A/N: Ello Ello
I enjoyed writing the first chapter so much that I decided to write another.
Couple of things to cover, firstly being Lelouch/Lelucia. Due to the convoluted nature of time travel, and memory transfer, I want to briefly explain how this is working for them.
Lelucia is female, identifies as female, ext. She does recognize and distinguish the memories of her past timeline as her own, for her, Lelouch and Lelucia are one in the same. In terms of romance, Lelouch/Lelucia is Demisexual. Meaning that her romantic interests and sexual attraction are reserved for those that she has formed a strong emotional connection to, people that she trusts and has come to love on a deep, personal level rather than being based on a preference for a certain gender, an attraction based on attachment instead of what's between the legs. Hence her inevitable bisexual relationship with a number of other women that loved Lelouch and now love her, and also Suzaku. I also feel like this covers why Lelouch never seemed to be attracted to any of the women throwing themselves at him. Outside of his focus being on keeping Nunnally safe, he never felt like he could trust, or get too close to any of the people he cared about, so that spark of desire never flared up. It makes a surprising amount of sense when you think about it.
Additionally, the lives of Lelouch and Lelucia up to the point of memory convergence have some differences, most of them negligible, but some of them will prove to be make-or-break and pump a bit of additional intrigue into the story.
I initially planned to slowly cover this over the course of the story as the slow-burn unfolds so that people can come to understand the nuance at a reduced pace, however I am of the opinion that I would have botched that in some capacity and found wanting. So I nipped that in the bud.
Second item on the list, a couple of tweaks and edits to chapter 1 that I had missed in my original overview, and a mild rework of the pairings, which is still subject to change. As a fan of ATE and someone who loves Leila, I felt that rather than having her be a simple side character that she shall join the main caste in a more meaningful way. It will be a while before she is introduced but I think the wait will be worth it. I also originally planned to have Suzaku and Euphemia be unable to rekindle their relationship, with the foundation of it shaken too much for them to be more than friends, part of me still feels like this should be the case, part of me also thinks that maybe it shouldn't, and that they deserve to be happy together! Curse my indecisive nature! But, for now, Suzaku is going to be involved with both of them.
To those of you kind enough to review, I thank you, you are the code to my geass
Lelucia gently tapped her pencil against her desk. Things ended rather abruptly that night, after everything that had happened, after her debut as Zero, after merging with her past- future? Life, her alternate self, she passed out cold, and woke up the next morning, to Milly, handing her a cup of coffee and a plate of toast.
She then got dressed in her canary yellow school uniform, though eyed it with renewed distaste. It was never her color, black, purple, maybe a little silver and gold. Midnight blue perhaps? But not this gaudy thing.
She unfortunately had to put up with it as she made her way through the school on autopilot. She knew this place like the back of her hand by this point.
Lelouch in his life, prior to this, was focused on a math degree before the Shinjuku massacre took place. Being an avid gambler and an accountant, it would be easy to rob nobles blind on chess and then use his banking and investment skills to be able to take care of Nunnally for the rest of his days.
In this timeline, Lelucia had considered that, but had opted to take an additional culinary arts class. For her it was a desire to amplify her cooking skills so she could make better food for Nunnally and herself, and, as a plus, she had the option of opening her own restaurant as something to do with her life.
She winced, her mind drifting to Nunnally, she had not seen her beloved younger sister since the memory merge. Did she remember too? Did she hate her? Would she curse her? Demand that she stop her rebellion?
Would she even have the strength at that point? To continue her revolution? The mental debate raging within her heart and mind made her tighten her grip on her pencil subconsciously, staring blankly at the back of the student in front of her as the Culinary arts professor stalked into the room.
"Good afternoon class." He called out.
"Good afternoon Mister Mathews." A few of the more dedicated students replied while everyone took their seats and straightened themselves out.
"Today we are going to continue our third lesson on foreign culinary influence, starting with a man known as Monsieur François Vatel-"
Suzaku sat on a bench, his scruffy brown hair moving slightly in the breeze as he read a book, one he picked up on his way to this very specific spot. It was not easy, being that he was just put on trial for murder, and acquitted. Even libraries friendly to Honorary Britannians where hesitant to take his patronage but he found one that would let him check a book out anyway.
He didn't know why he bothered if he was being honest with himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to focus. His anticipation was mind-numbing, enough so that he read the same sentence at least 5 times before moving on at some point. He seemed to check his watch every 5 to 10 seconds, like he was waiting for something, anticipating an event to take place.
Eventually, after checking his watch for what must have been the thousandth time, he stood up, walked a bit, and waited next to the building he had been seated near.
He held out his arms.
"Look out belooooooooow!"
He prepared, shifting his footing and bracing to catch a pink blur falling from the heavens, landing in his arms bridal style.
She looked up at him
He looked down at her
She smiled
He smiled back
She threw her arms up, latching around him as she pulled her self up to embrace him, making his heart skip a beat, he blushed.
"Suzaku." She whispered his name, tenderly, like a lover, making his breath hitch as her hair tickled his skin. She pulled back after a moment, looking at him with sad eyes full of love.
"Your highness I-" He began, but she brought a finger up to shush him.
"You're hurt, let me help you feel better, and-" She gave him a mock scowl. "Call me Euphie." She tutted.
His heart felt like it was about to explode with joy.
"Of course... Euphie."
She brought her hands up to cup his cheeks.
"I'm sorry Euphie." He had to tell her.
"Why Suzaku?" She asked softly.
"I... when you died... I broke... I lost sight of myself." He admitted. "I was so... angry... and I blamed Lelouch for everything. I killed... I killed so much, I told myself I was just following orders and I... I hurt so many people, I became the exact thing I was trying to change. I let them corrupt me, and I refused accountability. Lelouch he... he took all the blame... all the hate, even my own. I'm so sorry... Euphie... I'm not the same person you fell in love with." He closed his eyes, fighting back his emotions, to try and stop his voice from cracking too much as he cried.
"Suzaku." She said firmly, gently, a hand went to his chin to tilt his head up, he opened his eyes to see that she was still smiling.
"I would be lying, if I said I was not upset with what you did." She admitted, and his breath hitched. "But that technically hasn't happened yet, we can change the future, that's why we're here. And even though you say you aren't the same, I still see the soul of the gentle young man I fell in love with when I look into your eyes. I'm not leaving you, Suzaku, never. You can't make me." She said firmly, to comfort him, and he couldn't take it anymore, he fell to his knees and hugged her tight, and for a little while, she simply hugged him in return, her hands gently rubbing his back.
"How can I make it up to you?" He asked.
"Keep loving the people you care about." She answered.
"As you wish, My princess." He agreed without hesitation and reluctantly set her down.
"Running away from bad men?" He asked with a small grin.
"Why yes." She answered with a coy smirk. "Would you be so kind as to escort me away from the bad men, to Shinjuku, my Knight?"
"I would like nothing more, my lady."
They walked together, hand in hand. A dusting of pink marking both their cheeks.
"Man I don't get it, what's up with Kallen?" Zero's future best buddy, Tamaki asked as he paced the classroom currently being used as their headquarters. "She got really weird last night didn't she? It wasn't just me that saw it right?" He asked, throwing his arms up in the air.
Ohgi was sitting down, watching the TV for news reports about Zero, in case he showed up again, but the news cycle was only about what the masked regicide had done the previous night, with no signs of their whereabouts or activities.
The former school teacher gently rubbed his thumb across his cellphone. He had tried to call the young sister of Naoto twice now. Once last night, and once early in the morning when she should have been walking to school, she didn't pick up.
He sighed, flipping the phone open and dialing her number one more time while Tamaki grumbled, drawing ire from the other resistance members as he voiced his ramblings in the background.
At Ashford, Kallen was in her biology class when her phone began to buzz, and she frowned, discretely pulling it out of a holster beneath her skirt, she flipped it open to check the caller ID, and saw Ohgi's name. With her mouth closed, she glared at his name and ground her teeth before taking a deep breath.
"Excuse me miss?" She asked her teacher, relaxing her features to appear timid and weak as usual.
They turned from the diagram they where drawing up on the chalkboard to peer at her.
"My doctor is calling me, may I please step outside to take the call?" She asked, holding up her cell.
The teacher silently nodded and waved her off, immediately turning back to finish working on the diagram.
Kallen took her phone and purse and stepped outside, before answering the phone.
"What?" She bit out, sounding testy.
"What's wrong Kallen?" Ohgi asked, sounding concerned
Traitor.
"Nothing, just didn't get a lot of sleep last night so I'm not in the best mood right now."
"I tried calling you last night-"
"Adrenaline rush made me crash once I came down from the high." She answered smoothly, cutting him off
"I see..." He mumbled, sounding unsure.
Kallen was about to answer when she heard someone walking down the hall. Eyes automatically drawn to the source of the sound, she saw Lelucia exit a classroom down the hall... her pace was accelerated, she was staring at the floor and was clutching her arms tightly.
Alarms sounded off in Kallen's head, something was wrong.
"Something's come up, I'll call you back." She said quickly, hanging up and putting her phone away as she moved to an intercept course.
Moments earlier, with Lelucia, she was sitting in class taking notes on French cuisine. While Britannia obviously hated the French for many reasons, they did have to accept a few of their influences in modern society. One of them was culinary acumen, unfortunately the French knew how to cook and they made it Britannia's problem, so of course they where expected to learn about it.
She froze when the presentation changed to the next slide
"-Unfortunately for Vatel, the carriages containing his ingredients would arrive just too late. Humiliated by his inability to serve the French Nobility the way he had planned, it drove him into a fit of suicidal madness. The brilliant chef would place the hilt of the blade against a door, and walk into it. He skewered himself on his own sword."
There was an illustration of the man walking into a door, with a sword propped up against the door, piercing his heart, the words of the professor drowning out as she heard nothing but her own heartbeat.
'Geass is like a wish, isn't it?'
Blood
'If that is so, then I shall grant this Geass to the entire world.'
It poured from his lips, it gushed from his chest, it covered his mask, his hands, his soul
'This Geass... I solemnly accept.'
There was so much. She could taste it, smell it, feel it drip down her skin, her heart beat faster... faster. FASTER! It thundered in her skull and vibrated through to her fractured soul.
Pain.
The cold steel of the blade ripped through his chest, puncturing his still beating heart, the fabric tearing, the blood gushing, skin tearing, flesh ripped apart-
SNAP
She flinched, looking down to see that her pencil had been pressed into her notebook so hard that it punched a hole through every page, the lead tip snapped off and tattered across the desk before falling to the floor.
She stared at it for a second, before her eyes flicked around to see she was getting a couple stares.
She gulped, feeling that her mouth had gone dry, and quietly cleared her throat before slowly standing up, and deliberately walking towards the pencil sharpener by the window. And began to sharpen it, she lifted her head up to look outside, up at the sky, at anything and everything at all.
The sky in which Lelucia waged her wars for Tokyo in her past life, the unrepentant, brutal slaughter, the heinous acts she committed. Evil to destroy evil in the name of justice until only one evil.
Her.
Guilty.
The sound of the pencil sharpener got louder for her as she twitched. Her muscles tightening, her breathing slowly becoming labored. Her chest began to BURN, burning and stinging and stretching because she was supposed to be dead. Requiem demanded it, the evils of the royal family must be cleansed, eradicated. She did not belong here, she should be dead, she needed to be dead, she had to die shehadtodieSHEHADTODIE-
"Miss!"
She returned to reality as her professor shouted at her from only a few feet away, she jolted, her head whipping to the side to look at him while her body remained rigid.
He looked her over, his eyes wandering her out of concern, their gaze met, and he slowly nodded, keeping his voice calm and quiet.
"I believe, that your pencil has been sharpened." He said, his eyes flicking down to look at the sharpener and back up to her.
She looked down to see that the pencil was almost entirely gone with a pile of shavings on the window sill. Her grip on the handle so tight that her knuckles where red.
She stared at it.
"I agree." She said quietly.
He watched her for a moment.
"Perhaps... you should go to see the nurse?" He offered.
She ignored the bead of cold sweat dripping down her forehead and nodded, her hand eventually loosening its grip on the handle of the sharpener, before turning and briskly walking out of the classroom.
She stared at her feet as she walked, her hands going up to clutch her arms as she walked down the hall, her breathing shaky and uneven.
"Lulu." A hand touched her shoulder, her reaction was violent as she spun around and backed away so fast that her back slammed into a locker, she needed to breathe, she had to breathe why couldn't she breathe!?
Her eyes focused on the concerned face of Kallen- of her Q-1.
"Hey." The redhead said softly, reaching a hand out to gently pry one of Lelucia's arms away and hold her hand. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
I'm not ok.
"I'm worried about you."
"I'm fine."
Help me.
"You don't look fine."
"Don't worry about it."
Save me.
"I can't do that."
"Why?"
Don't leave.
"Because-" Kallen began as she pulled Lelucia into a hug. "You deserve to have people who worry about you."
"I-..."
Thank you, Q-1.
Kallen smiled.
"You're welcome."
Lelucia stared up at Kallen
"Did I say that out loud?"
The redhead nodded.
Lelucia's cheeks dusted pink as she turned away, embarrassed.
"Hey." Kallen said again, gently tugging Lelucia's arm after letting her out of the hug. "Cmon, lets go."
Lelucia blinked. "Go where?"
Kallen gave her a gentle smile, and her heart fluttered in response, why? Why did she feel good seeing that smile? It felt so right and so weird at the same time.
"Student council room, I wanna spend time with you."
"With Zero?" Lelucia asked.
"No." Kallen shook her head. "With you." She said firmly. "Not the Mask of the Revolutionary, or the Demon Empress or anything in-between. Just you."
Thump-Thump
Lelucia inhaled sharply, finally feeling like she can breathe now.
"Ok." She agreed.
"Ok?" Kallen confirmed.
"Ok." Lelucia said again, a bit more confidently this time, as she walked with Kallen to the student council room.
She didn't realize she was smiling.
"Greetings your highness, in honor of your arrival we have a grand ball planned to-"
Cornelia walked right past the man who came to greet her at the landing pad as she walked out of the transport with Darlton and the Glaston Knights, completely ignoring him. It was rude, but far better than the fit she had thrown last time when she drew her gun on him.
She was ahead of schedule. Her memories from the previous timeline allowing her to finish her conquest and move up the timetable of her arrival.
Her memories came to her in the middle of the night as she slept next to Euphie in the royal suite of the G-1 mobile base, they had cried their hearts out and hugged each other until the crack of dawn before getting the call from Schneizel on the red line.
She had to pretend to be shocked and angry, to make sure the blonde silver-tongued snake didn't catch on to her. She sent Euphie ahead along with Guilford to Area-11, trusting only him to keep her sister safe while she finished things up with the Glastons.
She entered the viceroy's palace unabated. Stepping past the soldiers, officers, guards and civilian personnel as they saluted, bowed and made way for her.
Guilford intercepted her.
"My Lady, forgive me!" He said with exasperation. "Princess Euphemia has... evaded our security."
'More like she doesn't give a shit about the usual house arrest protocols, but I knew that already.' She mused internally
"Fret not Guilford. I expected as much, she's been cooped up so long that I'd be more worried if she didn't pull something like this. I have faith that once she has stretched her legs she will return. I trust her to stay safe, she's smart enough to stay in disguise and not reveal her heritage."
That made her knight give pause, relaxing his shoulders a little. "Your highness." He said with a bow.
"I need a few things from everyone here. Firstly, where is Jeramiah Gottwald?"
"In the brig for now, he managed to avoid a severe punishment due to his title as margrave but he's been demoted and humiliated, he claims amnesia about what happened on the highway. We tried everything from truth serum to lie detectors. Everything he says is the truth it would seem."
"Darlton I want you to release him and let him get cleaned up, tell him to have his ass in my office by eighteen hundred on the dot." Darlton nodded
"Have your sons sweep my office and quarters for bugs if you would be so kind. I need to go to the war room and assess the situation. Guilford, coffee please, black with 3 sugars. Get yourself a mug too, it's going to be a long meeting."
Everyone snapped to salute before going about their tasks, and Cornelia folded her arms behind her back, walking towards the war room.
It didn't take long for Darlton long to reach the brig. Without any fuss from the guards he approached Jeramiah's cell, and the future Knight of Orange looked up at the legendary general in surprise.
"S-Sir." He stuttered.
"Although I don't know why it seems her royal highness, Princess Cornelia, has decided to take pity on you." Darlton said before holding up the key to Jeramiah's cell, and unlocking it. "Get up."
Jeramiah quickly rose to his feet and approached the cell door. When it opened, Darlton took off his cuffs.
"She will be seeing you in her office at eighteen hundred hours sharp today, make sure you are presentable." The gruff general grumbled.
Jeramiah gulped and nodded numbly, watching Darlton turn on his heel and march away, leaving Jeramiah confused, and hopeful, but also worried.
In the meantime, Cornelia was in the "area defense command center", also known simply as "The war room."
Cornelia did not like to insult the dead, but she could not help but think ill of Clovis. She had left the administrational duties to Euphemia. Most of the politicking, the policy setting, the public image. Now that she was taking a closer look at it, she was not sure what was more impressive.
How badly Clovis had cocked it up, or how well Euphemia had done damage control.
She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes, her head tilted downward as she muttered obscenities under her breath at the sorry state the Area was in, before noticing Guilford had arrived with her coffee, and took it with quiet appreciation for her knight.
Clovis hardly did so much as to preform at a bare minimum level, and had done what most other regional government authorities do when their leader is inept. The same thing she would probably do if she where anything like most of her siblings.
Crank the tyrant up to 11 and heap on the oppression.
Area-11 was unstable. She knew that much already. But it was not just the resistance cells that she had targeted before.
So, SO much was wrong with the way things where handled. There was more bribery, blackmail and corruption here than anyone would have guessed. It was practically a mafia state. The police? Owned by drug cartels. The state officials? More interested in tax cuts, vacation days and bonus pay. The local garrison? Disgraceful, a glorified pig-sty.
She didn't care before.
She does now.
Spending time with Nunnally in the aftermath of the requiem had opened her eyes to the Empire's wrongdoing.
She tried to deflect of course, for weeks she remained adamant that what Britannia was doing had been perfectly acceptable.
Nunnally broke down one day, in a fit of tears, begging Cornelia to see the light, to see that the world they had before was full of sin, one that Euphemia wanted to change.
That the world Lelouch built and died for meant something.
That got her to shut up and think for a while.
It was not easy, of course. She had spent years being convinced of the Emperor's social Darwinist policies. She was a staunch racist, imperialist warmonger and until that point she owned it. She told herself it was for Euphie's sake, that by doing what father wanted she would keep her sister out of harms way, she would be too useful for that man to consider upsetting her by doing something like using Euphie like he did Lelouch and Nunnally. She was content with that status quo.
Now she was just sad.
She idly sipped the black gold that was coffee out of her mug, thankful that the drink existed, and tapped a few fingers against her arm with her free hand as they crossed over each other beneath her chest, her mind in deep thought.
The royal family expected retribution, that's why they sent her here, to exterminate Zero and all their supporters, to destroy every last terror cell in Area-11 until nothing remained but slaves to be exploited. She was, after all, the witch of Britannia, the Emperor's personal attack dog.
And that was the second part of why she was here. The Sakuradite had to flow. No matter what happened, no matter how many died, no matter how much suffering was inflicted, Britannia needed it to fuel its other conquests, Area-11 contained the most vital natural resource in the world and it had more of it than any other nation in the world.
That's why it also had a larger garrison than any other Area. Enough to make even the Chinese federation reconsider an attack, any strike they attempt would be far too costly for both sides. And since Britannia was selling China sakuradite at a lower price than Japan did before the invasion they had no reason to launch an attack... yet.
But if there was enough instability, if the Area reached a boiling point, if Britannia appeared weak, then all bets where off.
"Guilford." She called out suddenly.
"Your Highness." He responded dutifully.
"How long until the 5th army group arrives?"
"A week your highness, they just left port not long ago."
"When they get here we'll start reassigning the local garrison forces, anywhere but here."
"May I ask why my lady? Would it not be better to keep them here as backup?"
"No." Cornelia answered simply, her eyes flicking across the room to see the faces of the other officers present, all of them members of Clovis' staff, all of them untrustworthy.
Guilford bowed. "Understood your highness, I shall spread the word for the local garrison forces to prepare for a withdrawal from Area-11 once the 5th arrives."
"Good." She replied, but noticed Guilford still looking pensive. She raised an eyebrow.
"Your Highness, forgive me, but I had expected you to start planning for an immediate attack against the Eleven terrorists. Your calm demeanor in the face of Clovis' assassination is... uncanny."
"Because I must carefully consider my every move, my knight. You know how strategically important this area is, China needs to think its business as usual and the sakuradite must flow. A status quo of normalcy must be maintained to ensure stability. I am thinking of a solution. Fret not, Zero will get what they deserve in due time."
Namely a hug.
Cornelia could not help but peer out the window and look out into the distance, her eyes gazing down upon the Tokyo settlement and wondering how her siblings where doing right now.
She'd have to get Euphie to be a liaison between herself and Lelucia, she was uncertain if her sibling got the same memory merger as herself and Euphie had. They would never hurt the pinkette, ever, but she couldn't be sure about animosity being directed towards her... though, there was one way to find out.
"Show me data for Saitama ghetto." She ordered.
"Yes, your highness!"
Back with Lelucia and Kallen, the two found themselves alone in the student council room. Everyone else would still be in class for a while longer until the official end of the school day, so they had some peace and quiet for now.
Kallen had pulled Lelucia over to the table, asking her to sit, to which Lelucia obliged.
The Princess then watched Kallen walk away, pulling something out of the cabinets before walking back over.
Kallen sat down on the opposite side of the table, placing a chessboard down between them.
This got an immediate reaction out of the exile, making her scoot forward in anticipation, appearing to be very interested, making Kallen smile.
"Black or White?" The redhead asked, holding up 2 bags of monochrome chess pieces.
"Black." Was the near instant response. "I uh-" She blushed. "I always play black." She muttered, sounding embarrassed and crossed her arms impetuously.
Kallen giggled at Lelucia's poorly hidden enthusiasm, placing the bag of black chess pieces down on her side of the table and waited for Lelucia to start setting up her side of the board. Once the princess started, Kallen followed suit, glancing at Lelucia's side of the board to make sure she copied the setup correctly, making the ravenette raise an eyebrow.
"Have you ever played?" She asked Kallen.
"Nope." The redhead responded honestly.
"Oh- then, may I teach you?" Lelucia asked nervously
"Of course."
Lelucia sighed in relief, before going over the rules of how the pieces are positioned and how they move, and it was all easy enough for Kallen to follow.
"-It should also be kept in mind that while not really important, each piece and space on the board has a letter-number designation, its usually used as a callout for tournaments, such as N-1 to A-5."
"N-1? I remember that... that was a callsign for one of the Black Knights, starting all the way back during Shinjuku." Kallen recalled, before smirking and raising an eyebrow.
"Did you seriously use chess terms the entire time?"
The violet-eyed damsel blushed with indignation and glanced away.
"Maybe."
Kallen couldn't help but laugh out loud this time, bringing a hand up to try and control her giggling as Lelucia got flustered.
"Stop making fun of me please..."
Kallen stopped laughing immediately and shook her head.
"I'm not laughing AT you, I'm laughing WITH you. Just, now that I have context the entire chess thing is just so... 'you', its endearing." She explained
"Oh-" Lelucia's cheeks flushed pink just a bit more. "Sorry."
"No it's fine, you're probably not used to compliments like that and I can see how it's taken the wrong way without context."
"...Thank you, Kallen."
"I could do it more often if you'd like."
"Yeah- I'd like that." She admitted.
Kallen nodded, and then looked back down at the board
"So, if that's the case what piece did you use for my callsign? Color me curious."
It was no longer possible for Lelucia to get even more red in the face at this point, as she awkwardly cleared her throat, refusing to look Kallen in the eye, she answered by gently picking up and holding the black queen piece.
It was Kallen's turn to blush a little, and was about to speak when Lelucia began to talk instead.
"The queen is the most powerful and and second most important piece on the board. She is the King's most loyal and dangerous companion and stands faithfully by his side at all times. Players are often willing to sacrifice a lot to keep their queen on the board for as long as they can, you can tell a lot about an opponent based on how hard they work to keep their Q-1 safe." Lelucia exposed as she held the piece up, and Kallen couldn't help but reach out to hold Lelucia's hand, both of their faces tinted pink at this point.
"You asked me before what you mean to me, you where always my Q-1." The princess blurted out, unable to help herself at this point.
Thump-Thump
... Nope, nuh-uh, hell nah. There is NO WAY. Lelucia simply could NOT have said that with a straight face, and if Kallen wasn't so good at keeping her composure she probably would have been turned into a stuttering mess by that comment.
Instead, she cleared her throat
"I have another question..." She says tentatively, and at Lelucia's nod, she continues. "Did you ever use it on me-?" She asked pensively. "Your geass?"
Lelucia flinched at the question, she looked down at the board and gently pulled her hand away.
Kallen winced, taking this as a yes.
"Why?" She asked, she had to know for certain.
Lelucia took a shuddering breath, part of her not wanting to answer, but knowing she had to.
"That day, when I approached you, I told you not to mention Shinjuku."
Kallen nodded urging her to continue.
"Just before that, that's when I used my Geass... I..." She closed her eyes. "I ordered you to answer my questions, I wanted to know why you fight, to know if you where a threat to me... to Nunnally. I saw you as a terrorist who just stole what you thought was poison gas and I was terrified that if you found out who we where you'd kill me and Nunnally or that you'd attack Ashford... I'm so sorry Kallen..." She held the black queen piece tight, pulling it in and holding it against her chest, like she where worried she'd loose Kallen forever if she let go.
She heard Kallen's chair scrape against the floor, heard the footsteps, she was afraid to look, she expected many things, to be yelled at, slapped, cursed, something, anything and everything negative.
She did not expect the redhead to hug her so tight, to be locked into her Q-1's embrace. The red queen of the black knights rubbed Lelucia's back as her body remained ramrod straight, stiff as a board.
"The fact that you only used it to have me answer questions, when I was an apparent danger to you and your sister... that takes a lot of willpower, Lulu. You where careful, because you knew you didn't want to take free will away from someone who didn't deserve it. You showed an amazing level of restraint, and it was harmless to me."
Lelucia said nothing.
"You aren't used to this, are you?" Kallen asked, her voice a gentle whisper. "You spent so long taking care of Nunnally, comforting her, but nobody was ever there for you... where they?"
Lelucia didn't trust her voice in that moment, simply shaking her head no in response.
"You don't have to be alone anymore. I'm your friend ok? I'll always be there for you."
Kallen's words moved Lelucia, and she nodded, slowly returning the hug. Kallen was unsure what to make of it. Her grip was light, like she was afraid to touch Kallen, but at the same time it could just be the fact that Lelucia was as much of a twig as Lelouch so who knows really? Could have been both even.
"Promise me something."
Lelucia opened her eyes to gaze at Kallen, waiting for her request.
"Don't lie to me, please. You can keep secrets if you need to, if you aren't ready to talk about something. But don't lie to me, never again."
Lelucia's rigid nature returned, her body going stiff as she slowly pulled away, looking ashamed of herself, again she refused to look Kallen in the eyes, causing the redhead to sigh.
"I've been lying all my life Kallen, I've lied to everyone, about almost everything, I've lied so much that my lies became truth and then I lied about them some more... Lies are what kept me and Nunnally safe... I... I'm a god damn con artist Kallen, that's what I am, a rat who built a throne of glass on a mountain of lies and I keep lying about my lies and I just-"
"Stop."
For once, Lelucia listened to someone else and shut her mouth, fearing that she said something wrong, she shrank in on herself, but Kallen made Lelucia look at her by gently grabbing her chin and lifting it up. Ocean blue met royal violet, at very close proximity. Lelucia could not help but bring her blush back into the fray as the closeness got to her.
"I understand... lying is how you survived, it's your safety net. You lie because you're afraid... I get it. I lied about who I was to a lot of people, to protect myself, my brother, to fight for Japan under everyone's noses. I understand it more than you may think."
Relief flooded the body of the princess as Kallen accepted her hesitation
"Then promise me you'll work on it at least... I want to trust you Lulu." She said softly "But I can't, not completely, not when I know you'll still lie to me."
Lelucia stared at Kallen, before her eyes flicked down to look at the black queen piece tightly wrapped up in her hand.
She wanted her Queen to trust her. No it was more than that, she NEEDED Kallen to trust her. It was a deep, almost primal yearning, to have the confidence of the fellow halfblood, to know that she was trusted, that Kallen would believe in her. She made a hard choice.
"No Kallen, you're right." Lelucia replied, it was so quiet that the redhead wasn't sure she heard it. "I wont lie to you, ever again." She agreed to the prior request. "I... I promise."
"Then answer this last question." Kallen pressed, and Lelucia gulped, looking back up at her Queen.
"What is it?"
Kallen smiled and leaned in even closer, causing Lelucia to get a bit flustered.
"Do you want to kiss me?"
Thump-Thump
She's never wanted anything more
"Yes."
Her mouth moved to give that answer before her mind could catch up.
She stuttered as she tried to walk back her reply but it was no use, Kallen closed in for the killshot.
There where fireworks.
Kallen was delicate with her, their lips colliding was like a soft brushstroke. Careful and deliberate. Lelucia forgot about trying to stop the kiss and instead pressed in on instinct, wanting more.
The redhead obliged, meeting Lelucia with an equal amount of fervor.
This is what they both wanted.
When Lelouch asked Kallen to come back to Ashford, when he tried to kiss her in the ghetto, when she kissed him before the UFN meeting. Each time something got in the way. A pizza loving immortal, a slap, and the cold stare of a dead man walking.
There was no returning to the status quo of their past relationship. It couldn't be just friends, it couldn't just be Zero and their loyal bodyguard, the resistance leader and the ace that fought for freedom. It couldn't just be classmates or acquaintances.
They where something more now. The love once lost between them in their past lives finally kindled and there was no going back. Only the future remained.
Lelucia lost herself in the moment, it was a blur, a delicious, heartfelt blur. There was no overcomplicated planning, no underhanded intention, no grand scheme. There was only Kallen and she needed nothing else.
She was pulled to the couch by her tie, gently tugged over to the cushions, they didn't stop kissing. The more they kissed, the more they wanted to kiss.
Like ouroboros eating his own tail they hungered for more.
The princess' back hit the seating, Kallen straddled her while Lelucia lay flat. Their shoes came off, skirts ruffled, their hands carefully touching each other's arms, legs, and hips. A timid exploration of one another.
Blissful euphoria washed over them, and after a several minute long makeout session, Kallen finally broke away for air. Lelucia was left beneath her as a hopeless mess of want.
Kallen smiled, truly happy for once in a long time.
Lelucia smiled back, and then began to laugh, and cry, she never cried because she was happy, not til now.
Kallen saw the outbreak of emotion for what it was. Almost an entire decade of emotional abuse had turned her ice cold, a shell to protect herself, and to stop her from getting attached to the people she cared about.
It cracked over the course of the black rebellion, the trauma too great, and it all came crashing down once the Zero Requiem had occurred.
She was vulnerable now, her weakness, her timid but loving nature exposed.
Kallen wanted nothing more than to hold her, to tell her it was ok, that she didn't have to be afraid, to stop her from going back into that shell or use her masks, so that's exactly what she did. She laid there with Lelucia, playing the big spoon after adjusting their positions a bit, they curled up together, and Kallen cuddled with her, holding her tight and whispering sweet nothings into her ears.
The princess laid there without a care in the world. And Kallen, proud of herself, was wholly content to cuddle with her princess.
For just a little while, everything was right with the world-
Kallen cracked a toothy grin, her eyes still closed.
"Yellow is definitely not your color."
"I KNOW RIGHT!?"
... Everything except Lulu's uniform that is.
A/N Poor Lulu needed love and that's exactly what she got.
For those of you who are curious as to how the whole PTSD thing is gonna work out, I promise it wont always be at the forefront. It will always be lingering in the background at least, but not every chapter involves it. It will have a huge role to play in regards to what direction this story takes for character development.Lulu is broken on an emotional and psychological level, and she needs her loved ones to help build her back up.