"Twists"

A Kira and Lacus FanFic

Summary: It is the fate of a PLANT citizen to be paired with someone whose genes are compatible with the other to continue the genetical cycle. Nobody is an exemption- even Lacus Clyne. So what happens now when twists are turned?

Chapter 6: Open Doors

She likes dogs. The small ones, she said, are easier to hug. Her favorite color is violet, he wonders if it's a coincidence. She says she's an only child and that her father is protective of her. He was reminded of someone he once knew.

She prefers to walk and let the sun dance on her pale skin. She wonders if earth's air is different than in the PLANTs, and he replies with a single nod. Birdie seems to spend a lot of his time on her shoulder, he wonders if she likes birds as well. The way her hair dances with the wind when they are in his car, he sometimes wishes it were pink.

She seems to talk too much and asks a lot of questions. But he's not irritated at all. Strangely, he is amused at her curiosity and admires her witty mind. She laughs just like the woman he loves, but the latter definitely laughs better. He doesn't feel the fluff in his stomach when she clings to him, neither the fast paced beating of the heart when she whispers something in his ear.

He wonders how she can just agree to this set-up as if she knew him for such a long time. Perhaps that is like this in the PLANTs. His thoughts drift to when Athrun and Lacus were once forced to be engaged. Maybe the two of them did try these things. They were both kind and giving; they might have tried giving it a chance.

Because he surely is giving this the fucked up chance it needs.

"You don't talk much, do you Kira?"

Her words break him off his trance. To hurt her, or not to hurt her.

He decided to be the gentleman he always was.

She smiles as she sees him shyly smile as a reply to her question. In her mind she wonders if Kira sees her as a little girl. She's heard rumors, strange rumors, about Kira and the current chairwoman of the PLANTs. Kira and Lacus' actions during the war are immortalized in history books. From now on, all the generations after them will know of their story.

She wanted to ask him, but a part of her was scared to be… underserving.

"Kathline…"

The mention of her name surprised her.

That was a first for today.

Kath noticed her proximity standing next to Kira whose eyes were transfixed on the beautiful view in front of them. They had decided to check out the newly built Januarius 3 which was just completed two months ago. The inside scenery mimicked a valley like place with more bodies of water present. Not much houses as of now because the relocation is not yet finished. The park they strolled around in was located uphill. There weren't much people there too.

She noticed her proximity standing next to him. She noticed how tall he is; noticed how brown his hair is and how it clearly matched his purple eyes. She noticed how gentle his eyes are and wondered if his touch was the same.

His head turned to look at her. "I really like the sound of your name. Who gave it to you?"

She really didn't hear the question but instead looked at how the gentleness in his eyes reminded her of someone she used to know.

"Kath?"

She looked away, a blush creeping on her cheeks. She was staring too long.

"Uhm… my mom gave it to me. We have the same name." Her hand motioned to touch the necklace that was around her neck. "She's gone now. She died during the Bloody Valentine incident."

War is merciless, he thought. There is no way that is happening again- people dying because of war. Lacus, Kira and his friends promised… that there will be… no more of those wars.

No more.

"I still remember. I was in the house watching the program on TV. And then it was gone… the cable signal. We heard a loud explosion near Aprilius 7. The intensity of the nuclear explosion created some sort of earthquake in the surrounding PLANTs." She looked back at him, a weak smile on her face.

"It was the scariest thing I have ever felt."

Kira squeezed his left hand into a fist. The sadness of people losing their loved ones is immeasurable. He was reminded of Athrun who experienced the same thing, losing his mom in that same incident.

"My father relocated me to Copernicus. All my friends joined the army."

The cold wind blew past them.

Memories can be a burden sometimes.

"When I came back, everyone was gone." He noticed how her voice slightly cracked. The familiarity of her tone, of her emotions reminded him of a lonely girl he once knew. Images of her flaring red hair crossed his mind. Every time Kira would hear the words "gone" the bitterness in his heart would resurface. But unlike before he can now control it better. Self-loathing is equally as horrible as being alone.

"Then I told myself 'what did I do to deserve to live?' …"

Kath took in a deep breath and sighed heavily. "I guess it's more like what I didn't do made me live…"

She slowly turned her back against the view and slowly walked a few steps away from Kira, his eyes observing her intently.

She was beautiful.

"Being alone is difficult, isn't it?" her eyes fixed on the ground as memories of the time she spent with her friends came flooding back. She kept telling herself she had no right to feel this way. She was lucky she survived. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if her father was taken away from her.

He reflected on her question. Was he alone? Certainly not. Lacus is here, has always been. She had stayed beside him, comforting him in his darkest moments. He was NOT alone. But he felt so lonely, it was unbearable.

The space between them suddenly grew wider and she felt cold and lifeless again. Her lips trembled slightly, and so did the hand that tried to grab him.

Yes, maybe they should calm down just for now and see where this is all going.

They were giving up.

Lacus never felt so cold her entire life.

She wrapped her arms around her. Kira's back facing her was killing her inside. She thought about the happy days and how horrible it feels like to know everything could end. The fear of being alone crept through her entire being, attempting to destroy her inside.

How could he allow her to feel this way?

"Kira…" her words were trembling. She was squeezing her arm trying to figure out what words to say. She has always been good with words. Her words have never failed. Her words touched the hearts of millions of people. She can hold and unite nations together… but here she is barely holding up on her relationship with the one man, the ONLY man, she ever dreamed of having a future with.

"I need you!" her voice was urgent as the fear quickly overtook her senses. If he can't say it then she will. "Please don't leave… I need you!"

He thought about what Riku said, he thought about the things they would be throwing away, and they were running in circles in his mind!

She walked rigidly to him, embracing him from behind. She was sorry she congratulated him, she was sorry she couldn't really fight for him, she was sorry to be the one to suggest they hide their relationship. She was sorry for everything.

She was afraid of being alone.

This dependence felt pathetic. She felt pathetic.

She felt so pathetic.

The tight hug loosened until her arms dangled to her sides.

This is pathetic.

His motionless figure just stood there.

He felt pathetic as well.

"I'm sorry," he said. He turned to look at her, eyes meeting. "I'm so sorry…"

(2 weeks after and a day before Kira's date with Kathline)

It's going to rain, she thought. Lacus looked at the clouds through the windows of her office. They were a little dark and the sky was gloomy. The silence of her office made her lonely feelings more felt and it actually felt so pathetic. It's been two weeks since that night.

Two weeks.

She had not seen Kira in two weeks. Only glimpses of him during meetings, at hallways. He wouldn't even look her way.

He was doing his job, she thought. He was playing it so well. What was she doing?

Two weeks.

She hadn't talked to Riku since then too.

Should she do her job too? She wondered if she could play it well.

Her train of thought was interrupted as she noticed the door to her office opened, revealing a very hesitant Riku.

Then she remembered how afraid she was that night when Kira said his goodbye. She was scared of being alone. Her gut froze… that cold feeling reemerged.

"Hey…" he said. He closed the door behind him and walked up to her. He was trying to find the courage to look her in the eyes. He actually felt ashamed of what he did two weeks ago. His stance was rather broken as he realized he walked to close to her. She was at arms distance.

"Hi...I uh," he was stuttering. He realized the recklessness of his words for the past few weeks. He realized how his emotions got the better of him and how it affected the people around him. He wanted to apologize.

Actually he just wanted to see her after noticing how Kira distancing himself from her. Riku wanted to check on her. He loved her, that's for sure. But he knew that she loved Kira. He knew about how Kira and Lacus depended on each other. He doesn't even know why he knows. But since that night he took an initiative to look at their history together. He did some undercover research and realized how important Kira was to her.

And how of little meaning his existence is to her compared to Kira's.

"I wanted to apologize for everything." His eyes were locked to hers now. She was motionless before him but her eyes were intently looking back at him, waiting for his words. "I shouldn't have done that. I think I understand now how much Kira means to you."

The mention of his name made her cringe.

"So from now on, everything will be on your terms. I'll be here only when you need me. I won't interfere with anything anymore."

What is he saying?

"I know that… Kira secretly spends the night with you at your house. I won't take that away from you." Riku was fighting back his emotions. He was saying all these things quite calmly than he expected.

"I promise I'll play along…" he tried not to make it sound like he was trembling. But he was.

Play along.

Is that what they were doing? Playing?

A tear escaped her eye.

Then more followed.

She was crying as her eyes were fixed on him. Riku felt something break inside him.

"Lacus?! I… did I say something wrong?" his voice was worried, sad. He wondered about what he said. He clearly gave all the advantage to her! Why was she crying?

Slowly her hands came to her face. Her shoulders were shaking now but she was just crying there silently. Without hesitation, his hands landed on her shoulders, caressing it.

The fear of being alone finally took over her, breaking down what was left.

Riku gathered her in his arms and for the first time in a long time, he held her so close to him. Just like when they were kids.

Riku seemed to have understood now. The distance that Kira was making… Riku had come to the conclusion that Kira and Lacus chose to stay apart.

So he held her as the loneliness consumed her heart.

Anything, she thought, anything to stop this feeling from destroying her.

Anyone will do.

And perhaps this opened Kira's eyes as he slowly closed the door. His hand was gripping the doorknob every so tightly. And just like Lacus, the loneliness was about to consume him.

"I'm scared of being alone…" Kathline said.

Yeah.

Kira was too. He remembered seeing Riku embrace a crying Lacus and how lonely it made him feel. The loneliness was threatening to consume him.

Anything, he thought, anything to erase all these images.

He took a few steps closer to where Kathline was and his arms stretched out to embrace her from behind. It took her by surprise!

She was right; his touch was as gentle as his eyes.

"You won't be…" he assured her.

Anyone will do.

Hey guys! Bahahahaha! New chapter is up! I'm so glad to be back! I just graduated this March and I'm so sorry I was slacking off all summer! I was busy studying then got bored of reading my nursing books so I took a quick break and wrote this. I am currently preparing for a licensure exam this December. HAHAHHA took me a year to update… I'm so sorry! And thank you so much for keeping up with this story. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO END THIS STORY LIKE SERIOUSLY HAHAHA! So I'd like to know what you think and please leave a review. Also put in the review what kind of ending you like. Don't worry I'll give this story a few more chapters. Prolly until 20…. If I can… HAHAHA! I'll try my best! You guys are awesome! 3