Another day of classes over. Another day of at best unnecessary and at worst redundant education. Nina Einstein was a young woman who had long chosen her path in life. More than that, she had worked hard to take herself down that path with focus and determination. Was that determination also a result of a rigorous focus that itself was born from a desire to not think about certain things? To not worry about certain things? To avoid the things that dragged her into a downward spiral of fear and self-loathing that could only be resolved by hiding herself away and pretending the rest of the world didn't exist?

... How would she know? She wasn't a psychiatrist or a therapist. And her experiences of such people told her she didn't want anything to do with any such people ever again. No, she wasn't a student of the mind. She was a scientist.

Or at least she purported to be a scientist. "Another failure," she murmured in the silence of the student council room. The school day had long since ended, the student council meeting too. She stared at the data she had collated and graphed. Reactions were unstable. Far too much so for her to call it any kind of progress on her project. How many attempts had it been at this point? She had begun to lose count. Thankfully, for a certain definition of the word at least, the test number was helpfully listed on the graph. It was said every wrong turn could be a discovery in itself. If that was true, perhaps Nina should have felt like a very accomplished researcher. Not that she did.

It would work. She had faith in her premise. If she could just make the reaction stable, make the output consistent and stable, minimise the waste produced while maximising the energy generated. It was a discovery and invention that could change the world.

But not today. She sat back in her chair, stretched and groaned. She had been sat here for too long. What time was it, even? It probably said good things that she could get so engrossed in her work, even when it wasn't going well. She saved her work, started to shut the system down before she would go home for the night.

"Ah, there it is!"

"After that dumb ruse you pulled I can't believe you actually forgot your make-up kit."

The computer shut down, the screen going dark as Milly and Shirley entered the council room. What were they even doing here this late? Well, Milly lived nearby, but Shirley didn't.

"Hey, the ruse worked didn't it?" Milly asked, picking up her kit from the table by the window. "Aww, Shirley, I'm so happy for you!" the blonde declared, pulling the redhead into a hug. "Did you have fun?"

"Of course," Shirley answered, blushing from the very close contact that she knew was anything but innocent. "It's always great to spend time with Nunna. And I'd never been in Lulu's home before. Sayoko was nice."

"I'm glad you think so, but that wasn't what I was talking about." The Ashford heiress waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Milly!" Shirley whined, looking away, her face a furious red more vivid than her hair. "Ugh, I can't believe you walked in on us like that!"

Huh, Nina thought to herself. So Shirley had confessed. That was... What it was.

"How could I not? I could hear how much you two were enjoying yourselves," the impish blonde heiress teased. Her... Her hands strayed lower, wandering to intimate places as they tended to. "Besides, we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other like that. After all, we're with the same man. I wanted to see the show. You think he won't?"

Shirley swallowed. "L-Lulu isn't like that."

"Oh?" Milly asked with raised eyebrows, gently squeezing her friend and apparently co-girlfriend's backside. "I think he is. I think he'd love to see it." Nina's eyes widened as she watched Milly flip up Shirley's skirt, groping her backside with only cotton panties in the way. "See me playing with you like this, driving you wild."

"M-Milly–!"

"Something like this?" the blonde suggested with a grin, capturing her friend's lips to Shirley's reluctance, then swiftly eager submission.

Nina's mouth hung open at the display that was only growing raunchier. Milly continuing to taunt Shirley between kisses. Freely fondling her before beginning to peel down her panties. Did... Did they not even realise she was here?! She had no idea what to do! It was clearly far too late to make herself known, whether by speaking up or leaving. It was through no fault of her own, but Nina had been made party to a very intimate moment she wasn't meant to see. She felt she had no choice, carefully, silently sliding under the desk. Her eyes fixed on the two girls. It was wrong. But she just... She couldn't bring herself to look away.

"Milly..." Shirley gasped, her blouse partially opened so the lascivious blonde could nibble at her collarbone. At her earlobe. Shirley's inexperience showed, but it seemed Milly might have had a little more experience playing with other girls. Shirley soon had her legs spread wider for the rich girl's easier access. "H-hah!" the poor girl mewled as for the second time that day, she experienced the sensation of someone playing with her sex. "I-Is this really okay?"

"Sure it is," Milly reassured her in a lustful whisper, peeling her own panties down. "It's one of the first things I made sure of when Lelouch proposed. I'm his. You're his. Why would he mind if we want to play together, so long as he gets to join in if the mood takes him?" She hooked Shirley's leg over her own, bringing their bodies together, pressing their lower lips together in a purely feminine kiss. "Ahhh, and I think you'll be my favourite playmate."

"Milly..."

Nina sat under her desk, amazed at what she was seeing. Two of her friends grinding their bodies together, releasing moans of pleasure that set the quiet girl's heart racing. it was lewd, it was debauched, it was taboo, but not so much as her sitting there, silently watching them. Listening to them. Catching the scent of their sweat and arousal as they had sex right there on the table. And certainly not so much as that same girl biting her lip as she touched herself to the display. She couldn't help herself. It was all so overwhelming. She had never seen anything like this before.

"Milly, I'm going to–!"

"Then do it," the heiress whispered. "Cum for me, Shirley. But I'm not going to stop."

"M-Milly!" Shirley squealed, her whole body shaking under the blonde's relentless assault. And true to her word, Milly didn't stop for an instant even as Shirley came down from her climax, building her up to her next without remorse.

"I love that face," the lustful girl whispered. "You look so cute when you cum. Like a little rabbit startled by lightning."

"That's mean!" Shirley managed to whine. "Making fun of me now? Like this?" Her own hand slid down between them, getting payback via the gasp of surprise as her fingers began circling her friend's clit. "I wanna see what you look like!"

"I didn't know you could be feisty," Milly purred as their writhing together reached a more vigorous pace. Their lips and tongues locking together as they each tried to drive the other to climax. In the end, Shirley wouldn't get her wish as the two girls reached their peak together, both moaning into their kiss as they shook, before they slumped together. Both sets of lips parted, trails of fluid still connecting their mouths and slits as they smiled and giggled.

And poor Nina found her own peak at the same time. One hand covering her mouth, the other under her panties, fingerfucking herself as quietly as she could. Her hips bucked as she crested the wave of pleasure, her body betraying her as her leg jerked, kicking out in a quiet thud against the desk.

All occupants of the room stilled and fell silent. At an unspoken signal, both Milly and Shirley began quickly righting their clothes. Milly being presentable first, called out as she looked around the room. "Is someone in here?"

Slowly, from out of the shadow under the desk, Nina emerged, unable to look at the Ashford heiress.

"Nina?" the blonde asked.

"Oh my god," Shirley breathed, mortified that someone had been watching them.

The introverted girl cringed. "I'm sorry! I was just about to leave when you came in but you didn't notice me. And then you started... Doing things and I didn't know what to do!"

"So you decided to watch us?!" the redhead not-quite-shrieked.

"I'm sorry!"

"Shirley, it's fine," Milly tried to reassure her. "This is our fault too anyway."

"How is it–?!"

"Trust me, okay?" the blonde tried again. "Nina won't tell anyone. Just let me handle this? You finish getting dressed."

"I can't believe this," Shirley muttered.

Meanwhile Milly took the quivering, shamefaced girl to one side for a quiet conversation. "So... Have you always liked girls?" Milly asked, quiet enough Shirley wouldn't be able to catch.

"I don't–!"

"Sweetie, I can see the shine on your fingers and that smell isn't just me." Her tone wasn't judging, wasn't an accusation. Only a gentle reprimand to be a little more honest. "I won't tell Shirley about that part."

"I... Boys make me nervous," the scientifically ambitious girl admitted. "I don't know. I... I feel... Safer around girls."

That didn't really answer anything, but Milly wasn't about to say that. Though what they both knew she already knew explained that disparity in how comfortable she felt around the opposite sex. It was why Nina was still in school instead of a doctorate program. The only bit of treatment for her trauma-induced neuroses that she consented to. Exposure therapy. It was even working, to an extent. She got better being around boys during her time at Ashford.

"Okay." It was only so much the blonde's business so she wouldn't push more. She pulled the smaller girl into a hug. "I promise I won't tell anyone about this. We're still friends." She pulled away. "Shirley?"

The redhead looked over. The bespectacled girl looked back. "I'm sorry for spying on you, I promise I didn't mean to."

Shirley let out her frustration in a sigh, but it wouldn't do anything for her embarrassment. She couldn't stay angry from such a genuine apology. "It's fine. I... I'll need to pay attention more when Milly gets handsy, I guess. Looks like she won't."

"Yeah, that's a whoopsie on my part!" the blonde admitted without shame.

"Can I ask you something?" Nina spoke again. "Why are you both with Lelouch?"

The two looked at each other. "There's a lot of reasons," Milly answered. "Practical ones. But, well, I always wanted to be," she continued with a guileless smile. "And Shirley had that adorable crush near enough since she met him."

"Hey!"

"Wanna join in, Nina?" Milly asked with a grin.

Shirley gasped. "Milly!"

"Kidding! Kidding!" she insisted, waving her hands in her defense. "Well, kidding unless the answer is yes."

Nina heard Shirley's scoff. It was a weird question, but she had been primed to give serious answers. She was more comfortable with him than most boys but, "I... I don't think so."

"That's a less certain 'no' than I expected." Nina shuffled her feet, cringing away at Milly's comment, who to her credit backed off immediately. "Sorry, just teasing. You know I don't mean anything by it, right?"

"Right," Nina nodded. "I know."

The blonde smiled. Turning to Shirley. "Hey, do you want to stay over at my house tonight? It's already pretty late. You too, Nina."

Shirley shuffled, feeling a certain discomfort between her legs. She had gotten dressed in a hurry. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Besides, it sounds like fun. I'll just go call my dad real quick."

Blonde and verdette watched her go, the former resting a hand on the latter's shoulder once they were alone. "You know you can talk to me, right? About whatever you need to. I'm here."

"I know. Thank you." Though she said that, she very much was keeping something to herself. Milly had been right on the money with her 'teasing' comment. She didn't know whether that would be something she would want. Attempting a relationship with a boy in general, let alone Lelouch. But the idea of trying it with other girls so she would feel safer... It wasn't a completely unappealing thought.

But... It didn't matter. It wasn't important. Not compared to her work. Her work was everything.

-(-)-

Coming to school had become a strange experience for Kallen. A completely different experience from before she reluctantly threw her lot in with a certain hidden prince. Before, she only attended sporadically. Had a small group of 'friends' with whom she would barely speak. It was simple. It was easy. It was boring. But that was all fine. She wasn't here to have fun. It was a cover, a way of life that she was comfortable maintaining for what really mattered to her.

Now? Now she was... She was somebody to these people. These Britannians. She had shown talent in knightmare piloting, she had joined the military and was actively being trained as a knight. A process that would be over absurdly fast by her understanding, though circumstances regarding both her and the geopolitical situation made that more understandable. The viceroy needed more competent knights and he definitely needed exceptional ones. But that training, it changed how people saw her at school. She had thought it made sense for her cover to tell her friends about meeting the Knight of Six. Her friends were apparently gossips. It hadn't stayed between them for long.

And so... She had become a person of interest to the students of Ashford Academy. People suddenly wanted to talk to her, be her friend. Or more accurately since they were Britannians, use her as an advantage in social climbing. And then there was the situation with Lelouch and their supposed tryst. That had garnered attention both positive and negative. The same 'positive' attention, alongside some slut-shaming and a few irritating pranks.

It was all more tiring than anything. As if she cared what some Britannians thought. Especially the girls who were clearly just jealous anyway. Not that there was anything to be jealous of!

"Kallen!"

The redhead looked up from scrubbing her blazer in the restroom sink to see the person, another redhead who had called out to her. Though a more ginger shade than her own magenta locks. "Yes?" she asked, continuing to clean her clothing.

The other girl seemed to only then notice what she was doing. "Oh no, what happened?" she asked, seeing the large stain on the article of clothing.

"Just someone trying to make a point, no big deal," Kallen shrugged.

For some reason, that seemed to make the girl angry. "Hold on, I'll be back with something to help." She quickly left, leaving Kallen to shrug and get back to it. Only for the girl to return in under a minute with a big smile on her face and a bottle of something. "Here, this should help with the stain!" she insisted, joining her at the sink to do her part.

"Huh..." Kallen murmured, surprised it wasn't just the prank part two. The stain was coming out. "Thanks, I guess. Sorry, I don't know your–"

"Shirley!" the girl supplied without being fully prompted. "Shirley Fennette! I'm glad to finally meet you! It's..." The cheerful ginger girl looked around, then ducked to look under the stall doors, returning to standing tall and nodding in satisfaction. "It's good to meet another of Lulu's girlfriends!"

"... Lulu?"

"Oh, sorry, Lelouch!"

... Right. That bit of her cover that she couldn't quite get away from. That jackass, getting her trapped in such a stupid lie. "Right, I guess so." Wait, 'another'?

"He hasn't really told me much about you so I thought I should introduce myself! After all, if we're both going to be with Lulu we should at least be friends, right?" the girl asked with a beaming smile, though one that weakened immediately after. "Ah, I said that badly. He hasn't said much about you but that doesn't mean much. He's a very private person after all. Has he introduced you to Nunna yet?"

Nunna? "You... You mean Nunnally?" she clarified, getting a nod of confirmation. "Uhh, no, no he hasn't."

"You're going to love her! She's the sweetest, kindest girl I've ever met!"

"Ah, right."

This, this had just gotten very complicated. This entire conversation was a minefield for her cover. One wrong step could have it all blow up in her face. Bad enough that she had somehow upgraded her cover for that one encounter with Lelouch into a full-on romantic relationship, of which he apparently had multiple. And this girl was fine with that for whatever crazy reason. But even worse, what did this girl know about Kallen? Did Shirley know she was a half-blood? Did Shirley know she was a resistance fighter, or... Whatever the JSDF were supposed to be? Did she know what Lelouch's plans were?

Kallen had no choice. The only way to survive this conversation unscathed was to smile, nod, and just go along with whatever this girl said. And then yell at Lelouch later for getting her into this mess!

"Anyway, there was a reason I wanted to talk to you outside of that," the cheerful girl continued. "Would you like to join the student council?"

"What?"

"I was just thinking. Because you've got that knight training thing going on and you'll have to take time off school a bunch, it'd be good to have a club that you don't need to dedicate yourself to." The girl continued to smile at her as she gave the explanation, giving not a single shred of deceit or ulterior motive compared to most of Kallen's peers. "We don't really need more members so you can come and go as you like. But if you do show up to help out, it'll let you spend more time with Lelouch, Milly and I so we can all get to know each other better too!" She frowned, scowled even as she looked down at the soiled blazer. "And it would probably warn off unpleasant people from doing things like this."

"Um, I'll... I'll think about it," the redhead hedged. This girl Shirley had already cut off every excuse she had prepared. She couldn't even use her 'sickness' anymore since she 'miraculously recovered' once she started knightmare training. And she had already accounted for the training itself.

And the only reason Shirley suggested it was to strengthen her non-existent relationship with Lelouch. She had no idea how this could get any worse.

"So... Just between us girls..." Shirley continued, a little more subdued and uncertain. "What... What did you and Lulu... You know...?"

... Oh. There it was! Worse! Hello, worse! "I don't think that's appropriate!"

"I thought so," the ginger girl agreed understandingly, "But, Milly's trying to get me to be more open about things." She bit her lip, quickly checking for eavesdroppers again. "He, um, with me, we were trapped in a closet. One thing led to another and... Before I knew it his head was between my legs."

Was this really happening? She bid a silent apology to Ohgi but righteous cause or not, she would gladly die just to escape this conversation. "Oh wow."

Shirley took it as encouragement. "I know, right?! But, but it felt really good. I didn't think he'd be so good at that but I guess he practiced with Milly. I swear I could see stars!" She paid no attention to Kallen's thousand yard stare. "Then, well, I couldn't just leave it like that and insisted I return the favour. I haven't seen a lot of men's things but I didn't know it would be that big! Did you?"

"... No. No I did not."

"It was a little intimidating but–"

Kallen listened as the cheerful girl exuberantly described her first time giving a blowjob. Wishing somehow, some way, something would come along to free her from this situation, no matter what it took. She was sure Naoto was watching her and laughing his ass off.

"–And the taste–"

Oh god.

-(-)-

Lelouch awoke with a start, confused and feeling a familiar straining pleasure. One he had experienced plenty of times in recent days. He shook his head, feeling a phantom sensation from his dream of a dainty hand leaving his crotch.

"Lelouch? Is everything alright?"

The realisation came slowly that it was Nunnally who had asked that question. Right, she had slept with him again last night, as she had most every night since she learned the truth of his intentions. He had been glad for the comfort she brought. He always felt so much better waking up with her at his side. But this morning it was a bit of a nightmare. He couldn't believe he had a wet dream while she was in bed with him. "Everything's fine, don't worry about it. I'm just going to go to the restroom for a moment."

"Okay."

He was glad she couldn't see the flush of his face as he escaped, taking the chance to clean up before he returned to bed with her. "Sorry for waking you."

"That's okay, big brother." She wriggled her way closer to him. "You seem anxious. Is everything okay with the things you're doing?"

"Oh," she thought that was why he was nervous. Good. That was better than the truth. "Maybe a little. We're planning something significant." He took her hand, raised it up to his lips and kiss the knuckles.. "It'll be fine, I promise."

"I-If you say so, I believe you," she said strangely quickly, pulling her hand away. In surprise at the sudden action, he breathed in. And... A familiar scent entered his nose. Was that...?

... No. No, it must have been his embarrassment getting to him. She... Nunnally wouldn't do that.

No.

Definitely not.

-(-)-

A/N: No, I'm not a crazy-pants hater of therapy or psychology. However, look at Britannia and tell me their interpretation of therapy wouldn't just make things a thousand times worse.