AN: I've been watching too much Code Geass lately. It's amazing. Plus, Johnny Yong Bosch kicks you-know-what. He's one of the best voice actors ever! I've had this idea for a while; I just never got the time to put it on paper until now. Oh, and this is a really clichéd one-shot, therefore you'll probably know where the ending is going.
Disclaimers: I own nothing! Weird, I know.
The wind brushed against the window, sending the shutters banging and the curtains flapping. The girl leaned over and slid the pane shut with gentle fingers. Stillness filled the room for perhaps a second, a deep and total stillness that seemed to crush everything around it.
The light from the fireplace waned low, causing the two shadows on the wall to shiver and flicker, morphing into the outlines of ebony ghosts. The room filled with an orange glow that highlighted the shadows and made them lengthen back to their normal selves.
The silence was broken by the creak of the floor, marred by the strides the boy made to cross the room.
Lelouch scanned the bookshelf for a moment, searching. He grabbed the edge of a thick box, grasped the corner, and pried it loose from between heavy encyclopedias.
"Hey," he stated as smiled. "You want to play?"
The girl traced a gloved finger carelessly across the crimson wallpaper. When she pulled her hand away, the once clean glove had filmed over with a layer of gray dust. She laughed, the effort brightening her face several shades. "Sure. We haven't played in a while."
He set the box on the table and clicked the latch. It fell open, revealing a checkered board. After heaving the side-compartment free from its rusty socket, he laid the black and white pieces across the board. Each one was placed with distinct care in the center of their square, standing tall and proud in a salute, ready to take on whatever challenge lay ahead.
The girl grabbed a chair and pulled it to the table. She pulled off her now soiled gloves and rolled up her sleeves.
And so the game began.
She made the first move. Simple, really. A pawn glided forward, beginning a silent advance.
He counteracted swiftly, instantly, without second thought. He played entirely on instincts, moving where he thought best. Thousands of different maps lay in a chaotic network behind his eyes, hundreds of plans ready to be put into place.
Her brows furrowed, and she rested her cheek in the palm of her hand.
The game held out long into the night. The clock above the mantle ticked away the hours while the two players bided their time.
Lelouch sighed. The ending was unclear. They had both set themselves up for a win, and at the same time they had both set themselves up for a loss.
"This is getting nowhere," the girl murmured. They were held together, each piece having the other at a road-block.
He inhaled sharply, noting the smell of lingering coffee in the air. He was going to have to distract her.
"Do you love me?" he asked, dropping a bomb he swore he'd never build.
She paused, halfway through moving her rook. Her hand trembled, her heart pounded, and she struggled to keep her mouth from falling open. The piece fell softly, hitting the board with a gentle clatter. She looked up, eyes widening in her already small face. What do I say? What in the world do I say?
"No," she uttered, looking away from him and instead peering intently at her shoes. "Not at all."
"I don't believe you," he declared. He gave a twisted grin that gleamed in the almost-darkness.
"Wha-"
She didn't have time to react. His left eye glowed, cast over with a glaze of red. The spark that had once been there dissolved and changed into a scarlet bird. His vision flew though the air in waves, and hit the mark.
He traced through her retinas, followed the many patterns of her brain. A complex street of thoughts filled him and transferred into her. He breathed contently as magic filled him, as the world became saturated with people and places and ideas. Of concepts that he could grasp while the rest of the world couldn't.
He used his Geass on her. Another promise was broken.
But he had to know.
"Tell me, do you love me?"
Her sight faded, her irises outlined in the color of blood. Whatever she had to say, it was going to be the truth.
"Yes."
It was too bad she wasn't going to remember saying that.