Thirteen days.
Lelouch stared at the clock on his side of the bed. 3:21 AM. His alarm was due to go off in two hours and nine minutes.
Thirteen days until Zero Requiem would be executed.
Until he…
He began going over his list of tasks and meetings for the day in his mind. Nothing about the Demon Emperor's upcoming day was going to be pleasant, but he supposed he deserved as much at this point. His suffering certainly would not be the most severe of anyone he saw today, so he really had nothing to complain about.
His eyes faintly burned, as if they were too dry, but no amount of blinking could bring relief.
Lelouch pretended it was because of the lack of sleep, and not because his eyes always burned a bit now that his Geass never turned off. Why was he awake right now anyway?
The bed behind him shook lightly before going still. C.C. must be crying again.
She never cried during the day, but occasionally, he'd heard her at night in their shared bed. They had been sharing a bedroom for months, but sharing an actual bed was a recent development.
"But why would my Geass still work?" he had asked.
"Your contract is with me." The witch said, lounging on the sofa, a stone's throw from her precious pizza. "I've never heard of obtaining a Code from someone you hadn't contracted with, but in theory, I don't see why inheriting someone else's Code would invalidate our contract. My Geass vanished when I inherited my Code, but my contract was fulfilled at the same time. Who's to say if my Geass' disappearance was from inheriting my Code or completing my contract?"
"But my father's Geass vanished when he stole VV's Code. That was definitely not completing his contract with VV."
"No, it wasn't. But your father obtained his Geass from V.V. More specifically from VV's Code, through V.V."
"So the contract would be invalid with VV dead?"
C.C. paused for a long moment. "Potentially."
Lelouch glared at her. "You're a fountain of answers, aren't you?"
"We wouldn't be in this situation if you had stayed focused on our contract," C.C. snapped.
"I never promised to put your selfish wishes before changing the world." The harsh words were out of Lelouch's mouth before he even finished thinking them.
C.C. rose suddenly and walked over to look out of a window. She stood there, in front of the bullet proof one way glass, looking out on the garden. Lelouch clenched and unclenched his fist and he felt the dull burn of his Geass on his eyes. He closed his eyes and rubbed the sides of his head.
Minutes passed in silence.
"There's really no way to tell if you inherited his Code or not until you die," the witch said, eventually.
"I suppose we'll know soon enough, then."
"I suppose we will." Another silence stretched with C.C. still looking out the window, until finally, she whispered so quietly Lelouch could barely hear her. "You should sleep next to me."
"What?" Lelouch asked, flustered. "What would -" C.C. cut him off there, saying something that didn't sound entirely true about proximity helping her sense his body's response to a Code if he had one. He wasn't sure how, but he was completely sure she was lying. Something about her tone was different than normal. Why would she… and then it hit him like a punch to the gut.
She just wanted to be close to him for whatever time he had left. He suddenly couldn't listen to her lying justification any more.
"Fine," he said. "I am going to go speak with Suzaku. I will be back by ten. Does that work for sleeping?"
"Yes," she replied evenly.
She was already in bed by the time he'd gotten back that night, but he'd joined her nonetheless. When he woke the next morning, her back was pressed against his.
That had been just over two weeks ago. They'd coslept every night since. He'd caught her crying a handful of times since, and was never certain how to react. She clearly did not want to talk. The last time he'd asked what was wrong, she'd immediately gotten out of bed and said she was just shivering from being cold and was going to take a hot shower. Given the number of blankets she had it seemed unlikely, but he almost believed it just from how frosty her voice was.
Neither of them knew if he'd survive the Zero Requiem, and nothing he could say would change that. Nor was he willing to not die for her.
She continued to shake occasionally behind him, definitely believing he was still asleep, and Lelouch continued staring at his clock.
Well, neither of them were getting any sleep anyway, so he might as well try something to make her feel better. Even if it got him slapped, at least it would be an outlet for her frustration.
"You are cold again," he said, as he turned and quickly wrapped his arm around her waist under the covers. Lelouch felt her back tense up against him and she went completely still. Well, she hadn't slapped him yet so that was a good sign. "Body heat should help," he said, sliding his other arm under her head and scooching a bit closer.
It was uncomfortably hot under the mountain of blankets she'd accumulated, and she was actually a bit sweaty. She was obviously not cold. He may be in trouble. C.C. was completely silent for an agonizing ten seconds. He felt her take a slow, deep breath. Perhaps he should roll back to his side of the bed and pretend this had never happened?
"What body heat? You are as cold as ice," the witch said, though she leaned her back into him and took his hand in hers.
"A certain witch keeps stealing my blankets of late," Lelouch replied. "How do you sleep with it this warm under here? This is oppressive. I assume you were actually shivering with fever."
C.C. sighed, removing her hand from his. Nice going idiot, now she feels worse. But rather than moving away from him, she dramatically tossed off the top layer of blankets. It mostly worked, though they pooled a bit at the bottom of the bed. "Behold, I have liberated you," she said, lacing her fingers through his as she took his hand again, curling back against him. "Now get back to sleep before I oppress you again."
Lelouch wisely decided that nothing he could say could improve anything in this moment. He closed his eyes and did his best to get back to sleep while enjoying holding C.C. against him.
From then until Zero Requiem, they slept each night curled together.