"Speech"

"Radio or calls"

'Thoughts'

Making the Connection

Lelouch

Watching Euphemia finishing up dinner, Lelouch couldn't help but wonder how events led up to this. He had gone from geassing Suzaku to not get both of them killed, the stubborn idiot, then suddenly he appeared on the shore of some island, Euphemia is a soaked pink dress in front of him, calling him Lelouch. He had initially be ready to shoot, but she had quickly talked him down. He shouldn't have been surprised that Euphemia had figured out his identity. She was always smarter than most people thought she was, her naivete making most people think she was just a puppet.

But he had been happy to see her, despite the fact he had been unable to get any food. 'It certainly doesn't feel good that two women in my life are stronger than me. Maybe I should workout more.' He couldn't help but be happy to be able to spend time with Euphie, their situations normally making it impossible otherwise. But for now, he and his half-sister were alone, able to talk without any worry of them being interrupted.

So when her eyes lit up with curiosity, the setting sun highlighting the blue of her pupils, he knew he was in trouble, "Do you have a girlfriend? Someone who has your heart?"

Lelouch looked away, blushing as Kallen immediately shot into his mind, a bright grin on her face, her blue eyes shining with happiness. Euphemia must have caught that, as she pressed harder, "I know that expression! You do have a lady love!"

Lelouch sighed, his blush annoyingly staying on his face, "Why are you asking?"

She puffed her cheeks, huffing indignantly, "It's a sister's job to pester their sibling about their love lives. Besides, we need to catch up and I won't go to sleep until you tell me." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking him determinedly into his eyes.

Lelouch tried to stare her down for a few seconds, but he let out an annoyed grunt, his lips a thin line, "Alright, I'll tell you." She grinned victoriously and Lelouch couldn't help as a soft smile came to his face. He chuckled as he continued, "If you must know, you nosy princess, there has been a woman that has come into my life in the last few months. She is warm, passionate, bright and a hell of a spitfire."

He looked down at the sound, a loving tone entering his voice, "Her soft blue eyes make me feel warmer than I have been in a long time. And her red hair matches her spirit. I don't know how she got into my heart so far, but she's in there." Lelouch frowned as he looked down at the sand under them, his gut still having to deal with these recent thoughts about a future, of long term thoughts beyond destroying Britannia.

He took a deep breath, "She's a wonderful girl and I…" he trailed off, his words leaving his mind, memories of recent experiences with Kallen filling his mind, his blush reaching his ears.

He missed the fact that Euphemia had come to his side, bringing up his face with her hand, smiling warmly, "She sounds like a wonderful girl. And if she makes you happy after everything that's happened to you, you should welcome that." Her eyes shined with understanding and happiness for Lelouch, "I would love to meet her. The woman who has clearly drawn your eye and your affection. Does she know how you feel?"

He looked away, staying silent. He had been warring internally for a while now, debating whether to tell Kallen about his strong and clearly growing feelings. They had a good rhythm now and he admittedly was afraid of opening himself up like that. Sure his past could be used against him and his identity, but he also knew Kallen's secret identity. There was a trade there.

But this would be allowing her even further into his heart, to put his feelings in her hands. And his cautious nature didn't want to do that, but he couldn't help but want to tell her at the same time.

Euphemia took stock of Lelouch, and spoke quietly, "You need to tell her. How can a girl know what's in your heart, when you won't tell her?"

Her words hit Lelouch in the gut, and he realized she was right, but he responded defensively, almost by instinct, "We have a good arrangement. If I tell her and she says no…"

Euphemia gave him a soft smile, placing one of her hands over his, "Lelouch, you may be smart, but you don't know how the heart works. If you care for this girl, then she deserves to know how you feel." She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, "If she feels the same, she will tell you. And if she doesn't, then you keep trying till you win her heart."

Lelouch felt a warmth bubbling up in him. Her words struck at the heart of his issue. He had been so caught up in thinking about the arrangement, that he hadn't thought about Kallen and her feelings. If she did return his feelings, then it just would make things tense. And it would hurt to look at her, knowing how he felt.

The raven-haired teen laughed and smiled, looking at the princess to his right, "Somehow you can always cut through me like that." He let out a breath, "But I think you might be right. I think I was overthinking it."

Euphemia giggled, "You were always overthinking everything. I remember that cute pout you did when Schneizel was beating you at chess." Lelouch pouted at that, and Euphemia pointed a finger at his face, "Like that!"

"We tied more than I lost." Lelouch then laughed again, "But I think I might tell her how I feel. Thank you for getting my head on straight. Though if I'm doing this, you have to promise me something."

Euphemia perked up at this, quirking her head, "Yes?"

"You have to tell Suzaku that you have fallen for him." Lelouch smirked and his sister's face immediately went red, sputtering but no words coming out. 'If she wants to play games, so can I.'

It took her a minute, but she recovered and she was waving her hands, voice high pitched, "He's just my knight!"

Lelouch rolled his eyes, "You picked an infamous honorary Britannian, one who the system hates, as your knight. I may be cynical but I know you loved the tales of princesses and knights growing up. It's funny seeing you in the position of the princess interested in the commoner."

Euphemia looked down at the ground, wringing her hands, "But I'm so busy, and Cornelia will disapprove, and why would you want that, if he's your enemy?"

Lelouch just rolled his eyes again, "For one, that's the same excuses as me. And for him being my enemy, I can put that aside if he's going to keep your safe. You clearly care for him and despite his flaws, I know he would put down his life to save yours." Affection flowed through his words, his annoyance and frustration being with Suzaku being shoved to the side of his mind.

Euphemia turned away from him, and he guessed she was pouting, along with her face matching the color of her hair, "Fine. But you better promise to kiss the girl at least."

Lelouch grinned, "I thought it was rude to kiss and tell." Euphemia just started laughing and Lelouch couldn't help but join her. It was so strange in the middle of this war that the sub-viceroy and the infamous Zero were having a friendly conversation. Tomorrow they would be enemies again, but right now they were just siblings. 'I hope Kallen is ok. She was right next to Suzaku and I when that attack happened.'

Kallen

Kallen lay on her side, her conversation with Suzaku more intense than she expected. Telling her following Zero was wrong, and that just blindly following the system was somehow better. That her brother's death was somehow justified under Britannian occupation. She could certainly see the loss in his eyes at mentioning he killed his father, but that still didn't abate her anger at the situation. And the fact it was Suzaku's best friend doing it made this even stranger. 'Did Suzaku not know Lelouch promised to overthrow his father? I couldn't imagine being best friends with someone who is knowingly crushing the people trying to free your homeland.'

But she would never give up the fight. She was going to free Japan from Britannia, and help Lelouch with his crusade to destroy Britannia. She wished Suzaku didn't stand in their way, but if he had to pay for that, then that was the brutal calculus of war. She would apologize to Lelouch, but she wouldn't hold back against him, especially because her main weapon didn't give her a ton of options.

However, she was shocked into sitting up by Suzaku's next words, "Fine, it seems neither of us can convince the other to change sides. But I have an important question to ask you." His eyes filled with protectiveness as he spoke, "Does Lelouch know you are part of the Black Knights? Are you putting him in danger?"

Kallen had to resist laughing at the lack of information Suzaku had, but she narrowed her eyes, hoping Suzaku wouldn't get suspicious, "He knows nothing about what I do. I just say I'm sick and want to be alone, then I do Black Knight activities. I would never want to endanger him." She wasn't lying about the endangering thing. She really did do her best to try to protect him when she could. 'He really needs to work on his piloting skills.'

Suzaku looked into her eyes, reading her as she stood her ground. After several seconds, he backed off, leaning back, "Good. Lelouch really does like you. He may be lazy and arrogant, but he deserves to be safe, with all he has gone through."

Kallen relaxed herself, feeling the same exact way. After hearing his life story, she couldn't help but fall for him more, his driven nature pulling her closer to him. Both she and him were driven by their pasts and loss, and Kallen couldn't have been happier to find him, even if she was a bit suspicious when he first revealed his identity.

She laughed, her eyes lighting up, "I really do like the guy. He's been kind to me and even visited my mom with me. But underneath that indifferent shell, he really is a soft and warm." She softly smiled, "Watching him take care of Nunnally, him helping me when I need it, even watching you two interact. I can see why Shirley fell for him."

Suzaku smiled slightly, "And you."

She chuckled, blushing "Yeah. Took me a while, but I realized that I really did like the guy. I also realized someone needs to keep his head from getting too big."

Suzaku just laughed and nodded, "He can get that way sometimes. Have you told him how you really feel?"

She shook her head, "I've been waiting for him to go first, but I've liked him like this for a long while. Should have realized he would be stubborn about it, so looks like I'm going to have to be the one to do it." She then smirked, "How goes your pining for the princess?"

Suzaku's eyes narrowed as she said this, "What do you mean?" His blush became very apparent, Kallen chuckling.

Kallen rolled her eyes, "I'm not blind. A beautiful, princess picks the outsider, especially from a group her family hates. And the way you looked at her at your knighting made it obvious."

Suzaku looked down at the ground, "I don't deserve it, not after what I've done."

"Yeah, I don't like what you did as well, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to be happy." Maybe it was just the situation they were in, but she couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. She didn't know about the princess, but Princess Euphemia had to feel something for him. She continued, her voice even, "She maybe a puppet and naïve, but you are being an idiot. Why else would she pick an honorary Britannian when she had a choice of the best knights in Japan and Britannia? She must care at least a little for you. And just because you killed your father, doesn't mean you have to punish yourself."

He scowled, "She's not a puppet!" Suzaku then shut up, looking down at the rocks under them, fire highlighting the conflict in his face. A minute passed as he stayed silent, and Kallen leaned back even further on the log.

"I'm going to sleep." Suzaku didn't respond and she looked at him one last time, a storm of mixed emotions in his green eyes. Whatever she said must have gotten to him. And as she closed her eyes, she let out a deep sigh. 'I hope Lelouch is safe. I need him.'

Lelouch

Blood pumped through Lelouch's ears as he shot out over the ocean the stolen knightmare, which he saw was named the Gawain. It had certainly been a tense morning after the calm day he had with Euphemia. He was worried about his sister knowing about Kallen, as he saw her eyes widen when he called out his fake girlfriend's name. But there was nothing he could do about that now.

But he had taken Schneizel's prized prototype and it could even fly, which he was sure Rakshata would love to breakdown and put on Black Knight knightmares. The weapons on the knightmare also needed work, but he trusted the engineer's skills and her team, so he would leave it to her. Lelouch heard a knock on the cockpit, seeing Kallen's smiling yet annoyed face, and he sheepishly opened the cockpit. Kallen had been squatting on the shoulder of the knightmare on their way out, and it must have been cold.

But the redhead caught him by surprise, sitting on his lap sideways, pressing into his shoulder, head unconsciously resting in the crock of his neck, chuckling, "You certainly know how to make an exit. No wonder I like you so much."

Kallen being so close caused him to blush, her words not helping. His mind immediately came to the thought that maybe it was time to tell her, her scent muddling his mind a bit. She was pressed into him, his arms around her at the controls, and he could feel her breath on his neck, a warm smile on her face.

He could feel his nerves beginning to fray a bit, words hard to come by. He took a deep breath to calm down, his heart racing, and he spoke with his usual confidence, though there was a nervous tilt in his voice, "Nothing Zero can't do. And someone had to save our asses."

Kallen smiled at that, "Still got that big head of yours, I see. You did miss the chance to see me naked again though."

Lelouch blushed deeper, remembering seeing her in the shower. Back then he hadn't been too phased, but now that though brought out fantasies and a cold shower. She just laughed, and he frowned lightly, to which she kissed his cheek, "You know you look kind of cute when you blush like that." She pressed her chest into his, the weight of her large bust causing Lelouch to have to mentally beg his body to resist doing what he really didn't want it to do right now.

Lelouch didn't know why Kallen was acting like this, but he realized this was probably a good time to tell her his feelings. Finding the auto-pilot and seeing they had a good amount of time till they reached a safe point, he activated it and focused his gaze on her blue eyes, softening his voice, "Kallen, I have something to tell her."

Her lips, less than a foot from his, opened as she looked up at him in wonder, her eyes reading his intention, "What?"

"I think I…" He took a deep breath, getting more control, "I really like you. I don't want you just to be my bodyguard and soldier. I want you to be my queen. For real. You are a wonderful girl and I meant every word I said when you first brought me to your room."

The confession hung in the air and Lelouch waited nervously, Kallen's expression turning from shocked, to happy and blushing. Wordlessly, she brought her lips to his, and he closed his eyes as they kissed, blowing out the small peck she had given him before. She tasted wonderful, happiness and relief flooding through him, a small groan coming from the back of his throat as she pressed into him, a whine coming out of her. An arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.

They lost track of how long they kissed, and as they came up for air, Kallen's face was red and brightly smiling, which matched his, both taking in deep breaths. With a chuckle and mischievous smile, Kallen twisted herself to straddling him fully, pressing her assets against him, "That was the best kiss I've had."

Lelouch just smiled back, "You've had more?" There was a small burning pit of jealousy at hearing those words, but right now he was too out of his mind to really notice it.

She twirled some hair in her finger, "No, but most men like to hear that from the women they kiss, or so I've heard." Her voice then softened as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "So are we officially a couple? Not fake dating?"

"Yes? I just confessed so I would hope."

A grin grew on her face, "Good. Because I always wanted to do this." She came down to kiss him again, but this one was hotter, more primal. Her lips met his with bruising force, Lelouch meeting them back with equal passion. She grinded against him, coaxing out his tongue as they plundered each other's mouths.

His arms wrapped around her waist, one unconsciously drifting to her ass as he lightly squeezed it, Kallen letting out a moan. Lelouch was happy they had time, as he lost himself in the fog of incredibly hot girl on his lap. Neither of them could resist marking the other, lelouch focusing in her lower neck as he pulled down her zipper on her pilot suit, biting, kissing and nipping at unmarked skin. Kallen equally matched him, making sure to show that Lelouch was an owned man by biting hard enough to draw blood on his upper neck.

In the back of his mind, Lelouch knew Milly would hone in on this, but right now it felt too good to stop, especially with the way Kallen was grinding and pressing into him. Sweat built up on both of them, but neither cared. They continued to make out for several more minutes, getting air when they needed, but immediately getting caught back up in the heat of the moment, moans, whines and groans echoing in the cockpit.

An noise went off, breaking the two from their kissing, and Lelouch noticed they were nearing their destination. He gave Kallen an apologetic look, "We have to cut it short for now. But I know both of us want more of this." Both were panting, a hunger in her eyes shifting to a mischievous one.

Kallen giggled, "Well if we make this quick, we have a nice comfy bed we can make out on." She looked at her current position, "No offense, but this isn't the most comfortable." She flashed him a grin, "And correction. Those were the best kisses so far."

Lelouch laughed, "I'm certain I can make it quick." Kallen laughed again and cuddled on his chest, softly smiling. He felt lighter than he had in years. 'Kallen was my real girlfriend now. But this is what I promised Euphie.' He didn't know what the future held, but he hoped Kallen would be in it.

Author Note

Chapter 7! They finally are together! I hope the buildup was good and you guys liked the chapter. It will be fun to show them as an actual couple. And Euphemia was enjoyable to write as well. We'll be seeing more of her later, but we got Kalulu to do. I hope you guys enjoyed it, please review and comment, and I'll see you guys next time.