Encounter:
Ring. Ring.
Leila sighs rolls her light violet eyes and skims the page before quickly and artfully flipping the ageing pages with her slim pale fingers. She almost doesn't notice him when he walks as the same direction where she stands, waiting and soon; Then, the sound of a book flying in the air then quickly dropping to the floor.
"Oh! Sorry, here I'll help you,"
He bends down slowly picking up the papers that he and she had dropped. Leila is too shocked to move, instead she stays on the floor her eyes glued to him. He is young, about her age, from his looks she can tell he is Britannian. He has medium length ebony hair, and deep violet eyes, and a pale ivory complexion that completes his Britannian look. Leila feels like a fool just watching the boy instead of helping, but by the time she realizes it, he has already picked up all of their stuff. He stands up then looks down at her, extending his pale elegant fingers to her.
"Here," he smiles full of kindness "Take my hand,"
She does fitting her small hand into his. Leila does not like to blush, but she feels her cheeks grow red. He hands her stuff "T-Thank you sir,"
"That's a great book by the way," he states simply pointing to her old aged copy of "Guibert's Essays in Tactics"
"Huh? You've read it before?" she questions.
He smiles and says "Yeah, in French that is, interesting, isn't it?"
She nods and gently smiles "Yeah this is my second time,"
"It's ironic but," he reaches inside his pocket pulling out the same book. "I'm reading it for the second time too,"
"By the way, my name is Lelia, Leila Malkal," she extends her hand.
He smiles and reaches, takes her hand and says "Oh! How rude of me, I haven't asked your name Leila, my name is Lelouch; Lamperouge, it's a pleasure to meet someone who has exceptional taste in literature,"
"Well, nice to meet you, Lelouch," She says.
They both smile.
You?
"Excuse me! Pardon me!" Leila says as she navigates through crowds of people through the street.
"Ouch!"
Before she realized it she had knocked another person over, to her he looks familiar then it hits her.
The name slips out of her mouth before she could think. "Lelouch?!" He jerks his chin up at the call of his name.
"It's you!" they both say their eyes widen.
He starts to chuckle a laugh escapes him and soon, a laugh escapes her too. She extends her hand and pulls him to his feet.
"It's nice to see you again Lelouch," she says a kind smile plays on her lips.
"Pleasure is all mine, nice to see you Leila," he has a gentle and kind smile, it is beautiful.
"How about we have some lunch and catch up, would that be alright?" she asks as she points to the small café across the block. "They have excellent macaroons,"
He nods and says "Sure, why not? I love macaroons,"
They then start to walk there, at that point she realizes that Lelouch is considerably taller than she, at least almost a good six inches. They cross the street, and then make their way to the café on the street.
Written in bold letters: La Fleur Rouge Cafe
"The Red Flower Cafe?" Lelouch mutters, before they walk in. The wall paper decorated with beautiful rose paintings and white clouds, the floor is hardwood and the atmosphere is friendly. Leila smiles.
"Leila, which ones do you want?" Lelouch asks, while pointing to the glass case.
"Oh? Uh...I'll have the vanilla, strawberry, and the mulberry, which ones did you want Lelouch?"
"I'll have the chocolate, earl gray, and the coffee, please,"
The cashier nods and totals up and says "That will be twenty-four dollars and fifty cents,"
"I'll pay," Lelouch and Leila say and both walk up to pay.
"I'll pay Lelouch, after all this is my treat," she says.
"No, I couldn't do that," he protests.
"How about we split," Leila suggests "I'll pay twelve dollars and twenty-five cents, and you pay the same, is that okay with you?"
Lelouch sighs "Leila, you're too convincing," he smiles "You win, but next time I need to pay - alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," she turns her head and smiles.
They both pull their wallets out and pay. Collecting change and the macaroons they sit down. Leila smiles. "So, how has your day been going?" she asks.
"Perfectly fine, how has your's been?"
"Very good, now that I've met you," she smiles reaching out and plucking her strawberry macaroon from her plate, and then taking a small bite.
"I'm pleased to hear that Leila, though knowing you, how many books have you read?" he asks curiously before nibbling at his macaroon before placing it down on the pale white plate.
"You seem to know me very well Lelouch, this is only the second time," she pauses taking a quick glance at Lelouch "Well, now I've finished around five books maybe six. What about you?"
Lelouch tilts his head and says "Uh...I believe it to be about...maybe seven, if my memory serves me well,"
"Ah, I see," she smiles before she asks "Which was your favorite?"
They both laugh together, till their cheeks are tinged pink.
Lelouch?
"Hey Suzaku," Leila says as she strikes a conversation with her good friend on the battlefield, Suzaku Kururugi, she sits herself next to him, he smiles.
"Hey Leila, how has the princess of the battlefield been doing?"
Leila nearly blushes, she chuckles. "I've done well, how is Euphy?" she asks. Euphy was Suzaku's girlfriend soon to be fiancée. She almost explodes in laughter as she watches his cheeks grow bright red.
"She good, though it took my forever to get Cornelia and Lelouch to let me in,"
"Lelouch?" she asks.
"Oh, right, Lelouch is Euphy's older brother," Suzaku explains.
A look of puzzlement comes on her face "I didn't know he had a sister," she mummers
"Oh! So you've met Lelouch?" he smiles "I'm sure you two got along very well, am I right?"
"Come to think of it, Lelouch and I never argued, or disagreed, strange..." she muses.
She looks at Suzaku "How did you meet Lelouch?" she asks.
"Oh! That's such a long story, how about this, I'll invite you and Lelouch, Euphy and Nunnally to dinner and you guys all can meet, would that be okay?" he asks.
"Sure, I'm glad I can meet some of your other friends,"
He smiles happily "Be there at seven," he says, as he stands up and walks away he quickly turns around "See you then Leila!"
Leila smiles. 'That guy'
Leila arrives at Suzaku's doorstep pressing the doorbell with one single finger.
Ding. Dong.
"Oh! Hi Leila!" The pink haired woman says. She smiles, it was Euphy. Suzaku's fiancée.
Leila smiles "Hi Euphy, am I too early?"
"No, you're fine, you can wait around in the living room, come in." Euphy leads her inside.
Leila slowly steps in the house, the walls are as white as snow, there is a picture window on the side of the living room. Large beautiful decorations, it take Leila's breath away. Euphy smiles and walks back to the kitchen.
"Leila?"
She jerks herself around. Finding herself face to face with Lelouch and his puzzled expression. "Hello Lelouch,"
"What are you doing here?" He asks as he walks up the stairs.
"Me? Well, Suzaku invited me to dinner but, I think I may have come too early," she explains.
"Lelouch? Where did you go?"
"Nunnally! I'm so sorry!" Lelouch exclaims as he rushes back down then hallway to her.
Leila looks past Lelouch and see a girl, she is in a wheelchair, her long sandy brown hair is wavy and beautifully long, reaching almost past her waist. Her eyes covered with bandages.
"It's okay big brother, I thought I lost you and I guess I got scared," she smiles. "I'm okay now though, but who were you talking to?"
"Oh," he pushes her chair back to where Lelia stood "This is Leila,"
Nunnally reaches out for her, Leila places her small pale hands into Nunnally's. "Nice to meet you Lelia, by chance though, could you perhaps be big brother's girlfriend?"
Leila and Lelouch both blush. "Oh no, Nunnally, she's not my girlfriend,"
"Oh, forgive me Leila, I must have jumped to conclusions, sorry,"
"It's alright," Leila smiles.
Robbed?
Bang. Bang.
"Everyone stay on the floor face-down with you hands on your head!" the man ordered.
"Yeah! Stay down or we'll shoot you!" his partner echoed.
People murmured worriedly, huddling together closely, but then, a girl screamed as the dimwitted partner yanked her out of her wheelchair.
"Nunnally!" Lelouch screams.
Before Leila could think he stood up. "Stop it! Let her go!" he orders.
"Lelouch?" Nunnally whispers.
"I'll be your hostage," he volunteers as he walks closer. "The girl's not well, c'mon it looks bad if a big guy like you takes a little girl hostage!"
"Shut up, we're part of a movement, we have tons of connections," he smirks.
"Do you actually think that it makes it okay to act like a thug!"
Leila stands up.
"Hey! Girl, who told you to stand?!"
"Shut up! I'm the one giving orders now!" She says.
"Stay still, or I'll shoot the girl!" he threatens.
Leila glances at Nunnally, she gives her a thumbs up and then says "Go ahead, she's not my sister so do whatever you want!"
"Are you stupid? I could just shoot you away,"
Leila ignore the remark and says "There are three reasons why you and your friend are done. First, you failed to consider that this girl had any value. Second, you failed to consider that we might have weapons too,"
The man cuts her off "Armed hostages? I don't think so," he scoffs.
"Well think again, what if we had a plan to blow the vaults wide open?"
"W-What?"
"You really want to shoot me? Go ahead, when you hit the plastic C4 in my breast pocket. We'll all be blown to shreds,"
The man scoffs "Really? What a load,"
"Oh really?" Leila questions, with her fake confidence in her voice "I was going to let you hear it for your self, the tick, tick, tick," she walks to him.
"W-What? S-Stay back!" he panics. "Or I'll shoot!"
"You can hear it now, the tick, tick, tick," Lelia presses the metronome, that was in her pocket.
"Stop it! I don't want to die!" he screams.
"We have ten seconds," she glances at Lelouch and nods "Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Zero"
The man abruptly falls over, he seemed to have passed out. Lelouch stands behind him. Leila smiles.
"Nunnally, are you okay?" Leila and Lelouch both ask but, before she could answer...
Bang. Bang.
"I told you all to stay where you were,"
"Oh," Leila confidently says "You work fast; faster than I expected,"
"Can't you see this riffle I'm holding?" the man threatens.
Leila snorts "If you quit now, I'll tell the authorities to go easy on you,"
"Leila! This isn't going to work on this guy," Lelouch whispers.
"It's okay, I've got this," she says.
"C'mon, drop the gun," she walks closer.
"Hold it right there," he warns.
"It's useless,"
"I was trying to not shoot women, but I have no choice," he pulls the trigger.
Leila dodges the bullet, thanks to the military training she had, she grabs the riffle and his wrists and flips him upside down. Pining him to the floor. "Military Commander Malkal, puts you under arrest for robbery and attempted murder! Your only weapon was your hostage, I'm not afraid of you gun," Leila knocks the man out.
She then stands up brushing her skirt off and says. "Are you guys okay?"
"No, Are you okay? Going after an armed man like that," Lelouch asks.
"Lelouch, I'm a military officer, I can take care of myself," Leila says.
"Well then don't worry me like that," Lelouch smiles lightly.
Planned.
Leila sits herself on the seat, it is sunny, clear skies, a beautiful day. Perfect for the day. Lelouch and Leila planned a meeting at the cafe at one 'o clock. They were going to spend some time together. Lelouch seems to be late that day so she waits. After a while Lelia spends waiting she wonders what could be wrong.
Drip. Drip.
Leila looks up, it had started to rain, she watches as the rains pounds on the building.
Ring. Ring.
She pulls her phone out "Hello?"
"It's me, Suzaku," he pauses.
"Suzaku? Suzaku, what's wrong?" she asks.
"Lelouch...he..." Suzaku trails off.
"What wrong with Lelouch? Is he okay? C'mon Suzaku, this is no time for jokes," she says, a slight edge of panic enters her voice.
"Lelouch...he's really sick...he's at the hospital, they're checking him now," Leila heart skips a beat.
"Where is he? I'll go now, where is he?" she asks quickly.
"He's at the general hospital," Suzaku answers.
"I'll be right there," Leila then hangs up. Placing her phone in her pocket, she runs, in the rain, she doesn't mind. The hospital is only a few blocks away, she'll be there quickly.
When Leila makes it to the hospital, she is soaking wet from the rain, her hair sticks to her face and her cloths cling to her. She walks up to the check-in desk and asks. "Is Lelouch here?"
The desk clerk glances down at the check-in board and nods "He is in room 405, the west wing, but-"
Leila is already halfway down the hallway before the desk clerk could add anything else. When Leila reaches the elevator she presses the button for the fourth floor and waits as the elevator takes her up. She then makes her way to room 405. She sees Nunnally, Euphy and Suzaku waiting outside.
"Suzaku..." she says. Her cloths and hair are still wet and dripping on the floor but at that point she doesn't care. Suzaku comes and drapes a blanket around her head and shoulders. he leans in and whispers.
"The doctors aren't sure whether he'll make it through the night," Leila feels herself go limp, falling to the ground.
"Leila!" Suzaku calls as he catches her quickly.
Her line of vision goes black.
Unexpected.
Leila watches as Lelouch raises the black king and moves it ahead, he smiles and says "Checkmate." his voice is weak and feeble
Leila smiles "That's the seventeenth time Lelouch, when will you ever lose," she jokes Lelouch smiles.
Leila reaches for his hand, she places it in her palm and smiles. "Lelouch, I know this is selfish of me to ask, but will you promise me? Promise that one day, we will be able to look back and laugh about everything we go through now?"
Lelouch smiles and lightly squeezes her hand and nods.
"Thank you, Lelouch," she says pressing his hand on her right cheek.
They smile.
Seventh:
Leila watches as Lelouch slowly recovers, his violet eyes regaining the brightness they had lost, and color returning to his cheeks. The marks of his sickness were fading away, he was happy and so was she, it had been one month and tomorrow was the day Lelouch was going to be released and be healthy again. His sickness was quick, lasting only two weeks, the doctors kept Lelouch for check ups and tests to see that Lelouch was fully healthy.
"So, Lelouch; are you ready to go back home?" Leila asks.
Lelouch smiles "Yes, I can't wait to see them again,"
"That's good, I missed you Lelouch," Leila smiles.
"I did too, Leila,"
Leila reaches in her pocket and pulls out a gift, it's warped up and Leila hand the gift to Lelouch. "It's a gift, I want you to open it tomorrow, in celebration of you getting better,"
"Really? Thank you Lelia,"
Leila stands up taking her coat from the coat rack "I have to go now, I trust that you won't open it right?"
Lelouch nods.
"Good," Leila pauses and then says "Don't make me worry like that, okay?"
"Yeah, I'll try not to," he says.
"Good." Leila gives Lelouch a hopeful smile and then leaves.
Epilogue:
1 year later.
"You're late, Lelouch,"
Leila smiles as Lelouch as he looks up and sees her. They were at the cafe, it was their "date." Of course Lelouch and Leila were both booked to their significant others, C.C and Akito. But, hey, Akito and C.C. wouldn't mind if they had a date with a dearest friend right?
"You know how I am Leila," Lelouch says jokingly.
"Excuses, excuses," Leila chides. Before taking his arm and pulling him along inside the cafe. And they order. Vanilla, strawberry, mulberry, chocolate, earl grey, and coffee.
"How many books have you read?"
They laugh.
A/N: I though about this for a while, about how would Leila and Lelouch meet in the real world? Well I hope you enjoyed "No boundaries" Review.
Flash.
