Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass
Summary: C.C. is a lazy and gluttonous girl who only cares for pizza. And Lelouch is the man that may fall for her, ahem, charms.
Green Silk and Golden Orbs
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Chapter 4
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Lelouch was spending the day with Euphemia. They had both finished their exams early and decided to have a tiny detour before heading home. It wasn't so often that the two spent time together. Before they were the best of siblings but after Euphemia's engagement to Suzaku, the siblings sadly drifted apart. They were still close, they were siblings after all but spending time together, just the two of them, was rare. Before they would play chess together. Of course, Lelouch always won but that didn't stop Euphemia from playing. She didn't mind losing especially since winning made her favourite and only brother smile.
They decided to have a stroll around down town. Actually, Euphemia suggested the place since she had something in mind. Ever since Suzaku proposed to her, Euphemia's mind was filled by perfecting her wedding day and finding the 'one' wedding dress. It wasn't certain when her wedding would take place since Lelouch had yet to marry. Euphemia hadn't had a chance to go dress shopping yet. And she wanted to, badly. It was a girls' dream to find thee perfect dress for thee perfect day with her perfect guy.
She floated around every store window to see if they had any beautiful wedding gowns on display.
"Lelouch, look at this!" Euphemia's face was almost plastered to the store window. Any closer and her cheek would have left an imprint on the glass. "Isn't this dress gorgeous?"
Lelouch didn't have any experience with wedding dresses. So, he didn't know if his opinion would even be valid.
"It's nice..."
Euphemia didn't get the questioning tone in Lelouch's answer. She was preoccupied with noticing the flaws in the off-white gown. First of all, it was off-white and Euphemia dreamt of being married in white - only white. She was a virgin, white would be the most appropriate colour. Even if the colour of the dress was slightly off, Euphemia would not approve of it.
"Too bad it's not white," she commented with a pout.
He raised an eyebrow. To him and probably to many guys, the dress was white.
"It's not?"
"Of course it's not!" Seeing something white, like white, caught her blue eyes, Euphemia grabbed onto Lelouch's sleeve and pulled him towards a store a few displays down.
The valuable dress that caught her eye was white, duh. The main material was lace, something Euphemia loved, as well as the lace-rose that was adorned on the right hip of the dress. The neckline was sweetheart and the sleeves were off shoulder. To Euphemia the dress was very romantic and sensual; the two major things she wanted to look on her day.
"I want to try it on," Euphemia declared, nose centimetres away from the fingerprint free glass.
Before Lelouch could mutter anything, Euphemia was out of his sight and inside the store. Lelouch slowly followed her in but she didn't notice. She was too busy spazzing with the clerk. The two were being giddy over the dress on the mannequin. Lelouch overheard that the dress was just brought in from Paris, France. The dress came straight from the runway as a gift from the worldly known fashion designer. The dress had never been tried on and was only worn by one person, the model that strutted in it down the runway.
"I'll be right back, Lulu!" Euphemia called out before disappearing behind the fitting room door.
Settling himself onto one of the leather seats, Lelouch felt his cell phone vibrate in his pockets. He had a feeling who the message came from.
What are you doing?
- C.C.
He was about to reply when there was some rustling sound in the fitting room. Lelouch decided C.C. could wait for his message. She probably wouldn't but it's not like she can force him to reply. She wasn't anywhere near him and Lelouch was a tad grateful she wasn't. Being C.C., she may just tease him for being in a dress shop. And she may force him to try on some dresses.
Lelouch shuddered at the thought.
"Ne, Lelouch, are you ready?" Euphemia's perky voice was muffled from the door separating them.
He cleared his throat and mentally prepared himself. It wasn't everyday he would see his younger sister in a wedding dress.
"You can come out now, Euphie."
The door opened and Euphemia stepped out. That's when it hit him and hit him hard. It almost knocked him off his feet, if he was standing up. His mind was telling him that his younger sister was ready to marry. No doubt about it, the dress was perfect on her; as if the designer had Euphemia in mind when she created the gown. The length was perfect, the size was impeccable. The gown didn't outshine Euphemia, it just added to her natural glorious beauty. And Euphemia has never looked happier. Joy was apparent in her sparkling blue eyes. That was her dress; she was wearing her wedding dress.
That was the dress she was going to get married in. But who knows when she'll be able to wear it.
Lelouch sighed heavily. Her wedding date was in Lelouch's hands. Euphemia and Suzaku planned on getting married next Spring. Weddings weren't simple things to plan; some weddings took years to plan. Realistically, the Lamperouge family should be preparing for it at that moment. But they couldn't prepare for it. Why? Well, Lelouch had to prepare first. He had to. And if Lelouch wanted to make his sister happy, if he wanted to grant Euphemia's wish, Lelouch would have to get himself married. And would have to marry before Spring.
Euphemia's elegance and cheerful giggling brought him out of his thoughts.
"How do I look?"
He smiled up at her. "Really pretty."
Euphemia clapped her hands happily together. "I can't wait to get married."
Lelouch stood up and approached Euphemia while she twirled about on the pedestal. "You look completely ready to marry Suzaku."
"I am." Her tone was filled with utter bliss. And her blue eyes were sparkling from the tears that were forming. Her blue eyes only glistened more beneath the dangling lights of the store.
And that was all Lelouch needed to hear.
x
C.C. came home that day with a box of pizza in her hands. She wasn't eating it, which was strange. After receiving a strange message from Lelouch, C.C.'s mind was focused on why he randomly asked her out that night. Ever since exams hit and the tutoring was over, Lelouch and C.C. barely kept contact. Of course, they had their own lives to tend to. And since Lelouch was so keen on insisting he wasn't a suitor, C.C. was deeply taken back by his sudden proposal. It didn't seem normal of Lelouch to ask her out. The only times they got together was when their parents forced them or if they were tricked.
But they just confessed they were friends a while ago. And friends hung out.
This was all new to C.C.
"Where are you going tonight?" Her father asked her from behind a newspaper.
"Lelouch asked me out."
Her father bit his lower lip to keep from smiling widely. "How wonderful. Where does he plan on taking you?"
"I don't know."
Placing down the newspaper, her father looked at her dead in the eyes. "Lelouch is a fine young man."
"You can keep telling me he is my suitor but he is positive he is not." C.C. looked away from him, golden eyes lingering on her box of pizza. She was contemplating whether to finally eat it. C.C. needed something to slightly distract her from the conversation her father was keen on having.
Where was a frisky pet when she needed one?
He chuckled briefly. "I didn't say he was your suitor."
C.C. gave her father her infamous rolling of thee golden eyes. "Sure you didn't." Okay, he never completely said to C.C. that Lelouch was her new suitor but it was heavily implied in each conversation they had about him. That and he's tried to set them up on numerous occasions and succeeded.
The mood turned serious suddenly. "C.C., are you really not ready to marry yet?"
A shrug. "I'm not sure. I'm not in love but I'm still not sure." Her lips pursed together. "I guess it depends on what my mood is when somebody asks me to."
"Your mood?" Her father questioned.
"That and if I am at least fond of him."
"I see." Picking up his newspaper once again, her father covered his face with the grey sheets of paper. "Enjoy tonight C.C. and have Lelouch bring you home safely tonight."
"I will."
x
It was seven o'clock in the evening when Lelouch arrived to escort C.C. to Little Italia, the restaurant he booked a reservation for. An Italian restaurant seemed like the best place to spend their evening. C.C.s' favourite dish was pizza and pizza was an Italian pie. Lelouch was considerate that way. The two drove in silence; Lelouch wasn't in the mood to talk just yet and C.C. could tell. She wanted to say something, to start a conversation but something held her back. Which was unlike her since C.C. hardly held anything back when it came to terms of speaking her mind.
That evening C.C. decided a nice deep eggplant coloured dress would suffice. It was short, it ended just above her knees. Unlike most dresses, C.C.'s dress had pockets that flowed in well with the skirt. Little did C.C. know that Lelouch's tie and vest would be purple as well. And not just any purple, it was a deep eggplant. They were colour-coordinated with one another. Colour-coordinate by accident.
The waiter each served them a menu before walking away to fetch them some on-the-house drinks.
"What are you getting?" Lelouch mumbled, eyes fixated on the many Italian dishes that were listed in his booklet-like-menu. It was a rather silly question to ask. Of course he knew what C.C. was getting.
She gave him a look, an are-you-kidding-me-look. "Pizza - oh but they have so many kinds."
"Take your time," he suggested mechanically.
Lelouch was positively tense that evening. His heart was rapidly beating; it was almost literally jumping out of his throat. Palms were much more sweatier than usual. And his throat was severely dry. Dry that he felt like his voice would crack at any moment if he said more than four words.
Placing down her menu, C.C. began to study the young man's face. From what she could see, beads of sweat were appearing on the bridge of his nose. She began to look around at the other men dressed in suits to see if it was warm in the restaurant from them. Since she was only clad in a dress, C.C. was quite cool with the atmosphere. But when none of the other gentlemen looked bothered by the temperature, C.C. returned her amber eyes on Lelouch, studying his face.
"Are you sick or something?" She managed to finally ask.
"W-What?" You could say that Lelouch was startled by the question. "No... No, I'm not-" Once his voice cracked because of its' dryness, Lelouch cleared his throat loudly. "I'm not sick," he continued on.
Her eyebrow raised. "If you say so." C.C. didn't believe him.
He might not be sick but something was up. C.C. could tell. She wasn't an idiot.
Feeling her golden eyes on him, Lelouch raised up his menu higher to hide his face. He didn't enjoy being stared at. Especially with such slanted and judgemental eyes. Lelouch knew that C.C. was finding the whole night quite odd.
"Are you ready to order?"
"Yes."
With the menu still covering his face, Lelouch lifted up his hand to signal for a waiter. The same waiter appeared, this time with two cups of apple cider. He placed it down onto their table before whipping out his notebook from the pocket of his uniform trousers.
"What would you two like to order for this splendid evening?"
Lelouch gestured his hand to C.C.
"I'll have the Chef Special Pizza." The Chef Special Pizza consisted of three cheeses: Gorgonzola, Fettuccine and Mozzarella, chicken, shrimp, green peppers and mushrooms. It was thee best selling pizza dish on their menu.
"Anything to drink with that, miss?"
C.C. tipped the apple cider towards the young male. "This will do."
Nodding, the waiter turned his head towards Lelouch, who was still hiding his. "And you, sir?"
Clearing his throat into his fisted hand, Lelouch slowly placed down his menu. "I'll have the Pesto Ravioli with Chicken," Lelouch said, trying to sound as normal and cool as possible.
"And to drink?"
"This is fine."
Smiling at the pair, the waiter glided the two menus off the table before taking off to the kitchen doors.
"Are you sure you're okay, Lelouch?" C.C. asked, going back to the original topic she started with.
"I'm fine."
"I don't believe you," she spoke seriously. "You're a horrible liar."
Lelouch wanted to keep his cool. "What are you talking about? I'm not lying, C.C." Her eyes continued to burn into his. It was obvious he was lying and lying about it wasn't making the situation any better. "I'm fine." He insisted stubbornly
C.C. leaned back against the metal backing of her seat. Her eyes were still staring at Lelouch's purple ones.
"Why did you ask me out tonight?"
"I didn't 'ask you out', I asked you to have dinner with me," Lelouch corrected. 'Ask you out' sounds like Lelouch asked C.C. on a date. And he didn't like the sound of that. After all, he was not her suitor. He was her friend, sort of.
Her face was deadpan. "What's the difference?"
"Can't a friend ask another friend out for dinner?" Lelouch asked, trying to change the subject and escape C.C.'s preying glare.
C.C. shrugged her shoulders half-heartedly. "How should I know? You're my first friend."
Growing up, C.C. only got along well with her sisters. Friends were just after thoughts for her. She never had one, so, C.C. didn't feel like she was missing out on something. She wasn't bothered by the fact she never had a friend. Nobody that presented themselves to her as possible friends seemed like good choices. Friends were supposed to be your chosen family. Her standards were much too high. Let's just say C.C.'s never found anyone that could ever be her 'chosen family'. Of course, except Lelouch since he became her friend without her realizing it.
Lelouch frowned at her. "So, how did you do on your exams?"
Again, another shrug. "I don't know. We don't get results back until next week."
"Well, did you have an easy time with your exams?"
"Define easy."
He exhaled frustratedly. "You're really a difficult person to talk to."
"I know."
Lelouch laughed. "And yet you continue to be difficult despite knowing it."
"Is being difficult bad?"
"I guess it depends." He sighed. "It's just another word for stubborn, right?"
C.C. smirked. "Oh, I am definitely stubborn."
"I know."
Before their conversation could continue on any more, the waiter arrived with their delicious and steaming dishes. C.C.'s pizza was made for a group of four but she could finish that easily. And Lelouch's dish was quite large, well, for him. He was hungry but not that hungry.
As C.C. began to joyfully eat her dinner, Lelouch was staring down at his, mixing it around a bit with his fork. There was a question lingering in his mind.
"C.C." His voice broke C.C. out of her thoughts on how good the pizza was and how strange Lelouch was being. "If I ask you a serious question, will you give me a serious answer? Will you even answer me..."
Munch. Munch. Munch.
"Depends."
Resting his face into his hand that was propped up onto the table with his elbow, Lelouch blew out multiple puffs of irritated air. How difficult could it be to ask a question? A question was just a question. Sure, a lot was riding on the question he wanted to ask. Still, Lelouch had nothing to lose but everything to gain.
With his free hand, Lelouch reached into his pocket and wrapped his slim fingers around a small velvet box. He gently pushed it out onto the table while his face remained in his hand.
It would be a lie to say C.C. didn't almost choke on her pizza when she saw the box. It would also be a lie to say that C.C.'s amber eyes didn't widen when she saw the dark blue cube a few inches from her platter.
"W-What are you doing?" She asked, stumbling over her own tongue.
"I don't really know myself."
"That's not something a girl wants to hear when being-" The words were on the tip of her tongue but C.C. couldn't push herself to say it. Why? Her mind was still processing everything.
"Proposed to?" Lelouch finished for her, face heating up as the two words escaped past his thin lips.
"But why, why are you doing this, Lelouch?" Her tone was sincere. C.C. had no idea, no inkling to why Lelouch was doing this. It was mind-boggling. "I thought you weren't my suitor."
"I'm not."
"So, why are-"
Lelouch cut off her when he finally found enough confidence to stare at her with his amethyst orbs. "Because I have to."
He didn't need to say it. Lelouch knew that C.C. would understand his reason eventually. She didn't need to be a genius to figure everything out. Plus, C.C. seemed to understand Lelouch more than people who have known him his entire life. She was like his other half, his other equal.
When C.C. opened the little blue box, her eyes marvelled at the simple design of the ring. The diamond was nothing huge, not that Lelouch was being cheap, but C.C. wasn't the huge 'rock' kind of girl. She enjoyed having simple, clean jewellery. And the design matched her to the 'T'. The band was white gold, not silver. And perhaps it was his romantic side coming out but the diamond was cut beautifully into a heart.
"I didn't know your size, so it may not fit-"
C.C. slid the ring perfectly onto her left ring finger.
She didn't even need to say her answer. And she didn't want to say it since Lelouch never verbally asked anyway.
"Aren't you going to say something?" Lelouch asked.
"Aren't you going to ask something?" She retorted.
He glared. "But you already put the ring on your finger."
"So?"
"What do you mean 'so'?"
"Just ask me, Lelouch..."
"Ask you what?"
"You're lucky I'm not forcing you to bend down on one knee."
They had a brief staring match before Lelouch gave in. He always gave in. Lelouch was nice that way. And C.C. was cruel that way.
"C.C..." A tug on his tie that was now choking him, well, sort of. "Will you..." A gulp, a nervous gulp. "Marry me?"
She smirked underneath the dim lights of the restaurant.
"Sure."
x
