A/N: For some strange reason, I was sweating profusely while I was writing this. LOL maybe because I had no idea where I was going with this one. I hope you like this, person-who-requested. Thank you for your request!

Romance

Request: If it's alright, I wanted to put in a request for your fic. Wasn't sure if this was the proper place to put it: Post-R2 Lelouch and C.C. have finally gotten into a relationship with one another after some time together and are happy. Lelouch's desire is to be as romantic as possible for C.C. in order to make up for the all the missed time and experiences due to her life. Due to being a perfectionist, he tries things he normally wouldn't (musical seranades, rose petals, every cheesy thing).

"Where are you taking me, Lelouch?"
"Patience, C.C. Good things will come to those who wait."
"Unless you're blindfolded and being taken somewhere. This is all highly suspicious."
"C.C., I'm afraid we're going to have to break up if you don't trust me at all. Relationships are built on trust and if you- No, don't lift the blindfold!"

She gasped and immediately grabbed for something to hold onto - although she was completely blind - as the car violently swerved. She could hear cars rush past with their angry, blaring horns and said, "You nearly killed us, you idiot."

"It's fine, C.C. We're immortal."
"What, you think because you're immortal, you can't feel pain? I don't know about you, Lelouch, but I don't plan on dying in a car accident after a picnic in the countrysi…"

His hand was on her cheek, the pad of his thumb rubbing the apple of her cheek before it slipped to the back of her head. His fingers gently kneaded her earlobe, reminding her of the pearl earrings he had given her the week before, and her irritation melted away as she heard the leather of the car seat protest as he leaned over and…

"Stop, Lelouch. You're driving."
"It's alright," he murmured. "It's junction 3 of the M4."
"People will stare," she muttered. She hated it when people noticed - she didn't care what they thought, but she didn't like the way their eyes followed her, as if she were some alien. As if she didn't belong. It wasn't just because she was shy from all of the affection he had been giving her as of late. Oh, no, what kind of a witch would she be if she were to be shy and turned into a nervous, blushing, heart-pounding mess with just a small kiss? That was ridiculous, it-

"Are you blushing right now?"
"No," she said. But her reply had been too quick, too forceful, and she could just see his smirk. What would he do next? Make a snide comment, asking where the witch had gone? But instead, much to her surprise, she heard him say, "You're lovely when you blush."

What?

"That's not to say you're not when you're not blushing. But whenever you blush, you look… Well… You look cute. Lovable, even."

Even with the blindfold, she could feel his eyes on her. His words echoing in her mind, she tried her hardest not to let his flattery get to her head- because that's all it was: flattery - and said, "I didn't do it for you" before turning away to face the window, just so that he wouldn't be able to look at her.

As the car began to move again, he took her hand and she felt the cool metal of his promise ring as he laced their fingers together.

"I know. But I'm just telling you that you're beautiful. Just in case you forget."
"You are the cheesiest man in the history of-"
"I thought that was Cheese-kun."
"Not to mention how terrible your jokes are. Of course I had to have the misfortune of falling in love with a man like you!"

C.C. bit her tongue. Oh, she'd done it now. She'd definitely done it now. He might not have made fun of her over the blushing, but there was no way he was going to let this go. Ah, but there had been a good reason why she had told him all those years ago that she had never met a man like him before because he managed to surprise her one last time.

"I love you too, C.C."

That intolerable, sufferable man! Turning her witchy heart of stone into a… Into an embarrassed puddle of emotion. Because even if he was cheesy… He was doing it all for her. Because he loved her. At the thought of how he loved (loved!) her, C.C. smiled. She fought to hide the smile but ultimately failed to as fireworks exploded into showers of brilliant sparks in her stomach. Oh, the silly man… How she loved him.

. . .

Wide-eyed, C.C. stared at their bedroom as the silk blindfold slipped away. It was as if a giant rosebush had shed on the covers, there were so many rose petals decorating the bed. Turning to look at him, she tried to say something, but the only thing that came out was a soft "Lelouch…"

"That's for later. This is for now."

The hand on her waist gently nudged her towards their bathroom, where she found a bathtub that had come straight out of a romance movie.

"A bubble bath with extra foam, candles, rose petals, and champagne? Did you do something wrong?"
"I want to make up for all of the romance you missed."
"Oh, Lelouch…" Turning around, she cupped his face in her hands as she said, "There's no need to pack several lives' worth of romance in one lifetime. We have an eternity to make up for what I missed. And what you missed. You also missed quite a lot, you know, by giving up your youth to become Zero."
"I just didn't want to waste time. I didn't want to be late."
"Well, we have more than enough time, so you won't be late. You don't have to do things like this all the time. It gets tiring for me too. Occasionally would be nice. It makes it more special, and it gives me a chance to thank you. Like now."

Hooking a finger into the waist of his pants, she pulled him closer before loosening his belt.

"You're going to join me, aren't you? You're not going to let me go in there alone, are you?"
"It's up to you."
"As if I wouldn't thank you for what you've done. I'm not a mannerless witch, Lelouch. I may be a witch, but I do have manners."
"I can see that."
"Good. Now be a good boy and unzip my dress."
"With pleasure."

It wasn't until the next morning, or rather, the following afternoon, that C.C. finally remembered what she had wanted to say before she had been completely distracted by the prospect of sharing bubble bath with her lover, and all of the opportunities that came with bathing with him. Rolling over, she shivered as their bare skin rubbed against each other under the covers before she gently shook him.

"Lelouch."
"What is it?" he mumbled.
"Lelouch, I need to tell you something important."
"What?"

He was still half-asleep, but C.C. decided to tell him anyway. He'd wake up soon enough after she told him what was on her mind.

"Lelouch, no more musical serenades. The occasional private piano recital, but no more public serenades."
"Mmmm, alright," he replied drowsily.
"You really did your research though, didn't you?"
"That business trip to Glasgow. All I did in the hotel was watch romance movies."
"You cheesy, cheesy romantic. You liked watching those movies, didn't you?"
"I'll admit, some of them weren't as bad as I thought they would be. But why do you ask?"
"Because I also have something to tell you about that week you went to Glasgow."
"What?"

C.C. swallowed as she tried to get a grip on her nerves. What was the worst that could happen? Honestly, the worst that could happen was that he got angry, and she was pretty sure he wasn't the type to get angry at this kind of news. And besides, he knew what the consequences were if they did it without protection, it wasn't as if… It wasn't as if he'd lost what it meant to the pleasure.

"Lelouch, you're going to be a father."

She looked over to see his eyes, which had been closed with sleep, wide open as he stared at her.

"What?"
"I'm pregnant."
"You're…"
"The mother of your child."

It was completely silent in the room save for the rustling of the blanket as he sat up. C.C. frowned. Was he really that upset?

"You're… There's a baby in here?" He placed a hand on her stomach as he asked, "There's a baby in here. My baby."

She nodded and waited. She could see him struggling to process the news.

"So that's why you wouldn't drink the wine or the champagne. C.C., why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I didn't know how to tell you, I… I didn't know if you'd be upset."
"Why would I be anything but happy?"
"You're really happy?"
"Of course I am. But I just wish you'd have told me sooner. It's going to take some time to prepare everything for our daughter-"
"Son. It's going to be a son."
"-and everything has to be perfect. First thing to do is to move."
"Move?"
"Suzaku and Nunnally want us to move back to Pendragon if we ever conceived."
"We just left Pendragon," she complained. "I refuse to go back there. You don't even like being there since you don't have any freedom. And you're going to obey them without thinking about what you want?"
"What I want," he said softly, "is for you to be as safe and as comfortable as possible, and the imperial palace will be the safest and most comfortable for you. There's a good reason why the royal family's never lost any lives in childbirth or during pregnancy."
"You're really willing to go back to that prison?"
"If it's for you and the baby, then yes."

She sighed. "Let's talk this over a little more. In the meanwhile, don't tell your sister or Suzaku."

"I won't."
"I mean it, Lelouch. Don't tell Nunnally anything."
"I said I wouldn't. I promised you, didn't I?"

She heaved another sigh before giving him a soft smile.

"Yeah. You did."

Request Complete