The Path of Friendship...and Beyond

Paring: Kira & Athrun

Warning: This fanfic contains situations of sex and/or other various instances. If you disapprove of these, my writing style, or anything else, please leave.

Notice: Sadly, I do not own Gundam SEED, or Kira and Athrun, or anything else. This is entirely for viewing pleasure. Reviews are always welcomed so be sure to do so! Enjoy.


The Path of Friendship…and Beyond

Phase One: Eye of the Beholder

It had been nearly a year since the final battle between the Earth Federation, ZAFT, and the “Lacus Resistance”. Everyone’s lives were finally shifting from war mode back to normal - the way everyone wanted things to stay. Particularly two significant people from the Archangel: Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala the former pilots of Freedom and Justice. The two friends had successfully beaten all odds thrown at them. Separated by the war, forced to face each other in battle against their wills, and taking on two forces hell-bent on seeing the other completely decimated entirely. The two of them could not be happier that time of turmoil had concluded. Once everything had cooled down, Kira had expected his lifelong friend Athrun to stay by the side of his beloved Cagalli. This had left an essence of emptiness within his heart, but he cast aside his seemingly selfish thoughts and decided he would be able to bare it. However, to his surprise, the blue haired boy did just the opposite. He had wanted nothing more than to once again be by his beloved friend’s side ever since the end of the war. Athrun had said goodbye to Cagalli and told her that he would visit her whenever time allowed it. Afterwards, he and Kira had moved to PLANT together.

~Flashback~

The war was finally over and Athrun, Kira, and Cagalli were back at the burned country of Orb. ‘Well, I guess this is where Athrun and I part ways. He’ll spend his life with Cagalli and I’ll manage without him…somehow.’ Kira thought as he stared on at Athrun with sadness and happiness both intertwined. “It seems the reconstruction is going rather well, huh Cagalli?” Athrun shot Kira a warm smile behind his shoulder. Cagalli glanced over at a group of new buildings that was recently completed. “Yeah. If all goes well, it should be back to normal very soon.” Kira had remained silent nearly the entire conversation due to his troubled mind at the thought of losing those green eyes he cherished so deeply. “So Athrun, what are you going to do now that the war is over?” Cagalli asked with wonder. Athrun knew that he had feelings for Cagalli, but they were only ones of friendship. True, he had kissed her before, but he assured himself it was only to fill the void within him - an emptiness that could only be filled by the one person he cared for more than life itself, Kira. “Well, I gave it a lot of thought, and I’ve decided that I want to return to PLANT and continue my previous studies.” Kira froze in place. He couldn’t believe the words ejected from Athrun’s mouth. ‘I…I thought he would stay with Cagalli…’ Extremely confused, Kira waited to see his sister’s response. “Right, I’m sure it was disappointing to have to stop school to go fight in a war you disagreed with from the start.” Cagalli again faced her country and sighed. Athrun then turned towards his friend. “So…Kira, shall we get going?” He said with that same smile that Kira couldn’t help but blush at. Unable to identify his friend’s reason for wanting to return to his side he could only manage to utter a one-word response. “Y-Yeah…” Athrun smiled yet again and placed his hand on Kira’s shoulder. “Okay, Cagalli, we’re going to be leaving now. See you sometime soon.” “Alright. Bye Athrun, Kira.”

~End flashback~

Kira rolled over onto his side while quietly lying in bed reminiscing of events months earlier. Before he was able to exert any further energy thinking things over, he became aware of Athrun’s return home. ‘Heh, I can’t let Athrun see me like this.’ He wiped away a tear trailing down his cheek and walked into the kitchen to greet his friend. “Hey, Athrun.” Athrun seemed preoccupied at a glance, but never too much to ignore those lavender eyes. “Kira, hey there.” Athrun greeted Kira with his same smile. ‘Damn, Athrun…that smile, it gets me every single time…’ Athrun then turned his full attention to Kira only to notice those eyes carrying slight concern. “Is anything the matter, Kira?” Not expecting Athrun to catch on to his wandering eyes he fumbled a reply. “Huh? Oh, no, not really…”

The green-eyed boy knew that Kira was dwelling on something, but decided to tend to dinner instead of running the risk of placing him in an uncomfortable position. ‘Stay cool, Kira. Just go about things like usual.’ That was easier said than done. With his mind elsewhere, Kira was unable to perform his tasks to their usual accuracy. Unable to watch without concern, Athrun risked asking him what was wrong. “Kira?” He turned his head to Athrun in response nearly running into the wall. “Wh-what’s up?” The blue haired boy gazed at his friend’s eyes as if analyzing his very essence. “I…don’t want to seem intrusive, but, you’ve been acting strange ever since I got home. Is there anything you want to talk to me about?” Kira tilted his head down slightly and looked blankly at the wooden floor boards. “No, don’t worry about me...I’m just groggy from my nap and I woke up when you got home.” By now Kira’s eyes had lost their brilliance, and Athrun knew that there was more to this than what the lavender-eyed boy made apparent. Tempted to dig deeper, he decided against it, and thought that waiting till after dinner would be a better idea. With their appetites satisfied there would be less chance of Kira so becoming so intimidated. “Oh, sorry about that…been a long day. I’m just glad to be back here with you.” His words reassured the brunette and he was able to continue on with the dinner preparations. After a few minutes, the two boys were seated together at the table happily enjoying their meal. Kira glanced over at Athrun and wondered what had been bothering him earlier. “Um, Athrun?” The younger boy turned his head towards Kira as if by an impulse created by his caring words. “Yeah, Kira?” He smiled, coaxing him to continue. “You also seemed…worried earlier…”

Athrun watched Kira look away after finished his sentence as he swallowed the last bite of his dinner. “I mean…I know it’s probably nothing important, but I was concerned about you…” Slightly blushing at his kind words, Athrun sat up from his chair and walked over to his friend, gently placing his hand on his shoulder. “You were worried that much?” “Well…you’re my friend, so that’s why. I hate it when we’re apart for a long time…” Athrun’s emerald eyes gleamed as they captured the light. Mesmerized by their gaze, Kira’s faced reddened as he awaited a response. “Kira, your face is getting all red.” He chuckled as Kira’s hand shot up to cover his obvious embarrassment. “Th-that wasn’t the response I was thinking you’d give!” “So…what exactly were you expecting then?” The brunette’s face continued to redden even more. “I-I…” ‘Shit, I can’t tell him…there’s no way he would…feel the same as me…’ Their eyes remained locked in a standstill. “Just forget about it…I’m going to bed…” Kira turned around and walked past the blue haired boy, purposely evading gaze as he entered the bedroom. Athrun’s eyes went dull and widened in response to Kira’s harshness, and he could do nothing but curse himself for screwing things up. ‘Fuck…so much for my idea to keep Kira out of the spotlight. Way to go, Athrun…” He slammed his fist on the table in anger, knocking off one of the plates to the floor where it promptly shattered. Inside the bedroom, Kira curled up in bed and cringed at the sound of the plate breaking apart. He felt horrible for treating the one person he loved so deeply with such cruelty. ‘I…just couldn’t tell him how I truly feel…his anger right now is nothing to what it would be had I told him…’

Back inside the kitchen, Athrun was beginning to calm down, yet he still could not place his finger on Kira’s odd behavior. As he dwelled on this, he subconsciously picked up the broken pieces from the plate that had scattered across the floor. However, he was so caught up in his thoughts about the young brunette that he had been slicing his hand on their jagged edges. He then realized this as a brief shot of pain traveled up his arm. He shrugged it off. ‘Ha, this pain pales in comparison to the pain I suffer when I think about Kira all alone…’ His thought then trailed off as he remembered what happened before, he had just been too angry to notice it sooner. ‘Oh no, here I am saying how much I hate Kira being alone, and he IS alone right now…even with me here to comfort him.’ Without wasting any more time or even tending to his lacerated hand, Athrun dashed over to the bedroom door.

Taking a deep breath, the younger boy opened the door quietly and walked inside. Kira, with his legs still drawn closely to his body, was unaware of the presence of his green-eyed treasure standing only a few feet away. This was short lived though, as he became aware once Athrun shut the door. Kira turned to face his friend. “Athrun, I’m…” He then stopped as his gaze veered from Athrun’s pain-stricken eyes to the crimson blood dripping from his wounded hand. “Oh god…Athrun, your hand is all cut…” Athrun took careful note of Kira’s concern emitted from his gentle purple orbs. He started to say something but got cut off by the brunette’s continuing worry. “Athrun…did you cut up your hand out of anger because of what I did? Because if you did, then…” The younger boy interjected. “Oh, Kira…don’t worry about it, ah.”

He clutched his hand in pain that was now becoming apparent to his one-track mind that had been fixated so deeply on his only love. “Here, let me help you.” Kira then guided Athrun to the bed and sat him down. “Now this will probably sting some, but just trust me, okay?” ‘Trust you…Kira I would never doubt you for a second. Not ever.’ Thought the younger boy as Kira took hold of his hand. He was then surprised to see his friend lapping up the blood oozing from his cuts and removing the tiny shards of glass with his teeth. “Kira…gah…” “Shh, don’t say anything.” He gave Athrun the same warm smile he always received from him. All Athrun could do was let him continue. They were together, that was what mattered. “Heh…Kira, ah…” The older boy finally finished tending to his younger friend’s injury and walked over to the dresser and grabbed a roll of gauze. He then gently wrapped it around Athrun’s hand and smiled at him, signifying he was finished. “There you are, Athrun. It’s the least I could do for being such a jerk to you earlier…” Kira sighed and faced away from the green-eyed boy as he sat on the edge of the bed. He then shuddered as Athrun placed his hand on his shoulder and gently slid it back and forth, fingering the soft material of Kira’s white t-shirt. “I know you like it when I do this, Kira.” The brunette cooed softly from the boy’s tender touch and relaxed. “Athrun…I’m sorry about before.” “Forget about it. It was just as much my fault.” The two young boys remained silent for what seemed an eternity. Athrun continued his gentle rubbing motion and Kira releasing soft moans in response.

After a few minutes, or lifetimes, depending on how it was viewed, the lavender-eyed youth could feel his arousal pressing against his worn jeans and blushed in response. Athrun could see the reddening of his friend’s face and softly whispered in his ear. “Kira…you’re blushing again.” His breath tickled Kira’s earlobe. “Athrun! Quit teasing me…I was just about to tell you…” He stopped, realizing what he was saying. Athrun’s eyes widened and he couldn’t hold back the question. “Tell me…what, Kira?” The older boy slightly shivered at the sound of his name being uttered so seductively. Why did Athrun always tease him in such an innocent demeanor? Also, why did it always seem that Athrun expected Kira to tell him something when it had always ended the same way, nothing happening besides the teasing? Kira asked himself these questions constantly already knowing the answer, or at least he had a very good suspicion as to the reason. ‘Well…I’ve actually wanted to tell you this for a while now. I was just afraid you might get mad, and…” “Mad? Why would I ever get mad at you, Kira?” “The brunette pulled away from Athrun’s touch. “Dammit, let me finish. I can’t take you saying my name like that…” The green-eyed youth nodded in acknowledgment and let his friend continue. “See, I could never understand why you chose to stay by my side instead of with Cagalli…” ‘Cagalli? Is that what this was all about? He’s been thinking about my so-called “relationship” with Cagalli and masked his real feelings towards me?’ “Kira, it’s not like that. I don’t love Cagalli…I…” In that instant Kira’s world became a blur. Thoughts of him with his beloved friend flooded throughout his consciousness. ‘He…doesn’t love Cagalli? Then, does that mean…’ However before he could think things further, he was interrupted by Athrun’s next few words. “I…I love you…Kira…I always have…” The room was filled by a deafening sonic boom of silence swirling endlessly about the two boys. This in turn caused a tremendous tempest of thoughts to bellow within Kira’s head. He then realized that the only solution to subdue this serene scathing atmosphere was to utter those same words back. He took a deep breath, turned around to lock lavender gaze with green. “Athrun…I…I love you too…

Finally, after so much doubt and depression due to feelings of rejection from his best friend, Kira felt a wave of relief wash over him. He angled his gaze back at his love and felt a sudden outburst of emotion ricochet between his jeweled amethysts and those flaring emeralds. The shimmer in Kira’s gemlike eyes suddenly became too intense for Athrun to bear any longer. He then drifted closer on his alluring trajectory towards Kira’s soft lips and planted his own gently over them. The two young boys remained fixated in this engrossing union of lips for what seemed to be eons until Kira was forced to break the lock due to running out of oxygen. “Gah, I was running out of air!” “Haha, not only that, but you’re face is red yet again.” Kira shot an unpleasant look at the blue haired boy in response and leaned closer to scold him for it, in a seductive fashion that is. “If you’re gonna continue teasing me, then I’ll just have to shut that mouth of yours.” Kira gave an enchanting wink which entrapped the younger boy yet again long enough for him to seal his mouth shut with another passionate kiss. The lavender-eyed boy’s breathing tickled Athrun’s face causing him to nearly sneeze, but Kira promptly pitched his nose shut. “Thanks.” The younger lip-locked boy muffled.

For the next couple moments the two forgot the troubles of the world to focus on their own world. Kira and Athrun, they were finally together the way they had constantly fantasized over in secrecy countless times. The two boys’ tongues darted together inside their mouths like dancing embers further intensifying their lust for one another. Athrun’s limit was then crossed and two sex-driven youths broke lose. “Ugh, I can’t wait any longer. I want you so bad…my darling Kira.” Athrun then stretched out his arms towards Kira and began to lightly stroke his cheek, enjoying the feel of his soft skin. Kira, however, was not so favorable to his friend’s action. He snapped back to reality and pushed away the younger boy’s hand. “Kira? What’s wrong? I only wanted…” Kira had small tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “That’s just it. It’s ALWAYS what YOU want! If you love me so damn much, you should at least be more considerate of my feelings…” Athrun could only stand there completely dumbfounded. ‘Shit…he’s right…’ Before Athrun had any additional time to think of an acceptable explanation, Kira cried out at him, eyes blazing with anger. “I’m sleeping on the couch tonight.” He stormed out of the bedroom swiping his blanket from the unmade bed he forgot about when Athrun returned home. The blue haired youth watched his lover’s every move as he was abruptly left in the solitude of his own room. ‘Kira…you’re so stubborn, but I can’t blame you…’ Athrun released a sigh of defeat as he strayed over to his neatly composed bed, solemnly guiding the satiny sheets away from the wooden headboard. He then descended underneath the cool covers and pulled them up to his aching chest. ‘Sigh, I never did thank him for helping me with my hand…’ The outline of Athrun’s lips could be seen moving in the dim light as he closed his saddened green eyes. “Sleep well, Kira…and thank you…’”

Standing just outside the room was the emotionally wrecked Kira. He clenched his blanket tightly in his fist as he simply stood there with tears trickling down his somber face, shielded by shadows. “Athrun…you’re welcome…” He uttered his whispered words in hopes that his green-eyed companion would receive them and quietly walked over to the couch. Kira felt terrible; first giving into his deepest emotions one minute, and flat-out betraying them the next. He wasn’t sure if Athrun would accept him even if he found some method of mustering them up to express. However, he concluded worrying did nothing more than drive him deeper into depression, so he focused on preparing the couch for his ill-awaited slumber. Frequently, the two boys would start the night off on their own sides of the room where they would remain for various lengths of time; that is, until Athrun decided to slip in with Kira. The older boy would find this somewhat odd but never object to it. After all, it was the one person he loved and cherished with all his heart and soul. Unfortunately for Kira, tonight’s rest would not be filled with the same warm anticipation. A heavy layer of despair descended upon Kira as he sprawled out onto the green leather couch, coated in a light varnish that caught the tranquil moonlight. The comfy davenport shone like a twinkling nocturnal emerald as it emanated an eerie, yet soothing glow throughout the room. “This shine…it’s just…like your eyes…Athrun…” The dreary youth was then overcome by sleep and fell silent.

~Phase One End~

Hey all. I hope that you all enjoyed this first chapter. Feel free to review and tell me what you think, or perhaps even suggestions if you have them. I should have chapter two relatively soon so fear not. Thanks to all in advance.