Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass
Summary: C.C. is a lazy and gluttonous girl who only cares for pizza. And Lelouch is the man that may fall for her, ahem, charms.
Green Silk and Golden Orbs
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Chapter 11
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"Ahem. Is this seat available?"
C.C. looked up beneath her dark eyelashes. She recognized the voice but she just wanted to take a good look of his face; to be on the safe side.
As soon as her golden orbs glanced towards the night sky, they came in contact with amethyst. And she was sure it was him.
Lelouch casually smiled at her as he waited her answer. Usually, C.C. would have said a witty comment that might have gotten on his nerves. Depends really. The two just looked at one another. One was waiting for an answer, though he would sit down no matter what. On the other hand, the other one was just taken back at the sight. C.C. did expect Lelouch to be there but it took a moment before him really being there sunk in.
He cleared his throat again when she failed to reply.
Maybe she was torturing him - as payback.
"Well, it was supposed to be for the fidgety adolescent but he just want running off towards the washroom." C.C. sighed and looked away, ruffling up the hem of her skirt. "I suppose you can sit down. I don't think my date will mind all that much."
He laughed at the word date. It was bitter sweet. Suzaku being her date was Lelouch's idea. Somehow, when the word came from C.C.'s mouth, it poked at his heart strings a little. First and foremost, Suzaku belonged to Euphemia. Secondly, Suzaku being C.C.'s date was a set up for Lelouch to be C.C.'s date.
Sitting himself down beside her, Lelouch never felt more himself. During the weeks they were apart, he felt an empty void around him. Every time he did something, he waited for a snide comment but nothing ever came. Of course, C.C. wasn't there with him during the past weeks.
"Your best friend screams like a five-year-old girl." C.C. broke the ice, staring at Lelouch intently.
"I can't say that I'm proud of that but Suzaku is a great guy," Lelouch said after briskly laughing at his friend. He heard the screams from outside the haunted house. Everyone that was in a twenty feet radius heard the screams.
C.C.'s eyes twinkled.
"Of course he is," she commented. "It takes a great person to be out on a date with me. I only like the best."
"That probably makes me the greatest guy, am I correct?"
Her head shook.
"You've never once taken me out on a date."
Lelouch's jaw almost dropped. His mouth was large enough to stuff a candied apple in. He's taken her out on several outings before; the dinner they danced in, that one time he escorted her to pizza hut, those tutoring lessons, the dinner when he proposed to her, the brunch of her school, the day at the vineyard and bakery and the day they went horseback riding... The more Lelouch thought about it, the more he realzed he's never officially taken her on a date. None of those events were classified as dates. He did nothing for her. The only time he did do something for her she ends up getting seriously hurt.
Which caused their wedding to be cancelled.
What a date.
Well, since he just got permission to court C.C. from her father, this time he was going to court her the way his family has done for as long as he could remember.
"I can fix that," Lelouch declared softly as the ride was beginning to slow down to a stop. Both of them didn't even notice it start. "This can be our first date."
"I don't think my father would appreciate that."
Lelouch rolled his eyes at her.
"C'mon, did you honestly think I would have done all of this without asking your father for permission?" He asked, tone a bit challenging. C.C. shook her head as a response. "And even if I didn't ask your father, would you turn down my invite?"
It didn't take her long to answer.
There was no hesitation or cautiousness in the tone of her voice.
"No."
.
.
.
"I'm hungry," C.C. commented as they walked side by side through the area with the most food vendors and carts.
There were all sorts of dishes: corn dogs, corn on the cob, popcorn, nachos, chips, burgers, hotdogs, french fries, onion rings, cotton candy, candied apples, donuts, pretzels, ice cream, slushies and C.C.'s favourite, pizza. With many options to choose from, C.C. wanted to try them all, especially the pizza. It looked extra good from the vendor that was selling it.
"When are you not?" Lelouch swiftly fired back. She got him a glare that he merely brushed off. "What do you want? Pizza?"
She thought about it for a second or two. Of course, pizza was her number one choice. But it wasn't all about her tonight. They were on a date - kind of. A date usually consisted of two people, so, it wasn't just about her. It was about her partner as well.
"What do you want?" C.C. asked in return, catching Lelouch slightly off his heels.
He turned to blink down at her. At first he couldn't believe what he just heard. C.C. was asking his opinion. It wasn't the first time she's ever asked him for his input but it was the first time during the topic of food.
"I'm good with whatever you choose."
C.C. found him charming but there was a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach when he treated her like a lady. She wasn't used to it despite being flattered at the same time. She wanted Lelouch to treat her like he did before he decided to formally and traditionally court her.
"This is a rarity, me asking for your opinion," C.C. spoke up, her tone controlled and slightly lecturing, "Especially when we are on the terms of what to eat for a snack. I suggest you take this opportunity, Lulu, because you'll never get a chance like this in the next five years."
She was joking.
Lelouch got that. And he even ignored the use of his dreaded nickname.
"So, asking my input on food only happens every five years?" He laughed.
"Yes."
"Well, then I should choose what makes me happy," he replied with an unusual sparkle in his violet eyes that perturbed C.C. "And what makes me happy or content is seeing you happy or content. You decide."
"You're being strange," C.C. informed him uncomfortably.
"What do you mean?"
"You're being too nice to me. Did you hit your head on something? Collapse due to your poor excuse of a stamina?" She was purposefully trying to get on his nerves; trying to see if the other side of Lelouch was still around - the temperamental side.
He frowned for a split second before responding.
"This is how I am when I court somebody," Lelouch began to explain. "It's not like I'm being fake to you or to myself. I'm just being polite, respectful; I'm being a gentleman. That's how a man should act when he's with-"
Pausing, Lelouch cleared his throat as he almost revealed something he wanted to save for later on into the night.
"When he's with?" C.C. raised a brow, urging him to continue.
"... When he's with a lady."
"Oh, so, I'm a lady now?"
"Just for tonight." Lelouch flashed her a smile before reaching out for her hand. "C'mon, let's get you something to eat. I think I can hear your stomach growling."
The heavy grumbling was not coming from C.C.'s stomach. The thing emitting the sound was the roller coaster beside them. She should take what Lelouch said as an insult - comparing her hungry stomach to the racket of a high-speed amusement park ride. That's not something a lady wants to hear.
As they walked hand in hand towards the pizza vendor, C.C. reminded herself to max out Lelouch's credit card for the insensitive comparison. She would order everything off the menu...
After thinking about her payback, C.C. instantly remembered that she was holding hands with Lelouch; well, he was mostly doing all the holding since his fingers were clenched around her own as he escorted her towards the pizza vendor. The hand-holding was far from romantic but it was the first time Lelouch initiated something, besides the date.
It took C.C. off guard.
But her heart was beating faster nonetheless.
.
.
.
Lelouch clapped his hands towards as C.C. finally swallowed the last chunk of her pizza. She was chewing the piece for a good two minutes. It was painfully slow watching her take her time. He just wanted to get things over with. Not that Lelouch wanted to rush the date. Of course not. He was trying to speed through the fillers to get through the good parts of the date. Watching somebody eat an entire box of pizza was not an event he considered to be a good part of their date.
"What ride do you want to go on?"
C.C. dabbed the corner of her lips before answering.
"Well, we've been on every ride I usually go on when I attend the festival."
That was the main reason Lelouch chose those three rides in particular. He had an inkling C.C. enjoyed them the most, besides the roller coaster. It's not like a gift can stay hidden in the seats of a roller coaster especially when there were three loops involved. And Suzaku begged Lelouch not to hide a gift there in the first place.
"Except for that one."
She pointed towards the roundest ride of the entire park - the ferris wheel. Unlike most ferris wheels with open seats, the wheel at that festival was enclosed. It seemed to be more of an observation station rather than a ride for little children. The majority of the attendees that rode the ferris wheel were older folk. They enjoyed taking in the glorious view that the amusement park and city had to offer.
Muscles were tugging at the corner of his lips but Lelouch tried his best to kill his smile before it could even show.
"Alright, we can go there."
Maybe it the fact Lelouch stood up too quickly; maybe it the fact he tried and failed to hide his smile; whatever he did caused C.C. to send him a questioning glance. He seemed to be in a rush but she had no clue on earth why. He hardly rushed for anything since he normally expired faster than typical adolescents. Why Lelouch was in a haste was beyond her.
C.C. was partially wishing he wasn't trying to hurry their date along because he was having the worst time of his life.
"Are you coming?" His voice brought her back to reality, shunning her thoughts of Lelouch not enjoying himself completely. They shall forever be forgotten.
"I just had something on my mind."
He chuckled briefly as they strolled side by side towards the entrance of the ferris wheel.
"That you're still hungry?"
C.C. patted her stomach, feeling full from the entire pizza she ate. It was heavenly and it was all for herself. Lelouch bought her an entire plate of pizza while he opted for a healthier boring route: salad.
"No."
"What was on your mind then?"
"I'll tell you eventually."
The line of the ferris wheel was empty as soon as they reached the gates. Two kids stepped out of a passenger car at about the time the two reached the ride attendee. They flashed their wrists towards him, showing they paid the ticket vendors since they had the proof of purchase - a green bracelet.
The two seated themselves on the opposite seats. They were across from one another. Lelouch was staring at the view behind C.C.'s head and vice-versa.
"So..." Lelouch commenced awkwardly, shifting his eyes away from the night sky and towards the floor of the passenger car. "How do you like the bracelet? Oh and the earrings?"
C.C. almost forgot about the items Lelouch placed throughout the festival. They were in the pockets of her coat, safe and protected. She was too distracted by him...
"They're nice and oddly familiar."
He chuckled, a blush creeping up his cheeks.
"You almost have the complete set."
"The necklace and ring are the only members of the set missing." She had the ring once. It was supposed to be with her right now if her father hadn't called off her wedding. Now the ring was probably at the jewellery shop, being subjected to the fingers of the women trying it on.
Lelouch sat back, both hands in the deep pockets of his Autumn jacket.
"I think you're mistaken."
"What are you talking about."
C.C. looked at Lelouch with confused golden orbs.
He gestured towards the empty space beside her.
Looking down, C.C. saw a large flat velvet box carefully placed against the back of the fake leather seat. She didn't notice the box earlier for there was no box to notice. The ride attendee was the one that slipped the box carefully beside C.C. as soon as she settled herself. She failed to notice because she was much too absorbed with the view or Lelouch's face.
Part of her was hoping for the ring but the necklace would suffice. After all, it was beyond breathtakingly gorgeous. And the set of the heart shaped jewellery was almost complete. Only one thing was missing now; the ring.
"They're yours' to keep," he said wisely and hopefully.
Lelouch showing his feelings for her, though not officially, made C.C.'s blood boil and heart flutter. She felt her heartbeat pattern turn slightly irregular and jumpy at the tone of his voice. It was cool and suave. She felt like a typical girl with a crush, a feeling she never thought she would experience. But the feeling felt stronger than a girl with a crush. It was ten folds more powerful.
A crush was similar to infatuation, maybe even lust if the people were old enough.
What C.C. was feeling was greater than a crush, more powerful than infatuation and more epic than lust.
It was love; love at its' early stages but love nonetheless.
Him doing all of his for her only made her love for him stronger, powerful, greater.
Why was he doing all of this for her? C.C.'s mind began to think of the reasons Lelouch turned into a prince for her. The first thing that popped into her mind was brother. Why brother? In the past, the only reason Lelouch proposed was so that Euphemia and Suzaku could marry soon since the couple was more than prepared. This could all be just another way of asking her to marry him, again, for the sake of his sister and best friend.
The second thing that popped in her mind was maybe, just maybe, Lelouch was a like her. Maybe Lelouch was a boy with a crush.
"Why are you doing all of this for me, Lelouch?"
C.C. was looking for an authentic answer; an answer from the heart - from the soul.
And Lelouch was going to give that to her.
"Because I care about you; I like you."
A/N: I apologize for the long delay. I've been foolishly distracted by simple things. Also, I suffered a writers' block with this story. The scraped the original version of this chapter. It was going off track and I didn't like it. I also don't like this chapter but, oh well, I can't enjoy everything I write.
However, I hope you guys enjoy the update even if it is short-ish.
For the most part, I'm not sure how frequent updates will be. I still kind of have a writer's block. Actually, it's not really a block. I'm just really distracted with a new story playing around in my mind. I just need to type out that story on my laptop to stop it from distracting me.
When I do that, updates should be weekly once again.
Four more chapters left, well, three chapters and an epilogue.
Should this chapter be classified as a cliffhanger? I mean, you guys don't know C.C.'s reaction. Well, if it is a cliffhanger, haha, another one! :D And if it isn't, darn it... D: I enjoy leaving cliffhangers...
Thanks for the reviews, alerts and favourites. :D Means a whole bunch. And if you decide to leave a review, remind me to not get distracted. Haha. Order me not to get distracted. Threaten me even. :D. You guys have stuck by me. Thank you so much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Corny but rock on. :DD
Shoutout to LelouchXSetsunaXKira; Your love and loyalty for my story is admiral. Thank you :D You left like three reviews for the previous chapter. Two of them reminding me how long it has been since my last update. And no, I didn't think your name implied Yaoi of any kind. You simply have good tastes in male protagonists. Tell your friends I gave them my thanks as well. This update/chapter is for you and your friends. :DD
