A/N: Hello everyone. This chapter's extra long because... There are a few changes in C. C. and Lelouch's relationship to each other. I really, dearly hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Code Geass is not mine. Unfortunately.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In the piano scene, the song is: Comptine d'un Autre Été. It's a very nice song, but not mine. At all. But please do listen afterwards, or during, because really, it's a very excellent piano song.

Ch. 3

"Do you hate me?"

The two fugitives looked at each other, daring the other to say something. After what seemed like an eternity had passed, the boy replied, "…. No."

"But you don't love me."

It wasn't a question, but more of a statement. For the second time that day, Lelouch had to question his own feelings towards the witch. He watched her sigh and get out of the water, saying, "Never mind. Don't answer that. I'm going back to the room."

She went to an area behind him and dried herself off and changed back into her dress. It wasn't until she was nearly out of earshot when he replied, "I'm not sure."

Turning around, she asked, "What do you mean you're not sure? You said you didn't hate me, but you don't know if you lo-"

"I said I'm not sure. But then again, who would love someone like you?"

He had accidentally muttered the last part, but C2 heard him. Realizing what had happened, he looked at her, and he could see the hurt expression on her face before it melted into a blank face. She walked away quickly before he could do anything, and when he was left alone, he cursed himself for being so insensitive.

Getting out, he hurriedly dressed and attempted to run after her, but she had gone too far. Dejectedly, he walked back, dreading having to sleep in the same room as her. When he arrived at the lodging, instead of going up, he sat down at a table. Alexander slid into the seat across from him and asked, "Not sleepy?"

Lelouch only glared at him, unable to say anything because of his façade. The man with poor posture commented, "You have the most remarkable violet eyes I've ever seen. Did Cera fall in love with them?"

He shook his head in reply and he continued, "Then why did she? What did you do that made her love you?"

The "mute" only looked at him, annoyance written on the upper half of his face. Alexander gave him a sheet of paper and a pen, clearly telling him to write the story. Resigning to his commands due to his fatigue from the day, Lelouch took the pen and wrote:

"It just happened."

The man saw it, and he said, "Oh, Leroy, that can't be true. Every couple has a story behind how they fell in love."

"The reason why I wear this mask is because when I was a child, my father scarred me, made my younger sister blind, and killed my mother. The lower half of my face is mutilated, and I've always hid it from people, and I've always hid from people because of what happened when I was young. One day, I got caught up in a riot and fell, and my mask fell off. Cera, who was nearby, protected me and helped me home. Once we were at my home, she finally saw me, my entire face, and I tried to hide it from her, but she said that she didn't care. She visited me everyday after that, helping both my sister and me, and I fell in love with her, at the way she didn't shy away from anything and how she just accepted things, at how she accepted me."

He passed it back to the patiently waiting man, who read it quickly. Chuckling, he said, "You must love her very much."

Lelouch gave him a questioning look, and he answered his unspoken question with, "That's your story, not her's. How did Cera fall in love with you?"

Grouchy, he took the paper back one last time, scrawled, "Ask me next time. I'm tired.", pushed his chair back while standing up, and ascended the stairs. He carefully closed the door so as not to disturb C2, who was facing the wall while lying down in the bed, but she said, "You're sleeping on the floor."

"I know."

"Then good."

Changing into his sleeping attire, he lay down on the blanket on the floor, and the room was silent and dark again. Lelouch was in the middle of his internal debate on whether to say anything or not, when the girl on the bed asked, "What is it that you want to say, Lelouch?"

"Do you love me?"

"Do I love you?"

"Yes, C2. Do you love me?"

The question hung in the air, heavy with the teenager's surprising anxiety at her answer. She finally said, "What if I do? What are you going to do then?"

He didn't reply, and she continued, "Let's make a deal then. I'll tell you if you do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Agree first."

"Tell me first."

"I don't have to answer your question. I feel no obligation to."

In his mind, Lelouch told himself that he didn't need to know the way she felt about him, but for a strange reason, he felt a pressing need to know. Heaving a sigh, he asked, "What's your favor?"

"Is this you consenting?"

"Yes."

"Tomorrow night then."

"Tomorrow night what?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow night."

"Why tomorrow night? Why not now?"

"I never knew you were so interested in whether I loved you or not."

"I'm not that interested."

"Then you can wait until tomorrow night."

Miffed, Lelouch didn't say anything, until the next afternoon, when he asked while they were eating lunch, "What's the favor?"

"The favor? Oh, right, the favor."

"What is it?"

"How are your fingers, Lelouch?"

"My fingers? Why?"

"I want you… I want you to play the piano for me."

"The piano? Where? Where, in this village, would there be a piano? Don't tell me you found a supposedly secret one decades ago either."

"There's one downstairs. Just one piece will do."

"Can I know why? I never thought you would have a request like this."

"I never would have guessed you would have asked me if I loved you."

Ignoring her comment, he queried, "Is there a specific song you want me to play?"

"A song… Full of sincerity."

He looked up from his plate, and at the girl across from him, who in turn was gazing out of the window and into the vast field laid out beneath them as far as the eye could see. For the remainder of the meal, they didn't speak, leaving the other to their thoughts. When the plates had been relieved of their food, C2 stood up and said, "I'm going to go out."

Before he could ask to do what, she added, "To complete our business here."

Leaving the plates, she exited the room, abandoning the Britannian youth. Sighing, he put on his mask, stacked the plates, and went downstairs after a considerable amount of time had passed. Leaving the plates on the bar for the innkeeper to pick up, he just stood there for a second, wondering what to do now, when Cian rushed up to him. The excited eccentric asked, "How are you, Leroy?"

Lelouch only looked at him, as his now-customary response to most questions, and Cian said, "Good? Good. I'm feeling great. I was just wandering around, and I happened on this flower. Isn't it beautiful?"

He held up a flower, fully bloomed. Cian suggested, "Why don't you go pick some for Cera, as a nice surprise? Actually, that's a pretty good idea. Why don't you? Let's go, Leroy."

Grabbing the helplessly silent boy, the villager took him by the arm and dragged him onto the dirt path. After 15 minutes of tuning out his chattering, Lelouch saw a large field, completely full of flowers, gently swaying in the breeze. Carefully walking down the small hill, the blonde asked, "What type of flowers does Cera like?"

The pretend trader was at a loss, realizing that he knew almost nothing about C2's preferences. Following the busy villager, he strolled up and down the rows of flower bushes, just examining them and wondering which one to give to C2. Cian came up form behind and asked, "Why not these carnations?"

7 carnations were gently put into his hands, a jumble of red and white buds. In his mind, Lelouch commented, "They're much too common for C2." In the distance, he saw pink camellias and peonies. Carefully detaching them from their bushes, soon, he had 14 red, white, and pink flowers staring up at him. It wasn't until Cian commented, "The sun's about to set soon." that Lelouch noticed how much time had passed while he was painstakingly scrutinizing the flowers he picked. The cheerful man asked, "Do you want to go back, Leroy? I know you were reluctant to come here, but I thought it would be a good idea to get some flowers for your wife. To show her you love her."

Lelouch nodded in reply, and he smiled, asking, "Really? You thought it was a good idea?"

He nodded again, and he grinned, saying to himself, "I knew it was a good one. I just knew it."

The tired teenager got ready to go back to the inn, when something caught his eye. Cian asked, "Where are you going?" But he just ignored him.

'Just one last touch. I'm sure C2 will love these.'

Ignoring his bewilderment at his thoughts, he obtained the last flowers; baby's breath. Adding them to the bouquet, he joined Cian again, who was waiting at the top of the hill. As they were walking back, he asked, "So, Leroy…. Do you think Cera will like them?"

Nodding once again in agreement, a comfortable silence ensued, which was something alien to Lelouch. He thought, 'He's actually adequate company, if you look past his… strange habits."

They arrived, and the fair-haired villager waved, calling out, "I hope Cera likes them! Good luck, Leroy!"

'Good luck for what?'

He was about to go inside, when he heard a familiar voice say, "Leroy!"

Turning around, he saw Alexander with a surprised expression on his face.

"So you're not as cold as I thought. Cera was asking where you were, since you were gone for half the day. She was getting very worried, but I see nobody could find a trace of you because you went to get a gift for her. Did Cian take you?"

The teenager nodded, and the broad man said, "Awfully nice of you. He must really like you two. The field he took you to is his…. Well, he calls it a flower garden, but we all see it as a flower plantation. But anyways, he, and everyone else who lives here, prizes his botanical creations. You managed to pick quite a wealthy bouquet. How are you planning to give it to Cera?"

He shrugged and Alexander said, "Well, you had better decide quickly, because here she comes. And she doesn't look very happy, mind you. Good day, Leroy."

The middle aged man turned around and walked away. C2, just as Alexander had said she would, appeared right behind Lelouch and asked in an angry tone, "Where were you the whole day? I disappear to do something, and then you decide to just vanish without telling me? What we-"

He simply gave her the bouquet, and the green-head immediately stopped scolding him. A look of surprise crossed her and she asked, "Is this for me?"

In response, he muttered, "Well there's no one else except for me and you."

Wrapping her hands around his, she said quietly, "Thank you."

Lelouch pried one of her hands away from the flowers and entwined his fingers with her's. C2 looked up at him, and he explained in low tones, "They expect for you and me to become more intimate."

"They?"

"The villagers."

Understanding, but slightly disappointed his action was caused by the need to hide under their disguise, and not because of his will, she tugged him towards the door.

Dinner was a quiet, but fairly content affair. After the dishes were sent away, C2 was curled up on the bed while her companion was struggling not for his nervousness to show. When it was late at night and nearly no one but men who had fallen asleep were downstairs, the two crept down to the piano. Sitting side by side, Lelouch lifted the piano key's cover and only stared at it, attempting to swallow. Never before had he been this anxious…..

'No… I have been… But this is a different type of anxiety.'

Realizing he needed a small push, C2 encouraged quietly, "Play."

Lifting his hands to the black and white keys, he steadied his mind so that he wouldn't make a mistake, and began to play.

C2 had always known he was an accomplished piano player; after all, she had learned that he had begun at the early age of 3, and had continued on from time to time, to entertain Nunally. But there was something different from when he played for his sister, and him playing next to her, and just for her. She watched his fingers glide up and down, creating beautiful music from the old and used piano, which seemed to captivate her because….

'…because it's full of sincerity.'

Her line of sight changed from the hands pressing the keys to the owner of them. She studied his face, as she saw him relax completely, a rare thing for the troubled boy. On impulse, she reached up and moved his hair out of his eyes, which completely took him aback. The song was cut off, and the last note died in the air as their eyes met.

She murmured, "Thank you…. For the flowers… And the song… But most of all, thank you for your sincerity."

"My… Sincerity?" he repeated, a little dazed from looking so deeply into her bullion eyes. She nodded, and the usually passive girl had tears welling up, and he whispered, "No…. Don't cry."

"I'm not crying." she replied, and so Lelouch wiped away a lone tear trailing down her face with his thumb and asked, "Then what do you call this?"

She didn't reply and he said, "This is the truth, C2."

"Then show me your truth too."

She pulled down his mask, and they only stared at each other's genuineness; C2's tears, and the pain she had had, and Lelouch's true identity, something he must always bury from the moment he had staged his death. She thought, 'He was always alone as I was, and he's lonely and an outcast, just like me.'

"Lelouch, I…."

"Yes?"

Their faces inched closer, and when they were nearly kissing, she said softly, "I love you."

His fears were destroyed, and pleasure coursed through him as he made the final move and kissed her.

A/N: Well... Ahem... Well... Haven't got much to say... I hope you liked this. I know it's not very good, but I enjoyed it, and I really hope you did too. Look forward to more chapters, and please review if you have the time!