A/N: I wrote this with no looking back. Literally. XD Thank you, Akira-Hayama for leaving a review. :3 Thank you for reading too, if you're reading this.

All I Want for Christmas is You

C.C. was up early… And it was a thing of rarity.

For the first time in long months, Lelouch had woken up to an empty opposite side of the bed. And that said a lot because it was six-thirty in the morning. C.C. never got up at six-thirty in the morning. But then again, he really shouldn't be surprised, should he?

His normally — and amusingly — apathetic fiancée was now the guardian of a family of four. As Lelouch took his time descending the stairs in his pajamas, the mewling and whimpering reached his ears, followed by the sound of nails clicking along the tiled floors. What were the puppies up to now?

Last night, his fears came true as C.C. tried (but thankfully failed) to convince him about letting one of the puppies sleep between them. He had debated with her for a good couple of minutes about it. He wasn't the expert on dogs, that was true, but he was sure that the puppy would appreciate snuggling next to their mother more than C.C.

As mentally and emotionally mature as C.C. was, there were times when she would regress to a little girl excited about the most random things. It was cute, sure, but last night, it was exasperating.

Chuckling to himself, he crossed the archway that marked the entrance to the joined dining room and kitchen. C.C. stood in the middle of three curious puppies, while Clover took her sweet time eating the breakfast C.C. made for her. It smelled surprisingly appetizing, and Lelouch would never admit that to anyone, least of all to C.C. — as much as he loved and adored her.

"Are you feeding her from one of the ceramic plates?" He stopped rubbing his eyes and gaped at fine china scraping and moving on the floor.

"Clover doesn't care." C.C. waved him off as she teased one of the pups with stray ribbons.

"Well I do. We need dog bowls."

"We should have thought of them yesterday."

"Clover's the only one who needs adult dog food." She patted Clover's head, the mom appearing to enjoy the attention. "Chip and Cocoa drink milk, don't you?"

He never thought he'd see the day when C.C. would croon, but here they were. Lelouch was also grateful about the names she had picked out. Thank the heavens C.C. named them after sweets. He didn't think he could take it if she named them after pizza flavors or toppings.

"Where's Pepperoni?"

Oh right… Except for that one. Through the hazy fog of having just woken up, Lelouch recalled a teeny moment just before bed when she resolutely declared that the name of the only girl in the litter shall be Pepperoni!

Lelouch resolved to call her Pepper instead.

Pepperoni was just too—

A wet nose nudged his heel and he jumped slightly, turning around to find that it was Pepper herself.

"She thinks she likes you." C.C. teased, brushing stray furs from her red and green pajamas.

Shaking his head, Lelouch heaved a patient sigh and simply moved out of the way, letting Pepperoni totter her way back to C.C. and her waiting brothers.

"Send me a list of what they need."

C.C. watched him disappear as he rounded the corner and returned upstairs, presumably to change and go out again to buy more things for their new pets. As much as he appeared neutral and indifferent to adopting four dogs, he was rather quick about getting them the things they needed.

Silly Lelouch…

vVvVv

More dog beds, a month's-supply of dog food for Clover, puppy collars, and toys. No specifics there… Just toys. Lelouch was assuming they would need a lot, considering dogs loved toys and puppies were naturally curious. Years ago, Lelouch wouldn't have ever thought that he would see the day when he was willingly going to a pet store to buy treats and toys for pets.

Every person he encountered seemed to be an avid dog lover as well. Through aisles and at the checkout counters, he spied people with their animals. Usually dogs, but there was someone walking in carrying their cat too.

Truth be told, Lelouch couldn't see much of the appeal yet. C.C. was happy — even happier and he liked that, but what else? It was probably mean to think of them this way, but he couldn't help but feel a little miffed about the possibility of his fiancée paying more attention to dogs than the both of them. It was ridiculous but it was justified, wasn't it? If only a little.

At the very least, he took comfort in the fact that they had saved four abandoned lives last night.

So he finished gathering pet supplies and returned to the house to be greeted by none other than Pepperoni herself — with her vigorously wagging tail, curious eyes, and tiny scarf — in danger of slipping off — wound loosely around her neck.

Had she wandered off again? Was C.C. dressing them up?

Lelouch put the bags of pet supplies down and scooped up the prodigal puppy. He could hear her siblings in the living room, and true to form, C.C. was there — sitting on the sofa with Clover curled up at her feet. Chip and Cocoa were suckling. She was busy devouring the collection of candies he'd left out on the coffee table — purely for decoration, but C.C. didn't care about that, did she?

"You should keep a better eye on your puppies." Lelouch chided, hiding his uneasiness in a smirk as he lowered Pepper to the floor.

She clumsily made her way back to her mother, squeezing past her brothers for some milk.

"I bought everything you asked."

C.C. looked up from the sweets buffet she'd been consuming for the past thirty minutes, gauging the funny expression written across her partner's face. He was adept at reading the subtle changes in her mood, and that was mutual. She knew him well enough to pinpoint if something was wrong too. He didn't look upset… Just uneasy for some reason or other — if not a little grim.

Chucking the latest candy wrapper into the bin next to their twinkling Christmas tree, she left her comfy place on the sofa, took his limp hands in hers and kissed his cheek. What was making him so shy all of a sudden? More importantly, what was even bothering him?

"What are you thinking, Lelouch?"

A self-deprecating laugh left him as he wound his own arms around her waist and brought her closer. He brushed a kiss on her temple, shaking his head at his own ridiculous feelings of minute jealousy over puppies

"You would laugh if you knew."

She didn't say anything else — merely pulled him deeper into their living room, to a clear space reserved solely for doing silly things. Just like whatever she was about to suggest they do. She could feel his eyes following her every move as she reached past him to play some music.

Sultry tango music filled the space, and Lelouch looked at C.C. like she'd grown a second head. He should have known. She was always, always up to something.

"C.C.—"

"Relax and loosen up." She giggled, intertwining their fingers — engagement rings clicking against each other.

She pulled him along, mirth and happiness on her face as she started to sway — smooth and slow. While he stood there, stiff as a stick with useless arms and unsure of what exactly he should do. He'd been taught dances as a young Prince, but that was — give or take — more than a decade since he last partook in any form of ballroom dancing. He wasn't exactly the most diligent PE student in high school either.

But the more she danced and moved around him eventually enticed him to join in. Mistakes were made, an uncoordinated step here and there. She took amusement in his silliness and the flush on his cheeks, while still being a patient teacher all the same. He led her into a fancy little spin she thoroughly enjoyed. And she chose to stay in his arms after that, not that he was complaining. On the contrary, he quite liked that a tad bit too much.

With his heart pounding against her back, she reached up on her tiptoes to pepper kisses along his neck, right up to his jaw.

"Are you feeling all right now?"

Shudders rippled down his spine at the sensation of her fingers stroking the ends of his hair. "I was ridiculously jealous of the dogs." He relented and admitted at last.

And it hadn't even been a full day. Sometimes, Lelouch's ability to foresee things (unlikely or no) never ceased to amuse her. It was absurdly funny, and a little endearing. So he wanted her affection all to himself, did he? He put his chin on top of her head as both unknowingly looked at their pets at the same time. The puppies were sleeping in a pile together, but Clover was awake and watching them, her tail thumping against the floor.

"Afraid I'd pick Pepperoni over you?" He was too easy and she couldn't help it.

Lelouch chuckled, combing his fingers through her long tresses. "I have so much to contend with already. Pizza and Cheese-kun chief among them. I don't need four dogs vying for— mmph!"

He talked too much didn't he?

Pliant lips parted, smoothing over one another. Kisses they'd both never tire of. Mischievous and knowing hands purposefully slid past the hem of her sweater, stroking smooth skin as she pressed herself closer and gave him all the comfort and reassurance he needed to feel and be reminded of through her affection.

After all they'd been through, and after she promised and agreed to marry him, it was a little too late to doubt the feelings she had for him, wasn't it?

Still, even the most faithful of men like Lelouch needed reassurance once in a while. And she would always be all too happy to remind him time and time again that she would always adore and love him. Come what may in the long road they had ahead of them.

"Silly, adorable Lelouch." She sighed through their lips, returning his sheepish smile as they kiss… and kiss… and kiss.