Title: Not Yet

Summary: Lelouch's 'death' was only the beginning. He's not dead yet, and he and C.C. want to keep it that way. Nunnaly has trouble coping with being the Empress, and Suzaku is torn between helping her and blaming himself for even wanting to be happy.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Sunrise Media's Tiger & Bunny is really good. Go watch it. They own that and CG. :)

Authour's Note: The dream sequence might be familiar for those of you that have read my CG story Broken. I edited so that it fit into this chapter a lot better, and I extended it, but if you want the original effect of the fic, take a gander at Broken. I'm in the process of editing the first 4 or so chapters. The first one has already been completely rewritten, so if you go back and read it you might like what you see. I plan on updating this every Friday from now on, so wish me luck!

Lelouch walked down the street after work, stopping by grocery stores on his way. People gave him odd looks, but he knew it was probably more from the way he was dressed than from the way he was swaying his hips. His pink hair caught attention, and yet, it also pulled attention off of him.

He made sure to keep his hair short, until he would have a change to properly grow it out. He wanted to grow it out long enough to keep in a ponytail, but he couldn't risk being recognized as he was now.

He was nearly home, his arms laden with bags of milk, cheese, potatoes, and other things that he preferred eating to pizza. He had grown a little tired of the constant parade of Pizza not long after he had taken up his job as a makeup artist/salesperson.

He smiled at a big sign next at a bank that was flashing the date and the temperature. Today was a good day for remembering some of the better things in his past.

(linebreak)

Nunnaly smiled up at the brother she couldn't see. Lelouch was her beloved big brother who had helped her through so much. Suddenly, she realized that she could see. Realized that she was chained to a giant parade float and her brother was above her, with everyone around looking resentful and hateful. Everyone was afraid.

That Lelouch had used his Geass on her, it reminded her of her position as she was now. Her memories of the positive thing were overshadowed by all of the hateful things. She had so nearly stopped him. If she had only kept her eyes shut. If she had not yearned to see the face of Lelouch so badly…

She had seen his grim and triumphant smile as he held the key to the FLEIJA in his hand. The weapon that he had stolen from her with Geass, and would use to take over the world. Her heart burned with the memory of those last words she had said to him. He had completely shattered her world.

"Big brother, you are the devil! Vile… so devious… How… How could you?" she had accused, pouring all of her disappointment, anger, and heartbreak into the words. She had lay helpless, face down on the stairs as he walked away. Walked away to kill… to murder millions more people.

If only she had been stronger. If only he had truly been the brother that she thought he was. All her tears were gone at this point. She was saving what she could for the execution of all the prisoners she could see in front of her. Dear kind Kallen, the Empress Tian Xi. So much murder and destruction, and for what? What joy could this possibly bring Lelouch? Nunnaly knew that her brother must have truly grown into something she couldn't possible understand.

She had thought it was all for her. That he was destroying the world for her. He had perhaps meant it before, meant for it to create a better world for her. She saw now how stupid she had been. Suzaku had tried to comfort her, before he had changed his mind and gone to do evil with her brother. The people she loved most had betrayed her.

She was sad, so sad for all the people that had died. Maybe they had felt betrayed as well. She tried so hard not to blame herself, but it was hard. She had realized then that it wasn't her fault though. It was purely her evil older brother's ego. She hated herself more than her brother though, hated the bitterness and hatred that consumed her.

She felt that it was making her lose herself, that the hatred and bitterness was becoming her most definite feature, although physically she looked just as soft and kind, if not sadder. She missed the days when she had been blind, and the world had been kinder.

Back when Lelouch was only her brother and they had already left their past behind them.

She had had to grow up now. If she hadn't, the hatred would have broken her. A younger, kinder heart couldn't have stood through all the abuse and pain it was facing, with her chained to a parade float far below her once beloved brother's feet.

She suddenly noticed a commotion down far away from where she was. She heard gunshots, and her heart twisted. She couldn't see past the Knightmare frames and guards all around, but she knew someone must have been dying. People were screaming, and if Nunnaly hadn't already locked away her heart she might have screamed too.

She saw a masked figure with a billowing cloak use a Knightmare as a springboard, and her heart leaped. Perhaps she was being saved. She prayed at that moment - however selfish it was- that someone was going to help her, to drag her from this nightmare.

Zero landed right in front of her, and surprised a cry from her mouth as he jumped by. He hardly spared her a glance before nimbly jumping up the slope to her brother, and she heard her brother exclaim "You cretin!"

A clanging noise signaled that the gun Lelouch had been holding was knocked out of his hand.

Nunnaly allowed herself to hope, to hope that perhaps this would end it all, that her brother would pay for the sins of murdering so many people.

She watched stoically as Zero raised his sword, and Lelouch's face somehow grew calm. Her heart stopped twisting. Here. Here it was, the peace that the world had yearned for. Everything, everyone would be better off with her brother dead. It seemed nearly to be in slow motion when Zero pulled back the sword, and prepared to thrust it into her brother.

It was then that she realized that no matter what, he had still been her brother, and that she had so many good memories of him, despite the fact that he was such an evil person now. She felt like ice as the sword found its mark and went through her brother's body.

He seemed suspended there for a moment, and what looked like a weak attempt at a slap touched Zero's mask. He staggered back as the sword was pulled quickly and efficiently from his body.

He fell to his knees, somehow serenity on his face, along with the unimaginable pain. It was almost comical how he rolled down the slope, and landed beside her. There was trail of blood down to her, and blood was pooling already under him. He was going pale, and she could tell he had already lost a lot of blood, if the stains on his clothes were anything to judge by.

"Brother?" she asked, almost disbelievingly, her icy body regaining some movement and feeling. She reached out and grabbed his hand. Almost immediately she felt a surge of images and emotions flood into her mind. She saw Lelouch hand the Zero mask to Suzaku, and she understood. "It can't be…" She said, pain creeping into her voice. "Brother… you were… all along…" Pain flooded her. All her hatred disappeared, and she felt only regret and pain. "Brother, I love you!" she cried out, already knowing it was too late. It was too late to take back any of her horrible thought or feelings. It was too late to ask Lelouch for forgiveness for ever doubting him.

"Yes… I… destroy… worlds, … … … I… create… worlds." His eyes closed slowly as his voice faded, and she watched him go limp. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she didn't know when she had started crying.

"Brother!" she cried desperately. "No! Open your eyes!" Her voice cracked as it shot through several octaves. "Brother!" She couldn't believe what was happening. "BROTHER!"

Her brother was still the same, except he had done it not only for her, but for the entire world.

"This is unfair." She sobbed. She could hardly see because of all of the tears clouding her vision. "I would have been happy just being with you, big brother." Too soon, her tears had gone, and all she could do was to grasp to her dead brother's body. "I couldn't' bear a future without you, brother..." Her voice somehow went even higher. "I just can't…" And then she leaned over Lelouch's body, mourning, and put her face to her brother's chest as the chants that cheered Zero resounded.

Her anguished cries rang out as she thought 'It isn't Zero they should be chanting for. It's Lelouch.' He had done this for all of them, and none of them would appreciate it. He was dead, and right up until his final moments, she had hated him too.

When the chaos in the crowds had reached fever pitch, nobody was paying attention to Lelouch's body anymore. The Black Knights were too busy trying to stop people from setting cars on fire and looting. It was during the worst of the chaos that a green haired woman Nunnally had never met before came and gently pried Nunnaly off of Lelouch's body.

Nunnaly saw the tears on the woman's cheeks, and the blotchiness of her face. She recognized this woman from Lelouch's memories. Nunnaly tried to resist the woman, but she could hardly speak, wracked with sobs as she was. The woman didn't speak, but simply lifted Nunnaly up, away from Lelouch, and then picked up Lelouch gently, as one might a lover.

It seemed like almost nobody had noticed, except one man who had just been released from the parade float of prisoners. He had given a single nod to the green haired woman before again trying to help calm the mobs of people rejoicing in Lelouch's death.

Nunnaly woke up slowly, like coming up from deep water. She blinked a few times against the morning light, before reaching over and flipping off her alarm clock. She had barely dreamed of what had happened all those weeks ago until last night, and she really tried to avoid thinking about it. She had long since forgiven both her brother and Suzaku, and that was what mattered.

As she sat up in her bed, she wondered whether or not the green haired woman had been Lelouch's lover. The woman had certainly seemed devastated enough by…

Nunnaly shook her head, changing her train of thought. There was a lot to prepare for today.

Nunnaly had just gotten herself dressed with the clothes the maid had put out at the foot of her bed and lowered herself into her wheelchair when a hasty knock came at the door. The sound startled Nunnaly, who jumped so badly she nearly fell out of her chair. She wasn't used to people knocking on her door so early in the morning. She glanced at her alarm clock and rolled her eyes.

Not so early anymore, then. Someone had set her alarm for two hours later than usual. Nunnaly shook her head at it before wheeling herself to her bedroom door and unlocking it. She was more than surprised to see Gino as the person who was knocking. He had been aquitted of any crimes after Lelouch's death, so he still had his status as a Knight of the Round.

Gino had a serious look on his face, which caused Nunnaly to frown. Gino usually only smiled and joked, so if he was being serious, then something serious must have happened.

"There's been a terrorist bombing. Well, bombings. One hit the Forbidden City in the Chinese Federation, and the other one hit Ertan City in the mainland." Gino said gravely. Nunnaly gasped, surprised. This was the first violence that had happened beyond the looting and a few crimes during the riot right after Lelouch's death.

Nunnaly closed her eyes before asking "Had anyone taken responsibility yet? Also, are the cameras already ready for a press release?" She had to make a public statement as soon as possible. Then a horrible thought occurred to her. "Was the empress Tianzi in the city when it was bombed?"

Gino shook his head, and for some reason he had a hint of a smile on his lips at the mention of the Tianzi. "The Tianzi was here in Japan visiting Kagura, Your Majesty."

Nunnaly was surprised, but she brushed it off. As long as the Tianzi was safe, Nunnaly could move on to other, more important things. She began pushing herself towards the press release room, when Zero appeared and began pushing her in a different direction. She was surprised for a moment, but she trusted him, and Gino didn't seem to be surprised at all by Zero's appearance.

Nunnaly was slightly on edge about the fact that she hadn't seen any staff wandering the halls, and was beginning to get suspicious of what was going on. She was just about to ask Suzaku what was going on, when she was wheeled into a dark room. She was scared for a moment, before the lights flipped on.

"SURPRISE!"

Nunnaly jumped nearly as badly as she had when Gino had knocked at her door hardly ten minutes ago, and then a huge smile had broken across her face. Of course! She hadn't been paying attention to the date lately, but today was her sixteenth birthday.

More than a few faces she hadn't seen in while were present at the party. Nunnaly gave Nina a huge hug, Milly tried to crush Nunnaly with her hug, and when Nunnaly saw Kallen, she nearly started crying. She hadn't really known Kallen that well, but she did know that Kallen had been there for her brother during most of Lelouch's time as Zero.

Kallen walked towards Nunnaly, a smile on her face. "This was certainly worth ditching school for." She said mildly, causing both her and Nunnaly to start giggling. Kallen had said it as though she was a wealthy heiress commenting about the weather, and it had cheered Nunnaly away from the darker line of thought she had been heading down.

They reminisced together about the past, and remembered some good times together with Lelouch. Neither of them mentioned any of the bad things, and that was fine with both of them. When Nunnaly had finally been pulled away from talking with Kallen, it was with a much larger smile and a much lighter heart.

(Linebreak)

Lelouch smiled at the look of surprise on C.C.'s face when she saw the cake on the kitchen table of their small apartment, with sixteen candles sticking out of it.

"It's not your birthday. And you're nearly nineteen anyway." She said, as she eyed the cake.

"It's Nunnaly's birthday. And also, in a small way, it was Rollo's birthday. I find myself hating that boy less and less as the pain is dimmed by time. He was a child that had his life destroyed by my father and V.V., so I figure to remember him is just a small thing." Lelouch pulled out two wineglasses, and cut a slice of cake without bothering to light the candles.

C.C. dropped her purse by the couch and sat with him at the little table, where they drank and celebrated being alive, and Lelouch celebrated the fact that his sister was also alive.

Two whole wine bottles were empty before Lelouch stopped drinking. That, and C.C. was kissing him again. He knew he should have some sort of problem about this, but his wine-sodden brain couldn't figure out what was wrong with the picture.

The last thing he remembered was being on the couch with C.C. all over him before he passed out.

When he woke up, he groaned. His tongue felt like a dry sock, and his head was pounding heavily. He was thankful it was Saturday and he didn't have work, because he knew he would have called in sick. He wanted to go back to sleep, but C.C. was on top of him. His eyes flew open, and he inspected them both. He felt relief wash over him as he realized they were both fully clothed, and he sighed as he realized he would probably wake her up when he moved. Then he groaned again and closed his eyes against the light.

He would have postponed it longer, but he had to pee like a racehorse, and he was still wearing his horribly uncomfortable leather pants.. In the end, he slid out from under her and ran to the bathroom as fast as he could. He changed, and by the time he got back, C.C. was sitting up and blinking blearily. She only looked tired, and not hungover. Lelouch poured himself a glass of water, and downed it with some asprin, cursing her code that apparently prevented her from being hungover.

Not that it had stopped her from getting drunker than a fish.

A/N: Yes, they got both drunk as hell. And yes, they didn't screw each other. If you don't like how slowly I'm taking it... not much you can do. Just keep in mind that every successive chapter of this fic is longer.

Suzaku's little bit of angst in the last chapter was a taste of the stuff that him and Nunnaly will be dealing with in future chapters. They were in a honeymoon stage of being still alive, but the survivor's guilt is about to kick in. Can't ignore the ghosts of one's past very easily when they are constantly jumping out to spook you.

I have seen Nunnaly's name spelled five different ways. I know the official spelling is Nunnally, but I didn't know that when I started writing this fic, so I'm just going to keep it consistant. Also, I'm dying of how many minor characters appear at Viletta's wedding. No joke. I'm going by the wedding picture, and even though I've identified everyone, it's a huge amount. I don't even know if I'll be able to get to every one. The wedding will probably take place over two or more chapters for the sake of my sanity.

Posted: 8/26/11 16:13 PST