Fast-Forward

Athrun watches him from across the lecture hall. He’s been sketching in the margins of his notepaper for the past ten minutes, left hand drumming against his thigh in time to a silent tune. Kira Yamato: friendly, intelligent, and attractive. A lot of the girls around campus will tell you that he’s sweet, offering to fix their computers no matter what the hour and always producing a bright smile. The guys will tell you that he’s a bit soft, but he’s always willing to help with homework or lend a couple dollars.

It was inevitable, really, Athrun thinks, watching as Kira jots down a note from the seminar. Inevitable that he would fall for him, because who in they’re right mind wouldn’t?

Fast-forward one week. Kira is sitting at a table in the corner of the coffee shop, Discman beside a mug of java and a sketchbook sprawled on the tabletop. He glances out the immense glass windows every so often, smiling at some invisible pleasure beyond the barrier.

Now, Athrun thinks. So he gets to his feet and moves through the throngs of students, coming to a stop at Kira’s table and motioning to the spare chair. Kira blinks his violet eyes as he focuses on him, pulling off his headphones as Athrun asks, “mind if I sit here?”

“Not at all!” And there is that smile, turned on full force as Kira moves his sketchbook, closing it and laying it across his lap. His fingers are smudged with charcoal, and a stick sits on a napkin. The dispenser clinks as Kira pulls out clean napkins, rubbing the darkness from his fingers best he can. “We have world history together, don’t we?”

It’s an innocent enough question, but Athrun feels his heart skip a beat as he meets Kira’s gaze because Kira recognizes him.

“We do,” replies Athrun, taking a deep drink of his coffee.

---

Fast-forward a month. Kira is laughing on the bed, back pressed against the wall of Athrun’s dorm room. They’ve been sharing stories for an hour now: most touching, most depressing, more humorous, most embarrassing, until Athrun could swear that he’s known Kira his entire life. Athrun is sitting at the desk, leaning back in the chair as he watches Kira in the pale light from the computer monitor. It’s late, but Kira hasn’t mentioned leaving, and Athrun certainly has no plans of throwing him out.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Kira asks later, curled in the bed beside Athrun as the clock rolls around to three A.M. They’ve snatched an extra pillow from the room across the hall, but are beneath the same fleece blanket.

“Of course not.”

After that night, a lot of people notice that Kira is rarely in his own room anymore. If they want to find him, they search out Athrun Zala.

---

Fast-forward eight weeks. The sky is tinged with shades of pink and purple, and Kira is capturing it all in his sketchbook, fascinated by the texture of the clouds pulled taunt against the sky. Athrun is playing with his free hand, rubbing each finger and ticking Kira’s palm, smiling at the way the appendage squirms within his grasp. He can tell Kira is trying not to laugh, for his other hand has stilled over the paper, and his eyes are now trained on the boy reclining beside him, violet reflecting only happiness.

“Kira, can I ask you something?”

The sketchbook is set aside and hands clasp together, Athrun rising unto his knees so they are at eye-level with each other. Kira gives an a-okay, but it takes Athrun another moment to speak, because he’s struck by the gravity of this moment; how did he get so lucky, and will his luck hold out?

“Do you … like me?”

Kira squeezes his hands. “Of course I do, Athrun.”

For a moment, Athrun has a sinking feeling that he hasn’t been clear enough with his words. He knows Kira is smart, but this is different from math or history.

He needn’t have worried, though, because Kira just squeezes his hands again, leaning in to kiss him lightly on the lips. “I like you a lot.”

---

Fast-forward three years. Athrun and Kira are graduates living together in an apartment in the city. They have separate jobs during the day but each night they come home, both coming in around seven o’clock, and they cook dinner together before settling on the couch to catch up on the day’s news. If you asked Kira’s coworkers, the women would say he’s sweet and the men would say he’s a bit soft. But to Athrun, he’s just right.