a/n: helloooo i dont rly write fic anymore but! came on ff to scroll thru cg fic and decided to cross post this fic i wrote on ao3 1.5 yr ago :') time sure flies. if you havent seen the fukkatsu no lelouch picture dramas, pls do yourself the favor of searching 'fukkatsu no lelouch picture drama' on YT and enjoying the luluc fluff. (there's two; this fic is specifically set before one of them.) happy new year!

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Of course I am." C.C. grabbed the two shirttails of Lelouch's blouse before he could finish pulling his arms through and dragged him closer. Lelouch grunted unhappily, pausing with his left arm at an awkward, uncomfortable angle in the gossamer sleeve as he shot C.C. a constipated glare.

Pretending to be none the wiser, she hummed, "Why wouldn't I be?"

As if to emphasize the point, she traced a finger down the flat plane of Lelouch's stomach, nail scraping lightly against pale, unblemished skin. C.C. could practically feel the goosebumps rising in her wake, the featherlight shiver ricocheting down his spine, as he yanked his arm through the rest of the fabric and jerked away again.

"Oi."

She laughed despite the warning in his voice and met disapproving violet with golden abandon and Chesire aplomb. Still so sensitive ten years later. She doubted that would change in another ten or even a hundred. Lelouch was stubborn like that, but so was she.

"Relax, Lelouch. I know we're on a time constraint," C.C. amended though the smirk never quite left her face. She pulled him close again, this time by the waistband of his satiny culottes. Lelouch let the motion carry him forward, releasing a drawn out sigh in the process. His hand took up his signature gesture, halfway between thinking and exasperation, with his fingers steepled against his forehead and his eyes shut against the sight of C.C. knotting his shirt and deliberately exposing his abdomen.

"You couldn't find something less... translucent? Or more... well, just, more?"

"It's your fault for not coming with me. And if I recall, you only said, 'whatever fits,' when I asked. Would you rather wear the dress?"

"Obviously not," he snapped, more chagrined than angry.

C.C. hummed again, testing the strength of her knot with a little tug. "I thought you'd have gotten used to this by now between the cross-dressing festival and that once at the Chinese Federation. Besides, it's not often that I get to see you like this. Can you blame me?"

Lelouch huffed like a put-upon child, crossing his arms low over his stomach as if to guard against C.C.'s mischief. "Now you're just starting to sound like Milly."

"Maybe she had the right idea." C.C. straightened and turned toward the duffel of supplies sitting on the floor. She dug out a purple shawl and handed it to him before continuing to root around. The studio they rented didn't have much by way of lighting, only the single naked bulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling and flickering in and out. It was modest accommodations but the closest they could get to the naval base as civilians. "Speaking of which, you never did make good on your promise. And I was so looking forward to being President of the Pizza Club."

"I never promised that."

"Oh, didn't you, Mr. Vice President?"

She found the accompanying headband for his outfit. Tossing it over her arm, she focused on fixing her own first as she pivoted to face Lelouch fussing over the wrinkles in his cloak and the tangled frills along the edge.

"Were you that looking forward to being a student?"

"I was. There wasn't much to look forward to being cooped up on the Ikaruga." Speaking of the Black Knights and Ashford Academy now felt like eons ago. C.C. was sure that went doubly for Lelouch who'd literally gone to hell and back in the interim. "But I suppose I found a suitable alternative."

"And what's that?" Lelouch cocked his head at her, the knit of his eyebrows both a little curious and a little wary. His fingers nimbly worked the knot of his shawl as he waited for an answer. C.C. let him wait, indulging in the dramatic pause as she finished smoothing her headband into place.

"President of the Annoy Lelouch Forever Club~❤︎" She adopted her high-pitched tone that never failed to get on his nerves and felt rather gratified when his eyebrow twitched. She didn't reflect on what she said until after she'd said it, the implication of forever slotting into her speech so easily she wondered when she'd started thinking about them in those terms.

Lelouch didn't miss a beat. "Well, you certainly have a talent for it."

He reached for the hairband and visibly refrained from pulling a face at the (admittedly unnecessary) tassels.

"You'll look good," C.C. assured before kneeling back down to the duffel and pulling out the rest of their accessories. Lelouch sighed like a weak breeze behind her, all defeat and no defiance.

"What is this supposed to be?" He picked up the choker she laid on the ground.

"Just wound it around your neck and keep the pendant in the front."

"Is all of this necessary?"

"You want to be convincing, don't you?" C.C. grabbed two pairs of shoes from the sack and lifted them to the light. "Heels or flats?"

"Flats."

They finished dressing in silence. The sparse apartment echoed their brisk movements, shoes tapping against scuffed linoleum. They'd be leaving this place soon. She'd already packed their things, which wasn't much besides what they could carry on their backs. They were always on the move, so no one place kept them long and nothing accumulated. But they always tried to bring a little home to each house. The framed picture of Nunnally, Suzaku, and Lelouch sat next to a neat stack of letters on the discounted ottoman she'd picked up at the flea market. A few origami cranes decorated the dining table. She'd stuck her Pizza Hut loyalty cards to the mini fridge with limited edition Cheese-kun magnets. These were the little things she hadn't packed away yet that always went into the suitcases last.

One day, they would finish. The hundreds of fragments they'd already collected, the hundreds more still left—one day, they would have them all, their friends would be dead, and then what would happen? What was the after?

"You might still get the chance."

"Hm?" C.C. roused from her self-reflection, eyes focusing on the tablet being offered to her. It only took a glance at the screen to understand Lelouch's meaning. "You made progress on the next fragment?"

"Fragments. I believe there's more than one. The reports are inconsistent with one Geass user."

C.C. tugged on her earring absentmindedly as she read. "An all-girls boarding school in Switzerland..." she murmured before the realization clicked into place, and a grin spread across her lips. "I thought you said you never wanted to cross-dress again."

Motioning Lelouch forward, she set the tablet back down and opened the palm of her other hand to reveal more earrings. Before Lelouch could say anything, she clarified, "They're clip-ons."

Lelouch shuffled forward, looking none-too-happy but standing still enough for C.C. to lean up and catch his earlobe.

"There's a difference between want and need," he grumbled. "Anyway, there's your opportunity."

"I think I'd make a better teacher, actually." Her voice had dropped to a low murmur at this distance, ghosting across Lelouch's cheek in light, playful breaths. Her bright amber eyes filled his vision, focused to his right. "That's your plan, right? Divide and conquer?"

"Why would you make the better teacher?" he scoffed and turned his head when she rocked back onto her heels to pick out the second set of studs.

"Clearly because I'm more knowledgeable."

"In history, maybe."

"And it's not any fun being a student if you're not one with me."

Lelouch blinked. C.C.'s completely serious expression belied the teasing statement. "You're ridiculous."

"I'm the ridiculous one?" she laughed as she fastened the last hoop, and despite the mission looming over them, Lelouch couldn't help laughing too.

His watch beeped. The signal cut through the air, snapping them back to reality and erasing all traces of amusement. Lelouch silenced the sound with a quick glance at the face. "We'll discuss this later. It's time."

"Alright." C.C. backed away and picked up her duffel. She took one last thing from it and tossed it to Lelouch before zipping it up. "Don't forget your veil. I'll meet you at Point B in half an hour."

She'd already opened the door and stepped halfway across the threshold when a pressure on her wrist stopped her.

"Wait, C.C."

"What is it?" C.C. glanced over her shoulder in time to watch Lelouch raise her hand and press the back of it to his mouth.

"Be careful."

It wasn't a kiss. It was softer than that, exceptionally gentle, a prayer not unlike the ones she whispered every morning before waking and every night before falling asleep—that their time together would last a little longer than what C's World would allow. Perhaps some things didn't need to be said. Perhaps the future could remain a mystery as long as she could have this present.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" C.C. laced their fingers together. "I'm C.C., and you're L.L., right?"