She said that the five years apart had been the most peaceful five years of her life. 'To live' is to be able to move pass what was left behind- the war, the ciaos, and themselves. They had held onto peace as their mandatory standard in life, but when they met again, their common sense was broken, and apparently, so was peace. AxC

N/A: It's my first Gundam Seed, so any comments or flames ARE welcomed. I'm always ready to improve.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed and Destiny…but…I'd rather not own it, because if I was the owner, chances are I'd die a very tragic death at the hands of ASUCAGA fans…lol…

C.E 75—OCTOBER 14th ……….TWO YEARS AFTER THE WAR

The air was fresh and cool in the early morning, and although it had always been so, a certain silver haired man took notice of it for the first time in a long while and found it very comforting and relaxing as the gentle breeze caressed his face. Surprisingly, he noted the air to be visibly different, even as he knew that the carefully generated air was the same since the day the first PLANT was created. Nonetheless, Yzak Joule was sure that he felt a definite change in the atmosphere. Maybe it was because there was now an ingredient called peace mixed in it.

The war was over and hopefully over for good, given that today was the anniversary of the second peaceful year after the Second Bloody Valentine War in C.E 73. Coming out from the PLANT's Supreme Office building on an early leave, the young councilman had sighed in good humour and drove off to his usual place- Café Louté- a quiet little coffee shop on 16th Rd.

Café Louté was small, but very sophisticated in its interior decorations. Opening early and closing late, it was applauded more than once for its unconditionally amazing service to the customers. By all means, the café was costly, but that meant nothing to Yzak if the shop can serve the best tasting coffee in all of Aprilius One.

Looking up with a genuine smile, the maitre d' had recognized his regular visitor immediately when the golden bell tinkered charmingly. Meeting Yzak's piercing, azure eyes as he pushed through the glass entrance, the maitre d' didn't need another word to know that Yzak wanted the seat at the far corner, against the huge, dropping window.

"Espresso again, I presume, Councilman Joule?" The maitre d' set the cup down with grace.

"Yes, thank you, Roy." Yzak replied absent-mindedly.

Knowing his common guest was not the type to welcome a chat unless he demanded one; Roy left swiftly and went back to his work. Seeping his drink, Yzak sighed again and sank into his cushioned velvet sofa. Had it been a meeting with the Supreme Council, Yzak would've died first before slouching so uncharacteristically into his seat, but this was not the Meeting Office, so he saw no need of torturing his back. Closing his reading-worn eyes, Yzak faintly overheard a conversation between two men and a woman. Heck, he hardly wanted to eavesdrop, that wasn't his style, but what the people were saying was truly worth listening to, and he guessed that it wouldn't be eavesdropping if he just happened to overheard them unintentionally.

"Did you hear? Chairwoman Clyne is resigning from her position?"

Idiots, it's been publicly announced this morning, everyone who's not deaf knows.

"Oh yeah, I heard, but for what reason though? I thought Lacus Clyne was pretty good at the job. She's made some historic changes between the PLANT and Earth since she came to power? And it's so unexpected for her to just leave. I don't think this is good." The woman spoke with a bit of alarm.

"It's a bit of a surprise alright, but Clyne didn't just leave without plans for the future. Didn't they say that Zala was going to take over her job? Besides she going to Orb to take on that new project ORB, PLANT and EA came up with. Something about lending a hand to desperate areas on Earth where it was most damaged by the war- to upgrade their food production rate, also to rebuild Junius Seven and Heliopolis. I'm telling you, that woman knows her stuff."

You bet she does, but apparently family is more important to Lacus Clyne than her job. Yzak thought to himself.

To the public, the Chairwoman's sudden resignation was due to the need to lead Project Peace Repair. To the members of Zaft's government, it was more importantly done so that she can be with her husband, Supreme Militaries Commander Kira Yamato, whom she got married to half a year ago. However, according to Lacus's close friends, her real intention was caused by her expectancy of a child in the next couple of months. The last part, well…was not publicly known.

Kira had nearly gone ballistic after finding out that Lacus was pregnant, and had insisted to be by his wife's side for every single second until the child is safely born…which is not really realistic, so Orb's Representative/ Princess Cagalli Yula Attha requested for Lacus to lead the new project instead of Orb's Minister of IPP (International Profound Peace) - Victoriese Du'quaine. This way, because the assignment's HQ was in Orb, Lacus would be closer to Kira.

Off course, with Lacus gone, the only person left suitable to take on the Head Office was Councilman Athrun Zala.

Better him than me, Yzak thought in relief. Quite surprisingly, he was dubbed as totally uncooperative on being a presidential candidate because he didn't want anything to do with politics if wasn't for his mother. Ezalia Joule had been released from house arrest after Lacus came became Chairwoman, but then she had inconveniently announced early retirement, thus pushing Yzak to fill her position.

"So Zala is taking the spot." One of the man said, "It should be okay with him. After all, he and Clyne had…."

Looking beside his empty cup, Yzak's attention was drawn away from the conversation and his ice-blue eyes spotted a copy of that day's paper on the antique coffee table. Picking it up, he grunted as he read the front headline, obviously not impressed with celebrities and their need to catch everyone's attention with the announcements in their lives…

ZALA & HAWKE: ANNOUNCED ENGAGEMENT

The bold letters imprinted on the cover page made Yzak Joule think of a certain blonde soldier he saw aboard the Archangel during the battle of Jachin Due where he got injured and followed Dearka back to get treated. The girl appealed to him, even at first sight, of the bright sun on Christmas morning- shinning with a kind of willful energy that enshrouds everyone with new hope and determination. Yzak had only got one good at her, but her image had evidently embedded into his memory. It was hard not to notice: her hair had been like the golden rays of the sun; her eyes were absolutely intoxicating because of the sincere divinity and obstinate spirit glowing in the depth of it…

Yzak had once noticed how Athrun always put the propriety of her safety in front of everything, and the way his arms lingered at her waist and the smiled he bestowed upon her was obvious enough for Yzak to figure out the situation. At the time, he had secretly commented on Athrun's good taste. Although he never told his friend that, Yzak somehow thought that Athrun had finally found his future. Nonetheless, that account had been proven to be one of the many faulty statements Yzak made on Athrun, because as it seemed now, the soon-to-be Mrs. Zala was not Orb's fiery princess.

Sighing, he wondered how she'd react if this copy of the news ever got to her….

Yzak decided to go home, when somebody suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, he swung around. "What's your frig-"

"Captain."

It was Shiho Hahnenfuss. His heart leaped.

"Shiho, what are you-"

"Can we talk somewhere else?" Shiho's face was impassive; her eyes were strangely weary, and Yzak's pulse quickened at the sight of her. He nodded, and Shiho hesitantly took his hand and led him away. She didn't say another word until much later. Instead, she merely held Yzak's hand as she walked towards a park near by. Okay…she didn't even look at him again, and behind her, Yzak's heart rate never went down to anything lower than 200, and he was sweating something fierce even when the weather was chilling. All the way, his eyes twitched not by annoyance but with utter confusion and nervousness. He was sure his hands were wet, but Shiho didn't seem to notice. Finally, as they came into the deserted park, Shiho began talking again. He tried to catch her eyes, but the female Major spoke looking at a place afar.

"I am leaving."

Her three simple words had frozen his blood.

They had fought in the park, with pedestrians watching in amusement. In the end, crying, Shiho had ran away, but not before telling him that she'd be back. But half a year passed and there was not even a letter from her. Then one day, a huge explosion was reported on Earth in Swedan. Thankfully, the incident was reported to be totally accidental, so no further investigation was held and the terror did not escalate. Nevertheless, the good new which calmed many alarmed citizens was not there to stop Yzak's world from shattering like glass when Shiho Hahnenfuss was listed at the top of the MIA list along with many members and workers.

From that instant, life was no more than death.

Yet like they say, time washes away all pain- the occurrence of the explosion, over time, had slowly erased itself from people's memories, but quite catalytically though, Yzak's peace that had died with the event's impact was lost in the oblivion forever; something time washing was never going to bring it back. On which ever the case, nobody, not even the devastated Yzak Joule, had anticipated that the explosion had been a starting point of many problems and fears, and had known that even as the war-less life carried on, the core of peace was beginning to rot from that moment, thus creates the beginning of a deathly cataclysm which would soon face the people of the Cosmic Era.

To be continued…..

N/A: So what do you think?...this is just a prologue….is Athrun really going to marry Meyrin…what about Cagalli…and what happened in Sweden with Shiho?...please review…even if you don't like it….THX A LOT!!!