A/N: Hello everyone. As you've noticed, I've changed my pen name (once again). I promise you, it is the last time. Really. I promise. I swear on all that is Code Geass. And I'm really sorry for the non-diligence. But school has been so time-consuming, and finals are coming up, and teachers just HAD to give a test before the finals, and… Yeah. But who cares about school right now, when it's Lelouch's BIRTHDAY! So… I admit, it's been some time since I've written a fanfiction due to unforeseen circumstances, and… Uh… It may seem out of character. But there's a good reason for that, actually. This takes places (as you'll find out later) some (I mean a lot) time after the Black Rebellion and the Zero Requiem. Obviously, personalities are not going to remain the same, as experiences shape who we are, hence the out of character-ness, when really, it is staying in character (depending on your opinion) if you take in the setting of the one-shot. But without further ado… HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LELOUCH-SAMA!

"… Lelouch."

"Hmm?"

C2 said nothing for some time, choosing to quietly listen to her lover's steady heartbeat. The calming and dependable pace of his heart inevitably reminded her of the torturous times so long ago, where those around her inescapably fell to the ground, the familiar thumping to never ring again, consequently, and rather painfully, deserting her all over again.

But not any longer.

No; this heart would never stop. It would run as long as hers had; it would allow its master to live and breathe, laugh and cry along with her, besides her, unchained by the shackles of fragile mortality.

"What is it, Ceci?" he questioned with a gentle voice. His hand floated towards her lustrous tresses. Braiding his fingers with the emerald silk, Lelouch heard her ask absentmindedly, "How old are you now?"

She could imagine his mind stirring, effortlessly calculating his impossible age. His answer, virtually instantaneous, was "348". The witch tittered to herself before sighing, "Still so young…"

"Only in comparison with you."

She fell silent again, curling up closer to him. Wrapping their downy duvet tightly around her slender frame, she peeked over his broad chest, glancing out of the window and into the outside. The soft snow coming down in delicate flurries, coupled with the bitterly cold winter, made her grateful for her immortal all over again. Even if their history together constituted of over three centuries, she still found herself harboring a fondness for his company, desiring the ardor and sentiment he would often deny having. Found herself loving him, in spite of the incredible length of time their journey was.

Their everlasting odyssey…

To where would it lead them next? They had been to every great city. Thereafter, cottages and farms in the countryside, and then to small and peaceful neighborhoods sitting on the outskirts of bustling metropolises. Moving had been fluent, natural, and undemanding; it was only the two of them. There may have been a couple acquaintances here, a few unavoidable colleagues there, but their family (and she just now realized that they were indeed a family) had only been two.

She dearly hoped that her husband wouldn't mind that enduring number changing to include one more.

"… You may have noticed I didn't have a present for you this year," she began, her voice and resolve as crisp as the pure snow outside. An incredulous and ephemeral chuckle flew out from his lips before the raven-haired man drowsily replied, "There's no need for such a trivial thing… All I could want, I have now in my arms."

She smiled, his flattery washing her in a shower of pleasing warmth. His loose embrace closed around her more securely, as if he were trying to accomplish the impossible and bring her closer to him. His hand clasped with hers, Lelouch waited for his love to continue speaking.

"Lelouch."

"Yes, Ceci?" He breathed in her familiar citrus fragrance, simply enjoying how intoxicated he was with the woman.

"… I want to expand."

"Expand what?"

"Our family. I want to expand our family."

She gave him some time for her declaration to sink in, time for his initial surprise to melt away. C2 watched him blink, his eyes glued on the ceiling above them. He swallowed once before shifting, so that he was on his side and facing her. The couple studied the other's faces for a moment before the warlock questioned with great deliberateness, "In what way?"

Iridescent golden eyes unblinking, she replied, "In the usual way."

There was such a still silence that C2 could have sworn that she had heard the sound of the snow settling on the myriad of roofs outside. Or, she would have, if her mind weren't so busy with calculations and predictions of the other's arguments, counter-attacks, and reactions, just as his mind was kept busy with calculations and predictions of the other's arguments, counter-attacks, and reactions.

So, it wasn't until a lengthy amount of time had passed, when he cautiously dared to query, "… Is it even possible?"

"Of course it is," she answered matter-of-factly. "It's not a difficult thing to do."

His amethyst irises widened slightly as a fine dusting of pink colored his cheeks. Abruptly, Lelouch became painfully aware of how little clothing he was wearing at the moment, and how scantily clad his wife also was. But what struck him the most was how much of her bare alabaster skin he was touching.

Scrambling to recollect his poise, he immediately eliminated all other possibilities swarming in his head before hesitantly saying "Ceci, are you… Are you expectant?"

Astonishment glossed over her delicate features before her shock shattered into giggles. Bewildered, the immortal demanded to know what was so humorous about his honest question.

"You…" her shoulders shook as she laughed into his chest, making him feel indignant. "You think that I'm…" Fresh peals of laughter devastated the remnants of her composure, as the instigator's frown deepened. What in the world was so funny?

When her amusement had dissolved into nothing but a wide smile and the occasional fit of chortles, the raven-haired man adopted a patient and soft demeanor before seeking the antidote for his curiosity from her.

"What's so entertaining for you?"

Instead of properly reacting with an explanation and an apology, she merely hugged him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Her breath tickled him as she murmured, "This is why I love you."

Bemused even further, he asked, "… Because you like to tease me?"

She only shook her head, an alluring and all-knowing smile dancing on her lips. Before he could interrogate her any further, she sat up with a shiver as the blanket slipped off of her petite shoulders.

"Where are you going?"

He watched her as she shrugged on one of his dress shirts before casually waltzing away, abandoning any obligation to provide any clarification whatsoever. The raven-haired man stared at the space where his wife had been just three seconds ago before rising from the bed himself. He tore himself away from the warmth and comfort of the blankets to follow after her, only to run into her.

"Ceci, what are you-"

"Happy birthday, Lelouch."

He stared at the witch, who stood in front of him, dressed only in his dress shirt and holding a…

A puppy?

"What…?"

"A Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Say hello to Isis, Lelouch."

"… Isis?"

She barked in reply, her bright chocolate brown eyes glimmering with eagerness. C2 handed the dog to her love, who, not sure of how to react, unwittingly accepted. Isis, excited at finally being able to greet her master, enthusiastically wagged her tail before licking him. Startled, Lelouch nearly dropped her.

"Be careful. She was an expensive dog."

"… But why a dog in the first place?"

"… I don't want to make a mistake."

"A mistake?" Shifting Isis so that he was properly holding her, he could feel her tremble with excitement and couldn't help smiling a little.

"Raising a child is a serious commitment. And… And I don't want to make to make a commitment I can't keep. Especially if it will force someone to… To go through what I did."

C2's eyes grew misty as she thought back on her torturously painful past. She knew what it was like to be unloved, to be alone, and there was absolutely no way she would force that kind of excruciating torment on someone. It was too inhum-

She was surprised to feel a chaste kiss on her forehead. Looking up, she stumbled into the two pools of violet, their warmth and concern over her quelling the tsunami of memories she didn't care to remember.

"You have me, Ceci. And now you have Isis too."

"… Sorry."

He softened the moment she uttered the apology. He hated when she was like this. He detested it, because he knew of the maelstrom of pain that was consuming her.

"Ceci."

"What?"

"Maybe next year…" He set down Isis before reaching for his wife.

"Hmm?"

"Maybe next year, you'll give me the gift of being called 'father', rather than a puppy. Although Isis is a nice present."

"… Maybe."

"But then again… Why wait? Why not now?" he picked up his wife. Automatically, her arms wound around his neck as he questioned, "Why not, Ceci? Hmm? Why wait an entire year, when we have the evening stretched out in front of us?"

He smiled as he saw the familiar spark return in her alluring golden eyes.

"Are you really doing this in front of the puppy?"

"Isis thinks it's a good idea to push forward our agenda. Don't you, Isis?"

With unbelievable timing, the spaniel yelped before wagging her tail proudly. C2 stared, before caving in with a resigned laugh.

"You are an impossible man."

"Impossible men love impossible women only."

Shaking her head, she muttered how he was the impossible of the impossible before saying in a much louder voice, "Have your way with me then, birthday boy."

"I will, thank you."

Isis watched as her new parents made their way, laughing and flirting, to their bedroom. The door closed shut as she tilted her head to the side, wondering what had just happened. Brushing it off, she barked once and dashed to her bed. Closing her eyes, she wiggled around. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she caught something that, if she were human, would have sounded awfully close to 'happy birthday, Lelouch'.

A/N: Okay, I hope you liked it! I rewrote this four times. All four times being completely different stories. There was this one where they went to the pool even though it was snowing and December, there was one where Nunnally did some scheming (taking after her elder brother) and tricked Lelouch into going on a date with his "girlfriend", and there were all kinds of ideas, but I settled for this one. I really hope I made the right choice. And uh… Very important news. I've reverted back to the good old-fashioned method of hand-writing. Like, writing by hand. What I think is going to happen is I'm going to write an ENTIRE story on paper, nobody knows anything about it except for me, and then when it's finished, that's when I publish it. There's a super long wait time, yes, but if I do it this way, then the uploads will be far more consistent because I only have to type whatever I wrote, and it's not extremely time-consuming that way. I'm really sorry. I know a lot of people are going to be upset about this. But I honestly think it's the best method in the long run.

I made a parody trailer for The Great Gatsby using Code Geass. It's my very first video ever (it was for a school project), and I would really appreciate it if you could just watch it, and perhaps tell me your opinion of it? The link is on my profile. Thank you so much!

And last, but certainly not the least… HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LELOUCH-SAMA! I LOVE YOU! (made brownies for his birthday, yum yum)

Until next time~