Chapter Fifteen: Sex-Swap

C.C. was woken up as Arthur jumped off the bed, using her side as a springboard.

She grunted and sat up, glaring at the two shapes that took up the rest of the bed, as well as the rest of the covers. She huffed and groped around for Cheese-kun, glaring over her shoulder when she couldn't find him. Her gaze settled on where Leloucia was curled up around something. From the way that the lumps in the blanket were, Suzako had rolled away from the two of them during the night, so Leloucia wasn't curled up around her knight.

She kicked the covers off of her, ignoring the initial chill on her naked body. She wouldn't be out from under the covers long, she just had to reclaim what was hers, the proper punishment would come later. There were a few pranks that she had been wanted to pull on the empress for a while now, one of them would be perfect for what Leloucia had done to her. The empress should have known that retribution would swiftly follow if Cheese-kun was taken.

C.C. clambered over Leloucia, ignoring the unhappy grunts that the empress gave. She flopped in the space between the empress and her knight, wiggling a bit to give herself space. Suzako shifted without a protest, probably used to Leloucia coming in at all hours of the night. Then again, Suzako was a soldier, she was probably also used to falling asleep wherever and whenever she could. That and the fact that Suzako had probably exhausted herself running around all day under Leloucia's orders while the empress had busied herself with the diplomatic business of the day.

Out of all of them, C.C. was the one who had done nothing, but she wasn't going to complain. At the start of her life and in between giving people geass she had been on the run and by herself. It was part of the reason she enjoyed sticking close to those that she made a contract with, it was a respite from having to be on the run and an uncertain life. Then again, remaining with the person she had made a contract with didn't guarantee that either. Still, it was a chance that she was willing to take and, as such, she considered the stealing of her things and a chance to stay warm a grievous offense.

A judicious application of elbow got Leloucia to move so that C.C. could squeeze in between them. C.C. kicked up the covers and slid under them again, sighing at the warmth. It was tempting to just fall back asleep, to tuck herself up against Suzako's naked back and content herself with that. She knew that Suzako wouldn't mind in the morning. Of course she would get a glare and a disgruntled dismissal come morning as Suzako still blamed her partially for everything that had happened, but it wouldn't be anger. Suzako was as touch starved as they came, and she would grudgingly allow C.C. to cuddle all she wanted, just as long as they could both pretend that Suzako didn't enjoy the closeness.

Then again, the knight was too different from Cheese-kun. Cheese-kun was soft and stuffed just right, although Leloucia might have messed up the balance when she had stolen him. Suzako was all whipcord strength and muscle, not fluffy enough for her taste. Leloucia was welcome to her knight; C.C. just wanted what was hers.

She rolled away from Suzako and the heat that the woman always seemed to put off. Surely Leloucia would be more comfortable close to her knight, especially when she was always complaining about being cold. That must have been the reason Leloucia insisted in draping herself in that multi-layered dress, no matter how obnoxious she looked. C.C. preferred her own simple dress and then the restraining jacket that Clovis' scientists had stuck her in, both allowed her to move freely. After so many years of running, movement was important.

For a moment, C.C. was tempted to work out a way to take Cheese-kun back and then roll Leloucia towards her knight again, but she was in a bad mood. She had gotten her Cheese-kun stolen from her, had been forced to move from her place, loose the comfortable spot that she had claimed and was now awake enough to function. C.C. was sure that she would just drop back to sleep as soon as she was done, but it was the principle of the thing.

C.C. reached out, finding the stuffed toy by touch. It was easy enough to get her arms wrapped around it. Actually pulling Cheese-kun from Leloucia's arms was more difficult. The stuffing had already been displaced by how tightly Leloucia was holding it, and it would take C.C. weeks to get it back to the way it was supposed to be. She didn't want to stretch the toy either.

When gentle wiggling failed, C.C. decided to take drastic action. As soon as the sun was up Suzako would wake up and begin her duties. It would take an hour or two before she came back to wake Leloucia. C.C. wouldn't be able to ignore that. When the empress woke up, she expected everyone else to be up as well. C.C. could take naps anywhere in the palace or sneak back into the royal suite, but that would mean missing some of the news of the day, something that she didn't want to do.

She huffed and planned her foot on Leloucia's thigh, taking a deep breath before bracing herself and pulling back. As she expected, she felt resistance for a moment before Leloucia began to let go. C.C. grinned to herself, pulling Cheese-kun close to her before giving the empress a finishing kick, just to get her away from them.

C.C. must have misjudged the kick, because the empress rolled close to the edge of the bed. Leloucia would have stayed on the bed, if she hadn't chosen that moment to wake up and flail in panic. C.C. heard something that might have been her name, but it was too garbled for her to tell. It didn't matter anyway; Leloucia tumbled off the bed and fell on the floor with a muffled thump.

From behind her, Suzako gave a quiet snuffle, the mattress dipping as the knight sat up. "Leloucia?"

C.C. reached back to push the knight down. "She's alright. She just fell off the bed."

Suzako raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the stuffed toy in C.C's arms before shrugging and flopping back down. "Then she's alright."

"Suzako!"

C.C. pressed her face into Cheese-kun, smothering her laughter as Leloucia hauled herself back into the bed. The empress didn't get back under the covers, remaining on all fours as she glared at the other two. Leloucia looked between the two of them, before deciding to vent her anger on Suzako. "What do you think you were doing?"

"Sleeping."

"I could have been killed."

"No you couldn't." Suzako rolled over onto her side, pulling the covers with her. C.C. was pulled along with the motion, finding herself tucked up nicely under the covers in Suzako's pocket of warmth. She smiled to herself and settled down, closing her eyes and listening to the two of them. She heard Suzako yawn, the sound nearly smothering the knight's words. "The bed isn't that far from the ground. You landed on all our clothes anyway. Or most of them at least. I think my cape is on the lamp at the moment, I can't be sure."

Suzako trailed off, C.C. listening as her breathing slipped into a slower rhythm, the knight already asleep.

Leloucia remained crouched on the bed before she huffed and turned her back on the both of them, the mattress shaking as she threw herself back on the mattress. Shortly after the covers were abruptly jerked up as Leloucia settled herself, probably still sulking.

C.C. pressed her face into Cheese-kun, hiding her smile.. She shifted into a more comfortable position, deciding not to worry about it. All of Leloucia's dramatics wouldn't bother her in the end, something that Suzako would have to deal with. It wasn't her problem.