Chapter Two

"Hey."

"What is it?" he growled. Lelouch was in no mood to entertain the woman's whims. His pants were damp in the most uncomfortable place they could have gotten wet, and the smell of greasy cheese always put him in a terrible mood. Delicately unfolding the cloth napkin, he spread it over his lap and darkly watched the witch swallow her mouthful of pizza from across the table.

"What do you think we look like to other people?"

"What do you mean?"asked Suzaku.

"Two boys and a girl. Do you think some people think we're part of a throuple?"

"Is that English?"snarled Lelouch, "or did you hit your head on the overhead lamp?"

"Unlike you, I watch where I'm going so, no, unlike you, I did not hit my head on the lamp. A throuple," she said in a condescending tone, "is a slang term for a polyamorous relationship. So in other words, do you think some people think all three of us are in one relationship?"

"Why the hell would you wonder something like that?"

"Mmmm... I suppose it's possible," thought aloud Suzaku. "But I don't think so."

"And why's that?"

"Because of you and Lelouch. If I didn't know you two, I'd say that you two are siblings."

They both stared at their friend, who hurriedly said, "Or a married couple. Both bicker really often."

Lelouch and C.C. looked at one another before simultaneously standing up.

"Wait, what's-"

"Let's go, Lelouch."

"I'm already one step ahead of you."

"Oh, I was just kidding. Why would anyone think you two are siblings? You don't look anything alike."

"You can sit there and reflect over how terrible your jokes are, Suzaku. Lelouch and I are done eating."

"I'm sorry, C.C. Sorry, Lelouch. I shouldn't have said something like-"

Lelouch was about to sit back down, having already accepted the apology, when the witch suddenly grabbed his hand and sprinted out of the bustling restaurant. Nearly tripping and falling flat on his face, he dug his heels into the ground to try and stop her before he hurt himself. When he finally managed to yank her to a stop, she hurtled into him. He grunted as he caught her, the wind nearly knocked out of him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? He apologized!"

"Didn't you hear what he said? He said we were siblings!"

"As a joke," he argued. "And you walked into that one by asking if we were a... A... If we were in a polyamorous relationship! Which is an insane question in itself because if you haven't forgotten, Suzaku is in a relationship with Euphemia."

"Oh, so you accept their relationship only when it conveniences you. You know, you're-"

She suddenly grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the depths of the nearest souvenir shop. As she shoved him into a changing room, Lelouch resented her iron grip and the fact that she went to the gym four times a week with Suzaku in order to burn off all of the pizza calories. Why was someone so small so strong? It was as if-

He flattened himself against the wall as she rushed up to him.

"Turn off your phone," she hissed.

"What?"

"Put it on silent. Now. Before Suzaku calls-"

The moment the ear-shattering ringtone filled the stall, her hand dove into the pocket of his pants. Lelouch immediately squirmed as he growled, "Get your hands out of my personal space!"

"Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate."

He watched with half-fascination, half-offense as her fingers curled around his phone and switched it so that the ringtone was silenced and merely vibrated in his pocket. She heaved a sigh of relief before leaning on him.

"That was close."

Lelouch stood there, awkwardly plastered to the wall, with her hand in his pocket and her pressed against him. He wasn't quite sure what to do, or what to say to get out of the situation without embarrassing himself. Which was going to be difficult to do, knowing C.C.

"Hey."

"What is it?" Her words were muffled, and he tried not to fidget under her.

"Do me a favor and put a respectable distance between you and me."

"What if I don't feel like doing you a favor?"

The tips of his ears colored as she looked up and softly said, "What if I'm tired and I just want to stay like this for a moment?"

Clearing his throat, he tried his best to sound cold as he replied, "I couldn't care less. Get off of me and get away from me."

But she didn't listen to him and merely changed the subject.

"Lelouch?"

"What is it?" he sighed. So she really wasn't going to move away, was she? He was stuck like this, wasn't he?

"Do you hate me?"

What?

"You're always so angry at me all the time. You forgave Suzaku right after he apologized, but you'd never forgive me even after I apologized."

"When was the last time you apologized, C.C.?"

"Why do you think I stopped?"

His impatience faded away at her words. He hadn't realized it before, but he really had never actually accepted her apologies in the past. He had always been too angry at himself and too embarrassed, too prideful, to tell her that he had already forgiven and forgotten her antics. And he, blinded by his self-absorption, had completely ignored the possibility of how his silence may have affected C.C. For how many years had she wordlessly suffered by his hand? And why had she not said anything? Why had she taken each blow with acceptance?

"C.C., I..."

"You know, if you don't like me, just say it now. I don't want to force you to spend time with someone you don't like."

"I... C.C., the truth is, I'm in-"

"Excuse me!" interrupted a shrill voice. They stared at the door of the changing room as someone rapped their knuckles on the hard plastic.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave the changing room. The rule is one person per stall, unless one of the two is under the age of 5. Which I'm sure both of you are not. Please leave the stall immediately!"

"We were going anyway. Suzaku's been punished enough. Let's go find him. He must be near tears by now for deserting him."

"... Yeah."

Patting him on the shoulder, she straightened up and quickly left the small room, leaving him to contemplate what had just happened.

What had just happened?

Well... Well, his eyes had been opened to something he had never considered before. And he had been on the brink of confessing to C.C. He could distinctly picture the pain in her eyes as she looked up at him, asking him if he hated her, and his heart tore. He hadn't... He hadn't meant to hurt her. He didn't hate her. He just... Half the time, he was confusing her, and the other half, he was confusing himself with his own feelings, and it was just a great, big mess.

Lelouch tiredly ran a hand through his hair. All he wanted to do was tell her how he felt. She didn't have to reciprocate his feelings, although it would be nice if she did. She didn't have to cry with joy. She just had to listen to what he said. All he wanted was to take the weight off of his shoulders and tell her the truth. That was all. Before he left, he just wanted to look her in the eye and say in a clear, strong voice, "I love you."

That was all he wanted.

A/N: I honestly have no idea wtf I'm going with this one.