A/N: Follows recap movie continuity (Shirley is alive)
Recommended for listening: Lukas Graham - 7 years
Kallen's eyes slowly opened as she laid face-down on her tossed-up bed, her hair equally messy as she turned off her alarm clock.
She went through the motions, a shower, brushed teeth, a little bit of makeup and her Ashford uniform. She made her way downstairs plopping some bread in the toaster and hugging her mom.
She grabbed the toast, sticking it in her mouth as she grabbed her bag and walked towards the door. She briefly stopped at the entrance, looking at a countertop where the house keys and such where usually placed and glanced at an old picture of the student council, during the black rebellion. Her eyes zeroed in on Lelouch, on instinct, and she couldn't stop a bittersweet smile from gracing her lips and forcing her eyes shut. She raised a hand, gently brushing her fingers against the glass of the framed photo before turning back towards the door with renewed vigor as she opened it and ran outside. Jogging down the street as she munched on her toast.
She sat at the bus stop, watching people walk by, some in Ashford uniforms, some in suits and ties, some dressed casual. Britannian and Japanese alike walked amongst each other as if they always had.
She saw couples walk by as well, and forced herself to look down at the pavement as she waited for the bus.
She stepped on to the vehicle when it arrived, the idle buzz of nearby conversations, low-volume music and traffic acting as background noise. She saw a young couple kissing each other a few seats away and forced herself to look in the opposite direction. Violet eyes and soft, raven black hair flashed in her mind against her will as she had an iron grip on her bag.
She stepped off the bus and walked for a bit, until turning 90 degrees left and looking at the entrance to the Ashford Academy campus.
She took a deep breath and walked in. Her eyes wandering to places of significance- where she first met Lelouch after swatting a bee, the student council room.
She sighed, closing her eyes and letting herself get lost in dangerous levels of melancholy and nostalgia before she heard the bell ring, alerting her that she needed to get to class as she snapped out of her reverie and bolted to her homeroom.
The start of a new school year, she never got to finish her studies, but now she could.
She decided to go all the way to the back and take the inside seat near the middle isle, setting her bag down and pulling out the materials she needed. She didn't pay much attention as the rest of the students filed into the classroom, and she sighed, idly noting that someone had taken the other seat at the 2-person desk, the one near the windows.
She began to jot down what she could remember of her schedule for the day, when she noticed the student next to her set something down on the desk that... was out of the ordinary.
A red contact lense?
She blinked, turning to look at the student next to her only to freeze, her mind going blank as she came face-to-face with the person sharing their desk.
A young man, around her age, and while she couldn't see his whole face, she didn't need to, she immediately recognized the unmistakable shade of deep, dark royal violet that colored his eye.
Her eyes dilated, her lips parting and her throat going dry.
"Y-you..." She whispered, her voice so soft and so hoarse that only she and the boy next to her could hear it.
He smiled softly at her, making her heart near burst out of her chest before he brought a finger up to his lips in a shushing manner and winked at her before replacing the eye contact.
She couldn't focus, not one bit her entire homeroom period she spent just trying to keep a lid on the emotional storm surge raging inside of her. Every time she tried to calm down, to assess the situation, her mind immediately drifted off-course and she had to start from scratch. She looked like a nervous wreck; biting her lips repeatedly and bouncing her heel off of the tile floor.
She constantly looked back and forth between the front of the class and the person next to her, as though expecting it to be a hallucination, but every time she turned to look at him he had that same calming smile.
When the dismissal bell sounded off, and the students began to leave, he brushed past her, sliding a note on top of her notebook.
'Meet me at the bench after school.'
There was only one bench that came to mind, she wanted to look at him one last time, to talk to him right now, but the moment she looked up from the note he was already gone.
It was a long, painful school day.
The moment the final dismissal bell sounded off she all but bolted out of her seat and sprinted off campus, running towards the public park where she had been with Lelouch- that evening where he helped to save the hotdog salesman and she slapped him.
There he was, just sitting there, waiting for her. She didn't even know how he got here before her and didn't bother questioning it. She slowly, cautiously approached, realizing that it was in fact the very same bench they sat on together that day.
She swallowed a lump in her throat, sitting down next to him.
The silence was deafening, but eventually, she managed to get a word out.
"Why?" She meant to have it sound firm and confident, but it was anything other than that.
"I asked you, didn't I?" That voice, the same voice, the one that belonged to the man who saved her in Shinjuku, who declared war on the injustice of the world. The voice that captured hearts and minds, her heart above all others.
"Meaning?" She croaked.
"For you to come back to Ashford, with me."
She stopped breathing as her eyes flickered over to look at his again, seeing that same brilliant, beautiful, mesmerizing shade of purple.
She shuddered. "What now?" The true knight of Zero asked.
"You asked me before, what you meant to me. I lied before to protect you from dying with me that day."
She nodded intently, unable to respond in any other way as her heart thundered inside her chest.
"Would you like my honest answer now?"
"Yes." She answered instantly, as though on instinct.
That smile is still there.
He lifts her chin
He moves in closer
Her eyes go wide
Their lips meet
She doesn't stop him.
They go out together, a dinner date at a nice sushi restaurant, both dressed casually. They share childhood stories and make each other laugh.
Another date, this time a scary movie where they both talk shit about how stupid the victims are.
They go to Ohgi and Villetta's wedding, where Tamaki recognizes his best bud and tackles him, causing everyone else to smile and laugh before Rivalz pops the cork on a bottle of champagne and soaks Kallen a second time, who can't help but burst out laughing herself.
Lelouch and Kallen hang out at her place, talking smack as they play against each other in Mario cart and super smash bros- Lelouch goes on a winning spree and earns a noogie and a make out session for his trouble.
Cornelia's wedding this time, with Guilford. He doesn't directly approach, but he leaves an envelope with a letter and a photo of the Li Britannia and Vi Britannia siblings together at the Ares villa playing in the gardens, alongside a wad of cash and a vague apology note. She seems to know who it's from, and gives a bittersweet smile as she holds the photo close. Kallen and Lelouch leave discreetly shortly afterwards.
They travel the world during the summer, visiting the wonders of the world, she smack talks him for having low stamina on all their walking trips but he always has a witty comeback and a sly grin that leaves her flustered every time. From the forbidden city to Venice, Amsterdam to Paris, they stop in Madrid and watch the running of the bulls.
They stop at the east coast of Britannia and walk the sandy beaches together, with Kallen in a Bikini and himself in an unbuttoned white T-shirt and swim-trunks.
He stops suddenly, seeming afraid, nervous. She turns curiously to face him, concerned as she stepped up close.
He pulls a black box out of his pocket and gets on one knee.
Her eyes water and she smiles bringing her hands up to cover her mouth and nose, going weak at the knees before tackling him into the sand and kissing him.
A gazebo in the grasslands, away from civilization. Jeramiah and Anya show up with baskets of oranges. Tamaki brings booze, and many of the Black Knights show up to apologize, give thanks, and well-wishes.
Cornelia and Guilford even show up. She frowns at Lelouch, before eventually pulling him into a hug, and then letting him go. The other student council members ambush him too, with Milly doing a photo op as Rivalz drags Lelouch around to chat with everyone, and gets a hug and a gift from Shirley, who seems sad, but happy for them.
Suzaku then surprises everyone, looking a bit haggard, but happy as Cecile walks next to him, and Gino starts cracking jokes. Rakshata and Lloyd are arguing but standing very close to eachother as they go over theoretical applications of new Knightmare designs.
Nunnally finally reunites with her brother, and there are waterworks.
C.C. watches from afar, smiling feintly as Kallen is walked down the outdoor isle by her mother, with Anya acting as the bored looking flower girl.
Kallen and Lelouch are sitting on the sofa now, visibly older by a few years watching TV. She was laying on her side, on top of him. A little boy runs into the living room climbing up onto the couch, his hair is red, and his eyes are purple, and they both smile, helping him onto the couch.
Lelouch sits down at the breakfast table, wearing a pair of glasses now as he reads the newspaper. His eyes flicking up as he sees the young man across from him move his white chess piece. He has the same red hair and purple eyes, wearing a Black Knights officer uniform and on the name badge was Naoto Lamperouge.
Lelouch blinked, before smiling, and tipping his black king over, realizing that his son had finally beaten him in a game, and he looks proud.
Kallen pulls up a chair and sits down next to him while their son leaves, waving goodbye before she snuggles up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder and they smiled at eachother. Her hand laid on top of his as they wore matching rings.
It was a life worth living.
