A/N: Thank you for the reviews and advices guys! It means a lot to me ^^

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.

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Lelouch put down the can of coffee on his lap as his gaze never left the Pizza Hut restaurant. His long fingers slightly tapped on one of the soft cushions decorated in his ever-so-shiny black limousine. He quickly glanced at the silvery watch on his left arm and frowned. Where was she? She should have been here by now….

It was only nine in the morning, a time when none of the Lamperouge members were supposed to be awake yet. A time when they were supposed to be lying in their over-sized fancy beds with only fancy dreams as their companions.

He smirked bitterly. How funny it was that all of those luxurious things didn't seem all that matter to him anymore. For him, what really mattered right now was to get to know more about a certain person—a girl who got his heart flutter truly for the first time, the one who made him look at the world from a complete different angle, and the only one who kept his head occupied entirely since their fateful meeting.

With a small sigh, he put the coffee can up to his lips once again and drank the bittersweet fluid contained in it. Lelouch had hardly drunk these caffeine drinks before, not even energy drink of some sorts. He really didn't feel the need to do so; he always looked with disapproval when his best friend bought the Monster drink at a vending machine on their walk to the park. He often asked why someone would want to taste something not so pleasant like that, and Suzaku would always answer with a sigh, "Lelouch, you will understand once you start working out, or when your body actually gets exhausted."

Lelouch never understood the concept— until now.

His bright, beautiful violet orbs traveled about the car and stopped at the whole bag of coffee cans sitting on the seat next to him that he asked his chauffeur to buy for him on the way here. So far he'd already downed three, and it seemed to be working, for his body didn't nag for sleep any longer.

"Maybe Suzaku was right all along," he gave a low chuckle.

"Mister Kururugi was right about what sir?" His chauffeur, Kano, asked curiously from the front seat. He, himself, was drinking the same coffee brand Lelouch's currently drinking.

"That these energy drinks can actually revive your tired body. I'm quite glad that I have an athletic friend with more than useful information in cases like this," Lelouch replied, smiling slightly as he took another sip from the coffee. Then, a question popped up in his head and demanded to be asked.

"Say Kano," he complied with his mind. "Do you drink these things often?"

"Of course sir. Not only can coffee keep you awake, it can also help rebuild your mind after an exhausting event."

"Ah, I see." Just like what Suzaku said….

"I always have extra ones stored in the small fridge over there; I've never run out of them. But recently your night-outs for gambling—" Kano almost choked on his drink at the dawn of realization of what he was about to say. He hastily clapped a hand over his mouth and stared with wide, horrified eyes at his master's reflection in the mirror. He just knew he had said a little too much.

As expected, one of Lelouch's dark eyebrows raised up questioningly. He slowly put down the can and stared back at his chauffeur. His expression unreadable.

"Are you saying that my night-outs have tired you, and you must have the caffeine drinks in here the whole time so that you won't fall asleep on your duties?" His tone was monotonous.

A loud gulp was heard from the front as Kano tried to stall time to think of something to say to the raven-haired teen that wouldn't upset him on the lowest levels. It was futile; he knew he wasn't a very good liar. But why bothered trying when no one could ever lie face-to-face to his master and then get away with it smoothly, at least not in the records?

The poor guy could only nod as a small sigh escaped his lips, "Please forgive me. I've no intention of complaining. I—"

Lelouch cut him off with a raised hand. "It's nothing. I was just wondering, besides I know how difficult it is to drive when there's no one awake except you." He stopped short as he caught a glimpse of the sight that he had been waiting the whole time for. A satisfied smirk tugged at his lips.

"Kano, go home." He said abruptly as he placed his hand on the car-door latch, the coffee can completely forgotten.

"G—go home?" The chauffeur asked as if he didn't believe his ears, then he shook his head violently. "But what about you? How are you going to get home?"

"Don't worry about me, Kano. Just go home and take a long nap, it is an order." Lelouch said with a stern voice, his gaze never left the particular sight.

Kano gulped again; he learned it all too well not to go against the master when he had used that tone.

"All right sir, please take care. Call me if you ever need me."

Lelouch gave a slight nod as he opened the door, but before he got out he turned to look at his chauffeur with expressionless violet eyes, and with the high-authority voice that had frightened so many of his servants, he said. "If anyone ever asks about my whereabouts, say you have no idea. If my being here leaks out, this will be the last time you ever drive anywhere. Are we understood?"

"Y-Y-Yes, sir!" Half-squeaked the guy.

The door closed gently behind the raven-haired teen as he stepped out.

C.C. was trudging on the sidewalk with slow pace, a small bag slung over her shoulder. Her long, silky green hair was tied loosely into a ponytail, and was blowing freely behind her back whenever a gust of wind decided to pick up.

For the first time ever since six years ago, C.C.'s mind was actually getting occupied; so occupied that it caused her to toss and turn on the bed constantly just couple of hours after the sun rose, to the point that she thought she might go insane had she continued lying there. All the adorable collections of cheese-kun's and the addicting, delicious smell of pepperoni-and-cheese pizzas were of no help, unfortunately.

C.C. decided that the best solution to this strange upheaval was to get out of the house and take the advantage of the cool air to clear her head.

So here she was, walking to a place she knew wouldn't open for another hour, but she had no choice now. Moreover, she had important business there; being there early might help.

Her long legs kept carrying her on the streets without her even willing them to; it's like their sole goal at this moment was to get their master to the destination. The little stroll didn't last long though, for the green-haired girl forced them to stop at the unbelievable sight in front of her.

There, leaning onto the pole just outside of Pizza Hut restaurant was the same person from last night— the person who always wore an arrogant face; the one caused this mess for her, who was now looking at her direction with a grin plastered on his face.

"We meet again C.C." Said Lelouch as he straightened up and turned around to fully face her.

"Oh, and I thought last night was the last encounter we ever had in this lifetime."

"Disappointed?"

"Pretty much," C.C. commented nonchalantly as she stood her ground and stared at him with stony golden eyes.

"I don't know about that, since you allowed me to walk you home."

She chuckled. "Silly boy," then she took a step forward in advance; why should she not be confronting him? She had to show him that she wanted to get rid of him once and for all, so she continued her speech with cool voice. "You really think that walking a girl home could win her over? If that so, that is a very shallow thought, good sir" She emphasized the last two words full of sarcasm.

And to her small surprise, Lelouch also took a step forward as if to meet her, and when they were only a few feet apart, both stopped. If looked at by any bystanders, they would think those two teens were going to pull a drama. C.C. had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes at the thought.

"No, such thoughts are not worth for me to even consider," he huffed. "And I don't hope of gaining love from a girl with such a simple act. Girls like that just want to be adored; they don't truly love you for who you are."

"Oh? Speaking from experiences, I suppose."

A brief pause…

"Yes." As he concluded this, he took another step forward, and soon enough they were quite close to each other. But C.C. didn't flinch or back down. Instead she smirked, "Hmm, you prove to be more interesting and not so quite plain like other aristocrats."

"Now you believe me that not all rich people are the same?" He asked, his violet eyes bored into the golden ones.

"You didn't prove to be really different yet, other than knowing how to play with words and how to charm a lady."

"So you're admitting I'm charming you now?" A teasing smirk played across his handsome face.

"Since I'm not a lady, it doesn't count." Replied C.C. coolly as if what she just said sounded nothing abnormal.

"N-Not a lady?" Lelouch repeated as if he thought his ears were deceiving him.

Just as expected, she thought and laughed. "Good sir, what I meant was I am far from a lady's concept in your high class's eyes. In your eye, I'm just an average 'peasant' girl. A lady is supposed to be wearing beautiful, expensive dresses and having servants with them all the time. Do you see me anything like that sir?"

"Stop with the 'sir' address," he whispered. Somehow, the way this certain green-haired girl said it made him uncomfortable and sort of ashamed of the way his kind treated people.

Of course it didn't go unnoticed by C.C.; she saw it too clearly in his violet orbs, and how she wished that she could taunt him more now that she knew his weakness had it not been for the ticking watch on her left arm that warned her the opening time was coming.

So instead of going further into teasing the poor boy, she switched back to her usual cold, nonchalant self. "How interesting, as you wish I will stop, but not before you tell me why you were stalking me."

"Stalking you?" Lelouch stammered. Him? Stalking people? Not possible.

"I wasn't stalking you," he said as one eyebrow was raised slightly. "I'm here for business."

"Business?" C.C. asked incredulously with her catlike-eyes narrowed.

"Yes, as you must have figured it out by now. I've done something terrible to you yesterday and now I want to amend."

She couldn't help but snort. "Amend? Since when did you become so concerned about other people's lives?"

"Since when I wanted to prove to you that I'm different." Answered Lelouch, his eyes wavering a little as he looked down at the girl.

"How noble of you," was all she managed to whisper. Was she in lost for words? Her? The shrewd C.C.? Impossible.

She then looked away to stare at the Pizza Hut restaurant instead. "What are you planning to do?"

The raven-haired teen followed her gaze, and when he turned back to look at her, an over-confident smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "I'm Lelouch Lamperouge, remember?

When they got to the door, the manager of the well-known Pizza Hut was putting up the "WE'RE OPEN" sign on it. At first he didn't bother to give a look at who the customers might be. It was still too early in the morning; no one would go to his shop just right after he opened, except for the ones who were so poor that they had to work two-jobs or maybe three. Said people often came here at the crack of dawn to have their stomachs filled before the workhours, and they're usually very poor so there's no doubt that the manager couldn't care less about them.

However, when he caught a glimpse of many green locks blowing onto the door because of the morning's wind, and the pure white, way-too-clean clothes—or almost shiny clothes in his eyes. He slowly looked up and…

Shrieked "MISTER LAMPEROUGE!"

Both Lelouch and C.C. had to cover their ears if they wished not to damage them. "Damn, this guy has an extremely loud voice for a middle-aged man…" Lelouch muttered.

"Welcome to my world." Said C.C. evenly. People were supposed to have some emotions laced in their voices when they said that phrase. Well, probably C.C. was a unique exception in this one.

"Just follow my lead. And don't say anything unless I tell you to do so." Warned the raven-haired boy as the manager quickly unlocked the door for them.

Right before the door was thrown wide open, Lelouch thought of something new and beneficial for his plan. Not giving it a second thought, he grabbed C.C.'s hand tightly in his, earning a surprised gasp from her immediately. But she didn't get a chance to protest or pull back, because her creepy manager was already at the threshold with a maniac grin on his face.

"Welcome! Welcome to my humble restaurant, Mister Lamperouge!" He said, too much enthusiasm for both the customers' taste. And C.C. being there was completely forgotten.

He then quickly ushered him inside, but as soon as his gaze fell upon his former employee, he stopped abruptly and glared at her. "What are you doing here?" He asked harshly. "I thought I already fired you-"

"Miss C.C.'s with me," Lelouch cut him off coldly; he believed if the man dared say anything else to C.C. with that annoying tone, he might punch him in the nose with all the strength he could muster.

"She- She what!" Gaped the manager, eyes wide.

The raven-haired teen suppressed the urge to massage his temples as he continued. "I don't wish to repeat myself again. And I'm not here for pizza, I'm here for something else."

"What is it? I would do anything for you!"

Lelouch's eye twitched. That sounds so wrong on many levels…

He cleared his throat slightly.

"I want you to take back what you said yesterday and rehire her," he ordered with the high-authority voice of his, his emotionless gaze never left the poor shaking man, who looked pretty much dumbfounded. Obviously the manager had no idea what's going on; just yesterday these two teens were fighting—and didn't Lelouch want her to get fired? And now, they were…intimate? He glanced nervously at their intertwined hands and gulped.

C.C. knew exactly what her boss was thinking, and she absolutely believed that their little act had accomplished its mission. But strangely enough, the way Lelouch held her hand, tight but gentle at the same time, in his gave her an unknown sensation; she had never been close to a man like this before in her life. And as much as she wanted to pull back, she just couldn't. So instead, she just looked on stonily as she masqueraded her confused expression with a calm one.

"If you did so, I would tell all my friends to come hang out at your shop," Lelouch stopped to look around the place. "Hm, isn't the place a little bit too empty? And wouldn't it be more famous if the majority of the aristocrats know about this Pizza Hut?" He turned back with a proud smirk playing on his face.

"Y-Y-Your f-friends? C-Come to my shop?" It seemed that that was all the older man was hearing as he repeated what Lelouch had just said.

"Ahh."

"C.C.! You're hired! Now go get the apron, the uniform, the hat and get back to the front line! Now!" Cried the man way too happily.

"That's it?" Huffed the green-haired girl.

"Huh? Wh-?"

"An apology." Said both C.C. and Lelouch; they quickly turned to look at each other, then nodded with a knowing smile.

The manager shuffled on his feet uneasy for brief seconds; he had never apologized to anyone besides his precious customers before, so let alone an employee—

"I'm sorry for what I did." he muttered as he bowed his head.

"I'm sorry too," whispered Lelouch as he turned his head to look at the girl beside him, whose hands he was still holding. His eyes drowning into her beautiful golden orbs for several seconds, before she decided to pull back and shrug slightly. "Getting apologies from two men on the same day is quite rare," she then smirked teasingly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And I believe you have officially amended, sir."

He frowned, "I told you not to call me that again."

"What are you going to do now boya?"

He shook his head, smiling slightly. "You're really exactly what I thought you would be." Then ignoring C.C.'s narrowing eyes, he turned back to the manager who was staring at them like there was no tomorrow. "I also want to inform you that miss C.C. here doesn't have to so nice if she doesn't wish for it."

Now it was C.C.'s turn to stare at him intently with much interest. "Not a single customer has complained about the way she served them before, am I correct?" He continued.

"Uh, no. Not that I can recall…" The older man said, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"So why bother changing her attitude when everyone around here loves the way she interacts with them right?"

"I-I guess you're right, Mister Lamperouge." Honestly, people living in this area already got used to her demeanor so long ago that they didn't mind anymore.

"Then it's settled," concluded Lelouch simply. C.C. could only chuckle.

When the manager decided to come back to his kitchen with all the fancy dreams that his restaurant might become more well-known not only to the commoners, but to the higher-classes, the two teens were left alone.

"You really do know how to manipulate people," C.C. said, amusement evident in her tone.

"Oh do I?" Lelouch chuckled as he turned on his heels. "Maybe if we get to know more about each other, I can teach you that, and you can teach me how to sound so nonchalant almost about everything all the time." Then without waiting for her response, he walked out with a knowing smirk tugging at his lips.

Staring at his retreating back, C.C. shook her head slightly and smiled to herself. "Ah, that could be arranged boya," she whispered.

A/N: Yes Monster drinks! Lol those are my favorite energy drinks; they always keep me awake in the morning or on exam days (not that I drink them everyday, that would kill my brain cells and I would become addicted, which is not good..) But still I couldn't help but put them in here regarding to the plot.

And about C.C.'s comment on her not being a lady. Well lady means: 1) a polite name for any women. 2) the way people address high-class/important women back then, or even now (like the First Lady). And in this one, I'm going with the latter, but I could be slightly(maybe?) wrong about the definitions though...

Oh and heads-up: Suzaku will make an appearance in the next chapter! Wow I have to admit, I kind of missed writing him lol. I just realized that he didn't have enough spotlight so I'd definitely make up for it.

Also please don't forget to throw in a review on your way out :)