AN: Welcome back! Updates for this story will be spontaneous for now until I can find an official day to update where I'm not rushing to squeeze this fic in. But I hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh, and I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday, whichever one you celebrate. :) And I wish you all a Happy New Year! (In case I don't post another chapter for this story before the year ends.)

P.S. Sorry for any mistakes I may have missed.


Chapter 2: A Good Friend Like You


Waking up to the warm sensation lingering in her left hand, C.C.'s eyes opened slowly from slumber and took a moment to register her surroundings before looking down to the source of the warmth. A smile played along her pink lips when she saw the raven-haired man fast asleep, his head resting on her bed facing in her direction as he held her hand in his tightly. She fought back the urge to giggle when his light snoring became more audible and C.C. couldn't help but think just how much cuter it made him seem.

He's tired… Oh, so very tired. And this wouldn't be the first time he'd fallen asleep during his visits. That she can confirm. But could she blame him? Of course not.

Lately, he would come and visit her either close or way past exhaustion. He yawns and constantly take cat naps, but no matter how many times she tired telling him it's alright to not visit her for a day, his stubbornness comes out and he insists otherwise. He's always busy juggling between school, work and college preparations whilst trying to find the free time to visit her. Sacrificing the joys of his senior year just to spend time with her… a sick girl who lives by the will of the unknown.

It pains her to know he's pushing himself—adding unnecessary stress to his hectic life.

Brushing back his ebony bangs affectionately, C.C. softly whispers, "Sometimes Lelouch… you can be just a stubborn." Deciding to entertain herself until he wakes, she began playing with the strands of his hair, tugging and disheveling it without care all the while admiring the color and how soft and silky it felt as she brushed her lithe fingers through it. This man, this sleepy strict person who cares so much for her… is such a good friend.

Has been for most of their lives.

Her best friend since childhood.

After a few minutes of listening to his steady breathing and playing with his hair, C.C. gave up on waiting for him to wake and grabbed a section of his hair and gave it a tug to rouse him. A small groan formed in his throat, but he didn't wake. Displeased, she tugged his hair harder until victory became hers when he sat up groaning irritably and mumbled a few incoherent meaningless words as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. C.C. felt her heart race in excitement. She wants to talk to him now.

When sleep clouded amethyst eyes met lively golden hues, a silly smile formed on her lips and he subconsciously did the same.

Then— she flicked him on the forehead with her index finger.

"Oww!" Lelouch whined, "What was that—"

"Get off you bed, Lelouch. My sheets were just cleaned, and I don't need you to ruin it with your drool stains." She let go of his hand only to push him away with a palm to his face. "Move away, boya."

"Stop, C.C." Lelouch slapped her hand away, "And I don't drool. You're the one who does." He corrected then rolled his eyes facing away from her.

"You do too!" C.C. exclaimed and Lelouch looked back at her strictly. "Remember that one time we fell asleep in the car, back when we were little?" His head tilted slightly in confusion, not quiet recalling the said memory clearly, so C.C. rolled her eyes and huffed, "Well, you fell asleep on my shoulder and there was a huge drool puddle on my new shirt!"

"Uh- No! You must be delusional because you were the one who fell asleep and YOU were the one who drooled all over me. It was disgusting— hardly a puddles worth, but an entire ocean." Lelouch's body shivered at the horrific memory and C.C. giggled.

"Ah, stop exaggerating, Lelouch. It wasn't that bad."

"Says you… You weren't the one who was drooled on."

"You know what, Lelouch. I don't want to hear your tall tale lies, but because you're my best friend… I guess I'll have to accept it this one time." She faced away from him with her chin held high and arms crossed over her chest, childishly showing her 'superiority' over him. Lelouch looked at her as if she was insane. Nothing about that made any sense, but—that's just who she is. Weird and Unusual.

But also… adorably funny and full of life.

She makes him so happy.

"So how are you feeling, C.C.? I heard you had another surgery today."

Relaxing her posture to his question, she looked out the window close to her bed, studying the way the sun was kissing the horizon as it neared nighttime.

"Being honest, I do feel a bit rough right now, but I'm not worried about the pain or how crappy I feel. The surgery was a success and that's all that matters." She admitted shamelessly with a sad tone to her voice as she continued to stare out the window. "Besides," C.C. looked back to him with a smile, "You already know… I've been through a lot worse, suffered through immense pain before, so this is nothing compared to those times."

Clear flashes of memory of her coughing up blood and gasping urgently for air flooded his mind, provoking the intense sorrow and fear he experienced that day a couple years ago inside him. Never again… he never wants to relive that day or come close to something like that ever again.

Pushing back the horrifying memories, he switched his gaze to the window where her focus had been previously and watched the drizzle of rain fall as the warm colors of sun's departure painted the sky.

Which reminds him…

"Oh, C.C. I brought your birthday gift today." He announced, and she looked down to where he reached for a gift bag that was on the ground beside his chair. "I won't be able to see you on your birthday, so I thought it would be best to bring the gift a couple days early… I hope you don't mind." Handing her the bag, he added, "I made it for you."

C.C. eyed him suspiciously.

"I don't know if I want handmade gift from you. I don't trust you."

Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Just open the gift."

Continuing to give him a suspicious stare a little longer, she turned away and faced the green and blue Happy Birthday bag with matching multi colored sheets neatly stuffed inside. "Lelouch is such a perfectionist." She thought to herself before digging her hand inside and slowly pulled out the rather soft object that was hidden.

And a perfectionist he was.

For what felt like a minute, her heart stopped but started to beat again in excitement. Nothing in this moment can ruin the absolute euphoria she feels from the honest gift from his heart. "Lelouch, this is so perfect!" She practically shouted as she hugged the handmade Cheese-Kun plush in her arms. "I'm surprised at how close it looks to the actual merchandise." She glanced over to see the small blush proudly presenting itself on his cheeks.

"Yeah, well… it was a lot of hard work. This is also sort of an apology for letting Arthur tear up the other Cheese-Kun." Lelouch looked away from her shyly, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Apology accepted. This was very sweet of you, Lelouch. I'm glad you're finally in touch with your feminine side." She joked, smirking at him and Lelouch choked.

"You're not funny. I put a lot of time and effort into that thing… The least you can say is, 'thank you'."

"Awww! It's that important to you? Was it made with LOOOOVVVVEEEEE?" She teased stuffing the plush in his face, making him push the cheese blob away.

"No, it's made with special material, stuffing, and other small things." He sat back in his chair watching her cling tightly on the birthday gift.

"Is that special material love?"

"C.C.!" His blush deepened, face hot in embarrassment and he couldn't find the will to look her straight in the eyes anymore. It's his fault, he walked right into her trap.

C.C. let out a laughter that sounded like small bells in his ears and filled his heart with heat. She's absolutely stunning in his eyes. Even though he saw her as just a friend, there was no denying that she is the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. From her long green hair that cascaded down her back, to the sly seductive smile and golden eyes that could be mistakenly believed to belong to a siren once, she is just so breathtaking.

Very strong yet extremely fragile at the same time.

Her life has been filled with nothing but false hope. All her life, she's lived with a merciless illness that has deeply plagued her, and worst of all, the cause of her illness remains unknown. One moment it's one thing, then after when doctors believe they've pinpointed the problem, another problem shows—shooting down their diagnostics. It's constantly changing, it's unpredictable and everybody is scratching their heads wondering, 'what's wrong?'. Without a doubt it's frustrating to not just the professionals, but to everyone close to C.C. as well. They can't figure it out. And even though C.C. keeps a brave face, he knows deep down inside… she wants to cry.

It's hard on her. It's hard for her to miss out on life, to be hospitalized under heavy medications and wondering on a daily of when she'll be released, when will be okay to go out and have a little fun. Though despite the bad, she keeps the good and wears it on her sleeves. Her persona could easily fool anyone to believe that she's happy and not afraid of her fate, instead, she embraces it fully. So quirky and fun, her smile painfully hides the fact that she's slowly dying, and that thought alone makes him feel sick to his stomach. Sometimes he wouldn't notice, but he usually saw past her facade and see the girl who struggles fighting to live. He's afraid of losing her since she means so much to him.

The doctors told her she has a slight chance of surviving and living a long happy life, but it all depends on her will. For the most part, C.C. has one hell of a will because she wasn't supposed to live past the young age of 8yrs old. But here she is at the age of 17, 18 in a few days. Doing just fine with her life, well, at least the incident last month that put her back in here.

As her friend… he just wants her to smile, and as someone who care for her with his entire heart and existence… he wants her to live and see many more years of life by his side.

"So, how was school today?" C.C. asked cutting off his train of thought and snapping him back in the present.

"Oh-um, it was fine until Milly pulled one of her schemes again." C.C.'s mouth gaped open excitedly and asked him to explain more. "She put a price on my head and all the girls in the school were chasing after me!"

"Whoever can get a kiss from the Prince of Ashford, your club will be funded, and you get to call yourself Lelouch's girlfriend for the rest of the year." Milly shouted on the intercom.

"Oh, wow. Did Shirley join in on the fun?"

A heated blush crossed the raven-haired man's cheeks. "She did and… was actually the one who kissed me."

"OW-OW!" C.C. cheered, making the man blush as he tried to ignore her frenzy then she laughed saying, "What a player Lelouch. So, are you two dating now or what?"

"We haven't discussed it yet, plus I don't really see her like that." He faced her, looking right into her pretty amber eyes. "It's not fair for Milly to fund her own club, don't you think?"

"That's besides the point." C.C. rolled her eyes. "Anyways, you just said, 'not really'. Is there a part of you that does like Shirley?" she questioned and Lelouch stared at her blankly, chewing through her words. Sure, he likes Shirley, she's sweet and a fun person to be around. She's pretty and not trying to be a pervert, has a nice body. But… he doesn't have that romantic connection with her.

Probably because he always liked—no, he's deeply fond of…

"I-I don't have feelings for-"

Soft knocks on the door sounded and the two teens in the room averted their attention to the older man who stepped in with a few flowers in hand. His hair was brown with a few strands of grey hair and his eyes were strikingly similar in the shade of gold as the sickly woman in bed. Anybody who didn't know them can see that this man is C.C.'s father.

"Hello Lelouch, I see you came to visit my daughter again."

Rising from his seat respectfully, "Yes, I came here to drop off a birthday gift before I left for the Spring Break trip tomorrow."

"Papa, look what Lelouch made me." She held out the handmade Cheese-Kun. "It's made of 'special material'. Do you know what that means?"

The older man laughed. "Lemme guess, is that material love?" He looked over to the startled Lelouch who just buried his face in his hands.

"You know what, I've had enough of this love thing." He muttered out in annoyance.

Patting the flustered raven-haired on the back, the older man consoled, "That's okay, Lelouch. It just means you're a good friend to my little girl." He said with a smile then continued, "This brings back memories of when you two were little and always bathed together. C.C. used to always beg me to let her bathe with you whenever you spent the night. Well, that was before she knew the difference between male and female privates."

"Papa! Can you stop?" C.C.'s blush prettily adorned her cheeks, sending a fluttering sensation in Lelouch's heart.

He too remembers the days when they were very little and shared many baths together, but this is the first he's ever heard of her begging to bathe with him. People used to say they were inseparable when they younger. Perhaps because she always wanted to cling to him. And even though they've known each other since diapers, there are still many sides of her he hasn't seen, stories he hasn't heard.

C.C. likes to act she's too good and cold, but she has a much softer side to her.

Smiling fondly at the green-haired beauty as she begged her father to stop embarrassing her when he continued to spout stories, Lelouch felt a wave of sadness tug at his heart strings watching them interact. Her father is a very good man who worked very hard to make sure she received the best care that she could. If Lelouch had to pick the person who's suffered the most with the burden of C.C.'s illness, her father is definitely the one.

Clearing his throat, "It's dark out, so I'll be heading home now." Lelouch informed. Exchanging a look with his daughter, C.C.'s father excused himself from the room, wanting to give them some form of privacy. Lelouch tried to stop him, saying it wasn't necessary but before the words could leave his mouth, the older man had already left.

An awkward moment of silence fell between him and C.C., and for some reason… he found it hard to look her in the eyes. But to be fair, she couldn't meet his gaze either. Probably because she's still embarrassed.

Joining her, sitting halfway on the bed, Lelouch took her hand to grab her attention and smiled. "I'll try coming by tomorrow before I leave, okay?" She gave him a nod. "I'll text you when I get home." Lelouch leaned in and gently kissed her on the cheek, unconsciously lingering longer than he normally would. He pulled away from her smooth skin slightly, his lips still close to her as his breath brushed her skin. Then suddenly, before he realized what he was doing, his hands swiftly cupped her cheeks and brought her lips closer to his as he leaned in—kissing her soft lips tenderly.

Dangerously his heart ruptured in his chest at the contact. It felt so right, so good. And after the small moment of passion, he registered what he'd done and briskly pulled himself away from her in shame.

His wide eyes met hers.

"I-I'm sorry... I don't know..." He trailed off in a whisper.

"I know, I'm just too tempting." She teased, trying to ease the now awkward tension that's rapidly forming between them. "I'll talk to you later, say Hi to your family for me."

Lelouch got off the bed and gathered his things as he made his way towards the door. "Yeah, I'll talk to you later."

Then without another word, he left.

Soon after his departure, her father came into the room and started to ramble about his day. But the only thing that C.C. could focus on was the random kiss they just shared. It's so weird. They only saw each other as friend, right? Did she do or say something to provoke him to kiss her suddenly? But as looks goes, it seemed like he couldn't understand why he did what he did either.

"Boys are so weird...especially Lelouch." She thought as she touched where his cool lips had just been and a pink blush dusted her cheeks.

#

Lelouch sat in his car in the driveway for what must've been for the past twenty minutes. His mind was lost as it traced back to the his and C.C.'s first kiss. Well, the kiss he'd stolen from her. What exactly compelled him to kiss her? It wasn't a bad kiss despite catching her off guard. It was pretty nice. A really nice small kiss indeed. But the delightful feeling of their, 'first kiss', diminished when he thought about her appearance today. She looked sicker than ever. Her already pale skin became even paler and it looked as if her lovely green hair was also losing its color. Dark bags were painted underneath her eyes and she seemed to have lost some weight also.

He's so worried for her... she's only getting worse.

Taking his keys out of the ignition, Lelouch fixed his appearance before walking inside the house.

"Welcome home, Lelouch."

Immediately greeted by his younger sister, Nunnally, who was in the dining room working on her homework with a couple of friends. Lelouch smiled and walked over just enough to see her.

"Hey, Nunnally."

"How's C.C.? Is she doing any better?"

"She's fine, she had surgery earlier before I got there...oh, and she says 'Hi'." He finished then set his things down to the side.

"That's good, I definitely have to pay her a visit soon."

"Welcome home, Lelouch. How was the visit?" The voice of his mother came from the living room.

"She's doing fine."

"Dinner is almost finished, so make sure you clean up before you come down."

Lelouch pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm actually not feeling too well, so I'm calling it a night early." He added and started making his way up the stairs.

"Are you feeling well, Lelouch?" Marianne who was concerned for her son walked up a couple of steps after him. Stopping as he walked further up.

"Yeah, just a little tired... that's all."

#

After jumping in the shower to wash off the long day and did he nightly routine, Lelouch switched off the lights in his room then crawled into bed ready for sleep. But he was denied that pleasure. For an hour he tossed and turned uncomfortably, unable to clear his mind or stop it from racing, just keeping him up like the many nights before. And right as he was ready to give up, believing his night would end in misery, his message tone suddenly went off.

"That must be C.C." He mumbled to himself.

Checking his phone, a little feeling of happiness washed over him.

C.C.: What happened to my message Lelouch? You can't keep a girl waiting.

He smirked at the message.

Lelouch: If you want an apology, you're not getting one.

C.C.: How rude, no wonder why you never had a girlfriend.

Lelouch: Shut up. You're annoying me.

He smiled waiting for her text.

C.C.: Your stupidity is contagious.

Lelouch: Says the one I got it from.

C.C.: :)

C.C.: Get some sleep.

Lelouch: Night C.C.

C.C.: Goodnight Lelouch...

He smiled before turning off his screen and setting his phone on his bedside table. As soon as he started to feel sleep take over, his message tone went off again. Looking at the messenger, a smile formed when he saw it was C.C. that had texted him again.

C.C.: Try not to think too hard about the kiss ;)

He quickly replied.

Lelouch: Trust me, I rather not.

C.C.: When you dream of me, try to keep it PG.

Lelouch blushed yet again at the implication.

Lelouch: Goodnight C.C.!

C.C.: ;)

"I should've known she wasn't going to let it go."

He thought about her for a little bit before drifting off to sleep. But then, his mind didn't stray too far since he started dreaming of the green witch.

. . . .

Setting her phone to the side, C.C. sat still in her hospital bed as one of the nurses she's familiar with cleaned her fresh wound from surgery on her back. Talking to Lelouch always made her feel better.

"Did your friend come over today?" The nurse curiously asked.

"As usual." She replied nonchalantly then looked to the starry night sky.

"He's such a nice young man, I've spoken with him a couple times. He speaks fondly of you." The nurse commented as she began putting the bandage on her. "He must deeply care for you."

"We've been friends for what seems like forever. I know he doesn't say anything for my sake I guess, but I know he's hurting. There's so much sadness in his eyes."

The nurse looked at C.C. for a moment with a sad smile. "That may be true, but I can tell he's the source of your fight, and you're most likely his source of strength too." She finished with the bandage and cleaned the mess as C.C. dressed back in her gown.

"I know… He's a really good friend."


AN: That's it for now! I hope you liked this chapter. Feel free to let me know what you think, leave a comment, ask questions, review, etc. Until next chapter :)

Thatsoneperson