The Promise

Summary: What if instead of Athrun letting Cagalli go he held onto her? What if he followed her to her room on board the Archangel and talked the night before he left for space? What would have happened? Would Cagalli have let him in? Would she have listened to what he had to say? (One-shot)

Pairings: Athrun/Cagalli

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed Destiny nor do I own episode 45. Bandai and Mitsuo Fukuda own both GSD and episode 45. And yes I'm a fan of Athrun and Cagalli pairings, I hate Meyrin, she should die a sudden death! She's a stupid, stalkerish brat who has a silly girl crush. And in my opinion a big head! Ahem, any who back to what I was saying…this story takes place during episode 45. Please cope with this story seeing as it is my first time writing one for any GS series. If you have comments and such don't hesitate to say. Thanks and well, I hope the story isn't that bad.

ORB: On Board Archangel: 6:45p.m.

Cagalli sighed as she walked along the corridor, her footsteps echoing. She couldn't believe what she just did, it was so…surreal. She gave up Athrun right then and there, and indirectly too. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying. She walked to her room, trying hard to keep her tears back, typed in the pin code, and waited for the door to slide open. As soon as the door opened, she ran into the room and threw herself onto the bed, crying. She had had to choose between the man that she loved and the country that she was obligated to protect. It hurt her beyond reason when she had to choose the country, it hurt her even more when she had to force herself to give him and the ring up, the ring which once signified the love they felt for each other. But what probably killed her off, and added a thousand times more pain to the wound was the fact that she had to hand him over to that Meyrin girl. She turned her head to the side, looking at her left hand out of habit, half-expecting to see a ring there. She sadly smiled. At least…at least he'll be happy, she thought as tears ran horizontally across her face. She left him for his sake, sacrificing herself and the possible future they might've had, for his happiness and well being, and that itself was proof enough that she truly did love this man with all her heart. "Athrun," she closed her eyes, unleashing more tears.

Athrun walked down the corridor, heading to his destination, Cagalli's room. He just couldn't believe what happened, he couldn't understand why she's been ignoring him all day, and to make matters worse, she had taken off his ring. He needed to see her, to talk to her, to at least get an explanation from her. Cagalli, why are you doing this? He thought as he stopped in front of her door. He raised his hand to type in the code, but he froze. What was he going to say? He dropped his hand to his side and looked down.

"Waiting for an invitation perhaps?"

Athrun looked up, startled. "Kira!"

Kira chuckled. "You're not afraid are you? I mean, she is just Cagalli after all,"

"I know," Athrun sighed.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"I-I…I'm just thinking, you know?"

Kira sighed heavily. He walked to Athrun, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I saved her for you once Athrun, I can't do it again. It's not my responsibility, it's yours. You and Cagalli have to hold on to your relationship if you really love each other. No one can do it for you."

Athrun growled. "I know, it's just that…so much has happened…and so many things have gotten in the way…"

'Then fix it. Fix it now while you still have time, because if you wait, it'll be too late,"

Athrun looked at Kira, than at Cagallis' door. "Do you…do you think she'll listen?"

Kira thought for a second before a grin crept on to his lips. "If you, oh let's say, lock her in the room with you, I'm pretty sure she'll have to listen no matter what," he suggested.

Athrun smiled warily. "Hmm…I guess so," he sighed as he looked at her door again.

"I take it you've already made up your mind…if not…have a pretty good idea of what to do…right?"

"Yeah,"

"Good," Kira walked away, leaving Athrun to deal with his twin sister.

Athrun sighed again. "Here goes," he breathed. He typed in the pin code and waited for the door to slide open. He walked into her room. "Cagalli?" he scanned the room and found her sprawled on the bed. He instantly felt a pang of guilt. He slowly walked to her but remembered Kira's suggestion. He turned to the door and typed in a security code password. He turned to Cagalli again, slowly walking towards her. "Cagalli, are you okay?"

"Get out!" she growled. She picked up a pillow and threw it at Athrun, which he easily caught.

Athrun stared at her, guilt consuming him entirely now. He could see tears running down her cheeks.

"Didn't you hear me? I said get out!" she yelled angrily. She didn't want to see him; it was just a painful reminder of what she lost.

Athrun narrowed his emerald eyes. "No, I'm not leaving here until you give me an explanation!" he snapped.

She glared at him, anger quickly filling her. "What? What explanation!?"

"You know what I'm talking about!"

"No, I don't know!"

"Why'd you take off the ring Cagalli?" Athrun questioned her angrily.

Cagalli's breath caught in her throat. She sat there staring at him, glaring. "I had my reasons to,"

"Reasons? Surely you can come up with a better explanation than that," he hissed.

Cagalli's jaw tightened. Why was he pushing the matter? Did he want to make her mad? She exhaled madly, looking away from his glare. "I…have…my…reasons," she repeated in syllables.

Athrun glowered at her, his fists tightened so hard they started to hurt, but he ignored the pain. "Why…why are you doing this? Was it because of my decision to re-enlist in Zaft? Was it because of what I said when I met with you, Kira, and Mariallia?" he looked up, his eyes were glazed over. "Dammit! Answer me already!" he snarled.

Cagalli flinched, her eyes widening with surprise. Did it really bother him that much? She had thought that he would've been happier with that red head girl that he brought with him. She was so confused…why couldn't relationships be easier? "A-Athrun…"

He ignored her and continued. "Do you know how much I was hurting when I found out you were going to marry that bastard Yuna!? I gave you a ring, proposing to you, hell! I practically gave you my heart! And you go off and decide to get married!? Did you even stop to consider my feelings for you? Or about our relationship!?"

Cagalli clenched her fists, she had had enough. It wasn't just her fault. "And what about you!?" she yelled back. "It's not just my fault Athrun! It's also yours!" she stood up and stalked in front of him. "Where were you when I was being pushed into doing things I had no desire in doing what so ever!?"

"I was in the PLANTs Cagalli! That's where I was! I was up there trying to calm down the situation and figure out what Zaft was gonna do about the Earth Alliance!"

"Yeah, and look where that got us!" she snorted. "You instead go off and rejoin Zaft! And not only that, but you also attacked the ORB fleet!"

He growled as he looked down, trembling from anger. "I only attacked because I had no other choice! You knew that! You knew that very well! And if you didn't want me attacking ORB," he looked up, "Then you should have pulled out of the Earth Alliance, or better yet, you should have said no from the start!"

"But that still doesn't explain why you joined-"

"I joined Zaft because at that moment I thought I would be doing good for the nation of ORB and for me dammit!"

"ORB…" Cagalli looked away, clenching her fists tightly. "What the hell did ORB have to do with this!? What did it have to do with us!?"

"Everything," Athrun whispered. His temper had calmed down now that he had said everything he wanted to.

Cagalli looked up at him, her eyes threatening to release tears again. "Dammit!" she slammed her fist into the wall. Her shoulders started to shake.

Athrun stepped forward, reaching his hand out, but immediately stopped. He wanted to comfort her, to make the tears stop, to make her pain go away, but he knew he couldn't-at least-not yet. He sighed. He might as well go with the questioning, even though he was going to hate himself for it later. "Y-you still haven't answered my question," he repeated, hesitantly.

She opened her eyes; her shoulder's shaking came to a sudden halt. She looked up, tears still streaming down her face. She might as well tell him now, seeing how everything was almost out in the open. "Because, because I…I had to choose between you and Orb," she looked away from him. "That's why," she whispered.

He looked at her, his eyes widening. "Y-you what? You had to-"he stopped. He understood perfectly well what she meant, he understood yet it couldn't stop him from feeling hurt and jealous. Yes, he was jealous, jealous of a stupid country. He internally laughed, it was ridiculous to feel a threat from a country, but he couldn't help it, he didn't want to share her with anyone or anything else. He looked up, clearing his throat. "But why, I mean didn't…weren't we…what about the…" damn, he was at a loss for words. All he could utter was some nonsense.

"I...I thought you could be happy with that girl you brought along with you…that Meyrin girl," she explained sadly. Oh how she hated saying that girl's name.

Athrun blinked, astonished. He couldn't suppress the laughter building up inside of him; earning him a glare from Cagalli.

"What's so funny? I thought you wanted the truth!"

"Yeah, but Meyrin means nothing to me," he shook his head. He looked at her. "She's just a friend, more like a sister if you will," he assured.

Cagalli looked away, wiping away her tears. "Doesn't look like it to me," she retorted.

"Wha-"

"Never mind," she cut him off, "Is that all you had to say? You came here for an answer and I gave you one already." She walked up to him," Well, I hope the best for you in the battlefield…I hope you the best in life...Athrun Zala." She walked past him.

Athrun stood there, his eyes wide with shock. That was it, there was no more hope…it was over. He just lost the love of his life, the only woman he ever loved, the one who showed him that you had the power to do something. He lost her. No, he thought, I won't lose her again, I won't!

Cagalli typed in the password to open the door but it wouldn't open. What? Why won't it open? She thought. She held in her panic. Dammit! He wouldn't…he didn't! She thought incredulously. Athrun wouldn't change the password to keep me in here…would he?

"Cagalli!"

She turned around, only to be met by his lips. Her eyes widened. A-Athrun…No! She didn't want this; she didn't want to make it any harder than it already was. She was leaving him because it was better that way. If they stayed together then they would only end up hurting themselves. She pulled away from him, her lips still having the feeling of his lips on them." What do you think you're doing!" she breathed.

"What does it look like?" he simply said before his lips were on hers again.

She stumbled against the door. Shoot, that was it, she was cornered. There was no way out incase she caved in. She tried to push him away, but he held her arms firmly. She didn't want this, well; she did…but only part of her…the part that really, really wanted this. She struggled against his hold, trying desperately to get away.

Athrun broke away from the kiss, looking at the struggling woman before him.

Cagalli looked up into his intoxicating, intense, emerald eyes, her struggling ceasing to a halt.

He pulled her into an embrace, nestling his face into her blonde hair.

She stood there limp, surprised. Her face getting hot. "Wha-what are you-"

"I love you Cagalli, no matter what I might do, no matter what might get in our way, no matter how hopeless it might seem, I'll always only love you, no one else." He pulled away to look at her. "Let me be with you always, let me share burdens with you, just…just don't push me away…please don't push me away, because even if you do, I'll still follow you, and I won't let you go."

She stared at him in awe. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. Was this all a dream? Yes, she must be dreaming…this was just a dream…or was it? She couldn't see the line between reality and fantasy, it was blurred. She looked away from him, she had two options; option one, jump into his arms and tell him how much she loves him too, or option two, deprive herself from true love and possibly spend the rest of her life all alone running ORB.

Kira walked into the break room. He sighed as he sank down onto a couch. He smiled a little remembering his conversation he had with Athrun. So, he thought, Athrun finally decided what to do, he finally found the right path at last. He grinned. His pink haired lover was right, all he had needed was time and mistakes to finally realize which was the right path. Speaking of his pink haired lover…..He got up and walked out of the room.

"Cagalli, do you…do you love me?" he asked hesitantly.

She looked at him again. To hell with a life of loneliness, she wanted him, she needed him, she loved him. That's right, she loved this man, she loved Athrun Zala with all her heart, and it was time he knew that. "Yes, "she whispered, "I love you Athrun…I love you so much that…that it hurts!" she cried. She buried her head into his chest, her fingers grabbing his uniform in a tenacious hold.

He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. "Cagalli,"

She looked up at him.

He bent his head down to capture her lips in a heated kiss.

She let herself give in-let herself get washed away in pure bliss.

Athrun pushed her against the door gently. He released her from the embrace and started to unbutton her uniform jacket, and she too did the same. He undid each button and pulled open the jacket. He pulled away from the kiss to look down. She had on a red long- sleeved shirt on.

Cagalli grabbed a hold of the red material from both ends and pulled it up. She threw it to the side.

Athrun marveled at the sight before him. All she had on was a white lacey bra. He bent his head down to place kisses on her collarbone. He was ecstatic; he wanted to fuse with her completely, to explore her, to know her, to feel her within him.

Cagalli moaned as she felt his heated kisses on her bare skin, driving her into a state of ecstasy. She leaned her head against the door, her eyes closed as she continued to unbutton his uniform jacket.

Kira was walking along the corridor when he heard his name being called. He turned around to see a red head run towards him.

"Have you seen Athrun?" Meyrin asked him.

Kira blinked. "Yeah, he's with Cagalli right now. Why, do you need him?"

"Oh, well I was just going to ask him if he wanted to eat together," she said sadly as she looked down at the ground.

Oops. Maybe he shouldn't have told her where he was. "Er, well…um…I'll go and see if he's done talking to her…okay?"

She looked up at him, her eyes holding sadness and…jealousy? "No, that's okay. I'll just go to my room or something," She turned around and stalked off the opposite direction.

Kira closed his eyes and shook his head. Just leave it to him to make someone feel bad.

Athrun pinned her hands above her head against the door. He continued to kiss her collarbone. He crushed his body against hers, arousing himself even more.

Cagalli moaned. She had successfully taken off all of his clothing except his shorts. She was going for his shorts but he stopped her, pinning her hands against the door. She probably could've over powered him, if it wasn't for the fact that he was a coordinator but then again…maybe not. "Athrun…" she moaned. All she had on was her underwear and bra, and Athrun pushing himself against her, bare skin against bare skin, and that didn't help her maintain calmness, or self-control. She arched her back, pushing herself away from the door to Athrun but he pushed her back. She growled in frustration. "Dammit Athrun, either you take me right here and know or else-"

He cut her off with a rough kiss. He darted his tongue into her mouth savoring her.

She returned the kiss just as intensely. She battled his tongue for dominance, but unfortunately he won. She couldn't stand it anymore, she wanted him, she needed to feel him within her, now. She broke away from the kiss, glaring at him while breathing heavily. "Either you take me now, or I'll find someone else to do it instead," she hissed.

Athrun chuckled. "Would you really? Would you really go off and make love to someone else besides me?" he whispered hotly. He looked into her golden eyes; they were filled with desire, lust, and love.

"You don't believe me?" she challenged.

He laughed, "You never were a really good liar Cagalli."

"Hey, what do you mean by-"she gasped when she heard a knock on the door. Both of them froze, trying hard not to continue what they were doing.

"Athrun, Cagalli, are you guys in there?" a muffled voice asked from the other side of the door.

Cagalli turned to glare at Athrun knowing perfectly well who it was on the other side of the door.

He turned to look at her, a sheepish grin forming on his lips. He let go of her hands and thought about what to do about Meyrin.

Cagalli narrowed her eyes at him. How dare he start her up like that and not finish it? She gave a mischievous grin as she moved closer to him. "Athrun,"

He turned to see a flash of blonde before he went crashing down onto the floor. He grunted as he opened his eyes to see Cagalli possessively on top of him. "Caga-"

"Shut up," was all she said before her lips crashed on his. There was no way in hell that she was going to let him get away with all that teasing. She wanted him, and what she wanted she always almost got.

Athrun returned her kiss, his hands rising to her shoulders. He let them slide to her back and unclasped her bra strap. He pulled it down and threw it to the side.

Meyrin sighed. I guess they're not in there, she thought. She looked at the door one more time before walking away. If only she knew…

Cagalli closed her eyes as her body quivered in pleasure. She leaned forward, grinding against Athrun's arousal. She moaned.

Athrun raised his hands to her torso and let them slide to her waist. "Cagalli,"

"Yes?"

He turned them over, Cagalli on the bottom and him on top of her. He had won dominance yet again. He looked down to see Cagalli withering beneath him, anxious. He silently chuckled. He guessed he had tortured her far enough, and himself too. He lowered himself onto her slowly and kissed her.

Cagalli wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, engulfing him with her body.

He ran his hands down her sides and stopped at her underwear. He hooked his thumbs into the sides of her underwear and pulled it down slowly.

She squirmed in sheer pleasure. His touches were unbelievably unbearable, triggering her most sensitive sense she didn't know she had. "Athrun," she canted her hips to help her undergarment slide off easily.

As soon as her last piece of clothing was gone, Athrun switched his attention to his shorts. He started to pull it down, occasionally running into Cagalli's hurried hands bent on the same intent. Once the shorts were loose enough he wriggled free. He turned his attention to his beloved princess beneath him, she was panting and her forehead had droplets of sweat. The room was slightly dim, but mostly dark, perfect. "Cagalli, "

"Athrun," she whined. She pressed her body into his more, inviting him, telling him that she need him, wanted him inside of her so she could release all the tension building up inside of her.

He grinned. He caressed her face, his thumb tracing her luscious, swollen lips. He leaned don to her face, placing light kisses to her nose, eye lids, and lips. "You're one strange person, you know that," he whispered huskily.

Cagalli sighed, "Yeah, I know."

He positioned himself between her legs and took her.

She gasped as he entered her, grabbing his broad, muscular shoulders for support.

He looked down at her, her face holding a mixture of pain and pleasure. He loved that look. His breathing became erratic as the minutes ticked by. He leaned down to kiss her.

She dug her nails into his shoulders as the pain subsided and was replaced by an intense, overwhelming feeling of pleasure. She broke away from his lips, turning her head to the side to let out a full-blown moan. All her senses were on fire, it felt so good, so indescribably good. She threw her head back, moaning frequently as he moved his pace.

Athrun quickened his pace, making the princess of ORB scream his name repeatedly. He groaned as he leaned down to kiss her collarbone.

Cagalli wrapped her arms around him, embracing him and her legs around his waist. She moaned as he moved even faster, harder. "Athrun,"

Athrun entered her repeatedly, his hair was damp, his breathing erratic, and his was close to an end.

Cagalli squeezed her eyes shut, her face getting red, and threw her head back again. Her orgasm was so good, so strong, that she couldn't help but yell his name out loud.

He moaned as he came crashing down after her. He lay on top of her, panting, still inside of her. After a couple of seconds he rolled off of her, on to the bed, and closed his emerald eyes. He pulled Cagalli close to him she was resting her head on his chest. He ran his fingers up and down her back. "Well, that was something…wouldn't you say?" he laughed.

"Shut up," she mumbled. She traced invisible circles on his chest, admiring it. "Athrun?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she whispered.

He opened his eyes to look at her. "For what?"

Cagalli lifted her head up to see him. "For loving me," she said matter-of-factly.

Athrun laughed. "Is that right?" exhausted as he was he was surprised at the energy he had when he rolled on top of her again.

Cagalli madly blushed.

He grinned smugly knowing the effect he had on her. "Well, in that case, why don't you show me how much you love me again?" he suggested playfully.

She looked up at him, smiling wickedly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down for a fierce kiss. She could feel the desire again, the hotness as she lost herself in another wave of bliss and pleasure.

ORB: Ship Dock: Time: 9:00a.m.

"Well then, I guess we'll be on our way now," Murrue smiled.

Cagalli nodded and returned the smile. "I wish you guys luck."

"Cagalli," Lacus came running into the blonde, hugging her and almost causing her to fall back.

"L-Lacus!" Cagalli pulled back to look at the pink haired woman.

"Oh Cagalli, please take care," She smiled at her warmly and added, "and I do hope things worked out with you and Athrun."

The blonde blushed as she looked away. "Er...well…yea…"

Lacus giggled. She knew exactly what happened between the two. Call it woman's intuition.

"Cagalli, there you are!"

"Kira!" she ran up to her brother and hugged him. "Please take care out there, okay? I wouldn't want you to die."

He smiled. "I promise," he returned her hug. He let go of her after a few seconds and looked at her, a grin on his face. "I'm sure you already gave Athrun a proper good-bye…right?"

Cagalli looked away flushed. "Shut up," she mumbled.

He laughed as he walked over to where the rest of the Archangel crew was standing.

Cagalli looked up to see Athrun walking towards her, Meyrin following close behind him. She narrowed her golden eyes and frowned. Even though he had assured her that their relationship was safe and that Meyrin was not a threat to it, she couldn't help but feel jealous. But on the bright side, he made that ORB uniform look spectacular, almost as if it wasn't a uniform.

Athrun looked up to see her frowning. Why was she frowning? He glanced behind him and saw Meyrin smiling at him. Oh. He looked back at Cagalli and gave her a sorry look.

Cagalli held in a sigh as she walked to meet him. She glanced at Meyrin slightly and brought her focus back to him and those intoxicating green eyes. "Athrun-"she started but stopped. That girl was still lingering there.

Athrun looked at Meyrin and smiled. "Uh…Meyrin, I'll be there in a minute, okay?"

She gave him a questioning look. She glanced at Cagalli and brought her eyes back to him. "Okay," she kept walking forward but not before throwing a glare at Cagalli.

"You know, I don't think she really likes me,"

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Athrun smiled. He wrapped an arm around Cagalli's waist and pulled her in for a kiss unaware-or rather- not caring if thirteen pairs of eyes were staring at them.

"Oh my," Lacus gasped.

Kira grinned.

Murre stared at them wide eyed.

Mariallia smiled.

Waltfield scratched his head as he laughed. "Teenagers these days…"

Mu looked at them and glanced at Murrue out of the corner of his eye.

Meyrin looked at them shocked. Her eyes narrowed and she looked away pouting. "Hmph!"

Kisaka's eyes widened with alarm and surprise.

Athrun pulled away from the kiss, leaving the blonde breathless. He brought his forehead together with hers. "I'm gonna miss you Cagalli."

"I'll miss you too, "she smiled. She leaned he head against his chest contently.

"Well, I guess I better get going," he let her go. "I promise I'll come back. I'll come back to you and to ORB."

She smiled. "I'd like that," He nodded and headed to board the Archangel. "Athrun!"

He turned to look at her. "Uh…um…take care."

"Don't worry, I will." She brought her hands to her chest and stared at his retreating figure. She had no need to worry, Kira was with him, and he was a perfectly talented mobile suit pilot. He would be back. She knew that perfectly well.

Well that was my very first GSD story of Athrun and Cagalli. Mmmm….well I hope that you guys enjoyed it. I know that it probably sucked but my first ones are usually bad….I think? Well, let's see, uh…who knows, if things go smoothly with this one, I might write another story I'm currently thinking about. And so…yea.