I'm supposed to be a good employee. But hey, I am entitled to a lazy day at the office. Not much thought went into this; I just... wrote. I'd like to give a shout out to those who faved, followed and reviewed. THANK YOU! Hope y'all liked this one.

Disclaimer: Code Geass isn't mine. Dur.

002 – Speakers (2008 a.t.b.)

The rumble of machines died down. To those in the know, however, they braced themselves for a fight that was about to blow up in their faces. They weren't involved directly, per se. Nobody else was partaking in this particular exercise, except for the Goddess of Victory and the Spearhead of the Empire. That in itself was something aspiring pilots would want to watch, but their fights? It was a highlight of these (otherwise dull) drills.

"Open the hatch, Darlton." A sharp voice lashed out from one of the speakers. A sigh escaped from the other one.

As Andreas Darlton punched the button, the hissing sound from the cockpit signaled the start of the much awaited argument between the Second Princess and her recently appointed Knight. This wasn't new to him. He had been surprised when he saw it for the first time. He was astonished when Guilford actually talked back at the Princess. But now, it had become a routine whenever training involved the two of them. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he nodded at the research team to continue downloading the information they acquired from the simulation exercise.

"You really shouldn't have tried that stunt," Darlton spoke into the microphone, directing it to the more silent pilot.

There was an impatient tapping from the other side. "It's my job," Guilford's voice deadpanned.

The scarred man chuckled, "Good luck, Gil."

"Oh, what did he do?" A woman's voice rang out behind him. Everybody in the room froze as she strolled in casually with a cheery smile. In one movement, soldiers saluted the Empress Consort Marianne vi Britannia, former Knight of Six, never mind the fact that she was wearing a heavy-looking navy dress and looked rather out of place in the unforgiving hangar. Darlton did the same. This was the one person who the Second Princess idolized. Frankly, he was in attendance at her demonstration of the Ganymede; the woman was peerless in skill. He didn't particularly care if she was born a commoner. And she was lovelier in person. "Well?" She pressed for an answer.

And apparently, she also liked to be involved.

"He overtook her, Your Majesty."

Her face fell, "That's it?"

"Uh, he saved her?"

"Hmm."

"And died in the process." Darlton added helpfully.

"That's much better! My, she really does hate that, doesn't she?" Marianne grinned as one particular hatch opened and a slim figure emerged. Its movements were quick and angry as it stormed towards the other hatch. A rain of waves fell over Cornelia's shoulder as she pulled the helmet off her head. It also revealed her expression: she was seething. Holding on to the metal railing, she leaned over, face getting angrier. Words they couldn't hear flowed from her mouth. It was a dead giveaway that Cornelia was already yelling at this point.

She took a deep breath when Guilford emerged from cockpit of his pseudo Knightmare before continuing with her tirade. The latter merely ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Too bad they couldn't hear what the Princess was yelling about.

"Cornelia isn't the type to blow up when other people are around," Marianne frowned lightly, tapping her chin, eyeing everybody else in the room. The spectators shuffled uneasily at her scrutiny.

"They're not aware of their audience, M'Lady."

She raised an eyebrow, "Really, they're not aware that they're being watched by almost a dozen soldiers, not counting a handful of mechanics and researchers?"

"When they started, nobody else was here except for me and three others." The Empress raised an eyebrow quizzically. Darlton caught on, quickly enough. "Rumors, Your Majesty. This was supposed to be a private simulation exercise to gather data for the units that will be developed for the Princess and her own Royal Guard, but word travels fast."

"I know," There was a playful gleam in the woman's eyes, "That's why I'm here. Don't tell her."

All soldiers winced as Cornelia threw her helmet at Guilford. The latter dodged it and made another exasperated gesture, most likely infuriating the Second Princess even more. They watched as Cornelia inhaled deeply, marched up to her Knight and poked him in the chest, not caring if the latter was a head taller than she was. The young man rolled his eyes and stood his ground. His mouth flattened into a thin line. His body language was alert, just in case she decides to pounce.

"That young man is a saint," Marianne voice out in a tone laced with undisguised amusement and a tinge of awe. "I see Cornelia not only found a Knight, but a voice of reason, an external conscience and an extension of her patience."

Darlton wondered just how much the Empress knows about the relationship between the Princess - who is, in turn, the captain of Marianne's royal guard - and her Knight. Probably a lot, he admitted to himself. He wouldn't be that surprised. Not that he pried but he had seen and heard enough to get the general idea about the two.

"This used to be much more interesting before she Knighted him." A blonde newcomer joined in, frowning as he surveyed the scene. "Now he doesn't answer back."

Is royalty really this nosy? Darlton wondered as he saluted the Second Prince.

She waved dismissively, "That's no excuse, Schneizel. I was quite vocal with Charles when I was in the Rounds. And I think I threw a scone at him once," She argued.

The soldier wasn't sure how to react to the Empress' comment. Instead, he decided to keep quiet.

The Second Prince dipped his head before turning to the senior soldier, "Don't you think we should break this up?"

Darlton nodded at the scene before them, "She's almost done, Your Highness."

Schneizel's eyebrows shot up, "Really? How could you tell?"

A reluctant smile tugged at the corners of the older man's lips. He tapped the wristwatch, "Guilford only needs five to ten minutes to withstand the yelling, cursing and to dodge the objects that usually fly in his direction. Since he doesn't respond, as a last resort, she'll try to hit him. That's when he'll calm her down. He figured that fighting back will just keep dragging the argument."

"Isn't that predictable, every time they fight?" She pouted.

"He has other methods, Your Majesty."

"Smart boy," Schneizel observed.

Sure enough, Guilford caught her wrist and stared. Cornelia scowled at him. He shook his head at her, said something and slowly, he brought her hand to his lips.

"Smooth move," Marianne chuckled. Seeing the fun was over, The Flash turned and headed for the direction of the door, while addressing the blonde. "Is Lelouch back with his tutor?"

Schneizel smiled. "Grudgingly, yes. After losing three rounds of chess to me, Your Majesty."

"My boy's smart, Schneizel, but my money's on you." Marianne laughed, "For now, at least."

Now that they were gone, Darlton moved over to the microphone and spoke up, "Princess? We've got the data. I'll be sending the mechanics in a few," He shot a glare at everybody in the room, basically telling them all to go about their business.

In acknowledgment, Cornelia waved a careless hand. As if she knew that nobody else attention to them anymore, she instinctively pressed her body against her Knight. Guilford carefully placed a hand on the small of her back and brought his head lower as she whispered in his ear. With a smile, she pulled away and winked at him before climbing down the ladder as mechanics came in.

With a bemused smile, Guilford soon followed her out.

Darlton rolled his eyes; he didn't need the speakers to know what that was about.

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