Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.

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It was a very beautiful and peaceful Saturday morning. To make it all better, it was during the spring season in which the birds would come out of their nests and start singing, bringing joy to the world.

Sitting in the wheelchair outside on the porch were a young, gentle-looking girl with long, wavy brown hair and a black-haired maid. Both seemed to be engaged in their delightful conversation. There was no need to worry about the hot rays of the sun hitting them and damaging their smooth, delicate skins, the young blind girl's especially, because the huge, tall and ancient trees surrounding the mansion were doing an incredible job of protecting and providing them with a comforting shade.

Quite opposite to what was going on outside. Inside one of the bedrooms of the mansion, a certain green-haired witch was lounging and munching the pizza slices lazily on the bed. She could sometimes hear the women's peals of laughter echoing throughout the empty halls, and how she wished she could have joined the conversation outside and abandoned this tedious room, simply because her companion didn't seem to be bothered with the growing silence. As a matter of fact, he'd made it clear that she shouldn't disturb him.

Oh, how she wished she could have joined the couple's appealing conversation outside.

Now that she thought about it, she had to chuckle at such idea. Since when did she want to be involved with other people's business? Had she already grown too detached for this world many decades ago? So why bother now?

"That's right, why bother?" she mused aloud.

"What?" asked her companion as his eyes never left the task he's busying himself with.

"Oh, nothing," she replied monotonously, "I was just thinking aloud, that's all."

He gave a very small nod.

C.C. turned around to face the wall, her boxes of pizza completely forgotten, and the bright yellow cheese-kun was pressed tighter against her body. She then closed her eyes, planning to catch a short nap.

It didn't work, and she was seriously bored.

Now she resorted to what she usually did when she faced the boredom: mess with her warlock. His warning of not to disturb him could be thrown out the window at the moment.

Tilting her head to the right, she stared at him. "What are you doing, Lelouch?"

No word escaped him.

"Lelouch?"

"What did I say about not disturbing me?" Finally, a reply.

C.C. slowly got up and leaned forward in an effort to take a look at whatever it was that he's doing, then she spoke with a slight frown. "Well, I'm bored and I do believe it's unfair that you have something to do while I don't."

"Then find something to do." Right, like she hadn't thought of that before.

"The problem is there's nothing to do around here, and since I'm not allowed to leave the room, you are supposed to give me something entertaining to do."

"Well…" he stalled for a moment. "Go do whatever it is that you always do when you're bored."

C.C. couldn't help sighing impatiently. "It's a beautiful day, Lelouch. Just because you don't want to go outside doesn't mean I can't either."

"Nice try. No, you're not going anywhere, C.C."

She smirked. "Quite possessive, aren't you?"

At last, he looked up with a stern expression and said. "If you went out now, you'd just cause troubles for the Black Knights. And even if it's unintentional, people would recognize that you're one of us, and those Britannians might do god-knows-what to you!"

"That's what a wig and immortality are for, Lelouch," she gently reminded him.

"No is no."

"Then, let's play chess." She declared, pointing at the board game.

"Do you even know how to play it?" he queried incredulously.

She huffed indignantly. "Boya, sometimes you just seem to forget that I've been around the same time as your great great great great great great great great grandparents."

Lelouch smirked knowingly. "Well then, if you are experienced, I shouldn't be bothered with the explaining."

"Spare me those steps," was her reply as she slid down the bed and crawled toward him. Positioning herself opposite her warlock, she crossed her legs and flicked her long green locks over her shoulder. "Alright, to make the game more interesting, I suggest some rules." She began and earned a nod from him.

"There's only one rule and it is that whoever loses will have to kiss the winner."

A short pause.

"Kiss?" he asked again as if doubting his own hearing.

"Yes."

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"My rule, you can't change it." She concluded with much icy authority in her tone.

"Fine, then," he murmured. "Shall we be-"

"Oh wait, I forgot one more thing." C.C. put up her hand to stop him, and when he waited for her to continue, she smirked, "When the loser kisses, the winner must not move an inch."

Lelouch couldn't help cocking an eyebrow. All those years of playing chess or any game at all, he had never once in his life heard of such odd rules. But then again, this witch was certainly the least ordinary woman he'd ever encountered, so it shouldn't surprise him much.

"I got you," he said after a small nod. "Shall we begin then?"

"We shall," she replied with a cunning smile, much to his suspicion.

As usual, Lelouch was going to play the black pieces and his opponent would use the white ones. There had never been an exception, and as time went on, it became a die-hard habit that whenever he sat down for a good game, he always picked the black pieces, despite the complaints of his opponents.

And he wasn't planning on changing that habit anytime soon, therefore, C.C. had to play the white ones; the Knights of Justice. How ironic when in reality, she's an official member of the Black Knights, too.

Wasting no more time, Lelouch picked up the pawn in front of the queen and moved it up two squares. C.C. did the same. Then, he pushed a second pawn in front of the king up one square. She dawdled for a second, then moved hers in front of the rook up two.

The game went on for about five minutes.

"I won," he declared with a triumphant smile as his hand placed the queen diagonally three squares apart from her king. "Checkmate!"

A mysterious smile quickly split her face as she saw that her cause was hopeless. "As expected from the Chess Master," C.C. remarked. Then, she leaned forward, using the palms of her hands to support herself straight up. "And now, your reward."

A faint pink color dusted Lelouch's cheeks as he realized she wasn't going back on her promise; not that she should, because she's the one who made this strange rule after all. So, closing his violet eyes with the color still brushing his face, he awaited the kiss.

He could feel the comforting warmth when she moved closer to him, and the pinkness increased twice as much. She's getting closer, he could tell by the delicious jasmine smell emitting from her. A kiss would happen any time now.

It did. But not where he expected.

C.C. withdrew and returned to her former spot, a small yet sly smile playing on her lips. "Should we continue the game?"

Lelouch placed his hand on his… right cheek, eyes widening. "What was that?" he inquired.

"A kiss," she replied nonchalantly, still smiling.

"That's not a kiss!" he retorted. "It's a… a peck."

She crossed her arms and mused. "Well, boya, as far as I'm concerned, a peck is still considered a kiss. Just think of it as a quick kiss."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "On the cheek?"

"Hey, I never said it has to be on the lips. As a matter of fact, I never gave an exact location as to where we should kiss."

Lelouch just knew he was tricked. He should have reconsidered her abnormal rules before going for it, or at least taken more than one second to contemplate it rather than nodding his head right away. And as soon as he saw her cunning smile, he already knew something was up, yet he couldn't put his finger on. Now, he had uncovered it.

"So," she prompted, "should we continue the game or not?"

"We should," he growled slightly, started to rearrange the pieces. C.C. smirked satisfyingly as she did hers.

Lelouch stared at the board, contemplating the moves for about ten seconds before pushing the pawn put in front of the king up one square. He then looked at his opponent, who lazily picked one of her pawns up and placed it two squares from where it had been. Grabbing a second pawn in his hand, he gave the board a look-over before putting it down one square ahead. C.C. yawned as she moved her knight. Lelouch smirked when he saw that, and quickly mobilized his own. She touched the queen, then withdrew her hand, then grabbed and moved it diagonally all the way to the other side and let it take over one of his pawns.

Lelouch smirked triumphantly as he gently pushed his other pawn over diagonally to take her queen. When he did, he looked up and met with her indifferent face. "What a waste. Having your queen taken over just because of one mere pawn?" he commented.

She only smiled in return.

The second game went on for about six to seven minutes. "Checkmate!" he exclaimed again, placing his bishop down.

C.C. narrowed her eyes and stared down at the board. Finally, she looked up and shrugged. "You win."

Lelouch let a smirk cross his face as he leaned backward slightly, crossing his arms over his chest. "And now, the reward please?"

She let out a small laugh, pushing herself forward and planted a soft, quick kiss… on his left cheek.

"C.C.," he growled menacingly.

"Yes, my dear warlock?" she asked in a faux sweet voice.

"That was not right."

"How so?"

"It's just… not. A peck isn't considered a proper kiss, you should know that better than anyone," he encountered.

"Hm, in my own dictionary, it is. Sorry, Lelouch, but once the rule has been made, it can't be undone." She replied ever so casually. "So, what do you say we play another game?"

His dark eyebrows furrowed together. Was it him or something really, very fishy was going on?

"Fine with me." He answered, though he's still looking at her suspiciously, and it earned him a small chuckle.

The third game was just like the other two. It's always him who was in the lead, and always him who seemed to be winning. As a matter of fact, this one game ended even earlier than the last two.

"Oh? You won again, Lelouch," C.C. commented as she studied the board thoroughly.

He groaned loudly. "It's because you didn't put efforts in, C.C.!" He then picked up her rook he'd taken and shoved it right in front of her. "The move you made that caused the loss of this was stupid," he said, "why are you so obsessed with my pawns? I don't know. But it's not worth losing a more important force when it's so darn obvious that you're going to lose it once you made the move!"

She cocked her head to one side. "Well, it's my force, so I do believe that I can get rid of anything I do not wish to see lingering on my board," she reasoned.

"It's a waste, C.C.," he chided gently.

"That is none of your concern, my warlock."

He frowned, then put down the piece. "Be honest, C.C.," he began. "Do you even know how to play chess?"

She gave an indignant huff again. "Of course I do. Look," she pointed toward her pawns collection, "I've captured more pawns of yours than you ever did mine."

"Pawns are made to be sacrificed for greater cause. It's not something to boast about, C.C." He said, grimacing.

"Very well, then. Do you want your reward or not?" she asked.

He nodded hesitantly, because something in his guts was telling him that this would just be the same as the last times.

When she leaned forward to deliver the kiss, he stirred a little and she stopped. Some tsking sounds were heard before she spoke. "No moving, remember Lelouch?"

He cursed silently under his breath, and grudgingly let her plant another kiss on his forehead.

"You're so doing this on purpose," he remarked lowly when she withdrew back.

C.C. smiled slyly at him. "Next time someone makes a rule, make sure you contemplate it first before going all for it," she advised with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

They agreed on another game. Needless to say this game ended less than four minutes with, of course, Lelouch winning. Yet somehow, he didn't feel too happy about it.

The green-haired witch chuckled when she saw his conflicting expression, then went on and pecked him on the nose.

Next game ended with the same result, and to be honest, Lelouch was getting sort of fed up. And it didn't help that his opponent only leaned in to deliver a light kiss on his chin.

After a five minute break, C.C. announced, "Do you want to call it a day?"

"No," he shook his head. "Let's continue."

She smirked as she slid into her position. "Quite determined, aren't you?"

Lelouch gave her a stern and serious look. "We're playing until you win."

"Ara, that's quite impossible, considering that I'm playing against the Chess Master," she replied, paused, then continued, "unless, of course, you let me win."

Lelouch's breath caught in his throat, and C.C. smiled tauntingly.

Lelouch Vi Britannia, a Chess Master whom never lost before to any mighty, strong opponent, yet today had to bring down his pride to lose to a girl simply just to get to kiss her? Bizarre, way too bizarre. Not even worth thinking about.

He hesitated for a moment. His lips became a thin line, his eyes narrowing, his body stiff, and he said nothing for awhile.

"Let's play," he muttered at last, arranging his black pieces.

"So you're letting me win?" C.C. queried curiously.

"I never said that," was his fast reply.

When she finished arranging hers, Lelouch warned. "Play seriously this time, C.C. I'm not joking around anymore."

"You're not the type to joke around anyway." She gave a small shrug before bringing her attention to the white chess pieces.

Lelouch's hand was trembling slightly as he picked up the knight. What should he do? He didn't want to lose; he hated losing. But if he didn't, then he couldn't…

As though acting of its own mind, his hand placed the knight down exactly where it's supposed to be. When he withdrew his hand, it's already too late to turn back. The first move had been made, and that very first move was going to decide the outcome of this battle. C.C. frowned slightly as she brought up her pawn and placed it vertically two squares from where it had been.

After a few minutes…

"I-I won?" His announcement sounded like a question instead of a confident statement.

"Yes, you did, Lelouch," C.C. smiled as she pointed toward his rook. "It's a checkmate."

That was not intentional! Lelouch wanted to yell out. It's like his brain was acting on its own and destroying all the thoughts regarding losing, not leaving a hint of it lingering inside its brilliant domain. So now, its master had to endure the 'punishment'.

"I can't no longer keep track of how many games you've won, Lelouch," C.C. said, smirking satisfyingly. "You really are a true Chess Master."

He mumbled something unintelligent. She then leaned forward and took advantage of his looking down to plant a soft kiss on his left eyelid, and it sent a wave of tingling feelings through his entire body.

This day had to be the worst day ever in the history of worst days.

"Well, I'm tired." Said C.C. as she stretched out her long arms. "I'm going to take a nap now."

"No, wait!" he quickly grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving. "One more game, please? And that will be it, I promise."

She frowned at the request, briefly thought about it, and nodded. "Fine, but after that, I won't agree to any more games."

He smiled gratefully.

When they settled down, he took a little bit longer than usual to contemplate the moves, and his decisions kept changing. He first touched the pawn in front of the queen, then released it and lightly touched the knight, also let go of it. He then cast a quick look over her side and back to his. Eventually, he grabbed the pawn in front of the rook and pushed it up one square. A mysterious smile threatening to split his handsome face as the plan formed in his head.

A few minutes passed…

"C.C…" he began.

The green-haired witch stared at the board with unwavering eyes. If anything, those golden orbs were widening.

"C.C…" he said again, softer this time.

She looked up, her whole body stiffened.

Lelouch smiled as he cocked his head slightly to one side. "C.C., congratulations. You win."

Those last two words were like thunders against her ears. "I won?" she repeated slowly, waiting for reality to catch up.

He nodded. "Yes. I'm commending you for winning against the Chess Master."

"But-" she shook her head. "How did it happen? How could it? I was the clumsiest player you'd have ever met."

"Well," his smile grew confidently. "I guess I just had to be a little clumsier than you."

C.C. narrowed her eyes at him, trying to read his expression. At last, she sat back in a relaxed position and smirked knowingly. "You let me win, didn't you?" she inquired softly.

He didn't answer; instead, if even possible, his smile grew broader.

"I couldn't believe that you would actually do that," she remarked.

Lelouch chuckled as he leaned forward. "Sometimes, a man just has to put down his pride for the woman he loves. And personally, I think it's all worth it."

A faint pinkness quickly dusted C.C.'s cheeks. "Quite a charming demon prince, aren't you?" she whispered as their faces were only inches apart.

He cupped her face gently in his hands and touched her forehead with his. "Sshh. It's now my turn to get the prize." Then he quickly claimed her rosy lips.

C.C. was smiling genuinely happy when she felt herself gently falling backwards. "Aah, you've finally got your prize now. Congratulations, my dear warlock…"

~end~

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