"Do you want to marry her?"

Lelouch's head snapped up abruptly. "What?"

The emperor merely turned the page of the document he was reading. "I said, do you want to marry C.C. If you do, there are things that could be done."

Marianne stole glances from her husband and son as she sat at the long table of the private library. "Is that wise, Charles? The French are valued allies; this might upset them."

"They're reasonable enough," the emperor replied vacantly which had left Lelouch visibly confused.

"Why would you even consider this?" he asked. "You're not one to pry into our personal affairs."

"Darling, be more respectful towards your father, please," Marianne frowned.

"You're a prince. Your marriage is hardly personal." Charles never lifted his gaze to either of his companions. The report was detailed and he needed to know exactly how a hidden French princess was stolen from their grasp by the Chinese. "These Parisian excursions you've been taking are becoming bothersome. Pendragon is where you should be."

Lelouch huffed. "I thought my father would want me to find happiness in marriage." He turned his head back down to read documents of his own. "In any case, the answer is no. I don't want to marry her." A tick of silence. "Shirley would be hurt to know you thought such of my intentions towards C.C."

"C.C. is more valuable than your ginger paramour," Charles clipped. "I thought you would snatch her up as soon she parted ways with Kururugi, but here you are still disappointing me."

The grip on the papers in Lelouch's hands tightened. "He's my best friend. I can't just–" He looked pointedly at his father and mother. "Besides, you lied to me. I'm betting I still wouldn't know of her royal lineage had this… predicament not come up sooner."

"It was for her protection," Marianne interjected.

"And for your benefit," Lelouch added. "You could have at least told me. But of course you needed to be sure which of us was going to marry her."

"You think we were being uncaring?" Charles asked. "What benefits this empire ultimately benefits you. She is of great value to Britannia, whether as your wife or any one of your brothers'."

"We also wanted to consider her feelings, dear," Marianne commented. "She is most attached to you than any of your brothers, and time is of the essence right now."

"Seeing as how you willingly travel to France every so often these past months, you're clearly attached to her as well." Charles looked at his son now. "Leave the Fenette girl if you have even an ounce of decency."

"I don't have to listen to this." Before opening the doors to go, the prince looked back at his parents. "If C.C. wants to marry that clown, she can go right ahead. Leave me out of it."

Lelouch was now nursing a throbbing headache but walked away as fast as he could despite it. His parents hadn't tried to interfere with his decisions like that since he was a child. C.C. must truly be an asset for Charles to really want her in the family register. Not that he hated the idea of being married to her, but it was bizarre to think of. Yes, he initiated trips to her home country but it was never solely to see her. He had legitimate business to attend to, it simply happened to coincide with her sudden return there.

Besides, he wasn't sure that enough time had passed for her and Suzaku to move on from their breakup. She seemed as she'd always been, even with a new fiancé. She only said she'd rather marry Mao than be stuck in Europe with a bunch of prissy aristocrats. It made sense; he was to be China's ambassador to Australia. If anything, it promised adventure (or at least enough of one to keep her from being too bored). France obviously wanted to extend their influence to the South and it was only strange that she would allow herself to be part of the political machinery.

Lelouch supposed if she married him, it'd serve the same purpose. But at least with him, she'd be with someone she truly knew. Someone who truly knew her.

He shook his head and tried to remind himself that he shouldn't even be thinking about her, futile as these recent attempts may have been. She's a needless distraction, whether or not she was near or present, when there were more important things that could occupy his thoughts.

"Darling." Marianne's voice brought him back from his daze; he didn't even sense anyone approaching. "Do you really not want to marry C.C.? Is that the truth?"

"Someone might hear us here," Lelouch cautioned her and kept walking though he was heading to no particular destination.

"I know you don't care much for scripture, and I don't really either, but there's wisdom to be found in it," she said after a minute of silence.

"What are you going on about now, mother?"

She showed a knowing, toothy smile that told him she can and will succeed in her goal. "Those who confess are shown mercy and get blessed."

More nonsense then. He let out a relieved breath and hiked on. Unfortunately, she kept up.

"You used to be so immersed in Britannia's dealings with Japan. Now, all of a sudden, you shift your interest to France. Surely, there's a reason."

Lelouch stopped in his tracks and turned to face his mother. Sighing, he crossed his arms and decided to humor her. "Let me guess, you're going to tell me about it."

"You hate that Mao person," Marianne began. "You hate that she's not here. And you hate that she fell in love with Suzaku before realizing she loved you too."

"She doesn't love me." He rolled his eyes. "And you're only saying all this because you want us to marry so you and father could use her."

"Think of it practically, Lelouch. She's smart, she wouldn't let anyone use her if she didn't gain anything." Marianne took her son's chin and looked him in the eye. "And I am certain that you wouldn't let anyone harm her. As her husband and father of her children, you would be in the best possible position to ensure that."

He returned her stare as if contemplating everything she just said and yanked her hand away before long. "With all due respect, this discussion is over."

"Fine," she conceded. "But as I said, time is of the essence. And your father's right about Shirley."


There was a muffled exchange of words at the other side of the door before the voices grew louder. After that, there was a prolonged rapping against the hardwood which wholly annoyed C.C. She specifically instructed her maids and guards to not allow anyone to disturb her when she played cards with her ladies-in-waiting. She suspected it was Mao being obsessive as ever. He has been becoming increasingly aggravating and her patience was thinning by the day. She'll need to break off the engagement, her father and his dreams for France be damned, if this continued.

The door swung open and the green-haired princess decided to keep her eyes on the cards in her hands instead of acknowledging the intruder with a look. Her fiancé needed to learn to respect boundaries and if it took disrespect to teach him how, then that's exactly what she would do.

"Sir, the mademoiselle isn't receiving anyone right now. Please-"

"I need to speak with the princess."

That voice. C.C. sharply looked up to find Lelouch standing there instead of Mao. He sounded a bit vexed, and it prompted her to make everyone else leave. Her people filed out of the room quickly but didn't spare the two of curious (questioning) glances. She stood and cut the distance between them in half as Lelouch eyed her seriously. "Back so soon? I didn't think you'd be here until after a few weeks."

She certainly didn't think he'd close the distance between them and take her in a firm embrace. She felt his hands somewhat shaking as they gripped her stiffened back. Her skin became ticklish from contact with his hair when he buried his face in her neck.

"What's wrong, Lelouch?"

"Come home, C.C," he whispered. "Let's go home."


A/N: I can't believe I keep writing for this fic. This chapter is very rough, I admittedly didn't put too much thought into it so apologies if it's not written so well. Thanks for all the feedback btw, you guys are the nicest and I'm glad you enjoy my work (subpar as they can be lol). I have another idea for Linger but it might take a while to upload because it's quite difficult for me to flesh out (clue: flesh. hehe place your guesses in a review, jk)