Trial and Error
By: Akinriah Tram

Chapter One: And after all this time, it's like nothing else we used to know

She stood at the door, tapered fingers curled around the edge of the plain white envelopes. The welcoming atmosphere at the front entrance of their threshold was too much for her. It made her feel uncomfortable. Her mind was telling her to leave for she didn't belong there.

A long time ago, she would be unlocking the door herself and entering at her own freedom. A long time ago, this was where she celebrated birthdays, Thanksgivings, and Christmas. Sure, they wouldn't have minded if she unlocked the door with her copy of the key, but everything had changed. She was no longer the self-indulgent Cagalli she used to be; she was the Chief Representative of Orb.

Cagalli had known her life would make a 180 degree turn when she chose her country over her beloved ones. No matter how much she wanted to abandon Orb, she knew she couldn't be selfish. Her father had died for his country and she, as his daughter, couldn't simply watch from the sidelines and abandon its diminishing statehood.

She hadn't visited PLANT of her own free will since Lacus and Kira's wedding. Even when Lacus delivered twins, she had sent them a card and a gift. After that, the art of sending birthday and Christmas gifts became an annual routine. She never met the Yamatos, except for Kira when he dropped by during his conference visits.

She knew it was selfish of her, but the burden of having to see him again was too much for her. She couldn't bear to see his face again. She blamed herself for the broken ties between her brother and herself. She couldn't act the same way she did when they were sixteen, brash and temperamental, full of vigour and excitement. It only made her feel worse when Kira voiced out his concerns for her health and her overconsumption of caffeine.

On the other side of the door, Cagalli could hear loud shouting and laughter, which she concluded to be caused by the twins. Amber eyes then stared down at the white envelopes with names written in cursive handwriting. She was going to leave them in the mailbox. One was for Kira and Lacus and the other was for Athrun and Meyrin. This was as far as she was willing to go to show them that they mattered in her life and that she was ready to move on from the past.

Truthfully, she wanted to deliver it in person to him, but she didn't have the guts to do it. She was already prepared to see them at her wedding three months from now, but any sooner than that was impossible. If she was not prepared for it, then surely, the stress of the meeting them would send her mind into overdrive. Cagalli knew that her coping skills sucked. She would close herself off to the world and lock herself in her office, drinking coffee and working on proposals and reviewing documents until there was nothing left to be done.

Closing her eyes and biting her bottom lip, she opened the lid of the mailbox to drop the envelopes, but to her bewilderment, her fingers clutched onto them, refusing to let go.

The door suddenly sprang open and a boy, whom she recognized to be her nephew, darted out. Upon seeing her, he quickly changed his path to avoid the collision.

"Jace, give it back!" A voice snarled angrily as a girl with curly pink tresses wearing a flowing white dress came running out. "I swear I'm going to-Ahhh!"

Unlike Jace, who was able to avoid her, the girl crashed into Cagall, causing the two of them to fall. Out of instinct, Cagalli grabbed the girl and turned so that the girl was on top of her. Cagalli winced as her body hit the ground.

"Dad!" She heard Jace hollered anxiously.

Two figures came running out.

"Jace! I told you many times not to bother Cagalli when she's over!" A familiar voice chided. Cagalli wondered how Kira knew she was coming, but even more so, the way Kira worded his sentence didn't make any sense. "Where is Cagalli?"

There was a gasp and Kira came rushing to her with worried and perplexed amethyst eyes.

"What are you doing here, Cagalli?"

-;-

As Cagalli sat on the sofa and stared at her surroundings, she realized that the years really did fleet by. The white carpet floor, which she spilt red wine on, was now replaced with Ebru flooring. Family portraits and picture frames recounting the years decorated the white walls and bookshelves. A grand piano stood proudly in a once empty space next to the fireplace.

She found the house enviable. Hers was much too big, too bare, and too unoccupied. She spent all her time in her office, which became her bedroom at certain points of time. Miriallia had chided her on the few occasions she visited, finding Cagalli asleep among sheets of paper, surrounded by empty mugs and piles of documents.

"I'm so glad to you visited." Lacus smiled pleasantly, "You should've told us you were coming so we could prepare dinner for you." While Lacus was happy to see her, Kira was scowling. Cagalli instinctively knew he was glowering at her unhealthy physique. She knew it too; she was too thin, too pale, and too tired for her own good. He had told her many times that she needed to recuperate elsewhere from Orb so that she could relax her mind from work, but she was too stubborn to change her ways. She was satisfied with her current life. It kept her busy, which kept her mind off of things. It helped her cope.

"You guys have changed though," she smiled in return, "It must be parenthood."

Kira no longer had wild hair sticking all over the place. It was short and tame. Lacus' long pink hair was cut into a pixie haircut, which strangely suited her even though she was in her thirties. Never in her life could Cagalli imagine Lacus with short hair, but the present Lacus proved her wrong.

"So what brings you here?" Kira asked as he eyed her wearily. She could tell that he was suspicious of her presence. He knew she wouldn't be here unless it was something vital. She had to play her cards right, because Kira had never been good with keeping his temper in check. While the years passed, he was still full of fervor, fixed by emotions rather than reason.

"Just to deliver some good news," She trailed off when she realized that she was no longer in possession of her envelopes. "But it seems like I've lost the envelopes."

There was a sudden crash as three children fell down the second platform of the stairs, landing on each other.

"Oww!" Jace cried out. " Alec! I told you not to push!" He glared at his brother who landed on top of him.

"I did not push you! You shoved me back!" Alec retorted.

"You guys are hurting me!" The little girl complained.

"Kids." Kira's voice was threatening as he drawled out the word to signify that they were in trouble. The children stopped bickering and stood up quietly. All of them looked down at their feet in shame. Both Jace and Alec had inherited their father's messy brown hair that seemed to flare out everywhere while the girl had received Lacus' trademark pink hair.

"I'm sorry, Dad." Alec said quietly as he held out the envelopes. "We were just curious to know who the lady is and we also have the envelopes."

Cagalli couldn't helped but smile at the situation. They must be her nephews and niece. She recognized the boys to be Jace and Alec. Her smiled waned when she stared at her niece.

"You didn't tell me you had another child." She frowned as she looked at Kira. Somehow, she felt cheated and hurt for being kept in the dark about something important.

Both Kira and Lacus exchanged a weary glance with each other.

"Well?" Cagalli asked as her arms folded against each other.

"You three, come down here and apologize to Aunt Cagalli," Kira ordered sharply.

The trio's eyes widened in surprise.

"This is Aunt Cagalli?" Jace asked as they rushed down to them. "This is the Aunt Cagalli who sends us awesome gifts every year, right?"

"This is the aunt who gave me the 00Q model kit for me to build last Christmas, right?" Alec chirped excitedly.

"I love the Unicorn model you got me!" Jace gushed with an exuberant smile as he hugged her.

Even though they were supposedly fourteen, Cagalli couldn't help but think they were children. For the first time in many years, she felt alive. But that content quickly dissipated when Kira interrupted their aunt-nephew bonding time.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kira roared as his amethyst eyes darkened. The invitation and the envelope he held in his hands were crushed instantly.

While the children flinched, Cagalli remained calm. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you marrying him?" He demanded. "Fifteen years ago, I gave you your freedom and fifteen years later, you decided to waltz back into his trap again! Have you been overworking yourself to the point where you can't make rational decisions, Cagalli?"

"You know nothing about Yuna." She snapped.

"I know him long enough to know that he is nothing but a selfish, ambitious, and backstabbing bastard. He's using you!"

She glared at him, "He's not using me. He's been my support since I took up Father's position."

And it was true. While Yuna could be conceited, haughty, and controlling, he really did care for her. It was him who came by on the days she called in sick. It was him who accompanied her to annual parties. He quite enjoyed them, but he had always left with her when she decided to retire for the night.

"You're blinded by his deceptive act. He's just using you and you can't see it because he's always been at your side, acting the part of the black knight."

"You have no say, Kira," She stood up. "Not when you haven't been in my life the past fifteen years."

"I-You-He-" Kira began sputtering incoherent words.

"I'm thirty-two, Kira. I think I would know what's good for me and what isn't."

"Fine," Kira spat, "I won't care anymore. Alec and Jace, come with me."

He then stormed upstairs, leaving Cagalli to reel; her body was drained of energy. She hadn't been prepared for this. She needed caffeine.

"Lacus, I'm sorry to trouble you, but do you happen to have coffee?"

Cagalli avoided Lacus' eyes when she recognized the look that washed over her sister-in-law's face. It was a look of restless concern, one that she was so used to receiving from Kira and Miriallia when they visited and she hated it.

"Kira told me about your unhealthy consumption of coffee."

Her body was shaking. She grabbed onto the armchair to sit down."It helps me calm down, so please, Lacus. "

Because Lacus wasn't used to such a scene, she nodded her head and rushed to the kitchen. Cagalli closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She should've just excused herself from entering the Yamato residence.

When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find her niece sitting comfortably on the couch next to her. The girl was leaning against the corner of the couch with her legs propped up and a book rested on her knees.

"I'm sure Uncle Kira didn't mean what he said." Her voice was clipped. She didn't even lift her eyes from the book.

"Uncle Kira? You're not Kira's daughter?" Cagalli was surprised at the revelation. It didn't seem right for anyone to have pink hair besides Lacus, especially cotton candy pink hair.

"No, I'm not. I'm just here since my father's working and he doesn't think it's healthy for me to be home alone." Bitterness and anger mixed together in her voice.

"Well, I'm Cagalli Yula Athha," She introduced herself politely with a soft smile, "What is your name?"

The girl looked up and her eyes twinkled bemusedly. Cagalli's stomach churned when she realized that it was because the girl knew something she didn't and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know it.

"I was named after my father's first and only love."

If the phrase wasn't said as coldly and impassively, Cagalli might have smiled. However, all her senses were heightened at the girl's unemotional face. She really needed her daily dose of coffee.

The grand door opened before a familiar velvety voice rang through the house, "Cagalli, it's time to go home."

Both Cagalli and the little girl whirled around to find a man walking in. Cagalli felt her heart rev up. While her mind told her to run, her body didn't comply; it was in shock.

As Cagalli gaped at him, she recognized the changes that the years had done on him. His hair was neatly cut short and slightly gelled to the side. His face was cleanly shaven to show his strong jaw. He was wearing a grey suit, which his toned and muscular body filled in nicely. Athrun Zala had grown into a man, a father to be exact. The years had presented him with a few winkles under the eyes and wisdom lines across his forehead.

"Father," Although the girl's voice was still detached, Cagalli could distinguish the relief and happiness in her voice as she rose from the chair and walked over to him.

"How are you, sweetheart?"

He hadn't taken notice of her yet as his eyes were fixed affectionately on his daughter. Cagalli also rose from the chair, ready to sneak away and hide in a random room when Lacus appeared from the kitchen with her mug of coffee. "I'm sorry it took so long, Cagalli. No one in this house really drinks coffee so I didn't know where I left- oh Athrun, you're here."

Lacus stopped short when she realized the current situation. Cagalli had her back turned so she couldn't see what was happening. However, his gaze burned on her back.

"Father, I met Jace and Alec's aunt today." Cagalli's hand shook when she heard the girl's declaration.

Slowly, she turned around.

Athrun's emerald eyes were widened with astonishment and silence engulfed the room, ready to strangle them.

Cagalli knew that their rendezvous was inevitable no matter how many times she went out her way to avoid it. It was only a matter of time they would run into each other again, but she wasn't expecting it to happen this quickly. Then again, it seemed like tonight was the night where everything would fall apart. The accident outside the Yamato residence had only been the prelude.

"A-Athrun."

He didn't respond. He only stared in disbelief as if she was a figment of his imagination. His daughter was the first to react. She looped her arm around his and smiled coldly at her. With a saccharine tone that sounded resentful at the same time, she said, "My name is Cagalli Zala and I am pleased to meet you."

A/N: So after three years, I finally got around to rewriting this story. Hi Beautiful Disaster and Trial and Error readers! Thank you for your patience all this time! This story took forever to re-write because I lost my train of thought and didn't know where it was going. While I don't exactly have a solid ending, I've finally got a faint idea on where it's going. All around, this story will be six chapters. I got most of the chapters written, so it's all being tweaked and edited my lovely Beta-ed, AnimeSiren. I recently ran into a writer's block when it came to Little Cagalli's characterization so the last four chapters are being sorted out. The rewritten version will diverge greatly from the original. Tell me what you think and leave a review! (: I'm so excited to hear from old and new readers!

Until next time!