Title: Washed Away
Author: Tenohikari
Fandom: Gundam Seed Destiny
Pairing: onesided Kira/Lacus, implied Kira/Shinn (um... yay for non-existent pairings)
Genre: Angst
Rating: PG
Word count: 869
The Drabble/One-shot: One-shot

Summary: People do not actually move very far at all. Only forwards and backwards like wave motion.

'They look good together,' Lacus mused as she listened to the lulling of the tide and the screaming of the gulls as they soared above in unison. But the songstress had been referring to Kira and his companion as they strolled along the beach, side by side. Everyday for the past few weeks, Kira would meet with his new found friend at the beach, and they would talk for hours as the gentle breeze would comb through their hair and the waves swam around their ankles.

No longer did Kira spend his days sitting on the porch silently gazing longingly out to sea. With this new companion, he was more active in the past two weeks than he had been in the last two years. It didn't take long for the songstress realize that he was slowly drifting away from her and towards another.

He was intriguing, the boy they had met at the seaside memorial site, whose grave expression and cryptic commentary had disturbed Kira that day. Yet now, she watched the young man turn to face the brunette, a wide smile on his pale face as he began to talk animatedly about something that was beyond her earshot. Kira was quiet as always, nodding his head to indicate he was listening and responding with short and concise answers. Just like when she used to walk with him.

Yet something just wasn't quite right. She almost had to squint the first time to find the answer. What Lacus had realized was that she did not recognize the Kira who was only standing several yards away. The familiar stranger smiled, and not with one of those forced half smiles he would rarely give. His expression... and those eyes, they were different. Kira may have been silent during the conversation; but those violet eyes would speak volumes by themselves.

'Who are you?' she wanted to know. With each passing day, he started doing things that was unexpected of him. Like the previous week, Kira came limping home with a tired yet blissful smile on his face despite the large bleeding scrape on his leg. Both she and Kira's mother were shocked to discover he had been taking motorcycle lessons of all things. He had never been interested in anything like that, but the way his new friend had kept going on about riding, it had peaked his curiosity.

It was as clear as day, that this newcomer they had only met not too long ago, was changing Kira right before her eyes. Or possibly rejuvenating him, turning veteran Gundam pilot back into the carefree boy he had been before. She eagerly let her gaze linger to the foaming sea water for a moment, and thought how people do not actually move very far at all. Only forwards and backwards like wave motion. Just like the ocean.

'How fitting.'

It almost made Lacus smile.

To those who knew him well, they would consider Kira to be like the ocean himself. Despite his calm exterior, deep beneath the surface hides a fearsome power that makes him a force of nature to be reckoned with. However, that did not make him invulnerable. Maybe it was selfish, but Lacus wished it could have been her strolling down the shore with him, helping him heal.

He was her first love after all. Kira protected her even when she had never asked him to, and without asking for anything in return. That was how it always went and would continue to be. Lacus would stand by him, even in times when violent tidal waves that would threaten to drown them, because Kira had always stood by her.

"I'm sorry."

Even if he didn't love her...

"I just don't feel that way back."

...The way she did him.

"I'm sorry."

She had managed not to hold back her tears and with a small yet sad smile - told him not to apologize. This would not ruin their friendship, Lacus wouldn't allow it to. She would never made him feel uncomfortable for asking 'why' he didn't return her feelings. She wasn't selfish, nor would she make him feel guilty in anyway. Kira deserved to be happy.

His rejection had hurt, she won't deny that; but Lacus hopes that someday she will have the strength to move on with another and attain the same happiness that Kira has now found. So she watched the young couple walk further away, hand in hand. The boy shivers as the wind picks up, and Kira holds him close and whispers something against his ear.

The former idol almost chuckles to herself as she watches the younger teen's face heat up - it was interesting how that bright crimson blush matched his eyes - and they hurriedly turned to go. Indeed the ocean reminds Lacus of her first love. Kira will constantly leave only to return; but in the end, he will never belong to her alone.

With the two of them gone, all that remains are their footsteps engraved in the wet sand. But even those begin to fade from sight as the waves reaches over to wash them away. She braces herself, and in the depths of her heart, whispers:

"Farewell..."

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Yeap I've fallen in love with this pairing, wrote another ficlet posted on my LJ if anyone else is interested.