A/N: Hey y'all, welcome to my first Code Geass fanfic and my third fic ever.

The first time I watched through Code Geass, there was a scene in episode 23 of R1 where, after the killing of Euphemia, C.C. and Lelouch have a talk and both of them show a bit of emotion, not much, but more so than in any of the previous episodes. The whole scene just seemed... touching in a way. But anyway, from the second the scene ended, I wanted to write something about it, and here it is. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Code Geass isn't mine, none of the characters in Code Geass are mine, nothing is mine except for the writing itself.

Embrace

Lelouch vi Britannia exhaled a breath that could only be described as a sigh.

A loud but muffled voice came from outside, "...area Fukushima, Byakuya's squad..."

His chest felt heavy, his hands were trembling, he could barely walk, yet he was calm. Moments ago he had shot his sister in the face, and he was calm.

"...en route to Ebuyaki, area tama..."

His hands had been stained for a long time, ever since that day. The power of the Geass, it was a blessing, but he was finding more and more that it was also indeed a curse. But was this all worth it? Euphemia, Clovis, all those lives...

"...continuing with barricade construction..."

Lelouch turned and entered a comfortably lit room, muffled voices and various sounds of construction and destruction came from outside, cheers of Zero's name rose and faded. A certain green haired witch stood at the window, she flipped the shades closed and turned her golden eyes towards him.

"You plan to assault the Tokyo settlement?" C.C. half-asked, half-stated.

"Yes." Lelouch replied plainly and as cooly as he could, he reached up and, unsealing his mask, removed it, "This is the best chance we'll get."

Yes. Lelouch thought to himself. This was their best chance. Though he hadn't even planned it, Princess Euphemia's... no, his slaughter of the elevens had worked out perfectly. But how could he create a perfect world for his loved ones, if his loved ones had to die to make it? If the Geass forced him to be like... like Mao, in a state of unrest, where he can't control anything, not even his own eyes. His own...

Breathing and heart beats slightly faster, he quickly turned his head to one side, he couldn't have C.C. accidentally take a command from the Geass since he couldn't turn it off now. He didn't want her to be like Euphie.

C.C.'s lips curled downward slightly, "Don't worry, your Geass has no effect on me. You know that, don't you?"

Lelouch closed his eyes for a moment and put out a small grin, perhaps to fool her, perhaps to fool himself, "That's true isn't it?" He tucked his helmet under one arm and reached up with the other to touch his face near his eye.

He pulled the black material from his face just as a ring came from the pocket of his uniform, Nunnally?

He pressed a button and held the phone to his ear, "Yes Nunnally?"

"Hi Lelouch," came Nunnally's soft voice from the other end, "I was wondering, um, do you suppose I could talk to Euphie again?"

Lelouch's eyes widened, his heart stung, his mind threw dozens of regretful thoughts at him from simply the mention of her name. And now, now the person he cared about, the person he was doing all of this for, she wanted to see the woman he just used his Geass on and shot to death.

"I was thinking the three of us could go to the school festival together," she continued happily, too hapilly, "You see, Milly said they were organizing another one since everything got all messed up the other day. So I was hoping we could go to the new one together too." She hesitated for a moment and went on, "I- I'm sorry, I know you don't want us ever meeting again, but I thought maybe, if there was some way you and I could see her again, just one last time?"

"Nunnally," Lelouch's eyes narrowed faintly and went cold, he would like that, too. To see his sister Euhpie one last time, "Haven't you heard the news?"

"Oh, well the radio cut off mid-broadcast earlier," she sounded worried, "Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

"Of course not, everything is just fine," He said quickly and knowing it wouldn't be enough added, "Sorry, I'll be home by tomorrow. We'll discuss it when I'm back."

"Right." He hung up the phone and frowned, increasingly frustrated.

C.C. turned back to the window, as if not to notice Lelouch's conversation, "All right, so you can't switch off your Geass, are there any other changes you've noticed?"

He felt like screaming. She didn't even care? Of course not...

"Not really..." there was a slight pause as Lelouch sat down quietly, "It's just..."

C.C. blinked and glanced over at him.

Lelouch continued, "Euhpie. She tried to resist the Geass... and my orders." He slumped forward on the couch and buried his face in his hands, he felt something inside him building, "I was wondering if the power had weakened. But I think... I think such a malignant command..." Lelouch felt a lump in his throat, "was simply against her nature."

C.C. blinked again, "And so?" she asked coldly, figuring there was a reason to his words.

Lelouch felt like screaming again. She didn't care. This Geass of his, this life, his mistakes and the path he'd followed was a curse. His world was falling apart, he killed his own sister for the sake of his new world.

"I guess," his eyes stung, "I guess that's all," he managed to gasp out between a couple of chokes.

Where was the line? Was there a line? To make Euhpie, sweet Euphie do something so.. so... "It was something..."

Lelouch couldn't get any more words past the lump in his throat, beads of tears leaked from his eyes, the eye that forced Euphemia to slaughter against her own will.

C.C. frowned and her eyes turned sad, she thought she'd forgotten kindness years ago, but she saw Lelouch, this man unlike any other, and for the first time in a long while, she felt sorrow for another person. She bent down to Lelouch and wrapped her arms around him, hands tangled in his hair.

Lelouch managed a slight expression of surprise, but nothing more through his tears.

"We have our contract, Lelouch," she spoke softly, "I promise to stay with you. Until the very end."

Contract. That's all she worried about. But while in the warmth of her embrace he cried, as the tears left him, so did the worry. Any guilt, remorse or regret he had leaked from his eyes, streamed down his face, and fell to the ground.

Euphie. Her sacrifice wouldn't be in vain, he'd come too far now to go back. He was Lelouch vi Britiannia, Zero, the destroyer and creator of worlds. He would be victorious, he would make the world anew, he would be strong. He now found new confidence in these things, and above all, in the warmth of her embrace, he knew he would never be alone.

Yeah, it's short, I know, but like I said, basically just a rehash of an awesome Code Geass scene. Hope you enjoyed it, please review if you did. Sorry if you didn't enjoy it, please review and tell me why if you didn't. That's cool if you're just neutral on it, please review if you are. Yeah, are you seeing a pattern here? XD