Disclaimer: the obvious. and the usual. Code Geass is not mine.
Rating: PG-15
Summary: Everyone needs to recharge their batteries in one way or another.
Word Count: 555


When Night Falls
He comes to her at night, still in full uniform, the soldier in him constantly ready to leap out and fight for Britannia's glory.

As she watches him close the door in the dim flickering candlelight, she wonders if he would still be formulating battle strategies had she not summoned him. Catching sight of the papers in his hand, she inwardly frowns. Did the man never stop working?

"Cornelia-sama."

He's the perfect Britannian soldier, she thinks. For him, the empire's well-being always comes first. He puts his life on the line everyday, but thinks nothing of it, as long as Britannia can prosper from it. No orders are too difficult to follow, and no orders are left forgotten. His personal life has all but withered away under the tremulous strain of protecting the empire's people from Zero. Britannia is his priority, through and through.

But she doesn't want him to be that faultless soldier, that mold of perfection. Not right now.

Not when the day ends, and the sounds of explosions and death finally fade away into the sweet blend of summer cicadas and crickets. Not when she is resting against violet satiny pillows and sheets, wearing a pair of his leather boots and absolutely nothing else.

He approaches the canopy bed, his soft footsteps resonating in her ears, his eyes locking onto her face and nowhere else.

It annoys her. She wants his eyes to freely roam her naked body, to glaze over with lust and slowly warm her insides. He need not be so restrained around her.

He stands stiffly beside her, face impassive and unreadable.

He opens his mouth to speak, but she reaches up and plucks off his glasses.

"You won't need those tonight."

A seductive smile stretches across her face as she pulls him down on top of her, causing him to drop his work onto the floor in one flustered movement.

"Cornelia-sama…"

"Shh…" She gently taps the side of his head. "Why must we go through this every night? In here, you are no longer General Guilford. And I am no longer Cornelia-sama. Nor Governor Cornelia."

Gloves tossed to the floor, his hands make slow passes over her body, as he murmurs into her ear. "If you are neither of those, then what are you right now?"

She pulls his hair out of its ponytail, letting it cascade over his broad shoulders, forming a veil around her peripheral vision.

"Just Cornelia. Your Cornelia."

He smiles and leans forward to meet her lips, her nimble fingers already stripping off his shirt.

As the night wears on, her troubles and worries float away; thoughts of Zero and the Order of the Black Nights disappear, as she envelops him in her heat.

She gives up on trying to form coherent thoughts. He sets her mind ablaze, pressing hot open-mouthed kisses to her chest, rubbing his calloused hands over her, until all she can do is merely arch against him and moan.

And when he finally rolls off her and wraps his strong arms around her waist, she knows that nothing the entire Britannian Empire could offer would ever bring her this close to euphoria.

Guilford, my general, my knight, my love.

I wander aimlessly throughout the day, for only at night, when I'm with you, do I find true meaning in life.

---owari---


A/N: You don't really see any hints of Cornelia being romantically paired with Guilford, but he is her personal knight, so that has to count for something, right? Plus, Guilford is just too handsome not to write about.