Special Thanks: kpopmaniac615, La Rondine, luckless-is-me, Lovegranted

Time

Part XVIII

2/1/2012 10:41 PM

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"Surprise, surprise, the last person I thought I'd hear from was you."

C.c.'s sultry voice hadn't lost its appetite for shredding into Lelouch's nerves, Lelouch observed as he adjusted his reading glasses and fought back the hiss of an order he knew C.c. wouldn't follow.

"Did you miss me? To be honest I didn't think I'd hear from you for another decade or so. Time becomes rather ambiguous after about the first fifty years." C.c. rambled on. "Soon you won't even care about it. After that comes the real pain though. Every change of the seasons starts to chip away at you."

Lelouch moved the phone against his ear as he glanced at the clock. He'd put this phone call off all day and right down to the wire, until he knew if he didn't do it then Suzaku would come home and he'd lose his chance all together.

"C.c. I have to—there's the matter that we spoke of a while ago and well…" Lelouch trailed off. He'd forgotten how to communicate to the woman it seemed, at least when it came to asking for help. Then again he'd never admitted he ever needed C.c.'s help, never wanted it, and especially never wanted to have to ask for it.

It was silent on the other end of the line for a long moment, just long enough Lelouch could see the spread of that knowing smile in his mind's eye, the kind C.c. gave when she knew she was right.

"He's changing hasn't he?"

It should have surprised Lelouch that she knew. It should have startled him enough to widen his eyes or make him stumble a few steps back. But it didn't. He just gave a sigh as he sank down to sit on the edge of the couch.

"I thought it was slow at first, but now—He's aging. His appearance is the same but he's so tired." Lelouch shook his head.

"My my, well that is interesting," C.c. said. "You've proven yourself over again as a fascinating contract."

Anger was his first response, but he reminded himself that C.c. didn't think of things like the rest of the world. It also reminded him that one day he wouldn't think of things like the rest of the world. Lelouch hated that he had yet another unwilling bond with the woman, but it was like looking into a mirror now. Lelouch would be her in just a matter of time.

"He's still himself. I mean he still is Suzaku, it's just he's so much more—he's yielding to this." There as a bit of anger that burrowed itself in his tone this time.

"Of course he is." C.c. spoke up quickly and without a speck of hesitation. "He knows that age is starting to settle in. He is human as much as the Geass may want to change that, he's still a functioning human with the acute sense of one."

Lelouch furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? I'm still human, you're still human."

"It's a different story with us." C.c. sighed over the line. "Having a code is like—being captured in a painting. There is no functioning left to the body. You would never starve, or die from exhaustion, because you're literally frozen in time."

"And Suzaku is?" Annoyed at this point he snapped back at her.

"A clock." C.c. said in a bland tone. "The difference is the Geass has polished him up, kept his gears in good repair. But even without the rust of time to clog his life stream—parts break. Geass cannot fix everything. He is still human."

Lelouch stood from the couch, his feet restless as the anger rose in his chest. "You witch, you knew this was coming."

"And I told you as much." In her old age C.c. hadn't lost her ability to snarl back at the pompous boy she'd made a contract with. "I told you that you should let your hope lie in this spell he's under. Any warning I gave you as usual went on deaf ears."

Approaching the French doors to the back porch Lelouch saw Charley lying out across the floor boards. She looked comfortable in the afternoon sun, her front paws hanging over the steps, ear resting back against her head, her eyes cracked just enough to stare up at Lelouch through the glass pane.

"You can't find a way around it this time, boy." C.c. snarled at him even more.

"No." Lelouch affirmed. "I'm not just going to lie down for this."

The whole world must have gone mad around him. It seemed everyone was convinced that Suzaku was just taking the natural course of time and that it would all be alright. Well it wouldn't be. Lelouch was left alone in the end. Suzaku died in the end. Had everyone forgotten that this was the final outcome? Lelouch wouldn't accept that.

There was a pause on the other end. It was a moment long enough for Lelouch to take a deep breath almost thinking he'd won this round, almost forgot that this wasn't a game he was playing with her any longer.

"Whatever answers you are seeking, Lelouch, I don't have them."

Violet eyes stilled, for a moment. C.c. was the witch, she was the trickster that knew how to turn things around, she'd always flipped the chess board, turned the tables, enabled Lelouch to win how every possible.

"You gave this to me." he hissed. "You gave me Geass you know there's a way around this."

"Short of giving that boy a code, there is nothing that will save him." C.c. sighed. "He's human; let him have a human death. Immortality isn't something to be wished upon people. It is cruel and vile and if you do not realize that yet you soon will."

"Are you saying you won't help me?" Lelouch went straight to his point.

"No." She sounded for one of the few moments, entirely sincere. "I'm saying I can't help you, Lelouch. I don't know how I even would."

Lelouch didn't bother with a goodbye. He just hung up. His eye went back outside to their dog. She had rolled on her side, still basking in every last piece of the sunlight she had left, enjoying every last bits of the warm air of fall.

The number one random talent I have acquired from writing this fic is I can now count in roman numerals! Yay for obscure and useless talent!

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