A/N: CONTENT WARNING. This story will involve a lot of Lelouch engaging in what you might call excessive familial affection. If you have a problem with that... I don't honestly care that much? It's a commission and I'm perfectly happy writing what they want me to write. But it's only fair I give ample warning for other readers, even if judging by the people bitching in my MHA Scumbag story people will just ignore it and yell at me regardless.

But yes. Lelouch will get very close with some princesses. Including this one in the next scene. You have been warned.

-(-)-

A young girl held her brother's hands, sightless eyes seeing more than any other could. Seeing into everything he was. Everything he felt in that moment. The hatred for a father now gone, hatred that would never be sated. Regret for opportunities lost. The sadness at the centre of it all. For what they'd lost. For her. For the world around them.

But, while the hatred couldn't be sated, her brother's vindictive streak had sought a new path. A path with which he could do the next best thing to what he really wanted.

"Brother..."

"I didn't want you to know," he admitted to her. His hands still in hers, she could feel the truth of those words. What he really meant by them. Not that he didn't want her to know of his actions at all. But that he didn't want her to know his intent, his desire, and the lengths he would go to see them through. "I didn't want you to see what I need to do to realise a better world." Half-truth. He needed to do those things, but the outcome wasn't the reason. Just an objective of his ultimate goal.

"Lelouch, do you think I would have been happy?" she asked. "If I stayed ignorant of what you're doing? I don't want you to make that choice for me, Lelouch."

"Nunnally–"

She clutched his hands tighter. "I haven't been able to make a choice for myself for a long time. All I could do was choose to smile despite everything. To see the joy when no one else can, or create it when there isn't any to be found." As if to prove it, she offered him a smile. One that contained every could-have-been wish she held in her heart. "That doesn't mean I want to hide from sadness, Lelouch. I know..." Her thumb rubbed across the top of his left hand. "I know who my brother is. I've known all along. The hatred. The rage. The regret. The sadness that caused all of it." Letting go of that hand, her own reached out to find his face, the pained frown he wore. "You put on a brave face but I never saw it. All I could see was everything you tried to hide behind it."

"I just wanted to protect you." He spoke so softly it was barely a whisper. The only sound in the darkness of his bedroom. "When he died... I saw a way. A way I could change the world so I wouldn't need to protect you. Create a world where you could always smile."

"Brother," she said with a burble of laughter, "That world exists already! I'm here, with you. Why would I need any other reason to smile?"

She felt it in the clenching of his jaw. Heard it in the gritting of his teeth. The pain he experienced from hearing those words and the truth they conveyed. It was among the cruellest things she could have said. Not for any falsehood, not for any belief that she was masking her true feelings or trying to sway him from his path. She wasn't. She told him the complete truth. She wouldn't care if he wanted to stay in school and live their false lives until they were old and grey. She wouldn't care if he fought for a world of peace and joy. She wouldn't care if he burned the whole world down and salted the ashes. As long as they were together, she was happy.

And the trickle of wetness she felt run down his cheek onto her hand proved the cruelty of telling him that. She had stolen from him the shield that protected him from his own truths. He could no longer tell himself he was acting for her sake. He could no longer lie to himself about the fury that motivated him.

And with the scales fallen from his eyes, she had revealed to him another truth. "I... I can't," he admitted with a choked sound. "I can't stop."

"Of course you can't, brother. You understand now, don't you?"

He didn't need to say anything in answer. She pulled him close to hold him in her arms as his body shook. The weight of guilt was crushing him. Guilt for using her as an excuse. Saying it was all for her, to give her the kinder world she dreamed of. It wasn't. It never had been. He had been deluding himself. Giving her the kinder world she dreamed of, it would make him happy but his happiness was never the goal. It was something darker. A sick, self-righteous satisfaction. That was what was driving him to seize the reins of the mightiest empire in the world. It would create a kinder world, yes. But it would also tear down everything Charles had ever believed in. Everything Britannian society stood for. He wanted to bring ruin, and from the ashes build something better.

There was no practical reason that prevented him from abandoning his plans. There would be difficulties, but nothing Lelouch couldn't work his way around with some effort. They had not passed the point of no return.

But Lelouch had passed that point in his heart when he watched her bleed into the carpets of Aries Villa.

"Nunnally," shaking, weeping in her arms, "I'm sorry!"

"You don't need to be sorry, Lelouch. You're my big brother. I love you no matter what." With him so close, she knew well where he was, gently pressing her lips to his for a brief instant. "I never wanted you to give up everything for me or do everything for me. As for what you want... Your motives don't need to be pure for you to do good."

"Ha... haha..." His laugh was weak, sobbing, but genuine. He leaned back, took her hand from his face as he wiped his eyes and nose with his other. "They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I suppose you're saying the reverse can be true too." He let out a weary sigh. "I'm not sure the Archbishop of Pendragon would agree, but he was so deep in Britannian dogma he would say as long as I win then it means God favours me and my cause is just."

"God doesn't come into it. God isn't here. We are. You can decide for yourself if you're doing the right thing."

"It was easier when I saw you as my conscience."

Her smile slipped. "What does that mean for everything you were trying to hide from me?"

Another question that cut to the heart of the matter. Another truth he couldn't refute. "I'm going to commit a lot of wrongs. I'm going to end up with a lot of blood on my hands. And all for a hope of accomplishing my goals."

"Will you succeed? Will the blood spilled be worth it?"

"I'll do everything in my power to ensure yes. To both questions." For the first time, she heard the conviction in his voice that she knew he held in his heart.

And so she smiled again. "I'm with you, brother. No matter what you do or what you have to do, as long as I'm with you, I'll be happy."

"I love you, Nunnally."

"I love you too, Lelouch!"

A heavy conversation but a necessary one. There was nothing more important to her than him. If she had left him be, let him lie to her... She didn't know what would come of it but she doubted it would have been good. His conscience wasn't clear. It never would be. And now, neither would hers. But that was fine by her, no matter how much Lelouch might have preferred otherwise. He may have used her as a crutch, an excuse, but he never would have put any burden on her unless she demanded it of him, so that's precisely what she did. They were in this together as they always had been. As they always would be.

Once again, just as he had last time, just as he had so many times in the past, Lelouch helped her into bed. Though this time the situation was reversed. No matter how she might have painted it when she first came into the room, in this moment it was Lelouch seeking comfort from her as they drifted off to sleep. It ended up not being a restful sleep for either of them. Each sibling's mind active with the new reality they had found themselves in, their subconscious beginning to come to terms with what had been said and what could never be taken back.

It seemed though, as Nunnally awoke with birdsong and the rays of dawning sunlight creeping through the blinds, Lelouch's mind had drifted to unexpected topics. Perhaps it wasn't the birdsong that had woken her. Perhaps it was the strange protrusion pressing against her belly.

At first, her ignorance betrayed her. She had learned the things all young people must learn at one point or another. But such subjects had been so far from her mind for so long, and everyone around seemed determined to protect her from those topics. And so, as she felt that object press against her, she curiously reached down to figure out what it was.

It didn't take her long to figure it out.

'Oh my,' she thought to herself, feeling the rod covered only by the fabric of his pyjamas. 'This is... Lelouch's?' Her fingers slid along it over the fabric, not knowing or rather not realising what she was doing in the heat of the moment. She had of course never seen one before, nor felt one. She had no way to compare but it seemed rather large to her.

'I wonder what he's dreaming about...' It was clearly a good dream. An enjoyable dream. It was perhaps an invasion, but she couldn't help herself. And even so, she wouldn't let there be any secrets between them. Not anymore. Her hand found his.

It was something she had never tried before. Reading someone's feelings as they slept. But in that haze, Lelouch asleep, her barely awake, she got a clearer picture than she ever had. Not just feelings and vague impressions but a true picture. The first thing she could say she saw since the attack.

And what a sight it was.

It was a room. A work room for multiple people but not a classroom. Perhaps the student council room? The details were hazy and indistinct, far more so than the focus of Lelouch's attention. A beautiful blonde that she recognised through Lelouch to be Milly. Naked, sweaty and smiling as she molested another girl, equally nude and in the throes of ecstasy as the lustful blonde took her fill of the redhead's body. Shirley. Lelouch had told Nunnally of the inappropriate things Milly would sometimes get up to but never in specifics. Was this what he was talking about? Or was his imagination running wild? His feelings didn't consider it a hopeless wish but instead a future possibility. A scenario his subconscious knew he would enjoy no matter how his waking mind felt about it.

But they weren't the only ones there. It was rare for a person to dream as an observer rather than a participant so of course Lelouch was watching them, and the girls knew it. Milly took actions to tease him as much as the girl in her lap. But the fourth, there was a fourth. And she was the one giving Lelouch the most direct attention. A girl of magenta hair and blue eyes with a dangerous sharpness to them. She was kneeling between his legs, staring up at him as she put a hand on...

So that was what her brother's penis looked like.

The stranger firmly stroked him as she watched him, not paying any attention to the other girls. Her sharp eyes only on him as she tried to get his attention. Then tried harder by changing tactics, leaning forward to lower her lips and take him inside her mouth.

Nunnally was not expecting the feeling that came over her as she witnessed this lewd dream.

Jealousy.

How could he?! Here she was in his bed after promising to be with him always no matter what, and he was having dreams about other girls doing lewd things?! He should be dreaming about her and doing lewd things! Or, wait, no, that wasn't what she meant. She wasn't thinking like... He was her brother so they shouldn't... But he was dreaming about some redhead girl Nunnally didn't even know!

'Stupid big brother,' she grumbled in her mind. 'Hmph! I'll show him!' With sudden daring rarely seen since her childhood, the princess of Britannia slipped her hand into her brother's pyjamas, carefully but firmly gripping his manhood directly. The realisation of what she was doing only struck after her fingers wrapped around it. 'It's warm,' she marvelled, 'and... Softer than I thought it would be. Like iron in velvet.' She continued watching his dream, fascinated as she experienced his feelings vicariously through him. The affection for Milly, the desire for Shirley, the intrigue of this new girl who still stared up at him as she moved her mouth over him as if making sure he liked it.

As Nunnally watched, her hand began to move back and forth as if she knew instinctively what to do. Or perhaps Lelouch was unknowingly telling her. She felt the twitching approval of it, the hum of enjoyment from his throat that put her heart in hers. He hadn't woken. The fear told her to stop. The wonder demanded she keep going. She watched the redhead bob on him and matched her own strokes to that pace, bringing the experience closer to life for him.

Perhaps too close.

Nunnally only knew it was coming from understanding her brother's feelings in that moment. That he was going to reach his peak. In a panic, knowing there was no stopping it anymore and knowing there would be no hiding the evidence if she let it happen unhindered, her hand moved, her palm and fingers covering the head. With a final grunt from her brother, she felt the warm splash against her hand as she cupped the end of his penis. As the warm semen spurted out in thick jets to crash against her skin. Then the final dregs to dribble out of his twitching shaft.

Lelouch's dream shifted, but Nunnally had other priorities at that point. Her hand was coated in semen. She had no idea what to do with it! It wasn't like she could quietly run and grab a tissue! And if he woke up with it still on her hand he would know what she did!

She cleaned what little was left on him as she retrieved her hand. It smelled funny, she could feel it already beginning to cool. It... It probably wasn't bad or poisonous or anything, right? Her lessons on the subject didn't really go into that much detail but if that redheaded trollop sucking on him was normal then...

Tentatively, her tongue flicked out over one of her fingers, tasting the substance. It wasn't very good but it wasn't terrible either. And so began her self-imposed task of licking her hand clean of her brother's semen so he wouldn't know she gave him a handjob while he slept. The things that could end up happening when one's desires and feelings got the better of them. At the very least, it didn't take her long at all to acclimate to the taste. It was her brother's after all. It was hard to hate something that came from him.

The remnants of spit on her hand she wiped under her pyjamas then did her best to get back to sleep.

It didn't go very well. Something poked her again. But she wasn't brave enough to peek a second time tonight.

Some time later, the two of them were awakened by Sayoko's knock on the door.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well, Nunnally?" he asked, rising and coming around the bed to help her into her chair.

"Yes," she answered with a more awkward smile than was perhaps usual. "Did you sleep well, Lelouch?"

He returned her smile with more than a little gratitude in his voice. "Better than I have since the emperor died."

The blind princess refused to let her true feelings show on her face. "I'm sure." Dreaming of Milly engaging in lewdness while a stranger serviced him. "Lelouch... How do you really feel about Milly and Shirley?" she asked, playing at the innocent appearance that usually came so easily to her.

"Nunnally," she felt his hand on her cheek, "You know no one can replace you, right? You're the most precious girl in the world to me."

She wished she didn't feel her face flush when she heard those words. But didn't know why. Even so, she couldn't deny how happy it made her to hear them. "Lelouch, if... You do what you want to, it's okay to have wives. That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it? Do you like Milly and Shirley?"

"I certainly feel affection for Milly, yes," he admitted reluctantly. "After everything the three of us have been through. And she never asked for anything in return. It would have been so easy and yet..." He trailed off, having said all that needed to be said to someone who already knew how he felt. "As for Shirley... I don't dislike her at all. I just worry for her if we ever... If she ever..."

"Became your lover," his sister finished for him.

"My wife," he corrected, frowning at the unexpected comment from his innocent sister. "If we succeed, it may end up giving her a far more difficult life with struggles she just isn't ready for."

"Lelouch, I wasn't ready for this," she said, putting her hand on the wheel of her chair. "It isn't fair to push her away for future maybes. Not if it's something you both want."

"More words of wisdom from my conscience?" her brother joked, not noticing her reaction as he moved behind her chair. She was fairly sure doing lewd things with her sleeping brother disqualified her from that position.

"Is there anyone else?"

He laughed in surprise as he pushed her past the bed toward the door. "What's all this interest in my lovelife all of a sudden?"

"I just want to know about the special people in my brother's life," she defended, giving nothing of her true motives away.

"Well there is another girl–"

"What's her name?"

If Lelouch was surprised by the quick interjection he didn't show it. "Kallen. Kallen Stadtfeld." So that was the trollop's name. "I don't know her very well. Did a little digging into her background. She might be interesting but I'm not sure yet. I'll have to see how things go."

-(-)-

Kallen Kozuki was a woman on a mission.

"Come with me."

"I'm pretty sure we both have class soon–"

"This is more important."

The Britannian bastard gave her a look like he was deciding whether she was worth his time. "Alright. Where to?"

She held him by his arm, leading him to the location she had picked out. A storeroom for gym equipment that wouldn't see use until next period. The perfect place to have a private chat.

"Kallen, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were–"

"Shut up." She didn't need to hear any of whatever he was about to say. There was only one thing he could tell her that had any importance right now. And if her hunch was right, he'd have a whole lot more guts to spill, figuratively or maybe even literally if she didn't like his answers.

She pushed him inside and shut the door behind her.

"Look, I'm not opposed in principle but I'd like to get to know you better before–"

This time his smart mouth was shut by her leg stepping between his, her shorter but better built body crowding him against some shelves. "Area Eleven. Say it."

"Look, I don't know what this is about, but–"

"Say it."

He stared at her, as if he could figure out her intent with just a look. "Area Eleven."

She smirked. A vicious half-smile of victory. "I knew it." The hand holding her purse appeared while the other pinned him by the shoulder against the shelf. With a glint of steel under the hanging lightbulb, the hidden knife in her purse took its place at the bastard's neck. "Even now you're saying it with sarcasm."

For the first time, real worry found its way into his eyes. "I, didn't take you for a Britannian extremist but I'm not sure what I've done to–"

"I've heard you say those words before," she explained. "Area Eleven. With that same sarcastic tone, but you weren't trying to hide it as much then. Maybe you remember. It was on a phone call to a friend of mine. You left him a gift. A machine that I knew was here not that long ago. Imagine how surprised I was when the guy who suggested I become a knight was also trying to get in bed with the Japanese resistance!" She held him firmer, made sure he could feel the blade resting against some very important arteries. "Talk! What's your game?!"

He stared at her again. Then... Slowly... Smiled. "Chess."

"Was that supposed to be a joke? Do you think this is funny?!"

"Not funny, no," he said in a considering tone. "But certainly more interesting than I expected this encounter to be. So I spoke on the phone, and it had to be to a cell that had impressed me enough that I gave them a simulator, and reasonable enough that I revealed I was Britannian."

Well at least he was admitting it, but, "What the hell are you–?!"

He continued as if he didn't hear her. "That means one of three groups. However, only for one of them was the conversation heard by anyone but the leader, so far as I'm aware. So that means... The late Naoto Kozuki's group?"

"Get his name out of your filthy mouth, Britannian!"

He looked regretful, and the grieving young woman couldn't decide whether that made it better or worse. "I'm sorry. I imagine you were close–"

"He's my brother!" she snapped, only to realise her mistake with a wince. A second mistake he could have used to disarm her. And that he didn't only served to make her more frustrated. He really styled himself like some kind of mastermind but wouldn't even try to fight her off?

"Oh. I'm... Sorry for your loss." She wanted to be angry at the empty platitude but it was anything but empty. There was feeling in it. Either he was a great actor or he genuinely felt for her. But was genuine sympathy from a Britannian any better? "Naoto Kozuki was your brother... I have to commend Lord Stadtfeld for managing to hide that. I admit I didn't look into you too deeply after your display in the simulator, but I did look and I saw nothing about you being half Japanese."

"I'm not half anything!" she refuted him. "My dad might be Britannian but I'm Japanese! I don't want anything to do with people who treat the Japanese like trash!" Her eyes narrowed as a realisation struck her. "Why are you so calm? You've got a knife to your throat."

"Because I know you won't use it."

"Wanna bet?"

"I already have." The smirk Lelouch wore spoke of his confidence in his conclusion. "I've bet my life, haven't I? If I'm wrong, you'll draw that knife across my carotid artery and I'll bleed out in approximately ten seconds." A pause. And a look of satisfaction bloomed on his face. "But you won't. I'd say it's for practical reasons but that's not it. You could slit my throat and make a break for it. You'd know well how to escape into the ghetto and evade capture. You wouldn't lose anything you value. As you say, you reject your Britannian heritage and everything that comes with it."

He stood straighter from his slumped posture, forcing her to move the knife else he cut himself on it. "No. The reason you won't do it... Is because you are a woman of conviction but also one of compassion."

"What?"

"It would have been so easy. Naoto Kozuki couldn't pass as Britannian by birth, but you could. And so your father went to great lengths to allow you to. Gave you every privilege, went to great lengths to hide your true parentage from those who wouldn't know to look deeper. He made you his heir, had no children with his current wife to ensure you'd remain his heir. Your father gave you every chance to live a life of comfort and privilege. After all, in Britannian society, it was all he could do."

"What do you know about it?!" she asked with sarcastic bite. "He's just another Britannian trying to sweep his shame under the rug!"

"Shame?" the boy asked. "In the eyes of Britannia, perhaps. But if that was how he felt about it, he would never have made the sacrifices he must have for the sake of making you his heir." He shook his head. Before Kallen could even begin to comprehend what he was saying, he moved on. "But that's all tangential to my point. You had a ticket to a comfortable life. But your brother didn't. No matter what it would cost you, you chose to follow him, to help him fight for a better life for the Japanese, no matter how much he told you not to."

Blue eyes widened, staring into the unflinching and unwavering confidence of amethyst. "You... How did you...?"

"I'm an older brother too," he confided with a shrug. "He never could have dissuaded you though. Conviction to do what you feel you need to, no matter the sacrifice, but driven by compassion to alleviate the injustices and hardships of the world. That's how I know you won't use that knife, Kallen. You aren't an unthinking murder or extremist. You want to make the world better. In that sense, we're not so different."

As much as she wanted to deny it, he was right on that front. She wouldn't murder him without a good reason. And as if to convey that, the knife came away.

For about half a second. "You're right. I'd only kill you if I felt like I had to. Like if you were a threat to the people I care about. Like for example if you were a Britannian schoolboy pretending he wants to change the world for fun. So, what's your game? And no smartass answers this time!"

"Exactly what I said on the phone," he answered with a shrug that showed his dwindling lack of care for the threat to his life. "Finding allies. I didn't lie to your cell's leader. Not in my aims, my ambitions, or my expectations for how this new global conflict will go. It's a threat to Japan, to every corner of Britannia, but it's also an opportunity for change. I'm in a position to bring about that change. To tear down Britannian ideals of superiority. To return the names, heritage and dignity to the areas. No Japanese and Honorary Britannian. Japanese and Britannian both, afforded the same dignity, rights and respect of all Britannian people!"

"You think we'd want that? You think we'd accept that?" Kallen demanded.

"Do you know your history, Kallen? Britannian history? It came from a conquered people. The British Isles still to this day belong to the EU. Britannia was born as a response, a last desperate gamble on the then American colonies to revive their nation. Even after creating an empire that spans from the Middle East to the west Atlantic, the British Isles still remain in the hands of the EU. But even if those ancestral lands were conquered, they would only become part of Britannia, swallowed by another superpower. Another conquered people. Japan didn't have another land to claim as their own. They were conquered in totality. We have entered a global age wherein small nations only exist so long as these empires and unions and federations allow them to. The invasion of Japan was a disgrace, but it happened. And now, like the British Isles, it is a part of a larger power unless or until another power takes it from them. No one but the most die hard remnants of Japan have any interest in reviving it as an independent power."

"Just as I said to your leader, the nation of Japan is gone but the people of Japan are still here and still worth fighting for."

"You really believe all that, don't you?" It was an unusual perspective to her. She had heard plenty of the standard Britannian line. Numbers should know their place. Plenty of the standard Japanese line too, promoted by the JLF. That the sun will rise again. The Britannians spoke about the Japanese like they were disobedient dogs and the JLF didn't speak about the Japanese people at all. Just the vague idea of what Japan was and could be again, or so they said.

But the reality was hard to ignore. The Britannian military in the area were preparing for a fight and it wasn't for fear of the JLF who as far as anyone knew were still sitting on their hands. It was for the Chinese Federation, or for other factions of Britannia. That left them vulnerable to threats from within but... More blood spilled. More Japanese suffering. Just to let someone else take over. At the very least... Whoever Lelouch really was, the Japanese clearly mattered to him as more than slaves or symbols.

The knife lowered. But it didn't go away. "Who are you?" she for once more asked than demanded. "Really?"

"All that care and planning to keep myself anonymous and I get found out by a Japanese resistance member happening to also attend an entirely Britannian school," he complained. "One of the few students I did a background check on at that. Can you imagine how frustrating that is? You're not going to let me have any secrets?"

"I don't know, am I?" she asked, holding her knife that she was very confident she knew how to use better than he knew how to stop her from using it. "You said you could easily take the position of viceroy. How do I know you're not blowing hot air?"

"You know... I think if I pushed, you would let me," he theorised out loud as she tried not to let the truth of it show on her face. He smirked again. "Well, not the ideal place or time for it, but..." He took her free hand. "Lady Kallen Stadtfeld, I am Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire." In her shock at the not so casual confession, she barely reacted to the name she hated, or how he kissed her hand. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Wh– Are you joking?!"

"Not in the slightest," he answered with a smile as he released her hand. "My sister and I were sent here as political hostages for defying the emperor, not long before the invasion. Despite the odds, we survived, and I spent the intervening years ensuring we continued to do so while plotting to bring the empire to its knees." His smile turned sardonic. "Funny how things can turn out. I didn't need to do a thing. But now I have the chance to do more and I intend to take it."

It sounded absurd, but at the same time plausible. Some of Clovis' more famous speeches included mentions of the siblings he lost in Area Eleven, usually as a plea for peace to return to the land so Britannians could keep stepping on Japanese necks. Did he think he could just walk into the viceroy's palace and take over? Maybe he did. She had no idea how such things worked. Or maybe he planned to kill Clovis, using his birthright as a Britannian prince to assume control afterwards. Whatever he intended, it seemed far less outlandish to claim he could become viceroy. If he were smart about it, there was a clear path for him to take. A threat from within that Clovis couldn't be aware of until it was too late. "But why us? Why come to us?"

"Because you want to fight," he answered, "And more importantly, you're willing to fight for the Japanese more than a conquered flag. Protecting this land and its people will be a difficult task even without the worry of internal sabotage. The Chinese will come. Cornelia is on her way. The more people willing and able to defend Japan, the better. It's the same reason I had 'knightmare training day' arranged, beyond the chance to acquire a few simulators as introductory gifts. You never know where you'll find capable pilots." He gave her a meaningful look.

"Okay... Say I agree in principle, what would you want from us?"

"From your group? To ready yourselves," he answered. "To train as knightmare pilots alongside everything else. I intend to acquire some frames for your use. It's why the simulator made an ideal first offering. As for you specifically? To undergo knight training, of course."

"Ugh, you too."

"You disagree with that idea?" he asked.

"I can do just fine as a pilot without being force-fed Britannian propaganda all day, thanks."

"Refusing advantages of comfort is one thing," he argued. "Turning your nose up at opportunities to do more, to fix the very problems that push you to refuse in the first place? That's what we call cutting off your nose to spite your face. Not much of a statement of opposition either if no one knows you're making it." He put a hand on her shoulder. She fought the urge to shrug it off. "Let me put it in practical terms. You go into knight training, you can feed me valuable information on supply and storage of knightmares, meaning I can acquire them much easier and deliver them to the resistance cells. Just by doing this, you can help turn the resistance into a genuine fighting force that can stand for something. Protect people. Not to mention how much better a pilot you could become with proper training–"

"Alright alright, I get it!" she shut him up, gritting her teeth in irritation.

"Good. It's your choice in the end of course, but with what you can accomplish, I promise you it will be worth it. Now," he stepped toward her, putting his other hand on the back of her neck. What? "We should finish up here." He leaned in to–

"What the hell?!" she yelped, pulling away. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Securing our cover?" he asked in a much more subdued confusion than she was feeling. "I figured since you dragged me into a storage cupboard you planned for our cover to be a romantic rendezvous. We've been in here for a good few minutes and class is about to start. Why else would you drag me in here?"

"I–! But–!" Her half-spoken protests were accompanied by a furious blush. "I hadn't thought about that part! Just getting answers!"

"Oh... Sorry. Though it would look weird for us to be in here this long and for nothing to happen."

"It would look weird?! This whole thing is weird! I'm not gonna give you my– kiss you just for a cover story!"

"Hm, that's a shame. It probably would have been fun," he lamented. What?! "Fine. How about this." He pulled her close again, bringing a temptation to stab him just to put an end to this situation. But he didn't kiss her. Instead he put his hand to the back of her neck and ran it up a few times, messing up her hair. His other hand doing the same as the small of her back, untucking her blouse. "Now do mine," he prompted her. Confused, but seeing what he was going for, she did the same to him. Messing up his hair and leaving him with a shirt tail. Then as an afterthought, undoing the top button of his blazer and tugged at the collar. "Oh, good thinking. You should miss a button on your cardigan too."

"Do you think I'm that easy?!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to make it look good."

"Then try less hard!"

"Fine, let's go. Oh," he added, turning to look at her over his shoulder as he faced the door, "And of course I ask that my identity doesn't leave this room. It wouldn't ruin everything, but would cause far more trouble for an already enormous undertaking." He said it as if it were a complete afterthought. A realisation for a possible inconvenience he should at least make an attempt at staving off.

"I already told my friends I thought you were a student."

"Then tell them you were wrong, or that you were right. That part doesn't especially matter. All I need is for them to believe we can accomplish more together than we can separately, but my true identity is unnecessary and loose lips sink ships."

She followed behind him as he opened the door. Her already burning blush only brightening as she heard cheers from outside. He put a hand on the back of his neck as he left the closet, laughing awkwardly. As he moved out of the way, she saw other students that had gathered. Some staring daggers at her. Others grinning at the gossip she just gave them. Worst of all was the shining eyes of Milly Ashford right outside the door and her inexplicable grin of accomplishment.

She really hadn't thought this through.

Ducking her head she scampered out the door and away to her classroom.

"Kallen!"

Her humiliation wasn't over.

One of her friends came up beside her, grabbed her by the shoulder as they walked. "With Lelouch?! Oh my gosh! You have to tell me everything!"