Author's Note: Happy White Day! I wrote, edited, and posted this all on the same day because I wanted to make the deadline so badly! I hope the work didn't suffer for it.
Disclaimer: If I owned Code Geass, I would send the money I made to the people suffering in Japan. Unfortunately, I don't, so I can only send them my prayers.
March
In retrospect, Suzaku thought perhaps he should have started shopping sooner. The streets were a chaos of last minute (male) shoppers, rushing from shop to shop in a desperate attempt to find a gift that wouldn't put them in the dog house with their significant other.
It wasn't as if Suzaku had been purposely putting off his White Day shopping. It was just…hard. With Kaguya, it had been easy. Buy some white ribbons, wrap them, put on the postage stamp and done. She wouldn't have expected or wanted anything more from him.
Lelouch and Nunnally were different. They had made an effort for him, and he wanted to do the same. It was the least he could do.
The problem was he had no idea what to get them. Nothing seemed right. What would Nunnally want with ribbons? She couldn't see them anyway. And what was he supposed to get for Lelouch? He was a boy!
Lacking better options, Suzaku found himself following other shoppers in the hopes that they knew where they were going. Eventually, they led him to a small flower shop.
Flowers, huh? They had never occurred to him. It seemed like kind of a sissy gift for Lelouch, but maybe Nunnally would like them.
The store was packed. Apparently, a lot of people had come to the same conclusion that Suzaku had. However, far outnumbering the people was the greenery. Every available surface was occupied by white blooms of every shape and size. The room permeated with their scent, and Suzaku couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
"Can I help you?"
She was a pleasantly plump, middle aged woman wearing an apron and holding a watering can. Suzaku felt he could trust her with his mission.
"I'm looking for some flowers," Suzaku said timidly.
The woman smiled, "Then you've come to the right place! Did you have anything in mind?"
"Well…maybe something that smells nice?" Suzaku said. If Nunnally couldn't see the flowers, at least she'd be able to take in their fragrance.
"Well, we have a lot of wonderfully smelling flowers. Do you think you can be a bit more specific?" the woman asked.
"I dunno," Suzaku said quietly. "I don't know much about flowers."
"Oh, don't worry about that! Here, I'll help you. The flowers are a gift for someone right? What is she like?" the woman asked kindly.
Suzaku blushed, "I never said I was getting anything for a girl!" he protested.
The woman laughed, "Who else could it be for? It is White Day."
She had a point.
"Flowers are unique, with lots of hidden personality and meaning. Really, they're just like people. To find the right flower, I need to know what kind of person the receiver is," the woman explained.
Suzaku nodded, weighing her words in his mind. How to describe Nunnally?
"…She's sweet," he said finally, "and very kind. The type of person you want to protect. I haven't known her very long, but I know that she's had it rough before. They both have. I just want to erase all that bad stuff and replace it with something happy. I want them to be the happiest people in the world!"
The woman wasn't sure why the boy had started using plural nouns, or what someone so young could know about the "bad stuff", but listening to him talk with such sweet, sincere conviction made her want to help him. And she knew just what flower to give him.
"Come with me," she told Suzaku, leading him to a small table covered in flowers. She motioned towards a vase brimming with cheery white blooms.
"White daffodils," she began, "symbolize innocence and new beginnings. It sounds to me like what you want to give this girl is a new beginning. I can't think of a better gift than that."
Suzaku smiled, "Yeah." A new beginning in a world full of light and laughter where they could all be together. It was everything that Lelouch and Nunnally deserved.
"I'll take them."
It was silly to be nervous. If they didn't like them, they didn't like them. It wasn't as if Suzaku had put himself out or anything.
He just really, really hoped they liked them.
"What did you want to talk to us about, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked curiously. He wasn't used to his friend looking so solemn, and he was a bit worried.
Suzaku blushed, "I just…well, it's March fourteenth."
"Yeah, so?" Lelouch didn't need Suzaku to tell him the date. He did own a calendar.
"So…um…I…" Suzaku fumbled.
"Is something wrong, Suzaku?" Nunnally asked. "You're acting awfully strange."
Suzaku shook his head rapidly, "No, I just…here."
The Japanese boy practically shoved the small bouquet into Nunnally's arms.
Nunnally tilted her head, running her fingers gently through her newly found parcel. "Flowers?"
"Yeah, it's March fourteenth. In Japan, we celebrate White Day. After boys get their Valentine's Day chocolates, they're supposed to give out white gifts in return," Suzaku explained.
"So you got me flowers?" Nunnally smiled. "I love them, Suzaku! They smell so sweet!" She buried her face in the fragrant petals and breathed deeply. "Thank you."
Suzaku smiled, and Lelouch punched him lightly on the arm, "I'm not sure how I feel about you giving my sister flowers," he teased.
Nunnally let out a small gasp, "Oh, Lelouch! I'm so sorry! You helped me make those chocolates, but I've been keeping Suzaku's present all to myself!"
"No, Nunnally, that's okay," Lelouch reassured her.
"Yeah, Nunnally," Suzaku agreed. "It's fine. I got Lelouch something too."
Lelouch's eyes widened, "You did?"
"Yeah, I wasn't sure what to give you at first but…here," blushing again, he handed Lelouch a small box covered in bright orange paper and tape. "I couldn't wrap Nunnally's, but I figured that I should wrap yours."
Lelouch slowly unwrapped the box. Slowly because it was more tape than paper, and it took him a while to get through it all. In the box was tissue paper, and when he finally got to the nucleus of the package's contents, he only found more paper. But this was thick white construction paper, and it was warped in an intricate (if somewhat crude) knot, somewhat resembling a bow tie.
"What is it?" Lelouch asked.
"It's a friendship knot," Suzaku explained. "I'm not very good at origami, but I thought I thought I'd give it a try. I did my best."
The tiny little figure was torn in some places, crumpled in others, and had numerous creases where folds and refolds must have taken place. And Lelouch thought that he could make out the tiniest speck of red.
"Did you hurt yourself?" Lelouch asked.
Suzaku laughed, "Just a paper cut. I tried to hide that stain, but I guess I didn't do a very good job. I can try and make you another one if you want."
Lelouch shook his head, "No, I want this one." He knew Suzaku wasn't very good with small crafts like this. This little knot must have taken him hours. No one had ever done anything like that for Lelouch before, "Thank you, Suzaku."
Suzaku smiled, "You're welcome. It was the least I could do. You did give me those chocolates, after all. After declaring your love for me like that, it would be rude not to reciprocate."
Lelouch glared at his friend, "Shut up. Don't ruin the moment."
Suzaku laughed.
Author's Note: I may go back and revise this later, but for now, this is it.
Please remember to send reviews my way, and money and prayer Japan's way. After all, without Japan, there wouldn't be any Code Geass, would there?
