Tea and Oranges
Their meeting was brief and simple.
He was just there to deliver a truck of oranges to common café while she was just there in the same café on a break drinking some tea. They were only minding their own business, never paying thought of meeting old acquaintances. But of course, Fate has other plans.
"Lord Jeremiah!"
"Miss Sayoko!"
And the conversation starts from there.
"It has been a while." The man said, his words no longer echoed the taste of contempt and insult.
"Yes, it has." The woman replied with the same kindness and gentle tone.
"May I be so blunt to ask what brings you here so distant from Britannia?" he asked, curiosity never failing to color the words.
"Her Empress has ordered me to take a vacation, so I took the chance of coming to back to Japan." She answered in a mused tone, nostalgia present in her words.
"Ordered?" he asked, raising a brow in emphasis, only for her to let out a small chuckle as a reply.
"Yes. She said I was working far too hard and need a vacation. She told me I have been at her service far too long and never had I requested for a day off despite the tiresome work, it irked her quite a bit." The maid confided to the man as she took a sip from her cup, a small smile gracing her features.
"How so? I thought employers prefer people who don't ask for day offs?" The former soldier asked as he left out a small amused chuckle.
"I thought so too." She laughed as she held the cup, looking at the man in amusement.
"Lord Jeremiah, you have been standing for quite a while, why don't you order some tea and join me. The sun is awfully hot at noon time, quite unadvisable for a person to travel." She continued noting the small blush on his tanned cheeks when he heard her assessment.
"Why not? A nice cup of tea would be nice." He answered as he took a seat in front of her while gesturing to a nearby waiter to come. ____________________________________________________________________________________
He ordered some Earl Grey while she asked for a refill of Green Tea.
As they drank, they ended up in a whirlwind of talks, ranging from the weather or the current peace they now have, it wouldn't be much a surprise when their talks reach a certain raven-haired prince and a question of loyalty. _____________________________________________________________________________________
"You know, you never told me your whole answer." The farmer mentioned as he began peeling some extra oranges the owner gave then as a token of thanks.
"My answer to what?" The dark-haired one asked while trying to recall what question he had asked her.
"To my question of your loyalty to him, you didn't really answer me why you remained loyal to him." He answered as a somber tone began coating the once light atmosphere.
"Ah, that was because you cut me off." She recalled at the memory.
"May I have your complete answer now?" He requested offering a slice of orange.
"Yes, you may. Aside from the reason you already assumed, you could say I had grown attached to him. To say Master Lelouch has been kind to me would be an understatement. He treated me as a person, not a number, despite Britannia's habit on looking down on those they had conquered. When he revealed himself as Zero, I could not help but give full fidelity to him." She answered simply while taking the slice, not even daring to color her words.
"How about you Lord Jeremiah?" she continued and probed as she took a bite from the offered fruit.
"I was at the service of the late Lady Marianne, his mother. Her death devastated me, and the fact that I was powerless to save her children from exile didn't help matters. Then, I heard the news that they died in the war." He recalled, bitterness and pain coating the statement.
"Thus your hate for Elevens." She concluded while her dark eyes meet his tawny ones.
"Yes, I immediately assumed some desperate soldier decided to finish them off as retribution for their conquered land." He agreed not batting an eye, fully prepared to take responsibility of his false allegations.
"You could say I'm loyal to him through his mother, which was what I thought to be at first." He continued as the conversation progressed.
"What changed?" she asked knowing the answer well.
"I don't know. He managed to capture me. One moment I was there for the memory of his mother, the next thing I know, I just there to serve him and no one else." He replied as took a sip from his cup allowing tints of recall in his eyes to show.
"Yes, he does that. At first, I only saw it as my duty to serve the Ashfords but along the way, I resolved to serve him. Even with the Black Knights, I wanted my homeland to regain its pride and honor. I never thought to relinquish such a thing for the sake of one person." She said while noting the distant look on her companions eyes she was about to continue when he cut her off.
"And if he and Zero were two different persons, who would you choose." The man said while facing, a daring fire alight in his eyes.
"I would choose him. Just like you have chosen to give up your Empire, I will choose to give up my home for his sake and safety." The maid replied, a sad but accepting smile upon her lips. _____________________________________________________________________________________
They did not know when the topic changed but, somehow, they returned to the former atmosphere of light and cheer.
As they talk of past memories and childhood moments, laughter and friendship bloomed amidst the air of former hostility that once erupted in the hearts of many. ____________________________________________________________________________________
"You know Jeremiah, you never told me why you chose to be an orange farmer." She mused when a small blush colored the said farmer's cheeks.
"Uh… Well I was browsing through the old files when I saw the military really was serious on their offer of me quitting and ending up planting oranges for the rest of my life. I would have considered it an insult before, but when I looked at it, it would be a good start for me and Anya." The tawny-eyes man said while the blush began to fade.
"How is the child?" she asked as she recalled the stoic pink-haired girl in mind.
"She is well. She is smiling more now. She's still quite around others but she's getting there." answered the man as warmth softened his tone.
"I must say, I never thought you to be a father figure, but after hearing the progress she had with you, I must say, I'm impressed." Stated the woman as she chuckled at the sight of the returning blush.
"Well, uh…thank you, Sayoko." He stuttered, trying to wrap around the fact of him becoming a father figure.
"You're welcome. By the way, I never thought of you to show mercy. Wasn't she siding with the Emperor at that time?" she pondered ignoring the slight shift to the serious atmosphere.
"Yes, she was. I didn't know why I spared her really, maybe I have soft spot for kids. I don't know. Or maybe it was when I concluded her to be under the influence of Geass that I decided to not to kill her." The former soldier reasoned out regaining the seriousness of his tone.
"Geass. That's what Master Lelouch used to command people against their will right?" the maid asked while her tone grew distant.
"Yes. But I don't think he used his on Anya. It must be a different person who did that to her." He concluded taking a bite of orange while she mirrored his actions.
"These are quite sweet. You're really good at farming, Jeremiah." She concluded as she relished on the taste with a smile on her lips.
"Uh…thanks." He said sheepishly, immediately returning to the old atmosphere of comfort and companionship.
She merely laughed at his response as she took another slice. _____________________________________________________________________________________
They never noticed how the hours passed only then did they notice when the Jeremiah's phone rang and when the owner informed them that they would be closing soon. _____________________________________________________________________________________
"It was Anya. She was worried why I didn't return on the scheduled time." He stated as they got out of the café and noticing the setting orange horizon.
"Oh, well, it is getting late, I should be going as well, Lady Nunnally would probably worry, if I didn't call her on the scheduled time." She replied a hint of understanding in the eyes of her newfound friend.
"Yes, well, until we meet again." he said bidding her adieu as he proceeded to the direction of his parked truck.
"Yes, may Fate cross our path once more." She replied as she took off in the opposite direction. _____________________________________________________________________________________
As they go off in separate paths, they would indeed meet once more between crossroads, but despite the number of meetings they were to have, they would never forget the first meeting where they sat down and talked between tea and oranges.
-END-
A/N: This scene has been playing on my mind for ages but I never had the time of writing it down… I never thought to be back in the CG world this soon though… I don't know if I got the characters right since it had been a while since I wrote about CG, also I didn't particularly focus on these characters…. Thank you for reading and please review and suggest….
Acknowledgements: This idea was contributed by All that is left unsaid… so thanks… :3
P.S. I own nothing but my imagination.