Story Summary: Cagalli figured it was best to play her cards now. If she wanted things to be in her favour, she had to speak now and make them think this wasn't a big deal. No, scratch that. She had to make them understand it wasn't a big deal. She didn't care if she had to be the maid of honour while her ex was going to be the best man. She didn't care. (Excerpt from chapter 01)

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny.

Author's Note: I'm challenging myself to write a multi-chaptered story. I know (a little too well) how it feels to wait on a story that never gets updated so I will try my best to get through this. To be honest though, I only have a very general idea of the main plot line at the moment. ^^;

There will be a lot of time travelling (not literal) in this story, so please take note of the time and date at the start of each scene.

Chapter 01: The Deal

Running. She was running.

Cagalli Yula Athha had always been known to be a rather rebellious teenager. Despite that, she had never actually broken the golden rule of schools before: No running in the hallway. Of course, now that she was no longer a teenager or a high school student, who was there to scold her?

But wait, why was she running?

The hallway was packed with students. Was it perhaps that time of day when everyone was happily getting ready to go home? No, that wasn't it. What was she doing here in her old high school anyway?

As Cagalli passed the music classroom, she stopped for a moment at the strange sight. There was a group of female students lined up, practicing a choral song as the music teacher conducted at the front of the classroom. The weird thing was that they were all dressed in wedding gowns. In the middle of the group, Cagalli spotted a familiar face framed by beautifully flowing pink hair. It was her friend, Lacus.

Ah, she remembered now. Today was the annual music festival in which the school band, choir, and drama department performed for the parents. Cagalli wasn't participating in the music festival but was likely here to watch. Yes, that must be it.

She turned away from the music classroom and walked in a befuddled manner through the crowded hallway. She was also in a dress; a strapless turquoise dress that reached her knees. Strangely enough, Cagalli didn't remember owning this dress. Why was she wearing it anyways?

There was no time to ponder about that though. She remembered now. She was looking for someone in this crowded hallway. Someone who she knew would be here and be quite easy to spot due to his unique hair colour. However, she couldn't seem to find him.

She started running again, while looking for that boy she knew she shouldn't be looking for. Where was he? Cagalli knew she has no business with him but for some reason, she wanted to at least get a glimpse of him in the crowd. If only she could just see him, she would feel a little better. She continued to run down the endless hallway, looking for a blue-haired boy.

But before she could find him, a shrill sound began to echo from a far off land...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

- March 03, 81 C.E. - 6:24 PM -

There were days when the sky seemed greyer, the air a bit stale, and even sugar tasted bland. Those were known as 'bad days'. For Cagalli, today was one of them.

First off, she was currently drenched from the rainstorm outside. Although she had remembered to bring an umbrella with her, the damned thing decided to break halfway through her walk home. For no good reason at all, the spring had somehow broken and the umbrella just wouldn't stay open. Of course, it was still useable; she just had to manually hold it open as she walked. But after a while, the stretcher decided to break too and through her efforts to fix it, the entire thing fell apart. Needless to say, she threw it into the nearest garbage can after stepping on it a few times due to rage.

Her bad day didn't begin there though. Work hadn't been exactly kind to her either. She worked at a law firm as a clerk. Her job included copying and filing documents, providing researched information for her boss, and serving coffee. Fifty percent of the time though, it was serving coffee. Her boss was an absolute coffee addict and so, there was no surprise the guy would be grumpy the entire day since his precious coffee machine broke down. As a result, Cagalli's day was none too peaceful as well.

However, she had known the day was going to be bad even before then. It started when she woke up this morning, or to be more precise, sometime during her sleep. She had a terrible, terrible dream about being in her old high school and searching for her ex. It's been years since they've broken up and it wasn't like she was still not over him. She wasn't a dumb teenager anymore who was wallowing about a past relationship. No, that was absolutely not the case. The dream annoyed her though. Why was it that this guy keeps appearing in her dreams even though they hadn't seen each other for a long time now? It wasn't as if she thinks of him during her spare time anyway. Perhaps some subconscious part of her brain has a mind of its own and was trying to irritate her by thinking about him during her sleep. But then again, why was she annoyed anyways? It wasn't as if she actually saw him in that distorted version of her old high school.

Cagalli suddenly felt angry at herself for letting something so trivial ruin her day.

She entered her apartment and watched as her roommate, who was sitting at the kitchen table, look up and wince.

"Gee, what happened to you?" Miriallia asked.

"Don't wanna talk about it."

The brunette laughed. "Seems like someone had a bad day," she said in a sing-song voice, as she continued typing on her laptop.

"Well, that's obvious," Cagalli countered. She was a bit disappointed Miriallia hadn't made dinner. Although she felt guilty for thinking of her friend as a maid, her current state had made her hope for something like warm soup for dinner.

After taking off her drenched coat and boots, she walked over to the kitchen to search for something to eat. That was when she noticed an opened container of red candy sitting beside Mirialla's laptop.

"Why are you eating cinnamon hearts? Valentines season was over a long time ago."

Her roommate answered, looking up from her work. "You can have cinnamon hearts when it's not Valentines. Plus, they were on sale."

Cagalli looked at her skeptically.

"What? Do you have something against cinnamon hearts?"

"Well, no..." Cagalli replied. "I love the stuff," she added after a bit of hesitation. Reaching over, she grabbed a couple of the red candies and popped them into her mouth.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

- February 14, 71 C.E. - 9:54 AM -

"Cagalli?"

The blonde looked up from her homework and stared with a rather shocked expression at the girl at the front of the classroom. The girl was dressed in a frilly pink dress, with a giant pink bow on her head that was probably twice the size of her face. She also wore matching pink boots and was carrying a pink basket full of candy. Despite the weird getup, that wasn't why Cagalli was shocked. She was shocked because her name was called.

Although Cagalli didn't show any reaction of being the owner of the called name, the girl-in-pink seemed to just know who she was and walked over towards her. Oh wait, maybe it was because several of her classmates were pointing at her. Anyway, the girl-in-pink smiled sickeningly sweet at Cagalli and dropped a candy gram onto her table before returning to the front of the classroom and resuming her job.

Every year, the student council held a fundraising event to sell candy grams. Students were allowed to order candy and have it delivered to significant others, friends, teachers, strangers, and the like. Cagalli wasn't expecting a gram though. Well, it could be from a stranger or maybe...

She stared at the strange object on her desk. It was a valentine-themed plastic pouch with what seems to be cinnamon hearts inside. There was a ribbon, a pink one, wrapped around the top of the pouch with a small note attached to it. Cagalli unfolded the note and read the contents:

Happy Valentines

- Athrun

And she smiled.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

- February 14, 71 C.E. - 3:48 PM -

"Hey, you're late," the blue-haired boy greeted as Cagalli ran towards him.

"Sorry, Athrun. Our math teacher just kept droning on and on and...Hey, where's Kira?" She was slightly out of breath from running.

"Date with Lacus," Athrun answered.

"Oh, right..."

They began walking. Both of them lived in a similar part of the neighbourhood so they always met up after school to walk home together, along with her brother. Occasionally, some of their friends would walk with them as well. Today, it seemed like it would only be the two of them.

Cagalli wasn't sure whether she should bring up the topic about the candy gram. A part of her wanted to ask while another part of her was just, well, not sure.

Their relationship was an ambiguous one. Somewhere along the lines of being friends, they had become closer than that though they weren't exactly a couple either. She knew he liked her and he knew she liked him too, but neither had really bothered to tip the balance between friendship and courtship to draw a clear line. Perhaps today will be the day they settle the score.

"Thanks for the candy gram, by the way." Cagalli watched him for a reaction that might indicate how she should approach the situation.

Without sparing her a glance, he replied in a nonchalant manner: "You're welcome."

Well, that's great. What's that supposed to mean?

Before she could give it too much thought, Athrun smiled playfully at her.

"...But now, you owe me something," he told her.

"Huh?" She was a bit confused, but then she remembered. "Oh, okay. I'll remember to get you chocolate for White Day."

He laughed. It was a sound that she surprisingly liked.

"That's not what I meant. And you do know that White Day is when guys get girls chocolate, right?"

"Really?..." Cagalli blinked a few times, before realizing what that suggested. "So does that mean I'll be getting chocolate from you on that day too?"

"Maybe," he responded, after laughing at her question. "I guess that will depend on whether you give me something first for the gram."

"What do you want?"

"How 'bout... a date?"

She pretended to give it some thought, wondering if he already knew the answer. She looked at him, as amusement played on her lips. It seemed in this weird relationship of theirs, shyness was not part of the equation of asking each other out.

"Deal," she answered and watched as his smile widened.

Athrun took a few quick steps and stopped in front of her, halting her from their walk. He held out his pinky as he repeated her one word response: "Deal."

She did not hesitate to hook her pinky to his.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

- March 08, 81 C.E. - 6:02 PM -

Cagalli entered the establishment and the waft of food made her stomach growl. She tiptoed a bit, searching amongst the crowd for two familiar heads and then moved towards the table with a brunet and a pink-haired lady.

"Cagalli!" The pink-haired lady stood and gave the blonde a hug.

"Hey, Lacus," the blonde greeted, as she returned the hug. She also gave a nod towards her twin brother who was smiling a bit nervously at her. "Hi, Kira."

"Glad you can make it on such short notice," Kira said as the two women sat down. He seemed to be twitching a little.

Cagalli smiled. "My life isn't that busy. It's not like I have to run a nation or something like that," she replied. "What's the occasion anyways?"

Lacus, who seemed more bubbly than her usual self, piped in. "Oh! We have wonderful news! But first, we have to wait fo- Ah! There he is!" Lacus stood up again, this time to greet a blue-haired man as he approached their table.

The blonde turned a little to see who the newcomer was. Her mind went blank as she realized she would be having dinner with her brother, her brother's girlfriend, and her ex. She looked at Kira, who was obviously avoiding her gaze by turning to greet Athrun.

It was no big deal, really. She just wished her brother had let her know in advance. Why? Well, it would just be...you know, out of courtesy, right? It wasn't nice of him to tell her they were having dinner with Lacus, when really, someone else was going to be there as well. What if she had brought gifts for the two of them and none for the third person? That would have been really awkward. Yes, this was definitely Kira's mistake.

But it was no big deal, really, since she hadn't brought gifts. Nope, she hadn't, so it shouldn't be awkward at all. It's been eight years since she and Athrun broke up, and they were just kids back then. Over the years, they had seen each other a couple of times. It was easy to avoid an ex, but it wasn't easy to avoid your brother's best friend. This wouldn't be the first time they were seeing each other again after high school.

So really, it was no big deal. It would just be another dinner, with her brother, her brother's girlfriend, and her brother's best friend.

As Athrun sat down with Lacus, he gave Cagalli a small smile. She smiled back, albeit hesitantly.

Lacus clapped her hands together, seemingly pleased at the situation. "Now that you're both here, we can tell you the good news," she said happily.

Kira, who was more relaxed now, nodded and smiled at Lacus.

The other two people at the table waited expectantly for the 'good news'. They weren't stupid though. The ring on Lacus's hand was evident enough to spoil the surprise.

"We're getting married!" Kira and Lacus announced excitedly.

Cagalli smiled contentedly as she and Athrun congratulated the engaged couple. Even though she had already guessed the announcement, a genuine smile was spread on her lips as she saw happy her brother and his fiancée were. The two of them had been dating for about twelve years and now that they both had stable careers, it was evident they were ready for the next phase of their lives.

After congratulating the happy couple, they quickly took their orders for dinner before resuming conversation.

"There was something else we wanted to tell you as well," Lacus started, as she took a sip of water.

"Actually, the correct term would be 'ask'. There was something we wanted to ask the two of you," Kira corrected.

Oh, no. Cagalli had a bad feeling about this. Well, it wasn't just a feeling. It was as if she knew what they were going to say next. She stole a glance at Athrun and saw that he seemed to understand as well. Neither of them was psychic but this situation had been played too many times in the media. Honestly, it wasn't as if they were in some cliché movie, so why was this happening?

Lacus giggled. "Anyway, we're hoping to get together with everyone soon to tell them about our engagement. Kira and I wanted to tell the two of you first so that we can also..." She surprised Cagalli by suddenly taking hold of the blonde's hand, which was resting on the table. She smiled a happy and innocent smile. "...ask you two to be our maid of honour and best man."

Cagalli sighed inwardly. How was she going to say 'no' to someone like Lacus? She looked at Athrun, who seemed to be watching her quizzically. She then looked at her brother, who was obviously still avoiding her gaze. Lacus was smiling at her, waiting for her answer.

"Um, I'm not sure, Lacus. I mean, I just..." She quickly rummaged through her brain for a plausible excuse. "I've never really been a maid of honour before so I'm not sure I'll be up for the job." Just as the words left her mouth, Cagalli felt like slapping herself. That was a horrible excuse.

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Lacus exclaimed. "You won't have to do much, I promise. You're one of my closest friends and you're Kira's sister. There's no one else better for the role. Please? For Kira and I?"

The blonde could only nod and mumble a quiet "okay" at Lacus's pleading. She could already imagine all the money she was going to spend on her future nephews and nieces who would inherit Lacus's puppy eyes. But then again, she felt sorrier for her brother.

The pink-haired woman squealed in delight. "What about you, Athrun?"

Cagalli looked up at Athrun and noticed he was still staring at her. Was he hoping she would've said no?

Athrun then smiled at Lacus. "Of course. I'll be honoured to."

Lacus clapped her hands together again, obviously very happy at how things turned out. Kira, on the other hand, still seemed quite fidgety even though he was smiling at his fiancée.

Their meals came and went as they continued to make light conversation regarding the wedding. There was no definite date yet but Kira and Lacus were hoping to have the wedding sometime in June or July. The prospect of preparing for the wedding was both worrisome and exciting for the soon-to-be married couple.

As they finished desert, Lacus took the chance to excuse herself to use the restroom.

And that was when the awkwardness settled in. The table became silent despite the jubilant atmosphere of the restaurant. Cagalli sat, fixating her stare at her glass of water as if a magical creature might come out of it. Athrun was looking expectantly at Kira, waiting for his best friend to say something. Kira didn't seem ready to explain himself though, so he continued to fidget as he gathered his thoughts.

After a very long moment, the brunet finally spoke up.

"Look, I know the two of you aren't exactly...the best of friends but...Lacus really wanted you two to be the best man and maid of honour. I tried to tell her it might not be a good idea but clearly, I failed," Kira said sheepishly.

Cagalli figured it was best to play her cards now. If she wanted things to be in her favour, she had to speak now and make them think this wasn't a big deal. No, scratch that. She had to make them understand it wasn't a big deal. She didn't care if she had to be the maid of honour while her ex was going to be the best man. She didn't care.

"It's alright, Kira. There's no problem, really. It's just like what I said. I'm not sure if I'll be able to play the role well, that's all," the blonde clarified. "I also might not have time to help out that much."

"I thought you said you don't have a busy life," Kira replied, with a raised brow.

"Hey, just because I'm not busy right now, doesn't mean I won't be busy later. Who knows? I might have a lot of work by the time your wedding rolls in."

Kira sighed, half-relieved. "Yeah, don't worry about it. You won't have to do much, I promise. It's not like either of us want an extravagant wedding so everything will probably be simple." He then looked questioningly at his best friend.

"Work has been busy for me lately so as long as I don't have to deal with things like making suggestions on the tablecloth colour, I think it'll be fine," Athrun explained.

The brunet chuckled. "That will probably be my job. But yeah, I get it. I promise to make this as easy as I can for you two as possible, just as long as you two are kind to one another and Lacus stays happy."

"...And just what impression did you have of us to think we were unkind to each other?" His best friend countered smoothly while the blonde nodded in agreement.

"Huh? It's not that...I...Uh, I didn't mean that," Kira stuttered. He sighed tiredly. "Just...as long as everything goes well, I'll make sure to definitely repay the two of you when this is all over, deal?"

Cagalli caught Athrun's eyes as they simultaneously answered Kira's question.

"Deal."

Author's Note: I hope it didn't feel a bit rushed since there was so much scene-changing. It takes me a while to write so I don't really realize the scenes are actually short until I'm done and rereading. I'm currently finishing up the second chapter and now that I reread this, it seems both chapters have quite a different feel to them. The narration for the second chapter is a bit more serious. I think I must've been high on something when I was writing this one... (I may make some small edits to this chapter later)

In case anyone was confused, the first scene was supposed to be Cagalli's dream. Hence, it was a little confusing as to what was happening. There were also points when it seemed like Cagalli was trying to convince herself things made sense. Does anyone else ever get that when they dream? Something strange happens and you tell yourself 'it's okay'. I tend to get weird dreams. In particular, I had one a few weeks ago about being in my old high school and watching a friend perform in a choir. Yup, you guessed it. She was in a wedding dress. After that, I was looking for someone (not an ex!) in the crowd but I couldn't find them. It was kind of bizarre since I've already graduated from high school for a while now. Anyway, thanks to that dream, you all get a fanfic to read. Yay for bizarre dreams. X)

On a side note, there are actually different variations of White Day. There are differences in who give the gifts and what is given. For simplicity's sake, I will just stick with the one Athrun explained.

I will try to finish the second chapter and start getting ideas for the third one as soon as possible. In the mean time, why not drop me a review and let me know what you think about this so far? ;)

(March 08, 2013 - Happy AsuCaga Day!)