its best late in the evening; I don't think many people are out and about, but..." he shrugged. "Well, that's when I've typically gone out."

Nicol pouted a bit, but rejoined them as Kira reminded himself which key was witch and got the door open. Immediately the air conditioning washed over them as they dragged the suitcases in and Nicol immediately went to set up his piano by the window in the living room.

"So when is the wedding going to be?" The pianist asked after plugging the keyboard in.

Kira sighed and collapsed on the couch, raising his hand and staring at the simple silver band on his ring finger. "God, I don't know. I'm seriously debating the merits of just finding a legal office and eloping. It depends on whether or not Mir will forgive me for not inviting her."

"We could always have an official party later," Athrun offered shyly. "But honestly...I'd prefer for it to be private. Especially since our relationship won't be, well, typical."

Nicol chuckled and twisted the gem-studded ring he was wearing. "Yeah. Legally speaking, most countries still practice monogamy, and I don't really care to get an extra citizenship just to get this written on paper in some dusty office. Private or public, I don't care as long as we can stay together."

"It might be a bit logistically tough, depending on where we decide to live." Kira noted. "Commercial travel between the PLANTs and Orb, even with lowered prices due to the pact, might hurt our bank after a while."

"We haven't gotten our last paychecks. You're the pilot of the Freedom, Kira. You don't come cheap." Athrun reminded him, then looked like he rather regretted it.

"It's true," Kira acknowledged, taking the initiative. "But obviously that won't last forever. I was thinking about entering a career in computer programming, back in college...but now I'm worried about people noticing just how good I am at that." He sighed. "Chairman Durandal buried Mendel and everything related to it under a thousand tonnes of red tape and redaction, and me being the Freedom's pilot isn't universally public knowledge...it should be irrational, but it's been bothering me."

"If you intern with Simmons, it wouldn't seem too strange," Nicol pointed out. "She has a nack for finding very talented people, and you wouldn't stick out that much. There's another boy there, one she picked up from Eurasian refugee arrivals – I think his name is Canard? Yeah, apparently he's a genius as well."

"Is that right? ...I'll ask her about it, thanks Nicol." Kira leaned back. "I'm...thinking of primarily living in Orb, to be honest. I could spend a year at a time here and there in the PLANTs...but I feel safest here. I haven't set anything in stone, but..." He regarded them hesitantly. "Are either of you okay with that?"

"Honestly...yes," Athrun said, looking out a window. "I might...do the same. I don't know."

"We have plenty of time," Nicol pointed out. He looked contemplative. "I have a few more ties to the PLANTs than either of you, but it's not like travel would be incredibly difficult for me. Being a musician has always meant going from place to place, so it would work out alright. Not ideal, but that's just fine. Athrun...you could do freelance hardware work. That's bound to be in high demand at the moment."

"I hadn't thought of that," The blunette admitted.

Kira watched Tori fly in a circle above his head and chuckled. "You'll be quite popular with the kids if you play your cards right," He noted, raising a hand for the mechanical bird to land on. Tori perched on his fingers and chirped.

The gesture made Athrun smile. "I'll think about it."

Nicol played a few notes, then re-tuned the piano. "This house is built for a large family," he remarked softly. "Well, at least it'll be the obvious place to hold reunion parties."

Kira laughed a bit, thinking back to that vivid dream he'd had aboard the Archangel. "It is meant for a big family," He admitted. "But...let's not worry about that just yet. Let's worry about us. That's enough for right now."

Athrun sat down next to him and ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. Let's do that...for now."

"So...the day after tomorrow? We'll go downtown and find the right office? I can be the witness if your parents are pre-occupied." Nicol noted.

"Sounds good." Kira closed his eyes. "I do want you there, Nicol. It binds all three of us, if not on paper...then certainly in spirit."

"I want to stay like this forever."

Finis

Thank you so much for reading!