This takes place right after the end of the arc in Europe.

Leila's apartment.

Dinner table, 7 pm.

Lelouch was desperately holding back. A forced smile was pasted on his face and his hand was carefully devoid of any tension that might hint at his discomfort.

He swallowed. "This is really good." He complimented "You'll have to give me the recipe" So he could have Sayako reverse engineer the recipe to figure out what was wrong with it.

The reflex to hurl whenever it touched his tongue was evidence enough. But he wasn't sure why avocado was grossing him out so much. There was just something about its soft almost squishy texture that repulsed him.

He preferred it to have a bit more bite or crunch. Perhaps it reminded him of the time he had eaten roasted insects on that vacation hotspots fair. It had been crunchy on the outside but squishy on the inside. The squishiness had stopped him from swallowing back then. He'd just stood there, distinctly aware there was a chewed up roasted worm on his tongue. And apparently he had subconsciously remembered it.

God, did he really need to go to a shrink for this?

"I know right, the avocado really hits the spot." agreed Leila pleasantly after she swallowed her latest bite with gusto.

Apparently he did.

Lelouch nodded and placed another bite in his mouth and took special care to divert it to his cheeks, hoping that if it didn't touch his tongue it wouldn't taste as horrible. It was mostly successful, but he had to touch it occasionally to shift it for his teeth to hit at another angle. He'd tried to swallow it whole at first but the lettuce scratched his throat on the way down. It was uncomfortable and drew almost as much as a grimace as the avocado did.

He tried to put his mind off it by letting his eyes wander. Leila's apartment was…unusual. It was like she couldn't be bothered to decorate and just picked some random interior design suggestions out off a magazine.

For example above him was a intricate chandelier that cast shadows on the walls in the shape of gnarly tree branches that twisted and turned. It had the effect of casting everything below his waist in shadows, courtesy of the tree trunks. While the intermittent bursts of light that shone in his eyes whenever he looked up, nearly mimicked the actual feeling of looking through branches.

It was beautiful at first but got annoying fast. The fact that the chandelier swayed in the air causing the gnarly branches to crawl around on the walls didn't help either.

The arrangement of the furniture was odd as well. Leila's apartment had a separate toilet and shower, two small bedrooms and a huge living room. So Leila had divided the space up by placing two couches with their backs against each other to create two separate areas. A dining area and a sitting area of sorts.

That part made sense. But unfortunately the door to the living room opened up directly in front of that row of couches creating a bottleneck where people frequently bumped into each other. It also was easy to see that the dining area didn't get much use. So Leila had a wide open space she barely used and the ones she did use were cramped and cluttered.

He absently tried rearranging stuff for more efficiency and aesthetics but came up blank. Some stuff simply had to go, for things to work.

Try as he might though, to be fascinated by the eccentric design choices, his eyes kept coming back to that plunging neck line. It didn't actually reveal much. Heck normal dresses revealed more cleavage. But that V went all the way to her belly button. The thought of what he might see if he got the right angle hadn't left him alone all night. Despite the mounting evidence that the dress was duct taped to stay in place.

"So were you ever in a play before or was that you popping your cherry?" asked Leila as she speared some raw white onions with her fork. The self satisfied smile let him know she was keenly aware where his eyes were really trying to look. If he wasn't imagining things then Leila had just pushed her chest out a bit for his viewing pleasure.

Lelouch smiled hesitantly at being caught yet again and gratefully seized the opportunity to delay the torture that was Leila's culinary choices. "No, my father was a great fan of the classics and my mother loved the arts and was a very whimsical woman. So I was cast in plays for her enjoyment as soon as I could talk."

Now that Lelouch thought off it. It was probably where his love for dramatics came from.

It apparently displeased Leila, though she tried to hide it. Lelouch could guess what was bugging her. "Don't worry, they didn't force me like those pageant girls. Nor was I competing for the lead roll or anything. I grew up in a large family so I'd play alongside my cousins and it was a lot of fun. I remember rehearsing lines while pinching my nose because my cousin crapped his pants. It was laughed off and the show went on, while the adults tracked down some spare clothes."

He tried to say in good humor to cast his family in a favorable light. But that same cousin was ostracized and never invited again. He hadn't realized it at the time but the plays were judged ruthlessly by the adults.

Who had the nerve to stand in front of a crowd? Who could improvise when things went wrong? Who made stupid mistakes, that would translate to public scandals.

It was a dress rehearsal for public life and those who didn't cut it were never heard from by the media. The attention whores flourished beneath their parent's praise while the quiet and thoughtful were shunted off to a corner.

He was one of the biggest whores at the time, though he tried to hide it. He suffered neither stage fright or mistakes and improvised well. It had been the source of his early confidence in life however misplaced it may have been. It was form without substance and the best example of it was Guinevere. The shoe in for the lead actress.

Leila had been munching on some more salad to avoid answering right away. "Do you still keep in touch with your family?" She sidestepped eventually

Lelouch shook his head regretfully while keeping his eyes cast downwards. Both to look sad and to avoid the flashes of light "Sadly no. It's the usual story of growing up and going in different directions. Everyone says they'll stay in touch but they each have their own circle of friends and a schedule to keep. Before we knew it, everyone had different obligations and trying to coordinate with each other was more effort than it was worth and we faded into strangers." He shrugged with a casualness to reinforce the notion that it was nothing special. He didn't want her poking too deeply in that topic.

Leila sipped some Chianti. "That's too bad. Can't say I'm any better though. I don't particularly get along well with my foster family. Two are idiots and another is… unpleasant to be around. " Leila caught herself "Not that they're…" She trailed off unsure how to finish. Her eyes looked down and away. "We just don't get along." She finished lamely

Lelouch chuckled and welcomed her being on the back foot for once. "Don't worry I understand. With a big family like mine, I know the hardships of family. Blood may be thicker than water but it doesn't mean anything. Family is who you choose and who chose you."

Leila smiled hesitantly at him "I hope you're right." She unconsciously rubbed her ring finger. Before she shook her head slightly and brightened her smile a bit "But enough about that. Where do you wanna go tomorrow?"

Lelouch arched an eyebrow in amusement. "Enthusiastic" He commented, referring to the two other dates they already had this week. Not that he minded though. Nothing important needed his attention right now. In fact it wouldn't be a overstatement to say that Leila was the most important appointment he had all week.

Leila blushed slightly but didn't back down. "I was just hoping you'd come with me to the art museum tomorrow. They're doing an exhibit on…"

Lelouch didn't really listen as Leila prattled on. Yes he heard the words and could give a good response if she asked him something. But none of it interested him. But he'd go if it made her happy.

He smiled to himself. The things he did for love.

He nodded and grunted in agreement in all the right places and threw her some questions when she paused in her story. He barely listened to her answers but it wasn't really necessary.

He'd go, he'd smile, he'd compliment her and he'd go home.

He wouldn't let her set his schedule entirely though. So he fired back with something he enjoyed. "Hmm I think I know two people who'll love to talk about French impressionistic romanticism with you." He baited.

Leila mouth opened slightly as if she was somewhat surprised that he actually knew someone with such a specific taste.

Lelouch let the moment drag on by purposefully taking another bite of the horrid salad. But not even the avocado was enough to stifle his mirth.

"Who?" asked Leila eventually when she realized he wasn't going to continue.

Lelouch twirled his fork in his fingers "An old couple who are too nearsighted to walk the streets by themselves. I signed up as a volunteer to walk with them." Lelouch's own words briefly conjured the picture of him walking the elderly like a pair of dogs. Before he dashed it away, feeling somewhat guilty it even popped up.

Leila herself seemed torn between feeling insulted that her taste was for the nearsighted or surprised that he did charity work.

Lelouch continued on before she could make up her mind. "I'm planning on going fishing with them this Saturday. Do you want to come along?" He pinched a stem of the geranium on the table between his fingers and angled it towards himself. "I'm sure, they'll be happy to discuss it while we walk through the park."

For him it was a great time to relax and reevaluate his plans. The chirping birds, the sway of the trees in the wind and the polite conversation of the elderly helped put things back into focus. It didn't hurt that both of them were avid readers and knew what was happening better than a twenty year old gossiping secretary. At least among their age group.

For Leila however it would be boring and frustrating seeing as they liked to give helpful advice without gently phrasing it. And their slight dementia caused them to repeat it several times.

Leila pasted on a pleasant smile as well "Sure I'd love to." She tapped her chin and said "it's a great idea." While she mulled something over before she said "Do you think I should bring a lunch for a picnic?"

It was funny to see her smile, compliment him and then go home routine. Albeit with more enthusiasm. A enthusiasm he needed to curb a bit.

"We have a bit of a tradition to stop at a fish stand and eat raw fish there." explained Lelouch with seeming regret. "It's some kind of Dutch tradition. They cut off the head of the fish, coat it in onions and then hold it above their heads as they bite off a chunk."

The sliminess of the fish sliding down his throat was infinitely better than whatever Leila would come up with. So he emphasized the tradition as much as possible despite it being more of a convenience than anything else.

Leila nodded in acceptance "That's too bad. I was hoping to try out a recipe for some sandwiches."

Lelouch didn't quite know what to say to that. He didn't want to give any more false encouragement that would come back to haunt him later. So they lapsed into silence. A silence that Leila seemed to be using to think over her recipes judging from how her eyes flickered to her kitchen and pantry.

Lelouch felt some panic stirring within his chest, so he blurted out "How did it go with that soldier with the cracked ribs? Did he win?" To break her focus and switch topics.

Leila cocked her head to the side at the non sequitur "It's still being decided on, but general Smilas is confident that they'll rule in his favor. The council of Forty may not like the precedent, but it will send a bad signal to the men if they refuse."

Lelouch nodded in relief that she took the bait "They'd be fools not to grant citizenship after cracked ribs, even if it was a training accident. Your men will think their promises are nothing but smoke if they refuse. They'll endure for the short term but they'll revolt shamelessly eventually." He spoke with confidence.

And now that he thought about it. Should he interfere?

If he convinced the council to refuse then it would drive them towards his side. But if Leila ever found out he was behind it, then he'd lose their trust over night.

"Lelouch stop that" said Leila suddenly snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked to her questioningly and she explained. "You're destroying the stem."

He looked back at the geranium and noticed he'd twisted it a bit too much. He let go and saw it couldn't hold its weight anymore and drooped downwards.

"Sorry." he said awkwardly while Leila looked on mildly disapprovingly before she shrugged and said. "It's fine. I'll prune it a bit tomorrow."

Lelouch nodded and stuffed his mouth with another bite of that appalling salad. Suppressing his grimace was better than this awkward silence. The avocado hit his tongue again, and he questioned his judgment but stuck with it.

"Hmm maybe I should add chives to this?" wondered Leila aloud in an attempt to move on to a different topic. A seemingly successful topic.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed minutely and he couldn't suppress his upper lip from rising. He immediately restored his scrunched up nose to its normal state and hoped Leila hadn't seen it. But he couldn't help it, chives were part of the onion family and she already had raw onions in it. Any more and it would be impossible to force down his throat.

"I think parsley or basil will be better." He replied quickly despite not knowing if they would actually be better.

Note to self: never agree to a home cooked meal again.

"Hmm perhaps" hummed Leila though she didn't seemed convinced.

Lelouch decided to go for broke. "Personally I'm a big fan of little blocks of white or goat cheese crumbled throughout the salad. It gives little explosions of taste unexpectedly." He raised his left hand and made a grabbing gesture "And for crunch some walnuts are best and for lubrication you'll want some cubes of apple or sliced pickles." He rattled off, hoping something would stick. If nothing else she'd hopefully at least get the subtle hint that her salad sucked in comparison and needed work.

Leila paused for a moment before she replied "Won't the walnuts get soggy? I tried adding cashew nuts once. But they lost all their crunch. I remember thinking it was a waste of my nuts."

Lelouch nodded with enthusiasm "It's a risk yes, but you need to add them at the end and serve it right away."

Leila agreed to try it out and invited him to another dinner. He countered by saying they'd make it together. Less chances of her screwing it up that way. And so they talked the night away on something they were both interested in.

That it happened to be about frittata, a Italian dish that made even leftovers taste good was just coincidence.