Athrun and the Green-Eyed Monster Called Jealousy
Summary: Athrun never seemed like the jealous type, or is he? A little one-shot featuring Athrun and the green-eyed monster named jealousy.
Genre: Humor/Romance
Author's Notes: I wrote this ONE-SHOT before Arrangements but I never finished it…until now. It's very different. Well, obviously as it's humor. Here's some Athrun-Cagalli fun for all my fellow supporters. Enjoy.
-
It has been a month after the cease fire. Both ZAFT and the EA were holding peace talks, Orb was halfway through its reconstruction... everything looked promising, and here he was, Athrun Zala, living his new life as Cagalli's trusty bodyguard. Things were definitely looking up.
But still, a war was taking place and he didn't know if he'll be able to win this one...
"Awww...crap! That's cheating!" he exclaimed as Cagalli Yula Athha, princess of Orb, once again damaged his mobile suit.
Cagalli stuck out her tongue and proceeded to kick his butt. They were playing a new game that featured mobile suits such as Gundams. She already beat him six times in a row.
Boom!
"Score!"
Athrun groaned. 'Make that seven times.'
"I beat you! Admit it! I'm a better pilot than you are!" Cagalli exclaimed gleefully and proceeded to do her victory dance.
Athrun pretended to be mad and pouted. "You cheated!" he said accusingly, pointing a finger at her.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not! Just admit it! Say it! Cagalli Yula Athha is a master mobile suit pilot and I am but a lowly novice," the princess said in a high-pitched, mocking voice.
Athrun laughed. Being Cagalli's bodyguard sure had its perks. He was always with her and he got to do fun stuff like this with her. It was a dream job come true. He wondered whether Kisaka played games with Cagalli too. He snickered at the thought.
"What are you snickering about?" Cagalli asked. She walked back at her table and took out some folders from a drawer. "That was fun. Now it's back to work."
"Do you really have to?" he asked playfully.
"You want to play again? Why? So you can lose again?" Cagalli teased. She then proceeded to look at the papers.
Athrun just smiled and proceeded in putting away the game they were playing. They were in Cagalli's office and it looked slightly out of place. Plus, it would earn them a few disapproving glances from Kisaka once he sees it.
There was a knock on the door and Athrun walked towards the door to open it. He wiped the happy look off his face and forced a neutral one. He and Cagalli both agreed that their relationship was to remain a secret and having an idiotic smile on his face was like announcing it to the whole world. "Yes?"
"Mr. Alex? Is Lady Cagalli there? There's someone waiting for her at the parlor. A Mr. Jona Roma Seiran," the maid informed them meekly.
He stared at the maid for a moment before he realized she was talking to him. He forgot that he was "Alex" now. He had to use an alias because "Athrun Zala" was related to someone who almost succeeded in blowing up the Earth.
"Who is it?" Cagalli asked from her position at the far end of the room.
"You have a visitor. Someone named Seiran," he answered. He heard papers shuffling then Cagalli came up behind him.
"Would the parlor do? Or would you like me to show him to another room?" the maid inquired.
"No, the parlor's OK. Tell him I'll be right there. Thanks," Cagalli dismissed her.
"Who's that?" Athrun asked curiously. He vaguely remembered the name but he couldn't quite place it.
"A friend," Cagalli answered quickly. She pushed him gently out the door and closed it. "You have to come with me because you're my bodyguard!"
Athrun chuckled and they walked side by side. It was on the other side of the mansion and they took their time walking.
When they reached the parlor, the purple-haired man stood up when he saw Cagalli and hugged her warmly. Athrun narrowed his eyes. Only 2 seconds of seeing the guy and he already hated him.
"How are you, Cagalli?" Jona asked. He looked ecstatic.
They both sat down and Athrun stood beside Cagalli protectively.
"I'm fine," Cagalli, a polite smile plastered on her face (much to Athrun's horror), answered. "And you?"
"Great!" Jona exclaimed. "God, I missed you so much!"
Athrun listened to their conversation, his face turning greener and greener, and his vision turning redder and redder, by the minute. 'Who is this guy? Do they have something going on? Does Cagalli like him? Does he like Cagalli? How did they meet? Have they known each other for years?'
His questions were interrupted when Cagalli nudged him with her elbow.
"Huh?" he said dumbly, still glaring daggers at Jona.
Cagalli laughed. "I was saying your name for the past 30 seconds, Alex."
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that I was thinking about something nasty," he murmured.
Cagalli looked at him oddly, and then continued. "As I was saying, this is Alex Dino, my new bodyguard."
"Bodyguard? What about Kisaka?" Jona asked, completely ignoring Athrun.
"He's back in the army, but he still checks up on me from time to time." Cagalli turned to Athrun. "Alex, this is Jona Roma Seiran, an old friend."
Again, Jona ignored Athrun completely. "Aww, Cagalli. You said that again. I would say we're more than friends," he whined.
Cagalli opened her mouth to protest but Jona continued. "Anyway, it's a good thing Kisaka still checks up on you. This newbie looks puny. Are you sure he can protect you when the situation calls for it?"
'Newbie? Puny?' Athrun's mind echoed. 'Why you little #$! For your information, I'm Athrun Zala, pilot of the Justice Gundam and I can take you on any time of the day! Let's see who's puny!'
He stiffened and unconsciously clenched his fist.
Cagalli saw Athrun's eyes flash and she decided that if she didn't act quickly, Jona would be going home looking like a mummy. 'Or worse, in a coffin.'
She cleared her throat loudly and she stood up. "I'm sorry, Jona but I need to get back to work. I need to look over some reports or Kisaka will have my head. Can you come some other time? Great! See you then! It was nice seeing you!" she said hurriedly while she pushed Jona to the entrance hall not caring if she was being rude or not.
Jona smiled and waved at her, looking as if he hadn't noticed that Cagalli practically threw him out.
"Bye Cagalli! Maybe we can go on a date sometime," he invited as he got on his car.
Before Cagalli could react, Athrun pushed past her and slammed the front door.
'Good riddance,' Cagalli sighed. Jona was sort of her childhood friend. His father was one of the members of the council and so, their families were well acquainted. She was happy to see him, but not that happy. Seeing Jona once a year was enough of Jona to last her a lifetime.
She noticed that Athrun was still glaring at the front door and she sighed again. "I'm sorry. Jona's like that. He didn't mean it."
"Just who was that guy?" Athrun asked irritably. She noticed that his brows were furrowed, his shoulders tense, and his back unbelievably straight. The obvious signs that he was getting angry, if not angry already.
"He's just a friend, like I told you," Cagalli snapped. She was beginning to lose her patience (if she had any). 'Why doesn't he believe me!'
"He didn't look like just a friend," Athrun muttered angrily under his breath. "I would say we're more than friends," he imitated Jona's voice in a high-pitched tone.
"Argh!" She threw up her hands in frustration and stalked away angrily.
Athrun couldn't sleep that night. He kept on seeing Cagalli with Jona. Cagalli laughing at his lame jokes, Cagalli staring up at him adoringly, Cagalli playing games with him, Cagalli kissing him...
And so, he was irritated and annoyed at everything and everyone when he woke up. After taking a shower, he got dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast.
When he reached the last step, he heard the voice of the person he hated the most in the world.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Alex Dino." Jona was wearing a smug look on his face and was flashing his gold ID bracelet. "What's with that name anyway? Are you some kind of extinct dinosaur?" he laughed at his own lame joke.
Athrun rolled his eyes and forced a friendly smile on his face which came out looking like he was constipated. "Good morning, Mr. Seiran."
He continued walking towards the kitchen until Jona stopped him. "Hey, aren't you going to tell me where Cagalli is? We're meeting someone important."
He looked as if he wanted Athrun to say 'ooohhh' and 'aaahhhh'. The Justice pilot stared blankly at him.
"As you may know, my father belongs to Orb's Council," the prick continued.
'And as may NOT know, my father is Patrick Zala,' Athrun stared at him in disbelief. 'My father was the Chairman of the PLANTs but he doesn't see me broadcasting it to the world. Well, granted, it's not something to be proud of. But still...' "Oh yeah?" He muttered dryly. "My father was the one responsible for blowing up the Ptolemaeus Lunar Base."
Apparently, the purple-haired freak heard him. Jona stared at him before exploding into fits of laughter. "That's a good one!" he guffawed. "I like you, Alex. You're funny!"
Athrun rolled his eyes. 'What I said was about as funny as him getting skinned alive…On the other hand, it -does- seem funny…' he thought sarcastically. He was about to make his exit when Cagalli appeared at the top of the stairs. She was dressed in her purple representative outfit and looked ready to go.
She ignored Athrun and walked directly to Jona. "You're just on time. Let's go."
Athrun blinked. "C-Cagalli...-" he sputtered. "I mean, Miss Athha..." She planned to go somewhere and she wasn't taking him! What was worse, she was going with a guy who looked like he'd jump at Cagalli the minute they were alone.
'I'm her bodyguard! Where she goes, I go too!'
"It's OK, Alex. Kisaka will be meeting us later," Cagalli told him politely, with just a hint of coolness behind her words. "You can have the day off. Relax and chill."
And with that Jona and Cagalli left. The former wearing a smug grin on his face. Athrun fought the urge to bash his face in.
Athrun quickly went up to his room and changed his clothes. He wore a cap and grabbed his shades then bolted out of the door.
'Relax! How can I relax when you're with that jerk?' He picked out a car from the garage and hurriedly chased after Cagalli.
'I'm her bodyguard! Where she goes, I go too!'
He tailed them from a safe distance; it looked like they were on their way to Onogoro Island. 'A meeting with someone important, huh?'
He cursed when he heard a strange hissing sound from one of his tires…that meant only one thing. 'A flat tire! Trust this car to fail me when I'm doing something important! Why couldn't it have burst when Cagalli and I were driving up in the mountains, huh?' He pulled over to check it out.
"Damn!" he muttered under his breath when he learned that he had no spare. He kicked his tire and leaned against it. Unsure of what to do. Cagalli and Jona were miles away; he was stranded here, alone. Worse, even if he did catch up to them, how on earth would he get inside Onogoro Island? The most secured area in all of the Orb Union? If he used his I.D., he's really going to get it from Cagalli for spying on her.
'Wait. I'm not spying on her…More like…um, watching over her. Yes, that sounds better.' Feeling very much pissed off, he kicked the busted tire again. 'I wish I didn't throw away the fake ID's that spy gave us last time I was here,' he thought wryly.
Deciding that what Cagalli said about 'relaxing and chilling' was not a bad idea, he called up a towing company. They arrived after 10 minutes. He gave them the address and left it with them. He was in no mood to go back to the Athha Estate.
He noticed an abandoned beach a few meters from where he stood so he decided to go there. He sat down on the sand and stared at the blue ocean.
He was feeling insanely jealous! 'That little ass. When I get my hands on him, I'm going to –'
"Hey Athrun! Is that you?" he heard a voice shout into the distance. He raised his head and saw that it was none other than Kira Yamato carrying a bag of groceries on one hand, and a little girl on the other.
"Hey," he drawled. "Thanks for stopping me from even thinking about killing somebody, I mean, something."
"Good to see you, too," Kira said sarcastically. He sat down beside him and the little girl gleefully held out Mr. Pink.
"Haro, Haro!" the annoying mechanical voice called out. It then went to Athrun and bounced beside him happily. He stared at the Haro and rolled his eyes. 'How many times have I asked myself, why, oh, why, did I have to make something like this?'
"Sister Lacus lent him to me!" the little girl giggled. She then grabbed the Haro and played tag with it.
Kira smiled briefly at the little girl before he turned to his friend. "Where's Cagalli?" he asked, looking around as if expecting his twin sister to pop out of nowhere.
"Not here, that's for sure," Athrun muttered dryly.
"Huh?"
"She went out without me," Athrun said, as if that would explain everything.
Kira sat beside him, then stared at him and laughed. "You look like you just won second prize at the 'Most Annoying Invention of the Year' contest." Athrun just glared at him. Kira sweatdropped. He held up his hands in mock surrender. "No need to get violent."
Athrun sighed unhappily. "Do you know that Jona guy?"
"Huh? Who?"
Athrun sighed again, exasperatedly this time. "That asshole! Jona Roma Seiran. One of Cagalli's childhood friends. His father is a representative of Orb." He said all this in a mock, high-pitched voice.
Kira laughed again. "I take it he's your new best friend?"
"By best friend, do you mean someone that I would cheerfully murder? Yes! He's my best friend in the whole wide world! My bestest best friend," Athrun exclaimed. Fists clenching and green eyes flashing angrily. He did look like he would kill the guy if given a chance.
"First of all, there's no such thing as 'bestest'," Kira said, choking on his laughter. "Second of all, why do you hate him so much?"
"I don't hate him. I loathe him," Athrun corrected. He gave Kira an irritated look. "Would you quit laughing? I'm in dire straits here! You should sympathize with me! And you call yourself my best friend."
Kira stopped laughing abruptly and looked at him. But Athrun could tell that it was not over yet, judging from Kira's red, amused face and the mirth in his eyes. "Okay, so what's with this Jona guy?"
Athrun visibly seethed. "He's one of the representatives; he's from the Seiran house. He's a high-and-mighty clueless freak who can't take a hint."
"Uh, can you be a little more specific? I don't get it."
Athrun glared at him as if it was his fault. "He's flirting with Cagalli!"
Kira snorted. "That's it? You'd think by the way you're acting that he'd insulted you to the ends of the earth or something."
"Let's see how you react when someone even dares to approach Lacus."
That shut Kira up. "Okay, this is serious."
Athrun rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. And it gets worse! Cagalli doesn't even notice it! He's practically professing his undying love for her and she doesn't even bat an eye! Or kick him in the shins!" He let out a frustrated growl. "She got mad at me yesterday and she very coldly dismissed me this morning like I was some kind of…some kind of…bodyguard!"
It was Kira's turn to roll his eyes. Honestly, Athrun could be such an idiot when it comes to Cagalli. "Athrun, you are her bodyguard."
Athrun stared at him with a 'Duh?' look. "Of course, I am! But, I'm her boyfriend first!"
"Okay, this is getting stupid. Just tell me exactly what happened and I'll be the judge whether or not Cagalli is encouraging Jona or not," Kira suggested. He could see from the corner of his eye that little Andrea was still currently preoccupied with the Haro.
Athrun launched into an incredibly long story full of insults directed to Jona. Kira suspected that Athrun was a little overreacting with some parts but otherwise kept his mouth shut. After five minutes of Athrun's monologue, he was ready to make his conclusion. Fact: Athrun is jealous and overreacting, for that matter.
Athrun took a deep breath and regarded Kira with an expectant look. "Well, what do you think I should do?"
"Why don't you talk to Cagalli about this?"
"I told you I talked to her already! Weren't you listening?"
Kira shook his head. "It seemed to me like you did all the talking! What has Cagalli got to say for herself?" Kira pitted his best friend with a warning glare. "Listen here you, if your predicament wasn't so funny, I'd have punched you straight in the face for even thinking that Cagalli wanted all that attention from that…that…that man."
Athrun just gave him a helpless look. "Well, I was kinda expecting her to tell Jona straight to his face to quit bugging her! And…and she…she's with Jona right now as we bicker!"
"God Athrun! I know you're younger by exactly 164 days but could you please stop acting like you're five years old? You look like a kid throwing a tantrum!" Kira exclaimed exasperatedly. A moment ago, Athrun was being funny, and then he was being paranoid, now he was beginning to get on his nerves!
Athrun fought the urge to pout. Instead, he just sighed. That didn't seem very child-like, did it? "Well, sorry! You asked me what was wrong so I told you! Some friend you are," he muttered.
"Don't you trust Cagalli?"
"I do trust her! It's that freak I don't trust!"
Kira glared at him. "Let me rephrase my question: don't you trust Cagalli to pound the living daylights out of him if he so much as tries something un-friend-like to her?"
Athrun sighed resignedly. "Well, it's Cagalli we're talking about."
Kira sniggered. "Yeah, she'd even pound the living daylights out of you if you so much as try something funny on her." Then his face darkened, "Well, assuming that I don't get to you first."
Athrun buried his face on his arms and they stayed in silence for a few moments, with only the sounds of the ocean waves and Andrea's squeals between them. Kira's words were just beginning to seep into Athrun's thick skull. Finally, he sighed. "I guess I overreacted, huh?"
"Well, that's the understatement of the century."
"Okay, okay. I overreacted a lot – to the point of being paranoid!" Athrun amended.
Kira let out a laugh. "That's better." He glanced at his watch then stood up and brushed the sand from his pants. "Well, Andrea and I'd better get going. Lacus is waiting for these groceries. I hope I helped you."
Athrun felt his facial muscles form a genuine smile, his first one that day. "Yeah, thanks a lot, future brother-in-law."
Kira glared at him. "Don't get your hopes up yet."
Well, at least Athrun finally got his act together. Now came the hard part: actually apologizing to Cagalli. He had thought about all the punishments that were probably in store for him. None of the scenarios that his imagination cooked up were particularly appealing and all included him groveling for forgiveness at Cagalli's feet.
He had been waiting for exactly four hours, twenty-seven minutes, and eleven seconds for Cagalli to come home. He never knew precisely how long four hours, twenty-seven minutes, and fourteen seconds were until this day. He used to spend hours and hours standing behind Cagalli during all those incredibly long meetings at the Cabinet house.
At first, he wanted to contact Onogoro Island the moment the clock signaled that an hour had passed but he squashed the urge, remembering Kira's warning – er – advice. So he settled on doing a few things to keep him busy, like say, walking back and forth the living room.
But he didn't exactly spend four hours, twenty-seven minutes, and twenty-one seconds just burning a hole in the carpet by pacing back and forth. No, he actually spent half of it cooking a feast to appease Cagalli with.
He had cooked all of Cagalli's favorites and had set the table beautifully for dinner for two – for him and Cagalli (assuming that Jona would finally take the hint and get the hell out of the mansion and their lives for that matter). He had ditched his ridiculously large sunglasses and wore his best clothes. (He actually contemplated wearing his ZAFT military uniform, since he looked very handsome in those, but then remembered that he was technically with the Orb military now.)
He slumped on the armchair and took out a rather large box and shook it; its contents rattling quite noisily. He had been devising that little devil for months now. He had planned on giving it to Cagalli but he never got the time to finish it. But as soon as he got home, he started working on it like a madman, and installing a couple more features here and there. It was a mechanical pet, like the Haro, but slightly less annoying. Who knows what will happen to it if Cagalli gets irritated by its mere presence?
His ears perked up at the sound of the front door closing. It must be Cagalli! Athrun rushed to the entrance hall to greet her, a big smile plastered on his face, only to be wiped out by the sight of Jona following Cagalli very closely behind.
Athrun didn't know why, but he instantly ducked behind one of the wide columns and hid himself there. 'And after promising Kira to never go spying again!' a voice which suspiciously sounded like Lacus' admonished him in his head.
'Er, I'm not spying on her…I'm just…watching her. From a safe distance,' he amended. He looked behind the column and glared daggers at Jona, wishing that the phrase 'if looks could kill…' would become a reality for just one blissful moment.
Jona was still as arrogant, as irritating, as annoying, as pestilent (and the list goes on and on and on…) as he was that morning. He wasn't showing signs of wanting to go home no matter how infuriated Cagalli looked.
Jona asked her some questions and Cagalli turned around quite suddenly with a glare that would make even the most seasoned soldier wither. But it was lost on Jona's clueless-ness and his very, very thick skull.
"Yes, Jona, I am tired. No, Jona, I am perfectly capable of going to my room. No, Jona, I won't be going to the party tomorrow," Cagalli answered loudly, not bothering to hide her annoyance.
"But, Cagalli, are you sure? I thought…"
Cagalli's eyes flashed. "Can't you take a freaking hint? I'm practically shoving you out! I want to be alone!"
Athrun could feel his mouth curling into a sneer. Jona was going to get it. But he immediately wiped it off his face, and allowed himself to feel a little pity for Jona. Just a little bit. After all, Athrun would most probably in the same position a couple of minutes from now.
"B-but, Cagalli, my honey…"
That did it. Steam practically came out of Cagalli's ears. It all happened in an instant. One minute Jona was standing, the next he was being led out in a stretcher by Kisaka. "I told you to never, ever, NEVER EVER call me that!" Cagalli shouted, still visibly seething at being called someone's honey.
Athrun gulped from his position behind the column. If he wasn't so worried about what would happen to him, he would probably be the one who punched Jona to kingdom come. He was mentally weighing his options when he heard a cold voice directed at him.
"You can come out now, Athrun. I could hear you sniggering a mile from here."
Athrun swallowed hard and stepped out from his hiding place. "H-hi, Cagalli."
Cagalli glared at him and after a few minutes of his squirming, she finally let out an acquiescent sigh. "Okay, Athrun." Another sigh, then an accusing glare. "I never knew you were the jealous type."
Athrun blinked. He was expecting more along the lines of, 'What have you got to say for yourself, you jerk?' After making sure that Cagalli wasn't showing any signs of being violent, he smiled uncertainly. "I had no idea I was." He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "Listen, Cagalli, I'm really sorry for acting that way. I just…I don't know freaked out or something. I – I promise I won't act that way again."
He waited for Cagalli's reply. After a few seconds, Cagalli's shoulders slumped and she let out an exasperated huff. "You're lucky I spent my remaining energy on Jona. I forgive you. Just, think before you act, okay?" She approached Athrun and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I hope you cooked something good. I'm starving."
Athrun smiled. "Yeah, well, before that. Here." He gave Cagalli the box with the mechanical pet in it. "Open this first. Think of this as a peace offering."
Cagalli stared at it curiously. She brought it near her ear and gently shook it. After that, she quickly tore off the ribbon and took out the adorable little thing. It was a round thing with cute, big, green eyes. "It's so cute, Athrun! Especially its green eyes! I just hope it's not as annoying as Haro…"
"Oh, it isn't, I assure you," and Athrun led her to the dining room, on the way showing Cagalli the things that it could do, its mechanics, specs, the works.
He left out the part about the hidden camera, of course. For spying purposes – er – for watching over Cagalli.
-
-
Author's Notes: Forgive me for the OOC-ness of the characters. But well, you gotta love humor! And I hope this was humorous enough to take your mind off of phase 45… Please review and let me know what you think!