A/N: Yay, new chapter! This one's mostly SuzakuXEuphie fluff, so if you don't like the couple, just bear with me, please. Consider this chapter as more-or-less a standalone SuzakuXEuphie one-shot. Code Geass isn't mine now, either. Enjoy!

Chapter 11: I Want To Stay With You

Euphemia stared at Suzaku expectantly.

"You don't want to leave?" Suzaku asked. "Euphie, you know you can't do that. You have responsibilities as a princess of Britannia."

Euphie clenched her jaw. "I don't care," she said sullenly. "When I go back to Britannia, all I'll be doing is presiding over meaningless ceremonies and waiting to get married off to some nobleman twice my age. I don't want that."

"Then…what do you want?" Suzaku asked slowly.

Euphie took a deep breath and summoned up all of her courage. She wondered why talking to one emerald-eyed Japanese boy was more frightening than addressing the entire Britannian empire.

"I want to stay with you," she said quietly, not daring to meet his eyes.

She heard Suzaku gasp. "But what about your sister…and changing the empire?"

Euphie blushed. "It's no good without you," she said quietly. "I knew if I ever left Japan, you would stay. This place is important to you, even more important than me." She looked up and met his eyes. "I like that about you. I like your loyalty, and the way you won't give up on this place. When you showed me around, on the day we met, I saw how much you love Japan."

"I love it, too," she continued. "And not just because of all of the places you showed me. I love it because you love it, and because it's your country. I know, it's not the same as loving Japan because it's my homeland. But do you think it's good enough?"

"It's great, Euphie," Suzaku said, grabbing her arms. Without warning, her pulled her to him and kissed her. Euphie's eyes widened in surprise, and she felt herself blush. Surprise gave way to happiness, and she closed her eyes, enjoying the moment both of them had been waiting for since their first meeting.

A few seconds later, both of them realized what they were doing and quickly separated.

Euphie smoothed down her hair. "Do you think anyone saw us?"

"I don't know," Suzaku said nervously. "I hope not. If anyone tells Viceroy Cornelia, I'm a dead man."

"So, can I stay?" Euphie asked in a teasing tone. "If you say no, we won't get to do that again."

Suzaku blushed crimson. "How do we do it, though?" he asked. "You can't just decide to stay. The Viceroy won't allow it, and the Japanese won't be too happy about having a Britannian princess in their midst, either."

An unfamiliar voice broke into the conversation. Well, at the very least, it wasn't Suzaku's. However, something about it was incredibly familiar. A feeling of acute nostalgia filled Euphie as soon as she heard it.

"Would you be willing to lie to your sister in order to stay?" it asked.

Suzaku seemed surprised and glanced toward the direction the voice was coming from. Euphie could see questions forming in his eyes.

"…Yes," she answered, her voice trembling only slightly.

"Then, your solution is simple," the voice said. "Tomorrow, call your sister and tell her that you've already left the country. Then, after the Britannian withdraw is complete, call again and admit that you never left. She'll be furious, but she'll be unable come back into the country and get you without admitting that, since you never left, Britannia's withdraw was incomplete. Doing that could cause an international incident and strain Japanese relations with Britannia even further.

"She won't do that," the voice continued, "so, instead, she'll instruct you to disguise yourself as a normal citizen and keep your identity a secret, which will be the easiest way for yourself and Suzaku to be together anyway. After that, all you two have to do is make sure you get married before relations between Japan and Britannian become relaxed enough to allow her to enter the country."

Suzaku blushed. "Don't tease her!"

"I'm not," the voice answered. "That really is the best way to ensure she doesn't get dragged back to Britannia. As Euphemia li Britannia, she still has a duty to her family. As Euphie Kururugi, however…"

Euphie Kururugi. The thought made Euphie incredibly happy.

"Still, I mean, marriage…." Suzaku stammered.

"She apparently loves you enough to abandon everything she's known until now," the voice said. "I think that's worth something."

Something had been bothering Euphie for a while. "Who are you talking to?" she asked.

"…a friend of mine," Suzaku said.

The voice sighed. "Suzaku, you don't need to lie for me anymore. If she's staying in Japan, she'll meet me eventually. Actually, I was thinking she could stay with us."

"Are you sure?" Suzaku asked. "If she tells the Viceroy…"

"Tells the Viceroy what?" Euphie asked confused.

Suzaku looked Euphie in the eyes. "My friend is actually…someone you've already met. But you don't know he's here, and neither does anyone else in the royal family. You have to promise not to tell anyone about him, okay?"

"…Okay," Euphie said hesitantly.

"Especially not Cornelia," the voice reminded.

"I can keep a secret!" Euphie insisted indignantly.

A boy emerged from behind a nearby building. "I certainly hope you can."

He was about Suzaku's age, with raven-black hair and eyes the rich, vibrant violet of amethysts. He wore an Ashford Academy uniform, which contrasted deeply with his pale skin, making it seem almost luminescent.

Euphie stared for a few seconds. Suzaku said she knew this person, and his voice was so familiar…a memory filled her mind, unbidden, a memory of her time at Aries Villa, playing with her siblings. There was sweet little Nunnally, with her nut-brown hair and wide eyes, and her older brother, who spent most of his time playing chess….

"Lelouch!" Euphie gasped, frozen. "But…I thought…we all thought…."

"Just like you, Euphie, Nunnally and I had reasons not to return to court," Lelouch said. "We took advantage of the confusion during the war and vanished. Since then, we've been attending Ashford Academy as Lelouch and Nunnally Lamperouge. From now on, you can stay with us, and tell people you're our cousin. We'll have to think of another name for you…."

Without saying anything, Euphie ran up to him and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're all right!" she said softly. "And Nunnally, too?"

Lelouch smiled. "Nunnally's fine, as well," he said. "You can see her later. I'm glad that you'll be coming to stay with us."


NinthFeather: Yep, Euphie's staying in Japan. If anyone has a good idea for a new name for Euphie to use while she's hiding, please leave it in a review. She'll use the Lamperouge surname like Lulu and Nunnally, even thought Marianne wasn't her mother, but I haven't picked a first name.

Euphie: Ooh, can I have a Japanese name?

Suzaku: It's pretty easy to tell that you're Britannian, so probably a Britannian name would be best.

Euphie: Awww…

Lelouch: We also might want to dye your hair. It sort of sticks out.

Euphie: But…!

C.C.: I have some ideas…

Euphie: I don't want green hair!

C.C.: This is my natural color. I was going to dye your hair blonde.

Euphie: How is that your natural color?

C.C.: You're the one with hair the color of cotton candy.

Suzaku: Who is that? Is that the girl from Shinjuku…and Narita?

Lelouch: …C.C., I think it's time to leave….

NinthFeather: The next two chapters should be the last two. After I get to watch R2, I may write a sequel that addresses those events, as well as Lelouch's revenge on his family. However, I'll probably take a bit of a hiatus first. Thank you to everyone that's been reading and reviewing loyally! Bye!