Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.

Chapter Six: The Feeling That Doesn't Reach

"Do you want help?"

Lelouch nearly fell off of the ladder out of startlement. Scrabbling for the window's ledge, he held on tightly with white knuckles as he looked up at the witch with disbelief. Was she really offering to do work? C2 was willing to do manual labor? Since when? And why? Maybe this was a trick, and she was trying to see how fast he would fall for-

"Do you?" she questioned, her voice laced with impatience.

"If I say yes, are you going to?"

"Depends on what you want me to do," she replied, indifferently leaning half of her body out of the second story window. Level with the tall man for once, she casually reached out and wiped away a splatter of whitewash that had smeared on his cheekbone. As he flinched at her sudden touch (which was surprisingly gentle), she flicked the paint off of her fingers and asked, "What would you have me do if I helped you?"

"… Grab a paintbrush," he managed to choke out through his shock. Gold narrowed into slits as she suspiciously said, "You're not going to make me climb up a ladder, are you? I know all about boys, Lelouch, and I'm not going to let you peek up my skirt."

Flushing violently, he indignantly sputtered, "I'm- I'm not that kind of person."

"Oh, that's right. Stealing glances up a girl's skirt isn't enough for you, is it? You are an entirely different class of-"

"Are you going to help me or not?"

Flashing a brilliant smile that clearly informed him of how amused she was, she told him she would as soon as she changed.

"You're still wearing your nightgown?"

"What do you mean still? I just woke up, because unlike some people, I like to enjoy my mornings and avoid waking up at the break of dawn."

"There's a lot of work to be done."

"You know, you don't have to be this diligent. I don't mind living somewhere like this; I've eaten and slept in places far worse. And I'm sure Jeremiah and Sayoko wouldn't begrudge you a chance to lounge in bed all day in the company of a beautiful woman."

His pale cheeks reddened even more and his immortal companion laughed mischievously. Patting him on the head, she purred, "I'll be out in fifteen minutes. You can hold back for fifteen more minutes, can't you?"

"I've given up on trying to have a normal conversation with you," he muttered. Shaking his head at the brazen ways of the witch, he began to make his way to the ground when he heard, "Lelouch."

"What is it?"

"Come here. I have something to give you."

"Give it to me when you come outside."

"I have to give it to you now. Come up."

Heaving a heavy sigh, the raven-haired man retraced his steps to the top again. When he reached the last tread, he mustered all the patience he could spare and (to his credit, politely) inquired, "What is it that you want to give me?"

"Close your eyes."

"C2, what-"

"Just close your eyes before I push the ladder off of the house."

Knowing her character, the witch would unquestionably keep her word on her threat. And so, Lelouch, who had no particular desire or plans to break any of his bones, obediently closed his eyes. As he floated in inky oblivion, his mind wandered to the possibilities of what it was that the witch was so eager to bestow upon him. A smack on the head? But no; he hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, everything he had done with her, to her, near her, had all been punctually and correctly done in an orderly and harmless fashion. So no, it couldn't possibly be a swat to his head. So what-

What about a kiss?

That had been the last thing she had- Okay, well, maybe that wasn't the last thing she had given him… But it had been the first when they had reunited after his father (he repressed the urge to scowl at the remembrance of the infuriatingly selfish man) had dared to subdue Zero.

Could it be a kiss?

If it was… On the off chance that what she wanted to give him was, in fact, a kiss (though only the heavens knew why he was even entertaining this possibility out of the thousands clambering about in his head), and she did give him a kiss, he didn't quite trust himself to keep holding onto the ladder. He'd probably let go out of surprise and tumble down the approximate 15 feet gap between the second story window to the hard ground below. He'd probably break every single one of the 206 bones in his body, but strangely, the danger and harm the kiss would blow down on him didn't really concern him as much as the fact that she had kissed him.

As he continued to ruminate on the possibility, he began to become alarmed (just a touch, but the panic was there all the same). If she did kiss him, then what was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to kiss her back? Did he even have the nerve and ability to return the gesture? And how long would it last? Was he supposed to close his eyes, or keep them open? And what about the aftermath? After it ended, was it his turn to kiss her, or was there something else that-

"You forgot to wear a mask, you fool. Don't you know that paint has noxious fumes?"

Eyes snapping open, the immortal stared at the mask dangling from one of the emerald-haired woman's slender digits as she lectured him on using common sense. Little did she know (or suspect) that all was in vain, as her scolding was lost to him. The warlock paid no mind to the witch's chiding as he struggled to swallow his disappoint- Disappointment? Why was he feeling disappointment? If anything, he should be glad that she didn't kiss him. He hadn't fallen from the ladder, and had been saved from any potentially awkward situations he in no way was equipped to navigate through (at least, without making himself look stupid). It was a good thing that she hadn't kissed him. Not that she ever was going to in the first-

"What's wrong?"

"What?"

"You look like you were just punched in the stomach," she said.

"Do I really?" he muttered. "How strange."

"You're the strange one. Take it already."

"I'm tired of masks," he grumbled. Unimpressed with the way he was dragging his feet, she threw the cloth at his face and told him, "Then you can die from intoxication for all I care" before gliding into their bedroom. As she closed the door behind her, her partner mumbled, "Paint's not the one intoxicating me. And a mask isn't going to protect me from the true culprit either."

Taken aback by the words that had unwittingly flown out of his mouth, he blinked in surprise. Where had that come from? … Well, it didn't matter. There was an enormous amount of work to do today before the sun set and he was going to get through it no matter what obstacles appeared in his path. Willing his mind to forget the poisonous hope that had been coursing through his veins just moments before, he moved towards the ground. When both feet were planted solidly on earth, the flustered young man took a moment to calm down. Running his hand through his hair, he thought, 'Don't do this to me, C2. The last thing I need is to be distracted by disappointment and irrational thoughts.'

And as he tied the mask into place, he set to work.

. . .

"I have a sin to confess, Cheese-kun."

C2 glanced at the reflection of her beloved plushie which was docilely sitting on the (rather comfortable) rocking chair. Delicately rubbing rose-tinted lip gloss on her lips, she closed the cap of the small bottle with a sharp click and corrected herself with, "Well, technically, it's not a sin. But it feels like one."

Reaching behind her, she began to tie her long, emerald hair into a neat ponytail as she continued to explain.

"Apparently, the next thing at the top of the boy's never-ending to-do list is to repaint the cottage. But the schmuck that he is, he forgot to take a mask with him. I was going to give him one, just like the nice and thoughtful person that I am should. But I also wanted some fun out of it; I wanted to scare him a little, so I told him to close his eyes. But when he did…"

She paused in her story-telling while she carefully straightened the collar of the Alice-blue dress shirt she had 'borrowed' from said halfwit. Satisfied, she picked up where she left off.

"I nearly kissed him, Cheese-kun. What am I going to do with myself? I thought I was better than that, but all I've been thinking about for the past few days is what it would feel like if he kissed me, and… I can't seem to stop."

Flopping onto the edge of the bed, she picked up her smiling doll and sighed. "What's wrong with me, Cheese-kun? Why can't I stop thinking about him? Why can't I stop caring so much about what he thinks of me, and how I look and act in front of him? I've lived for so long, and I've gone through so much, and yet… This is what I'm reduced to."

Sulking over the way she had recently been behaving, C2 gave him the amorphous plaything a tight hug. The murk of worried silence enveloped the room until she broke the quiet with a muffled question.

"Why can't the idiot just kiss me?"

Cheese-kun merely smiled, and she pulled a face at his unhelpful advice.

"It doesn't work that way. I was always doing the kissing in our relationship. Now I want him to kiss me. I could kiss him for all I cared, and he could still not return my feelings, whatever it is that they are. Do you understand why it's imperative that he does the kissing?"

And he only smiled.

"Do you think he'll ever give me a kiss, Cheese-kun?"

Smile.

Fed up, she set him down (somewhat more rougher than her usual treatment of the prized mascot) on her pillow and stormed out of the room, all the while darkly muttering under her breath, "What the hell is wrong with all of the men in this house?"

. . .

"C2, we-"

"Lelouch, I want to make a snowman."

Brows furrowing in bewilderment, the raven-haired man watched as the witch stalked towards the small pyramid of neatly-stacked paint buckets. As she grabbed one of the six containers that made up the bottom layer and knocked over the entire pile, he slowly inhaled once, and then slowly exhaled once to rally the courage and patience to find out what was wrong.

"C2, it's the middle of August. How do you expect to make a snowman when we're currently in a heat wa-"

"You're being too narrow-minded, " she growled as she forcefully opened a can. The second he saw her use violent (and rather physical) means, sirens immediately went off in Lelouch's head. Concerned, he (prudently) came closer to interfere and put an end to her rampage. Speaking in a peaceful manner so as not to anger her any further, he slowly asked, "How do you suggest we build a…."

He fell silent as she upended the entire contents of a very full bucket of whitewash on his head. As it slipped and slithered into his hair and clothes, he internally sighed. Why had he not seen this coming?

C2, obviously pleased with her work, triumphantly watched as the warlock cautiously and carefully wiped the paint from his eyes, mouth, and nose (well, his face in general), she declared, "Now we have a snowman. Albeit a scrawny, underweight, and lanky snowma- Snowboy."

Picking up a thin paintbrush, the immortal woman dabbed at the excess pigments on his cheek and began to mark fine, white lines on the house. Her carefree humming was interrupted by a (completely unexpected) response from the paint-drenched man standing frozen besides her.

"Having only one snowman is lonely, C2. We need at least two. I say we next make one of a witch."

At his suggestion, the hairs rose on the back of her neck. Her pride kicked in as she slowly set down the brush, and, before he could make any good on his proposal, the emerald-haired woman darted away. Sprinting around the corner of the cottage, she kidnapped a half-full bucket of paint for necessary arsenal and escaped. When all was silent, she peeked around the corner, only for her smug smile to melt into a frown.

… Where had he-

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she felt something incredibly wet and incredibly cold spread on her back. Immediately twisting around, she glowered as her suspicions were confirmed.

White paint.

Why that little-

"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

"This is your shirt," she told him, "Not mine."

And with a smirk, she pitched the can of whitewash at him. Before running away, she saw him shy away from the vicious attack and couldn't help but laugh.

The boy had no idea who he had messed with.

He would come to know soon enough.

. . .

C2 struggled to stifle giggles as she hid behind the shed. She had mercilessly turned her companion into the abominable snowman, and it pleased her immensely. Of course, she herself wasn't quite free of paint (in fact, parts of her legs and arms had been splattered with white, not to mention how her back, cheeks, and neck had become targets). As it happened, there had been instances when she hadn't dodged quickly enough, and these occurrences (though they were rare) had to be paid with bleached hair. But did she care?

Surprisingly, very little.

More importantly, was she winning?

Oh, certainly. It was the inevitable.

Tightening her grip on the whitewash-soaked sponge in her hand, she scrambled up from the grass to deliver the final blow to her opponent, when a colorless blur sprung out of nowhere and tackled her to the ground. With a gasp, her weapon went flying into the air in a beautiful arc, but there was no time to worry about the loss. She was tumbling down a hill far too fast to fret over her weapon-less demise.

When they finally came to a stop, and the dust had settled, it dawned on the witch how out of breath and excited she had gotten over children's play and couldn't help but find their immaturity ridiculously funny. As she burst into laughter, she heard her partner chuckle from underneath her. She desperately tried to catch her breath, but the entire paint-war dissolved any resolve into hilarity.

How long had it been since she had done something so lighthearted and blithe? And when had been the last time she had laughed like this? She couldn't even remember it was so long ago. It was so exhilarating to…

All trains of thought came screeching to a halt as she caught the way he was looking at her. The way he was looking at her… It was the exact same as when they had been in the pasture together yesterday and he had called her by her true name.

He rose up onto his elbow, inching their faces even closer. He tucked stray strands of hair behind her ear, and she lay perfectly still as they moved closer to each heart was pounding and she felt lightheaded as she felt his lips graze hers. Not even daring to breathe, she waited for his lips, for the kiss, for everything that she had been waiting for for so long. Please, just this one time… Just this one, please-

"Hello? Is there anyone home? C2? Are you home?"

Gold clashed with amethyst as the pair was brutally tossed out of their own world. Frustration welled up inside of the emerald-haired woman, and she dearly wished that the heavens would curse the oblivious interrupter (sadly, it was to no avail). Biting down vexation with an irritated huff, she whispered, "Stay here. I'll send them away."

Careful not to touch him (for more his sake than hers; C2 felt that if she were to lay even a finger on him (on anyone, really), she didn't trust herself to resist the urge to lash out with a slap), she rose and was about to give their visitor a piece of her mind greeting, she felt a hand grab her wrist.

No way… Was he going to-

"… Be careful."

"… When have I not been?" she replied. And, slipping out of his grasp, she left to rid them of their unforeseen caller.

. . .

Letting himself fall back onto the ground, Lelouch sighed as his mind wandered to reminisce on what had just happened. Er… What just almost happened.

Her lips had been so soft, and she had looked so beautiful, and it had felt so right as he was about to ki-

NO.

Absolutely not. They weren't in that kind of relationship, and even if he wanted something of the sort, it was quite obvious what would happen if he dared to make such a move. Besides. He didn't even want that kind of relationship with her in the first place… Did he?

Well, it didn't matter.

Because it would never happen again.

. . .

"Holy- What happened to you, C2?"

"What do you want, Alexei?" she demanded, her voice frosty with annoyance.

"I wasn't barging in on anything, was I?"

"What do you want, boy?"

"I'm sorry, I'll make this really quick."

She sighed out of exasperation. The boy had already upset her with the intrusion, and now, he was talking in that round-about fashion that always made her cross. If he didn't hurry it up, she-

"Are you Britannian, C2?"

"Why should I have to tell you where it is that I come from?"

"Then… Have you ever been to Britannia?"

"Why?"

"Um, well, I realized the other day I forgot to ask you something extremely important, and-"

"Just tell me what it is, Alexei, before I throw you out."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. So… It's like this; for over ten years, I've been looking for someone. I have literally gone from continent to continent, hoping to find her, and I was wondering if you'd seen her by any chance."

She said nothing and he hastily reached into pocket of his leather vest.

"This is a picture of her. She should be 17 years old right now, so obviously, she's not going to look exactly like this, but…"

The immortal stared at the old and faded photograph. Though it was aged and worn, she could still make out a young a boy and girl happily playing in a field of heather. The camera had managed to capture the keen and teasing rubies of the young boy as he tickled the even younger girl, but it wasn't the boy who had captured her attention. It was the other child.

"C2, please, if you've seen my sister anywhere, even if it was a long time ago, could you please tell-"

"Come back tomorrow, Alexei."

"T-tomorrow?"

"Come back tomorrow, and we'll sit down and discuss your sister. Right now, I'm too tired, and I need some time to think. So tomorrow."

"I- Of course. What time should I come back?"

"Early morning. Dawn would be ideal."

"Dawn?"

"It's time for me to leave. To return home."

"O-oh. Well, I'll drop by at dawn then."

She wearily nodded and the boy turned to leave. She watched him walk down the dirt path towards the gates of the orchard and was just about to return to her companion (who was more than likely waiting for her), when he stopped just before the bend and looked back.

"C2."

"What is it?"

"Thank you."

"I haven't even done anything, you fool."

"Still… Thank you."

"… You're welcome."

And then, he left.

Alone at last, the witch sighed. Things had just gotten immensely complicated. Why, out of all the people she could have possibly met at the village, did she have to have met him?

. . .

"What's wrong?"

C2 had made her way back to the boy, who she found to be standing still with his arms folded across his chest. The way he was motionless and silent bothered her, as the last time she had seen him, he had been laughing and lying on the ground. Why was he just standing there? What was he looking at that it would make him-

"I've been preparing Dion so that we can increase our productivity rate," he began.

"And?"

"That includes preparing the orange grove."

"I know that, but why are you-"

"It's currently August, and the first frost this year is predicted to come early mid-September."

"So you're trying to decide what to do with this sapling."

They studied the baby tree spinelessly drooping in front of them. Its leaves were small (much too small) with the edges slightly browning. The limbs of the seedling were thin and frail, and it looked as if it would fall over at the slightest breeze. It was feeble, it was weak. It was going to die.

"… It would be more advantageous for us all if we culled it. It's not strong enough to survive the coming frost, and-"

"It's going to be over a month before the first frost is even supposed to-"

"It's not going to strengthen in time," he countered. "And what happens in the case the frost comes early?"

She glanced at the poor tree and quietly asked, "… Have you no pity, Lelouch?"

"It's an orange tree, C2. It would be better if we gave the nutrients to other-"

"Then I'll take responsibility for it."

The man and woman both were taken aback by her declaration, but C2 firmly stood by her claim. As strange as it sounded, the seedling reminded her of herself, and she'd be damned if she were going to let 'survival of the fittest' steal a life that only needed a little help (okay, so maybe a tree's 'life' couldn't quite compare to a human's, but at the moment, that was irrelevant).

"I'll take responsibility for it. I'll take care of the sapling you wanted to cull, and I'll show you that some things just need an extra chance."

Slipping the trowel out from his grasp, the emerald-haired woman crouched near the shivering plant. Sinking the spade into the soil, she began to dig all around it, when a hand reached out and gently took the tool from her. She looked up in surprise as the man who so wanted to uproot the tree seconds before wordlessly hollow the seedling out from the ground.

"… You're not doing this alone," he simply explained.

"You wanted to cull-"

"Maybe I changed my mind."

A smile slowly but surely grew on her lips, and he said (a tad uncomfortably), "What is it?"

"You're not one to change your mind easily."

"… Maybe I'm changing.," he mumbled, embarrassed by the way she was looking at him.

"Maybe…"

"It's not as if I could have remained the same after everything I've gone through. I know I'm a different man from when we first met, it's obvious that-"

"Lelouch."

"What is it?"

When there was no reply, he stopped digging and looked up, only to be surprised by the light in her eyes. They held so much emotion… The complete opposite of her apathetic and icy gaze when they had been formally introduced to each other for the first time. And that was when he truly came to realize that maybe he wasn't the only person who had been effected by their journey together.

"… I need to know something important, and I need you to tell me the truth."

"… What is it?" As they stared at each other, Lelouch couldn't help but marvel at the woman in front of him. She had been forced through so much pain, through unimaginable torture, and yet, she still knew how to laugh and smile. She was so strong, so perfect. So beautiful…

As if on its own, his hand reached up to lightly brush her cheek, and before he knew it, he was leaning over her and she was lying on the ground under him. Question died in her throat as she stared up at him. What was going on? What… How- Why were they like this right now? And what was he going to do nex-

"… What is it that you want to ask me?"

"… Lelouch, what am I to you?"

As he stared at her in surprise, she tried to hide the trembling of her voice from him as she said, "I need to know what I am to you, and what we're going to become in the future, for both my sake and…"

"Am I supposed to answer with what you are right now or with what I would like for you to be?"

"… What would you like for me to be?" she questioned hoarsely. She faltered as he leaned closer. Closing her eyes, she begged to the heavens above. Please, please, please, just this once, please, let everything go without interruption. For five seconds in her life, let everything be perfect, just-

Lelouch hesitated.

Yes, their lips were less than an inch away from each other, and yes, there was something in his head ordering him to let everything go and make the remaining space disappear, and yes, it seemed as if everything in his life had been leading up to this one moment, but… But did she want it? And was he even sure that the consequences of him kissing her was what he wanted? What did he even want? How could he not know what he wanted? What he wanted… What he, Lelouch vi Britannia, wanted was… It was…

C2's heart sunk and shattered as she felt him pull away.

"… You… You are the person I trust most in the entire world. You're my accomplice. My partner, my equal and confidante. That's what you are to me. You're my friend, and I would like for you to continue being so."

"… Is that all you have to say?"

Suddenly, Lelouch found it incredibly difficult to breathe. His chest tightened as his hair obscured his torn and pained expression. Struggling to rid himself of the unbearable agony tormenting his heart, his nails dug into his palm and he heard himself harshly choke out a rough, "… Yes."

"… I see."

Rising stiffly, the witch flatly told him, "Then I'll be going inside."

And before he could even say or do anything, she briskly walked away from him and her broken heart.

. . .

"He's never going to kiss me, Cheese-kun. He doesn't want to kiss me. Why? Am I not pretty enough for him? I know he doesn't hate me, or else he'd have separated from me a long time ago. Maybe it's his sexuality? He is heterosexual, isn't he? … Or maybe he's in love with someone else, maybe he's stuck on Kallen, or maybe he's decided to be a pedophile out of all things and wait for Anya to become legal, or maybe-"

What was wrong with him? Rather, what was wrong with her? Why was she acting like this? She had lived over thirty times his lifetime, she was mature, she was sophisticated, she was completely above the mind frame of boy-crazy teenage girls, and yet…

Oh.

Oh, that was why she-

"Cheese-kun."

Picking up the plushie from where it lay on her stomach, she raised him up above her so that she was eye-to-eye with her grinning confidante.

"… I think I'm in love with him."

The words tasted strange in her mouth, as she said, "… I think… I'm in love with him."

Blinking out of surprise, she glanced into his rainbow-shaped eyes and answered his friendly, static smile with a bitter smirk of her own.

"I, Cecaniah Corabelle, am in love with Lelouch vi Britannia."

It sounded so ridiculously right. The words resounded within her, and she was made aware that this, that those ten words, were the completely and utterly undeniable truth. And now, with those ten words, everything about her, everything, her perspective, her views, her personality, her life, everything, had changed. With only ten words, the very essence of the witch known as C2 had been transformed. It was ridiculous, it was incredible, it was… It was love.

And Cheese-kun only smiled with silence as he witnessed the paramount change of her life.

Hugging him, she buried her face into his soft belly. Desperately searching for some form of warmth and comfort, any kind of stability, as everything about her life and person fell down around her ears.

"I'm in love, Cheese-kun, and I don't know what to do with a man who doesn't love me back. Maybe I should leave him; I'm sure I'd be able to get over him eventual- No. I'm certain that I'd forget him with enough time. I'm not just saying it."

Silence. Smile.

"… But I don't want to leave him. Because I love him."

Smile. Silence.

"I love someone, Cheese-kun, and even if it hurts, I'm going to continue to stay by his side. Because I love him. And that's that."

And for the first time in what seemed like half of an eternity, C2 resigned herself to the role of, not the witch, but of the lovelorn maiden.

A/N: Reviews are greatly appreciated (only constructive criticism/encouragement please).