English is not my first language. Please bear with grammatical errors.

And for your information, my fic is based on the remastered version (but I watched the original version, too).

Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD.

Island for Two

My first encounter with Athrun? You want to hear about it? Sure, I'll tell you.

It was purely coincidental...or not. It's probably not really strange we were stranded on the same place since I was the one who had shot down the transport plane he was aboard. And I was shot down by the plane.

I had been on the way to the Archangel from a battle, but my navigator was broken and I came across the ZAFT transport plane. I'm not sure why Athrun was there. Probably on the search for the Archangel. His team attacked us a few weeks later.

Anyway, we landed on the same island, which was uninhabited, and found someone else was there. Then we fought.

...Yeah, he won. But I put up a hard fight. I shot at him and got his arm, though it didn't seem to be really bothering him, unfortunately. He climbed up on a cliff to hide—no, actually, he jumped up on a cliff. Can you believe it? It was way beyond his height, and he was like, hop, step, jump! And then, on the cliff and gone. With a flip to top it off. Come to think of it, it was amazing. Hm, I wonder if he teaches me that. I'll remember to ask him.

Well, I was a little relieved after he disappeared from my sight since he'd left his gun on the ground. I thought it was best to collect it. But while I was doing it, he ambushed me from behind, jumping down from the cliff. He knocked one of the guns out of my hand and threw me over his shoulder to the ground, which caused me to let go of the other gun. ...I guess I need more training for physical combat. Although I'm busy with training for piloting a mobile suit right now, I think I can find some time...

Oh, sorry.

So he took me captive and we had to spend that night on the island since no one found us until the next morning.

Actually...no, not so bad. He didn't exactly treat me as a captive. I guess he likes to look after people so much that he couldn't help doing it if it was a captive.

By the way, I don't understand why people say he isn't really friendly or he's shy, even. I mean, sure, he is a bit stiff and sullen sometimes...well, a lot of times, I guess. Although being a responsible person is a good thing, he needs to loosen up more often, doesn't he? Still, he can be friendly to people he just met, right? He was kind of friendly to me after he learned I wasn't an EF soldier. Smiling and laughing and talking with me. Though he was also rude.

Yes, he was. For one, he mistook me for a boy. In fact, Kira had, too, when I first met him. Seriously, what's wrong with them?

Well, on second thought, maybe I can overlook Athrun's mistake. After all, I surprised him and it's probably asking too much of him to be observant enough in such a situation. However, it's plain rude to laugh at people, right? It's fine if you laugh at a crab, which he did as well. I don't think crabs would mind. And it made me think he might not be such a bad person though I didn't like ZAFT soldiers. But I still don't get why he found the crab funny. Is it because you guys don't have crabs in PLANT?

You do? Hmm, then probably it's only because he's a weird person, exactly as I thought then. He simply has a weird sense of humor. And I left it at that.

But he also laughed at me! Because I kindly warned him I'd turn the tables on him if he lowered his guard. What a jerk.

...Fine, he was a kind jerk. He lent me a hand so that I could get out of trouble, and then even offered me half of his food. It was a very generous act. I give him that. And probably cutting my ropes was, too, though I say it was also stupid of him. Not that I minded being free. But still.

He said I couldn't be much of a threat to him without a weapon anyway. I told you he'd been rude.

And I did have a chance to take him down. Sure, I'm not really good at combat compared to him. I admit that. Yet it doesn't mean I can't defeat him. I just need a good opportunity. If I can catch him off guard, I certainly can win. In fact, I successfully stole a gun from him. See? I'm not as incompetent as he thinks I am. Sure, it was probably because he was sleeping, but it doesn't change the fact I succeeded. It still should count.

Huh?

Oh, yeah, he dozed off in front of me, an enemy. And I wasn't even tied up. He is so careless, isn't he? No wonder he always gets himself injured. He seriously has to learn to take better care of himself.

That reminds me, he slipped on a rock and fell in the sea after he freed me. I suppose he wasn't used to walking on the beach, but wasn't cautious. Nevertheless, he had the nerve to call me clumsy last week when we were training together. And it wasn't even the first time he did it. Look who's talking!

Right. Where was I?

Ah, yes, I stole his gun. I didn't mean to hurt him, though. I liked him. Well, not exactly liked. But he seemed to be a good person and I knew it wasn't like he hated Naturals or wanted a war. He had told me about his mother. I knew he just wanted to protect.

But still, we can't let ZAFT harm the people of the Earth, can we? We can't just sit back and do nothing while they invade our planet. That was what I was thinking.

I didn't want to fight or hurt him. All I wanted to do was destroy the Aegis so that it wouldn't kill people anymore. I didn't want any more people of the Earth to die like Ahmed. Oh, Ahmed was my friend and died while fighting against ZAFT. Many other friends of mine did, too. I didn't want something like that to happen again.

...And I also wanted to make up for what my father had done, I guess. For what Orb had done. Athrun was right. What had happened in Heliopolis was also Orb's fault. And I felt Orb was partly responsible for what those mobile suits were doing. I wanted to stop it. I felt I had an obligation to do so, too. As...Uzumi Narah Athha's daughter, and as a member of Orb's noble families. I thought I had to do something.

...Huh? Ah...yes, I'm all right. It's just...

Yeah, it's still tough to talk about my father, though it's getting better. Now I don't really feel like crying when I do.

I know. Thanks.

And you can come to me when you need to talk, you know. You must be sad about your father, too.

Yeah, sometime. Okay, then. Let's get back to the story.

He woke up when I took the gun, and pulled out his knife. He told me to shoot him if I wanted to stop the Aegis because he was the pilot...but I couldn't. I couldn't help thinking about what Tiger had said. You know Kira and I had met him when we were fighting in the desert, right?

Yes, I was a part of a resistance group there. And Tiger said, it seems Kira and he are enemies since Kira is the pilot of the mobile suit fighting against ZAFT; either one of them may have to perish to end the war. Then, he perished. Well, he actually didn't, of course. But I didn't know it at that time. I believed he was dead. I kind of hated him. He was responsible for my friends' deaths. Yet I wasn't really happy about Tiger's death. I mean, he was an annoying man who fooled around, and I wanted to defeat him. Still...somehow I felt a little bad when I thought he'd died. And I couldn't get rid of his words from my mind.

In the end, I threw away the gun without doing anything to either Athrun or the Aegis. I didn't exactly understand why myself. But now that I think about it, I didn't want the Tiger's words to be true. I didn't want such a world, such a future. I didn't want either the Earth or PLANT to perish. I didn't want either Naturals or Coordinators to perish. I didn't want to either die or kill Athrun.

I guess Athrun felt the same since he protected me from the bullet.

Er...well...no, I didn't shoot at him or he didn't shoot at me. It's just...I had unlocked the safety when I took the gun, so...it went off when it hit the ground.

I know, I know. It was a dangerous thing to do. I was thoughtless. But I don't do that kind of thing often, I swear. It was only one time. Athrun still teases me about it, though...and Kisaka overheard it and gave me a piece of his mind.

Yeah, he's the one who taught me how to use a gun, and he wasn't happy I'd handled it so carelessly.

Athrun reprimanded me, too. Right after it happened. Well, I can't blame him for being angry since he got hurt by the bullet. It wasn't a serious injury, but I still felt guilty. So I offered to treat his wound. I felt indebted to him and wanted to repay even a little.

Yes, he let me. Not willingly, but...um, he—my—I kept insisting until he caved in. Yeah, that's it. I was very persistent.

What? No, I'm not blushing! I just...feel hot. This room is a little hot, don't you think so? No?

Okay, anyway, after that, we just went to sleep. The next morning, his teammate came to his rescue, and Kira came to mine. And we parted ways. Ah, but before that, I told him my name and he told me his in return.

Why I did that...I'm not sure. Maybe...I didn't want to remember him just as a weird ZAFT soldier, and didn't want him to remember me just as a stranger with no name. I suppose I wanted us to be more like...like...

Yes, that's it. People. I wanted to part with him as people even if we weren't friends. Not enemies or strangers. But as Cagalli and Athrun.

How did you know that? You are really smart, Lacus.

Well, so this is how Athrun and I first met.

The next time? Um, our second encounter was after he and Kira almost killed each other. Well, if you don't count the time he snuck in Orb, that is. But I didn't meet him then. It was more like we just saw each other from distance, so I don't count it.

I'm not sure. My guess is he was snooping for information about the Archangel. Whether it was still in Orb. I heard his team had attacked the Archangel as soon as it left Orb. And then, things happened as you know, and we got a message from the Archangel requesting to search for missing crew members including Kira. I joined the search and found Athrun instead, and he told me about his battle with Kira.

Yeah. He was devastated.

Ah, I can imagine. He was also crying when I was aboard the Archangel. Athrun cried too, when we were talking about Kira. Well, it's natural. We both thought he was dead. Athrun was somewhat like a kid, though. A lost kid. Sometimes I feel as if he doesn't really know what he wants, which is odd. How do you not know what you want? He is generally smart, but can be stupid as well. I wonder if it's because his head often becomes like a hamster.

A hamster on a wheel. You know, your thoughts are going around and around, over the same thing, and go nowhere. It happens when you keep thinking on your own without talking to anyone, doesn't it?

Anyway, Athrun was pretty despaired, and desperate. In fact, he looked so out of it I was worried if he could keep himself alive. So I—

···

"That's enough."

Cagalli blinked at the voice that had interrupted her. She turned her face from her pink-haired companion to the owner of the voice, the boy she had been talking about.

He was wearing a scowl, clearly not liking her conversation with Lacus, while Kira was standing next to him and curiously looking at the two girls. They appeared to have just arrived at the cafeteria and overheard the conversation.

Cagalli made a pout. "What's your problem? It's not like I made up a story. What I was telling was the real one."

"And it was a very entertaining one to hear. The first times you two met," Lacus added merrily.

"Were you talking about that?" Kira joined the conversation. "Then, I wanna hear too. Come to think of it, either of you never told me how you met."

"Kira," Athrun called out warningly, which the brunet simply ignored.

Leaning into the table the girls sat at, Kira smiled at the blonde. "You don't mind telling the story again, do you, Cagalli?"

"Not at all. Oh, but before that," —Cagalli turned to the blue-haired boy and looked up at him expectantly—"will you teach me later how to do that thing you did when jumping up on a cliff?"

Athrun looked at her with a blank face. "Teach you what?"

"The jump you did on the island. Don't you remember? You avoided my shots and climbed a cliff with a few jumps and a flip. I want to learn that. You have free time today, right?"

"I do. But you are a Natural. And a girl. I don't think it will work."

A frown was visible on Cagalli's face. "Are you saying, I can't do it just because I'm a Natural girl?"

"Well, yes."

"But you don't know that!" she protested, standing up so vigorously that her chair was knocked over. "You won't even give me a chance! That's not fair!" She stared hard at Athrun's face which was astonished.

"I agree with Cagalli-san. You cannot be sure whether you can do it until you try," Lacus chimed in.

"Ah...perhaps you should let her try at least, Athrun," Kira interceded as well.

Athrun looked from Cagalli's stubborn glare to Lacus's cheerful smile, to Kira's half-sympathetic, half-amused face, and then back to the girl with fiery amber eyes to gaze into them for a long moment. His face slightly softened before he gave a sigh. "Fine."

Cagalli's face instantly brightened up. "I'm going to contact the Kusanagi and tell them I'll be staying here longer, then." She started to run toward the entrance of the cafeteria, shouting, "Don't you run away while I'm gone, Athrun!"

His eyes staying on Cagalli's back which was quickly disappearing from sight, Athrun shook his head. "I can't believe how she can be so..." He closed his mouth, unable to find the right word.

"Reckless?" Kira offered.

"I say 'bold,'" Lacus commented with a little, fond laugh.

Athrun just exhaled.

Kira clapped his back. "Hey, look at the bright side. At least you get to spend more time with her. It's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," Athrun answered absently instead of keeping silent with an ambiguous smile as he usually did. Most of his attention was on the debate in his head: what was the best way to train Cagalli without letting her hurt herself.

Stifling a chuckle, Kira exchanged amused glances with Lacus.

The seemingly growing attraction between his childhood friend and his...assumed sister—which was still a difficult thing for him to acknowledge despite his fondness for the golden-haired girl—was actually a source of fun to many people, though the pair themselves were pretty oblivious to it. In fact, they seemed oblivious that there was clearly more than friendship between them in the first place, which made onlookers like himself more amused. It was entertaining to watch them unconsciously show their affection for each other now and then.

Some people were even making a bet on them, which Kira had declined to participate in for he was sure he would be in some trouble if the two in question found out about it.

Then, Kira's cheery expression turned into a faraway look as he remembered his Heliopolis days when he had occasionally teased Tolle and Miriallia about their relationship or Tolle had teased him about his crush on Fllay. It seemed so long ago, almost another lifetime.

A gentle tug brought him back to reality. Kira looked at Lacus who was holding his hand with a small smile on her lips as usual. Her aqua-blue eyes were serene.

"You look tired, Kira. Why don't you take a seat?"

He softly smiled back at her. "Yeah, that sounds good."

While he was pulling up the chair Cagalli had left lying on the floor, a thought came to his mind. "By the way, Athrun," Kira said, carefully putting on a casual expression and keeping his tone light, mostly in order to lift his own mood.

Athrun looked at him, and Kira was glad the blunet didn't seem to notice his effort. "I think I missed a chance to hear about you and Cagalli's first encounter." He gave a grin to his friend who scowled.

"Well...then, there's another good thing about this," Athrun answered with a wry face.

"Maybe you can tell me instead?" Kira teasingly said, perfectly knowing the answer.

"No way."

The End

A/N: According to the timeline, Athrun and Cagalli met on March 7. So I wanted to post a fic about their first encounter today.

I'm not sure if it was appropriate to label this fic as a romance since there isn't much romance and Athrun and Cagalli aren't even a couple yet. But it's still about their relationship, so I chose the label anyway. If you've become disappointed, well, sorry about that.

Thank you for reading. If you've written a review of my previous fics, I thank you for that, too.

*edited 03/14/17*