A/N: It's been a while lol I'll save the apologies and other stuff for after the chapter. Hope you enjoy! 😬

Lelouch had been at the lakeside for almost an hour now.

He was slowly growing impatient as he sat on a rather uncomfortable tree stump while he waited for C.C. to show up. He was not fond of the buzzing of cicadas nor the croaking of frogs that lived within these outdoors. The insects were getting annoying too, not that he was swarmed with the things but he's had to swat them away every now and again to keep from getting bitten. Some sort of repellant is needed the next time he comes here, he thought as he grudgingly rolled his eyes away from the clearing among the thicket where he expected her to emerge.

On the bright side, he did appreciate the setting though. Spending most of his time in enclosed spaces in the castle did not adequately permit him the rejuvenating scent of freshness and nature. There was a gentle breeze that blew through the trees and grass that had the scent wafting all around. It also kept him cool through layers of clothing and made the surface of the lake flow with mellow waves. The luminous crescent moon and the pool's surrounding flora was reflected on the water in a manner that eased Lelouch's inner disquiet as he watched.

It was a charming and a calming display. He smiled a small smile, commending himself for picking this location for this particular meeting. The lakeside, this small pocket of seclusion and serenity, appeared only marginally changed from when he and C.C. found it as children.

"My prince," a voice he had been waiting to hear for almost an hour called out. "Are you feeling ill?"

He turned his head to see her.

C.C. was walking towards him in a blood red dress that made her best features pop. He was stupefied for a second, to which she raised a brow unceremoniously. He then very quickly remembered how long he had been waiting for this witch to turn up.

"Finally," he huffed while dramatically shoving his bangs to the side. "What do you mean am I ill?"

She approached further and gestured for him to stand so she could use the tree stump for herself. He huffed once again but relented easily, placing a scarf on it as a makeshift cushion before she sat down.

"I see you still have your genteel manners so it can't be too awful a sickness. Is it a fever? Do you have a headache, Your Highness?" She inquired politely and it only served to confuse him more.

"What in heaven's name are you talking about?"

"You were smiling at a little frog, you see. And when I got here, you made an odd face," she explained. "Did I perhaps stop you from kissing it?"

He sighed at her. This girl is the single most irritating being he had ever come across. "Don't be ridiculous. Are you a real witch? Is this a poor fellow you cast a spell on?"

"Who knows?" she sniggered and shrugged at his impatience. "But if it is cursed, the story says it requires a kiss from a princess. I will not do it and you mustn't try either. You might actually fall ill."

"If you were so curious, maybe you should've stayed quiet and waited, like I have. Whatever face I made, it was because I'm appalled at how long it took you to come."

She shifted away in a mockingly demure fashion and dusted the top of her skirt. "One cannot be late to gatherings that did not designate a time for arrival. I am not to blame."

He flinched slightly at her reasoning. Is she saying her idle and flippant way is his fault? This girl.

"Since you've been waiting, out with it then," she said as she turned back to face him. "What is this about?"

Lelouch scoffed. "Not even a long time, no see? My lady, you surely are impolite today"

"We both hate exchanging pleasantries," she reminded him with bored eyes. "But if my asking of your wellbeing earlier does not suffice, I'll say that I did miss your visits when they stopped." He unknowingly grimaced at her candid revelation so she felt compelled to expound on her sentiment. "I may be originally from there, but having spent more of my life here has made France entirely bizarre to me. I appreciated seeing a familiar face."

"Is that so?" He lowered his head thoughtfully. "The Emperor bid me to stay, he said that I am needed here. I'm sorry for any frustrations it might have caused."

"No harm done, Highness. I know you are." C.C. smiled up at him. "Needed here, I mean."

He returned her smile, noticing under the moonlight the presence of a twinkle in her eyes and the absence of a twinkle where a delicate ring used to be. "A lot has happened since. Mother says your engagement was called off."

"Oh, yes," she said practically purring. She lifted her left hand to inspect her bare ring finger as she grinned. "I see what he was trying to do but my Father was misguided on that occasion. As I thought, I could not go through with marrying a person who needs to breathe down my neck to survive."

Lelouch chuckled. "He was very taken with you indeed, wasn't he?"

She hummed and nodded in agreement. "I pity the individual he falls in love with next. But I do wish him well. I hope he finds someone who thinks his… attentive style is endearing. I certainly did not." She set her hand down in her lap to join the other. "Anyway, as soon as she caught wind of the news, your mother urged me to return. So now I'm here."

"So now you're here," he breathed out. "Have you got any plans?"

C.C. pressed her lips into a thin line. "Well… at present, none that have taken a solid shape." The impassioned night she spent with Suzaku suddenly took hold of her thoughts. Lelouch would be furious once he found out. But they know everything about each other, which means he already has a low opinion of her to begin with. She thought she should tell him.

"Just that I need to tidy up some messes I'd left behind." But maybe not just yet.

She nonetheless found it in her to smile at the glistening reflections in the water. This place was always so pretty, like it came from the pages of some children's book. Perhaps even a romance novel. Something inside her twinged and she stopped herself from making a connection between that and why Lelouch chose to meet her here.

"Doubtless," she whispered, "there are things I must do." Her face lifted up and she directed her smile to his steadfast gaze. "You were right to ask me to come back. I'm home, Lelouch."

He felt himself inhale. 'I'm home.' There were fireflies around, he noticed all of a sudden. He couldn't be sure if they were there since earlier, but he was sure that they glowed like the flecks of yellow and gold in her eyes.

But now comes the dreaded part. He sighed. "Unfortunately, I've brought bad news. You don't have any for yourself, but the people here have been making plans for you."

The words had her smile slowly dissolving, much to both of their chagrin. "How do you mean?"

"Mother informed me that this empire is fixing to lead you to the altar.. where the Second Prince awaits." He paused, watching her inscrutable mask of a face. "On the other hand, the Crown Prince shall soon wed the Chinese Federation's young empress. Apparently, it was the consequences of your recently terminated betrothal that made this scheme possible."

She was nodding weakly as she took in the report he gave her. "I see," she responded calmly after more than a few seconds. "Is this why Marianne was so adamant that I returned immediately?"

"She has thoughts of her own about it. I think she just wants you to be around more than anything."

"Hn." C.C. managed a cracked and uneven simper at the sentiment. "I received an invitation to dine privately with your family. This must be why."

A displeasured noise escaped his throat before he could catch it. "When did it come to you?"

"Today. About the same time I received your letter, actually."

His jaw tightened in annoyance. Lelouch likes to always be multiple steps ahead of his competition. He fell short this time. That he did so concerning this, a matter of great personal significance to him, was all the more infuriating.

"Well, it is as you say. It seems I have backed myself into a corner." She expelled a breath and looked to the sky. A miraculous shooting star appeared, but she no longer bothered with wishes.

"Be that as it may, your brother has a good head on his shoulders. He's smart, he's capable, not the obsessive type." She continued on, though he wasn't sure if she was simply stating facts or consoling herself, "A marriage to him will be harmonious at best and benign at worst. At the very least, it is a fortunate upgrade from my previous arrangement."

Lelouch couldn't help his features from creasing in a scowl. "Are you seriously pleased with this? Schneizel is nearly a decade older than you."

She merely barked a laugh at him. "In that regard, I think I shall opt to count my blessings. That Tianzi has it much worse and I, for sure, would not want to switch places with her. Not to mention, I'm sure I'll enjoy waking to Schneizel's face much more than she would to Odysseus'."

"Stop kidding around, C.C."

"Waking up next to someone you married is not an undertaking for kids, Your Highness," she quipped, the slightest undercurrent of amusement still in her voice. "Unless of course you happen to be Tianzi, that poor little thing."

He sighed and closed his eyes in exasperation. What a difficult woman.

C.C. was truly unpredictable. He imagined news of a fresh ball and chain saved just for her would bring out a different reaction from whatever this was, especially after she had just done away with more of the same. But there she sat, entertained and awash with acceptance. He clearly distinguished it was a shabby and reluctant sort, but it was acceptance nevertheless.

'... she does bow to authority from time to time.'

'... she heeds the important instructions.'

V.V. and Marianne were right. Moreover, even he cannot deny that C.C. would be wise to embrace the orchestrated union. While they were closer in their youth, he grew up finding himself at odds with his older brother in many ways. But he was never dumb enough to lose respect for Schneizel's indisputable competence and appeal to dismiss them. Still…

"There is another option."

"Another option? You suppose I have choices on the transaction?" She turned to him, clasping his scarf at the edges of the tree stump to lean back.

"I say you do."

She was about to laugh him off but held it in when she saw his solemn expression. "Enlighten me."

Lelouch looked away suddenly and hid the lower half of his face with a fist. There were clouds drifting past the moon which dulled its shine. He pled to whatever higher power existed that she wouldn't be able to see him blushing in the darkness. "Me," he said evenly.

She was silent for a bit. "What?"

"I said," he began after having composed himself and met her golden eyes. "You could marry me."

"... Then was this your mother's "thoughts", my dear prince?"

"I admit she and my Father gave me the idea, but the decision to proceed is entirely my own," he answered as he held her gaze firmly.

C.C. tilted her head sideways at the information. "Your father? How interesting that he now contrives to place me with a different son."

"Indeed," he muttered. "I had toyed with the notion that Mother only told me so in order to force my hand. However… you were summoned."

She was very much so. But as of now, she found that it was his proposition that was the more provoking one. She decided she'd gag along for the meantime. "Well, let's see the ring then, shall we?"

"I don't have a ring right now," he replied frankly.

"Huh?" She cocked a brow at him. "What kind of prince proposes without a ring? Even that gentleman Mao presented me one. I thought it was rather pretty, to be honest with you," she added.

"Just you wait, my lady. I know your tastes and you know my inclination to details. Rest assured, the ring I'll give you shall be no less than perfect," he countered sharply. "I simply did not have the time to have one made, or even browse the existing pieces for that matter. More pressing things come first, such as this meeting."

She stared at him as he spoke, gauging him. Lelouch looked perturbed, irate even. She knew he wasn't exactly chummy with Schneizel but he seemed a tad too… affronted. He must know that his older brother is clever enough to realize the value of a wife such as her to treat her with respect, if not warmth. So why?

"You said that the choice to pursue an engagement with me was yours."

"Yes."

"And you thought perhaps Marianne was merely trying to urge and pressure you."

"I did."

She stood from her tree stump, wrapped his scarf around her like a shawl and fixed her eyes at his. "Then how come you folded?" She might be reasonably shorter than him but she was no less imposing.

"I-" He looked away suddenly, covering his face with his fist once again. "Your absence was…" He continued to stammer incoherently longer than he was comfortable with. "It was awfully dull without you here."

Unconvinced, she leaned forward and sideways to continue scrutinizing his unusual shy expression. "Hmm?" she pressed on, the inflection in her voice inquisitive and teasing at the same time. "Is that enough reason? It isn't sufficiently beneficial, no?"

"Oh, shush, you!" he said impatiently. "People of our station have married for less." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her.

She had an uncanny ability to make him lose composure. It's almost as if she has made it her mission to see him drop his poise. Maybe she found it to be an entertaining spectacle. That smirking face of hers certainly seemed entertained at his agitation. She let out a sparkling laughter when she noticed him assessing her.

"Well, well. The great tactician, the brilliant mind, Mister No-Nonsense, His Highness Lelouch vi Britannia deems leisure a greater cause for marriage than politics and position. What an unexpected turn of events," she teased and laughed some more. "Really, Lelouch. Has your short stint as a free bachelor already have your head shaken so badly?"

The prince focused on the ground and bit his tongue through her taunts as he weighed his options in his mind. He soon realized that this moment was it. That he cannot anymore hide behind their comfort zone of silently acknowledged compatibility and undeniable closeness of friendship. Not if he wanted to go beyond that.

His silence stretched on. She stopped looking amused at some point and hugged her arms loosely as she observed him, now with concern. He lifted his head to face the witch and the vision of her promptly gave him resolve. His heart thrashed wildly in his chest.

"C.C.," he said slowly. "If only for my pride's sake, please think about it sincerely and earnestly."

She must finally have grasped the seriousness of his intent, he thought as she closed her lids in a deep inhale before regarding him with level eyes. "Then, my prince, for your pride's sake you must examine again your selection for a bride, and more meticulously," she responded. "This concealed royal status of mine may be useful in future and yet it may not be. And if you are gambling on the positives here, my previous attachments still render my reputation somewhat blemished."

"That's not it." He shook his head tightly.

"I guess if Britannia has decided for me to marry its Second Prince, it could not be as bad as others," she supplied. "Still, refusing him would only serve to bring me further disfavor in the eyes of your court."

"I couldn't care less about any of that." As far as rebuttals go, it wasn't exactly the most logical. But it was the truth; that makes it infallible. "Your reputation this, the court that. In all the time we've known each other, I never took you for a person who paid attention to what polite society thought or said."

She cracked a bitter grin as if offended. "In all honesty, you know that I do not. However, you must also know that I care for you," she stated with a trace of ferocity behind her usually impassive eyes.

He was taken aback by her words and the force present behind them. They cherished each other, of course they did. But the sentiment was rarely ever declared. It was as if doing so disrupted the balance of their relationship. He was stunned for his part while she staggered subtly in her speech.

"You have aspirations that require this sort of consideration. I don't, nor do I wish for any of it. You asked me to think of your pride and I have. There's just no pleasing you, is there?"

"Alright, alright. I didn't mean to make you feel badly," he tried to pacify. She huffed with irritation as she crossed her arms and threw her head to the side. "I only meant that I needed peace of mind that you gave it careful thought before rejecting the idea completely. Not over a ring. And not over an opinion."

She glanced at him through the corner of her eyes and gave up her peeved expression with a sigh. Dropping her arms to the side, she faced forward and looked at a point beyond his shoulders. Her silence remained.

"Like I said, those things don't matter to me. Nunnally likes you, you know? She encouraged me quite passionately as well," he said with a sweet tone.

C.C. lit up and smiled despite herself. It was gone, though, by the time she spoke. "So it's the beloved younger sister's endorsement? Look, I know you treasure her and want to please her. But asking for my hand... Isn't this taking it too far?"

He frowned again. Why was she being so adamant about undermining his intentions? Did she really think that lowly of him, that he was just a man with ambition and a sister complex? Or is it herself that she deems unworthy as she has said? Is she simply trying to avoid any romantic association with him at all costs?

"Careful, Lelouch, or I might begin to think you want to marry me genuinely."

He bit the inner meat of his lip, a lackluster attempt to stop it from coming out. "I do."

He slowly raised his head from where it hung and smiled at her weakly.

At the sincerity of his expression, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open a tiny bit. Her lips quivered, unable to find words to respond. This is it, he thought. The point of no return.

"I want to marry you, C.C. I want to be your husband… and I want you to be my wife," he reiterated, soft and almost pleading. "Is it really so difficult to believe?"

She was speechless and clearly in shock. He didn't blame her though. If acknowledging the depth of their friendship rocked the boat, then what he was doing now was probably something like capsizing it, punching a hole through it, and setting it on fire. But as soon those words spilled from his lips, a dam littered with cracks finally gave out. That boat was doomed beyond hope.

"I have denied myself. I have been denying myself forever. For your sake and for Suzaku's." She winced at the mention of her former lover's name. He was undeterred. "But no longer. I can't go on like this any longer."

"What are you-?" she inquired, her voice the quietest he's ever heard. "What does that mean?"

"It means I am finally allowing myself to want this. And I need you to tell me whether or not I can hope."

He had to admit that he still sounded a little raw. But her eyes, he noticed, softened at him. And had it moistened throughout their exchange? She didn't look uncomfortable per se. She looked vulnerable.

"Lelouch..."

Gathering courage from the force of the dam that burst within him, he took her hand and placed it against his chest. She didn't resist him. Only stared at his large hand covering her small one and made her nails graze the fabric of his shirt in response. Swallowing, he took his other hand to caress her supple cheek and coax her to meet his eyes. He hoped he didn't look too pathetic.

"I can't help it, C.C. I don't know what else to do." The cracks and breathlessness of his delivery did not escape his notice, but he was undeterred. He pressed her hand gently further, making her feel his heart as it tried to beat an opening through his flesh. "I yield."

She breathed out shakily. He found, eyeing her with his undone, pleading gaze, that he was looking into a mirror. It almost made him want to retreat, to take back what he's said if only to make things easier for her. He hated seeing her like this. He hated even more that he was causing it.

But there is no way to make time rewind, and words that have been spoken cannot be unsaid. He knew deep down that didn't want to unsay them either. As much as he didn't want to distress her, he needed her to hear. He needed her to know.

He wanted her so badly. He has wanted her for so long.

They endured silence for a while. He let the hand cupping her jaw fall away and they broke eye contact. Their joined hands also fell from where it rested on his torso and settled in the space between them. Though, to his surprise and delight, she didn't pull away from him.

"Say something," Lelouch whispered after some time.

C.C. lightly flexed her hand that was encased in his, signaling him to let go. He fixed his attention to her again while she did anything but. He thought she looked vulnerable before, but now she looked small. Helpless.

"There is something you must know," she said lowly.

"What is it?" Rejection?

"You will hate me."

Ah. Must be. "I doubt that. You do all sorts and yet here I still am."

"No, no. You really will this time, I'm afraid…," she chuckled emptily.

There was an agonized air about her. She was genuinely scared. He braced himself for her denial, but he also worried that whatever was coming next would be even worse. He clenched the muscles of his jaw. "Tell me."

She took a deep breath in an effort to gather nerves, and then folded in on herself by hugging her arms once more and sitting back on the tree stump.

"Suzaku and I… When I returned… We…"

A/N: Hiiiiiiiiiii. I promised apologies and I will deliver! Sorry it took me so long to update *cries for real* My PC (in which this chapter's draft is saved locally without backups (LESSON LEARNED)) ran into problems and I couldn't get it fixed because the pandemic happened lmao. Then I just wasn't in the best headspace to start from scratch for the longest time haha but let's not talk about that. I managed to cough this one up by some miracle. It did go through a number of edits and proofreads because I just couldn't get it to evoke this effect (idek what lol) that I have in my head. It's not my favorite thing but I think (and hope!) it's sufficient. I just wanted to get this up for those who are still reading. Let me know what you think!

And most importantly: I hope yall are staying safe and being kind to yourselves during this whack time we're living in!

PS: I post updates on this story's progress on my profile from time to time if anyone's interested 😬