Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. It belongs to its rightful owners.
For: danceljoy(who suggested Bed, Bathroom and TV) and Modify the Lifestream (who asked for a shower scene)
I like to think of this chapter as 'charming and cute' but I guess the words 'boring and nothing happens' works as well.
Chapter 10 – Slice of Routine
It goes without saying that having to hide a witch in the house means you'll have to be locked up in a bathroom with her quite frequently in order for her to keep her hygiene up.
Why? One may ask and ask you may. It's because if Lelouch is not in the bathroom with her then it'll be very difficult to explain to a curious maid or sister why there are sounds of someone bathing yet all members of the household are present and not in the bathroom.
After all, there is only so many times that a friend could come over to borrow the shower without rousing suspicion.
Sure, C.C. could always take her showers in the dead of night when the maid has left for the night and when Nunnally was deep in dreamland but sometimes, dead of night just doesn't happen especially when Black Knight meetings are happening.
Thus there are times in C.C.'s stay in the Lamperouge household where she's stuck with the older sibling in the bathroom.
She always went first and he would always go last.
Lelouch was a perfect gentleman though. The bathroom was plenty big enough - considering the fact that Nunnally had to bring and manoeuvre her wheelchair in here - so that one could undressed and step into the shower without even touching the other one in the bathroom.
On these occasions, Lelouch will sit himself down in front of the door (facing the door) and patiently work on his homework or rebellion plans as he waited for the witch to finish.
The first few times, C.C. had teased him and often threw her discarded underwear in his direction. He would blush and demand that she stop acting so childish.
She still does it from time to time and he suspected that the silly witch liked to see him flustered and blushing.
"Lelouch," C.C.'s voice said over the sound of running water. He turned around to see her hand stick out of the shower curtain. "There's no shampoo in here."
This was a hint for him to dig out a new bottle and bring it over before she decided to step out and find one herself.
It was times like these when he was glad there were no lights installed in the shower part of the bathroom because if there were, there would be a very attractive silhouette of her against the curtain.
"You use a lot of shampoo," he commented as he placed the new bottle in her hand.
"I have long hair." She replied and pulled her hand and shampoo back in.
"You should cut it." He said as he made his way back to his spot by the door.
"Hm? I like it long."
He didn't say anything more and kept his face resolutely turned from the rest of the bathroom as he tackled the rest of his physics homework.
She was quick in the shower and he was thankful for it because it meant she didn't use up all the hot water before he takes his own shower. She was also a quick dresser - probably from all the practice she gets from throwing on his Zero costume at minutes notice.
"Your turn," C.C. said as she towelled her hair dry and he would turn around to find her dressed in only his shirt.
They would swap spaces and she will face the door whilst Lelouch stripped down and take his turn in the shower.
"Lelouch," she teased as she towelled her hair, "Stripping in front of a lady!"
He pulled his shirt off his shoulders and folded it neatly to one side. "You are far from a lady, C.C." he replied smoothly but a tint of pink spread across the bridge of his nose anyway, "Stop staring."
"Nothing I've never seen anyway," C.C. said and turned her head back to the door before picking up one of his textbooks and started reading.
She liked to read his books, it seemed – especially his history textbooks. He would often bring one in to keep her entertained whilst he showered. Apart from that, she liked to peek at his homework and slyly change some of his answers without telling him so he made it his routine to check his work again before they were due.
When he had no books or homework, C.C. would amuse herself - either by rearranging the contents of the few cupboards in the bathroom or by pulling out a pizza brochure (seemingly from nowhere) and start reading it for the millionth time.
There were the odd times when she would on purposefully pull little pranks on him like today.
FLUSH
He yelped loudly as the shower suddenly shot scalding hot water at him. "C.C.!"
She laughed and did it again.
FLUSH
"C.C.! Stop it!" he demanded and tried to plaster himself against the wall furthest from the water. "This is not funny!"
"Hmm? It's funny to me." She replied and laid her hands on the handle again.
FLUSH
"I'm going to put a ban on your pizzas!" he threatened as he was bombarded with the hot water again.
"Hmph, you're no fun." She finally announced and left the toilet alone.
He sighed and was allowed to finish his shower in silence.
The first thing C.C. always did when she came back from a shower was to crawl onto the bed in seek of Cheese-kun. The first thing Lelouch always did was to grab hold of the girl's arm and stop her from even touching the bed.
He would always win and, somehow or the other, would manage to deposit her in a chair.
"You are not going on that bed with soaking wet hair." He would always tell her and she would glare.
"I don't get sick so it doesn't matter if I go to bed wet."
He would dig out his hairdryer and collect Cheese-kun along the way, "It's not a matter of getting sick but a matter of getting the bed completely wet."
He would place her oversized doll in her lap and start on the knots in her hair with a brush. "Your hair is too thick and too long." He muttered when he worked on untangling the mess of green hair on her scalp.
"I like it long." She replied and hugged her Cheese-kun closer to her before reaching over to pick up the remote control.
He had installed a small TV in his room in hopes to keep her entertained and within the confines of his bedroom. She flicked it on and started to flip through the channels, completely ignoring any pain he might be causing during his fight with her hair.
Sometime after he managed to separate the clumps into strands of bright green, she would manipulate him in some way until he was the one in the chair and she was the one with the brush and hairdryer. "I don't get sick but you will."
Click. And the hairdryer was on and blowing through his raven locks.
He had fought against her the first few times but now he just flipped to the news channel and waited for it to be over.
She always tried to crawl back into bed once she finished with his hair, thinking he would have forgotten about hers but he always remembered.
Catching her wrist, he would dump her back into the chair, plop Cheese-kun back in her lap and resume his work.
C.C. was under the secret impression that he liked the feel of girl's hair running through his fingers. Maybe he wasn't a butt, breasts or legs guy after all. Maybe he's one that likes his girls to have long hair.
Maybe that's why Shirley refused to cut her hair and Nunnally owned such brilliantly long and smooth hair.
It takes ages for her hair to be completely dry so he only blow-dries it enough that it would not wet the bed when she sleeps but he still manage to throw in jabs at the length of her hair.
"Why would you want all this hair? It's such a nuisance!" he would comment with a frustrated and exasperated tone.
"I like my hair," would be her monotonous reply which was often accompanied with a shrugging of shoulders.
The moment his hairdryer clicked off was the moment C.C. hit the button to turn off the TV. He would put his hairdryer away and she would immediately crawl into bed. "Goodnight."
Lelouch would shake his head at her actions and move to finish his work.
It was near enough tradition now for him to retire to bed much later than she would but she'll wake up at various times of the night, rub her eyes and ask him why he wasn't in bed yet.
"Soon - just a bit more," He'd reply with his finger typing away on his computer.
She would yawn and go back to sleep.
He found out that it was C.C.'s subtle way of telling him to get some rest or else it was a subtle way for her to tell him to turn off the stupid computer because the whirring of the system was bothering her along with the light of the screen - personally, Lelouch liked to think that it's the former and not the latter.
He would sigh and turn off the computer for the night before rolling out his futon and reaching over to tuck the stupid witch in. She tossed and turned too much in her sleep and he always made sure to clear her hair away so that she won't strangle herself with it in her sleep – even though he knew full well that C.C. could survive the ordeal like it's nothing.
"Your hair is too thick and too long." He muttered as he cleared the last bit of hair from her face.
But then, he thought to himself as he crawled under his own blankets, he quite like her hair long.
END OF CHAPTER 10
Anonymous: I am glad you find them all in character. I've tried my best and Shirley was surprisingly easy to write. Many thanks.
Anon: Lol, your idea amused me to no end! Thanks for making my day.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There will be NO updates for the next TWO weeks because I'm away on vacation/holiday/whatever-you-call-it and will have no Internet access. This fic WILL go on and will NOT be discontinued so do not worry, you can't get rid of me that easily. Apologies in advance for not replying to any reviews during that time as well and I wish you guys a lovely summer these two weeks. Expect me to come back with a bang as well because the next chapter is crazy!
SEMI-IMPORTANT NOTE (for all reviewers): Actually it's more like a curious note than important. I NEVER request any of you guys to 'omg like reviewz meh plz!' or use any more intelligent wording to ask you to review my work (though if I ever did, please feel free to point it out and I'll take this comment back PLUS give you a gift-fic). And I'm not going to start asking you now so don't run away yet. Anyways, out of curiosity and so that I don't make a big embarrassing mistake in the future. Can all reviewers for this chapter provide me with an M or F for gender in their review? Please? Many thanks and remember, this is pure OPTIONAL (Anonymous-san - The way you insist in being anonymous is pure adorable so you're exempted if you like. Zero 'N' Over and Tpolich as well since I know you're guys already and are being much too kind to me by reviewing all the time!)
KiKi Hayashi