Prelude

WARNINGS: There might be something you can call animal abuse… I guess that is all.

Cecile walked up to Lloyd, setting a tray down next to him.

"Oh," Lloyd smiled, picking up a mini apple pie. "Thank you, Miss Cecile."

Cecile picked up one as well and nipped on it carefully.

They ate for a while, then Lloyd fished a thin vial out of his pocket and started twirling it between his fingers.

There was a dead-white liquid in it, with eddies of reddish steam rising from it.

"What is that?" Cecile asked.

Lloyd chuckled and rose the vial so Cecile could take a better look. "This, Miss Cecile, is asplundium."

Cecile took the vial and started to examine the liquid closer. The more se twirled the liquid, the thicker the steam got. It was thick like cream.

"Asplundium?"

Lloyd shrugged and took another pie. "The Royal Chemistry Institute committee insisted that I name the serum. And I found lloydium banal."

Cecile nodded. "I see," she said, gripping the plug that kept the vial closed so she could smell the substance.

"No!"

Lloyd suddenly jumped up, grasping at Cecile's hand. His eyes were wide.

"Y-you mustn't smell or taste it," he stammered.

Cecile stared at her superior for a while. "I see," she said finally.

Lloyd let go of her and she gave him back the vial. Lloyd tucked it into his lab coat pocket again.

"What is this asplundium, anyway? A poison?" she asked, sitting down on the corner of the table while Lloyd started working on his computer.

Lloyd smiled up at her. "A result of an unsuccessful attempt to create a vaccine for hiccups."

Cecile disguised her giggle as a hic, which caused her to chuckle. "I see."

"However, its effects are quite interesting," Lloyd continued, his eyes not leaving the screen now. "I wanted to use it to stimulate diaphragm, but when I used it on Humphrey to test its edibility…"

Cecile's eyes widened with worry. "Is Humphrey okay?"

By the way, Humphrey was their laboratory hamster.

Lloyd nodded. "Sort of."

"What happened to him?"

"Well, when I dropped a single drop of asplundium onto his daily carrot, he went crazy."

Cecile groaned quietly. She worked with Lloyd for quite a time now, so she was used to those "incidents".

Lloyd was tapping something out on his computer.

Cecile waited until she was sure he's not going to elaborate without a push before asking, "What exactly that means?"

Lloyd stretched his back and sighed. "He started running in circles around his cage, then started running on a wheel until he was exhausted, then ate a lot, then drank a lot and then repeated that."

Cecile's brows rose. "Is that all?"

"Not really. Lab assistant Salles suggested that I move Regina into his cage, and thus caused a break in the study."

"What happened with Regina?"

"Humphrey started copulating with her. And went on. And went on. And went on. And went on."

Cecile stared at Lloyd again. "You say that…"

Lloyd shook his head. "No, Miss Cecile. We saved Regina, but for Humphrey's sake we had to move Dahlia Jane and Damsel to him."

"But I meant…"

Lloyd smiled. "Yes, Miss Cecile. In my effort to cure the terrible illness of hiccups, I accidentally ended up creating a hyper-effective viagra."

Cecile started blushing.

"After few more experiments – on hamsters, dogs and humans – I found out this: Asplundium somehow stimulates some parts of brain, thus increasing libido – and probably even increasing sensitivity of genitalia, which causes the copulation to be even more pleasurable."

"H-how d-did you…" Cecile managed to stammer.

"I deduce that from the results of my human tests. However, I found out that in hamster's case, only trace amount of asplundium in air or food is necessary to increase their activity for a whole week. For dogs, a drop of it is necessary to get the same results. For humans, interestingly, the amount is not much higher, only two drops per individual."

"What about the steam? Does it have the same effects?"

"Interestingly, yes. The asplundium, if you leave it in contact with oxygen for enough time, reacts with it, creating dioxide trihydrogen (take that as etc., that formula was dreadfully long.). The steam has very similar effects, though it has side effects like dizziness. Asplundium itself lacks those, though it increases your appetite and when I say appetite I mean you will eat more."

"Oh." Cecile bit her lip, blushing. "Well, thank you that you prevented me from breathing the steam in."

Lloyd shrugged again. "You are welcome, Miss Cecile."

Cecile slipped from the table. "Do you need something now, Lloyd?"

"Actually… is Suzaku on duty today?"

"Suzaku?"

"Suzaku Kururugi. Lancelot's…"

"I know who you mean, Lloyd."

"So?"

"No. He's not; he's in the school today. But he'll be on duty tomorrow, on Friday."

"I see," Lloyd murmured, frowning a bit at the screen.

"Why?" Cecile asked suddenly with worry.

Lloyd jerked and looked up at her. "What?"

"What do you need from Suzaku? I… erm… can call him if it's urgent."

"That can wait. I will ask him tomorrow."

Lloyd resumed working, but Cecile still seriously feared for Suzaku.

"Lloyd… your business with Suzaku…"

"Yes?"

"…has nothing to do with asplundium, right?"

Lloyd smiled and pulled out the vial again. "Actually, it has. I tested its effects only on people between the age of 20 and 35, when humans tend to have the most sexual activity."

Cecile couldn't help but blush. "You don't want it to test it on him, do you?"

Lloyd shrugged. "He works in military, but I'm sure that his wage is poor, considering that he is only an honorary Britannian. He surely can use some additional money."

"But, Lloyd…"

"It's not like I'm going to force him to do it. And he can even have fun testing it."

Cecile's blush hardened. "Lloyd…"

"Yes, Miss Cecile?"

Cecile decided to try to make Lloyd understand. "It's going to be very embarrassing for him."

"Is it?"

"Yes. And I am sure he will see you offering him a-a boost as you getting at his manly pride."

"Oh," Lloyd leaned back and folded his arm behind his head. "I see. And getting at someone else's manly pride may cause…"

"Worsening Suazku's attitude towards you, feelings of insecurity…"

Lloyd didn't seem disturbed by that.

Cecile took a deep breath and hit below the belt. "… maybe even debasing his efficiency as Lancelot's pilot."

Well, maybe that was only half-true, but it finally made Lloyd question his intention to use Suzaku as a guinea-pig.

"I see," Lloyd murmured longly, his blue eyes narrowing in thoughts.

Cecile almost didn't breathe. Suzaku is going to owe her a favour for this. Maybe she will once finally accept his endless offers of gentleman help.

"What do you suggest to do, then?" Lloyd asked.

Cecile goggled at him. "I-I?!"

Lloyd smiled. "Yes, you, Miss Cecile. As of now, you seem like woman skilled in young men psyche."

Cecile blushed. "I… I don't… thank you, lord Asplund."

Lloyd shrugged. "So?"

Cecile sighed and brushed off a lock of her silky violet hair. "Um… can't you find another boy for this?"

"I might…" Lloyd shook his head. "But that would take time. And Suzaku is perfect for my experiment. I need someone not prone to promiscuous behaviour. And until now, Suzaku has seemed like a gentle but very shy boy to me. Do you have other opinion, Miss Cecile?"

"Uh… no. Suzaku really is very shy and sensitive. In privacy, at least. In battlefield… you know how he tends to be in fight."

Lloyd snickered. "Yes. Lancelot couldn't have a better pilot."

Cecile nodded.

Lloyd resumed working. "This still doesn't solve our problem, then," he said and bit into an apple pie.

Cecile was silent for a while, and when she opened her mouth to answer, she almost hated herself for what she was going to say. "You can administer it… secretly."

Lloyd kept working for a while, then smiled and looked at Cecile. "Miss Cecile… what a great idea!"

Cecile almost fainted.

FUN FACTS:

Dahlia Jane is the full first name of one of my school-mates.

If you want to and express it in some nice review, I might put in some Lloyd/Cecile.