The Dance and the Gift Exchange

Lelouch took a deep breath and stepped inside the gym.

"Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

The scream was so high pitched that Lelouch thought he would go deaf.

Not even three steps in and he heard high-pitched fangirl screams from somewhere he didn't know. Lelouch was dressed in a black nobleman's outfit that his little sister (with a little help from Sayoko) persuaded him to wear. He didn't usually wear fancy clothes like this not since when he and Nunnally still lived in the palace, nor did he enjoy it particularly.

He reached up to adjust the collar of his ruffle again. Heh, the only other time he wore a ruffle was when he wore his Zero costume which can get uncomfortable rather quickly.

He took a moment to look around the gym and was surprised at how different it looked. There were four Christmas trees, one on each corner, several fake ice sculptures, and long tables on either side with all sorts of food and drink. Not to mention there were several yards of Christmas lights and tinsel running all over the room and on the ceiling as well. Lelouch could hardly believe that he helped do all this.

The raven-haired boy sighed and strode forward pushing Nunnally's wheelchair. He decided to bring Nunnally along after she almost begged him to allow her to come. Even Lelouch melted when he saw the longing look on his precious sister's face and had no choice but to give in to her demand, er wish.

"This is so wonderful Lelouch! Where are your friends? I want to say hi to them!"

"Don't worry Nunnally, they'll all be here."

Lelouch smiled nervously and kept walking forward. He took a few glances around at the many students gathered here. Now that he saw the looks on the girls' faces, he was glad that he brought Nunnally along. As long as he kept pushing her wheelchair in front of him, he can rest assured that he won't be tackled in the front by some girl clamoring to dance with him.

Of course, that didn't stop Milly and her eagle eyes to notice the two of them. She was wearing a more classic noble woman's dress of shocking pink complete with ruff, her hair tied neatly into an elaborate bun on the back of her head and wore gold bracelets on her wrists. She moved stealthily through the crowd behind Lelouch.

"Hey Lelouch? Is CC going to be here tonight as well?" Nunnally asked him.

"I'm not sure, but I think she will."

Milly decided to take this opportunity to come up to him and start flirting with him and she made sure that Shirley was watching.

"Hey there Lelouch, I was wondering where you were!" The blonde said wrapping an arm around the boy and hugging him close.

"Is that Milly? Lelouch was kind enough to bring me here!"

"Hello there Nunnally. Lelouch and I are going to dance now, Rivalz is here to look after you now okay?"

"But I...."

Hey c'mon Lelouch, let's dance! You already missed the first song!" And with that the blonde pulled the raven-haired boy into the middle of the dance floor. And to stop him from protesting about Nunnally, which Milly predicted, she said, "And don't worry about Nunnally right now. She's with Shirley and the others right now."

So while Rivalz reluctantly pushed Nunnally's wheelchair away, Milly pulled the protesting Lelouch onto the dance floor.

Well at least she's safe. Lelouch thought to himself. He almost tripped over long coat as they crossed the dance floor. The orchestra (paid for personally by the Ashford family) struck up a slow, mournful tune; and Lelouch was careful not to catch any of his friends' eyes. He was right. Rivalz and Kallen were both sniggering at him.

Milly suddenly stopped, seized his hands, placed one around her waist and held the other tightly in hers, and started waltzing. As embarrassing it seemed, it could have been worse. Lelouch tried to follow along, (Milly was steering of course) and he kept his eyes fixed on hers instead trying to not think about what others were thinking of him now. He smiled at Milly who was enjoying every moment of dancing even if Lelouch was not.

Shirley looked over at the pair and had on a frustrated face. It seemed to spoil the dress she was wearing, a low-cut silver-gray satin one with a large bow at the back.

"Damn that Madam President!" She hissed. "I wanted to be the first to dance with Lelouch!"

"Did you say something Shirley?" said a weakened voice.

It was Kallen. She was wearing a red dress similar in style to Shirley's albeit less flashy and just as revealing. She had on her usual tired expression, a facade she kept when at school.

"Oh nothing, Kallen, I'm just noticing how well Lelouch is dancing with Milly over there," Shirley lied with a fake giggle.

"Whatever." the red head replied and looked away.

Lelouch heard the final note from the violins and sighed in relief. The dancers applauded politely and the former prince let go of Milly's hands almost immediately. He bowed slightly to try and compensate for his perceived rudeness.

"Why don't we sit down now? I'm a bit tired."

"Oh....but...this next song sounds really good!" Milly said as the orchestra started playing a new song, this time much faster with an added electric guitar.

"No thanks, I don't like it," Lelouch lied and left. He moved toward the side of the gym, not tired, but not in the mood to be swept off his feet by Milly. He was a little surprised to see Rivalz asking Milly to dance, and by the surprised look on his face, Lelouch deducted that Milly agreed. He smiled knowing that Rivalz wanted this all along, and it was better Rivalz then him, since he couldn't stand how Milly would drag and manipulate herself into his almost non-existent romance life.

Lelouch was not outside the line of fire however, and was soon pulled rather roughly by none other than Shirley.

"W-what, Shirley, what a-are you doing?"

"We're dancing together, what does it look like?" Shirley said but with a slight forceful tone.

Lelouch sighed as once again, another one of his 'potential' lovers dragged him to dance. This time, he felt himself tiring out more quickly since Shirley was dancing more vigorously with the song.

About halfway into the song, everyone paused suddenly. Lelouch looked around and noticed that his friend Suzaku had arrived with his dance partner and 'date,' Princess Euphemia. The two were dressed in very fancy clothing being royalty, but they didn't have the typical purple air that surrounded the nobility. Suzaku was dressed in his white uniform with gold trimmings and fastenings while Euphie wore an elegant white dress.

"Hey everyone! It's Princess Euphemia and Suzaku!" cried a voice.

Naturally almost all the dancers started rushing up to the pair to ask questions. Suzaku quickly held out his hands to shield the princess.

Almost immediately, the crowd stopped in its tracks. "Please everyone, calm down." Suzaku said with an air of authority. "Euphemia here is not a princess for tonight, merely a guest and my dance partner. However, if you have any questions for either myself or her, you may send them to the palace and we'll answer them later."

Euphie suddenly piped up and Suzaku turned around.

"Hmm? Why did you stop? I really liked the music!" Euphie said shyly, and the orchestra began playing the waltz again. Soon everyone went back to dancing and Suzaku escorted her through the crowd.

Perfect. This gave Lelouch the break he was looking for. Lelouch managed to break away from Shirley to say hi to Suzaku and Euphie. Shirley however looked even more angry.

"Hey Lelouch!" Suzaku waved at him as he approached the two. Euphie also nodded politely.

"Hey there Suzaku, Euphie, I'm glad you two could make it tonight."

"Yes, we are fortunate enough that Viceroy Cornelia and Earl Asplund allowed us to come here tonight. The Earl seemed overjoyed when he heard that I will be taking a member of the royal family to a dance. How are you Lelouch? Are you enjoying the dance?"

"I wish, Milly and Shirley have been dragging me around ever since I got here."

"Oh is Nunnally here as well? Can I say hi to her?" Euphie almost cried.

"Oh sure, she's somewhere over there," Lelouch pointed in the general direction.

So after greeting his friends and getting some punch, Suzaku and Euphie walked on the dance floor and started dancing together. They drew several stares and onlookers as the two of them danced gracefully as though they had rehearsed this several times. The way Euphie twirled and spun was smooth and flawless, but then again, she was royalty and had to keep up appearances. Lelouch was relieved that the next song the orchestra started playing was a slow waltz. At least if he was asked to dance again, his feet wouldn't hurt as much.

Lelouch took after Suzaku and Euphie and decided to grab something to eat as well. After all that dancing, his stomach was telling him that he needed food.

"Can you pass me some punch and a slice of pizza?" said a smooth female voice.

"Sure." Lelouch said without looking and reached over to grab a cup and pizza to hand to the girl being the gentleman that he was.

When he actually looked at the girl, he was very taken aback. She was very pretty, had bright green eyes, delicate facial features and long, jet black hair. His eyes moved next to her dress which was an odd combination of both revealing and regal.

"Is there something on my face?" the girl asked.

Lelouch blushed slightly and turned away. "N-no! I'm sorry!"

The two leaned against the wall and ate in silence watching the other dancers. Euphie and Suzaku had stopped dancing and Euphie dragged Suzaku to find Nunnally, who was being lifted up by Shirley and the others in an attempt to get to dance as well. Before Lelouch could run over to help her, the black haired girl asked him a question.

"Hmm. Would you......like to dance with me?"

Grunt. Well at least she wasn't Milly or Shirley, hopefully she'll take it easy with him. "Sure. What is your name miss....?"

"Celine."

"Very well then Miss Celine." and with that, Lelouch found himself waltzing on the dance floor with the young lady. He learned some dancing when he still lived in the Imperial Palace in Pendragon but he only did it when his mother persuaded him to. He was glad that the girl also knew how to dance and therefore he wouldn't look like an idiot in front of everyone.

"Hey, who's that girl with Lulu?" said Shirley as she looked over at the pair.

"I don't know, I've never seen her around before. Does she even go to our school?" said Rivalz.

"She is really pretty. Who do you think she is?" said Kallen half-heartedly.

The more Lelouch danced, the more he found himself blushing slightly with every minute. For several seconds, the two said nothing to each other. Lelouch decided to break the silence first.

"Uh...um...you dance very well."

"Thanks, I learned how to dance a while back."

Lelouch smiled at the girl and continued dancing until the end of the song. For some reason, he found himself enjoying his girl and dancing with her. There was something about this girl that made him forget about his troubles and the world around him when they spun around slowly. He found himself mesmerized by the girl's movements. They were just as graceful as Euphie's and she wasn't as controlling as Milly or Shirley was.

At last the song ended, and the two bowed to each other.

"May I ask where are you from? I enjoyed dancing with you." Lelouch asked.

"Thanks. I live close by. I just decided to come here tonight because I heard they had ordered pizza from pizza hut."

Pizza. Lelouch slapped himself mentally. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. It was CC under that disguise and he couldn't believe how he did not see through it. He also couldn't believe he danced with her of all people and almost started liking the gray witch!

He excused himself and walked outside telling CC that he needed some fresh air and would like to be alone for a while.

CC could only stare at him as he left.

Not terribly long afterwards, students began filing out of the gym as it was almost 9:00 at night. The dance had gone on for three hours and Lelouch was happy that the dance was over and that he and his friends could do the gift exchange.

It was small and intimate, something that Lelouch actually liked. There was himself, Nunnally, CC, Kallen, Milly, Rivalz, Suzaku, Shirley, Nina, and Euphie. After helping with cleaning up, the group all headed over the clubhouse chatting merrily and exchanging stories about the dance.

Although it was before Christmas, the presents were packing the base of the tree. Sayoko had already prepared drinks and the room for them earlier that evening.

Everyone gathered in the main room to start exchanging gifts. Suzaku insisted, or was it the other way around, that Euphie also come with him to the Christmas party although technically she did not receive an invitation. There was a white elephant gift exchange, where everyone received a gift, then there was the distribution of presents by everyone else.

While the presents were being distributed and everyone was laughing away at the presents they received, Nunnally could sense someone was missing. Among all the voices she heard, she noticed one particular voice was not chatting along in the crowd.

CC sat in a little corner staring at the Christmas tree and the pile of presents that was diminishing. She looked at the presents with all its colorful wrapping paper and ribbons and simply stared at them. There was a particular reason why she didn't like Christmas. In fact of all the days of the year, it was one which she disliked the most. It was not the holiday itself that she disliked but the gifts. Everyone who was normal looked forward to a gift with their name on it under the tree, but not CC.

Several centuries ago, when CC was still a normal human being, she was given a geass power by a nun, the power 'to be loved.' At first she loved having others love her, what with growing up as a slave girl for her whole life. People from every nationality and background, where rich or poor, young and old, all clamored up to love the green-haired girl. In the next six years, her body had matured to a very beautiful young woman. She was not overly curvy like Milly or Shirley, but more refined and delicate. Her limbs were strong and slender, and she allowed her hair to grow out. All this was fine and dandy but as CC's geass became permanent, she grew tired of all the gifts and proposals. After coming back to the nun, and CC full filled the contract, she had stopped aging physically and became the immortal witch she was now called.

To this day, CC didn't want another present if she could help it. To her, it didn't mean anything. To her, presents and gifts only reminded her of a distant and lonely past. Because of her immortality, she felt ever more alone and was forced to watch as people aged, time for her was a standstill.

She watched from her little corner, Milly handing presents to her friends, Rivalz handing Milly her gift and blushing furiously when he did. She noticed Shirley also blushed as she gave Lelouch his gift. She noticed all the little facial movements, the way the cheeks and muscles moved the mouth and eyes. It was also times like these that CC understood what it meant to be lonely. Sure Lelouch and Nunnally were political hostages of Britannia, but at least they had each other. CC pulled her knees closer to her head and the slightest tear leaked from one golden eye.

At last every present was sorted out and handed to its receivers. Well, almost every one. There was one last gift that was lying under the tree.

The gift was for CC from Lelouch. At first he was reluctant to buy her any gift at all, but when Nunnally asked him if he was going to get his 'girlfriend' a present as well, and Lelouch sputtered that he didn't know, Nunnally practically begged him to get her a gift as well.

"Alright Nunnally, I'll get her a gift as well. You need not worry." He had reassured her.

As Lelouch reached down to pick up the present, he couldn't help but feel something for the green-haired girl. There was something about CC that puzzled him. Then again, whenever he saw her, several conflicting emotions arose. On one hand he was grateful for CC whom gave him his geass power. If he had never met her, he wouldn't have been able to advance his plan to destroy Britannia as quickly. He was also thankful that CC was taking care of his sister Nunnally when Sayoko could not. If he had business at school or with the Black Knights, he could always count on CC to take care of her. On the other hand, she annoyed and tested his patience to the absolute limit. She ate too much pizza and his room reeked of cheese. She was always ordering him to do stuff for her, and made his life more difficult than it already was.

However, he allowed her to stay with him nonetheless and she was one of the few people whom he trusted completely. The downside with what he was planning to do, combined with geass, made him feel more lonely than not. At least she was there when he needed her. At least she was there to comfort him when he needed it. He felt his cheeks flush as he thought about the feelings that ran through him when he danced with her.

He sighed and picked up the gift from underneath the tree. While everyone else was chatting away, sipping cider and sharing what gifts they got on the other side of the room, Lelouch walked over to CC and looked away slightly before handing the gray witch his gift.

"Hmm? What is this?"

"It's your Christmas gift." Lelouch said flatly.

CC took the package carefully and reluctantly.

"But I don't........I didn't do anything to deserve this."

"I don't know what happened to you in the past, but Christmas is about giving to others in need. Besides, Nunnally said that.......that you should never be alone on Christmas." Lelouch said.

Normally CC would have made a smart comment to counter Lelouch. She might have scoffed and said that Lelouch was one to talk as he was rebelling against his own father, but not this time. Instead she merely said his name, quietly, and for the first time, with a hint of longing.

"Lelouch......" and with out warning, CC grabbed him in a tight hug and kissed him on the lips.

"Hmph!" Lelouch said but did not break away. Not that he could if he wanted too as CC could easily overpower him despite the fact he was a guy.

The others looked at CC and Lelouch kissing but did not say anything. Sayoko whispered the scene to Nunnally and a great big smile appeared on her face.

After what seemed like an hour, CC broke off the kiss and Lelouch managed to say, "Merry Christmas CC."

"Merry Christmas Lelouch." said CC and the two shared another warm embrace with each other.

End


A/N: Sorry I took so late to finish writing this story! Anyways Happy New Years!

Please read and review!