AN: I'm not gonna lie, I completely forgot about Lelouch's Birthday, so I'd like to thank DarkDremora for reminding me that exists, as I needed a subject for this chapter.


Chapter 23: Birthday

December 4th, 3:00 PM.

Kallen and Lelouch arrived at the Kozuki Resistance base, where Naoto was gathering everyone for a meeting. Of course, Lelouch, and by extension, Kallen already knew what the resistance leader wanted to discuss.

"It looks like everyone's here," the older Kozuki said as he looked around at his close friends, whom of which he was about to ask them to do the impossible, "Recently… we've come across some very interesting intel regarding a weak point in the Britannia's infrastructure." he rolled out a map of a familiar chemical plant, "What I'm about to ask you, isn't something that'll come easy… but it's something we have to do eventually, if we really want to free Japan."

Inoue looked at the map intently, noticing the distinct red, blue, and yellow markings, "Naoto… is this?"

"Yes… it's a map of a Britannian chemical plant. According to my source," he looked at Lelouch, who was wearing the black masquerade mask from before, "this plant is developing a dangerous chemical weapon that they plan to use on the Ghettos."

The entire room gasped in shock, except for Lelouch and Kallen, "I knew those damn Brits were up to something!" Tamaki shouted, "But I never thought they would do something so…"

"Heinous…" Ohgi finished his friend's sentence, "What're we planning to do?"

Naoto grabbed two Glasgow plushies from underneath the table, "Oh god, he's actually going to use those…" Lelouch sighed internally while remembering Clovis land.

"We're going to hijack one of their loading trucks using R1," R1 was the red Glasgow, "After that, we'll steal the driver's clothing, ID's, and any other belongings that could be useful."

Tamaki was the first to ask a question, "Will be killing them?"

Naoto winced at the suggestion, "Only if they interfere with the hijacking, in which case, feel free to." It might've been cruel, but the Kozuki knew this was war. People were going to get killed, and he had to get used to that, otherwise, his resistance group would perish.

"Now, onto the replacement drivers, I want Minami and Nagata on that truck. We'll load up R1 into the back, that way, if-"

"When." Lelouch cut in.

This shocked the resistance leader for a second. However, he soon continued, "When things get dicey. I want Minami to pilot R1 and hold off the incoming Britannian forces."

Kallen eyes widened at this revelation, "Wait! But I'm our best pilot! If anyone's piloting R1, then it should be me!"

Naoto shook his head, "No, I can't risk losing you…" he turned to Minami, "I hope you don't take offense to that."

To which the bespectacled man shook his head, "It's okay, I understand. If I had a sister, I wouldn't want her recklessly charging into battle."

"This isn't good! If I'm not present during the heist, then everything's going to go the exact same way as last time!" she looked at Lelouch with her puppy dog eyes, "And worse yet, Jeremiah contacted Lelouch last week, telling him about the Lancelot being in production. If that monster's done by the time we start the mission, then we won't be able to defend Shinjuku!"

The Prince tried not making eye-contact with the fiery red head, but eventually, submitted to her gaze, "What's wrong?" he asked in a whisper.

"Please… tell Naoto to put me on the truck," she pleaded while grabbing the boy's shirt.

Lelouch looked off to the side, "I'm sorry… but I have to agree with him."

Kallen didn't know how to feel. Sure, she was happy that Lelouch was worried about her, but at the same time, now wasn't the right time for that. "Please, I'm begging you, Lelouch," the red head whispered, making sure nobody heard her, "Have some faith in me… you've seen my data on the Ganymede right? You know I'm a good pilot."

"Despite that, there's no way I can let you on this mission. Real combat is different from just piloting a Knightmare in school."

The red head tightened her grip, "If only I knew when Lelouch got his Geass… I know for a fact he got it from C.C, after all, she told me herself, but how long did he get before Shinjuku? Does he have it now? No, there's no way. I can't take that chance," finally, she stared Lelouch in the eyes, and said, "I'm calling in my favor then."

This caused the Prince to shout in disbelief, "What!? You can't do that!"

The rest of the cell turned to the duo as Kallen grabbed Lelouch's head, slamming it into hers, "You said I could call in any favor. This is what I'm choosing." she muttered while looking at him dead in the eyes.

"That was from before!" Lelouch retorted, "Besides, you can't just order something so serious!"

"So you lied?" her blue eyes continued to drill into the Prince's as he slowly began backing down, "If not, then you'll do as I say."

They separated, breathing heavily as the rest of the cell gave them odd looks, "What was that about?" Nagata asked Ohgi, to which he shrugged.

Lelouch was torn. He didn't want Kallen to go, but he'd be a hypocrite if he denied her this request. After all, how can she trust him if he doesn't he follow through with a favor he agreed to do? "Is there really nothing else?" he asked, hoping she would change her mind.

Unfortunately, that wasn't happening anytime soon, "No."

The Prince sighed, and turned to Naoto, "Please don't do this, Lelouch."

"Naoto, could I speak with you, privately?"

To his dismay, it looked like his co-conspirator really was choosing this path, "Yeah… let's talk over there."

The two headed into a nearby room, while the rest of the cell began asking Kallen questions. "I'm not going to agree." Naoto started as soon as he closed the door.

"Just… hear me out, please."

"Do you want my sister to die!?"

"No! Of course not, but she's… calling in a favor."

"Then just deny her."

"It'd make me a hypocrite!" Lelouch retorted, "How can I ask her to trust me, if I can't even go through with this simple task?"

"Nothing about this is simple! This is my sister we're talking about!"

"I know that!"

The two temporarily stopped their shouting match to recollect their thoughts. "What was the favor about anyway?" Naoto asked

"It was just something stupid at the time. I had no idea she would try and use it for something like this."

The resistance leader paced back and forth in the dimly lit room, the light bulb above flickering with each step, "What happens if she dies? Will you take responsibility for it?"

Lelouch clenched his fist, "I don't want that to happen…"

"But it might!" Naoto shouted, interrupting the Prince's sentence, "Do you really think I could live, knowing I sent my sister, my own blood, to her death!?"

This was a losing battle, and Lelouch knew it. There was nothing he could say to get Naoto to agree, and why should he? The Prince is basically asking to put Kallen into harms way, over a favor that he described as 'stupid'. Despite this, he was going to try his best, after all, he did make a promise, "Listen… I looked over her records on the Ganymede, and they're just as impressive as you'd think. Her performance with the Knightmare is in the mid 90s, do you know how much of a feat that is? If we place her on that Glasgow, I have no doubt she would be able to drive circles around the enemy's Sutherland's, maybe even a Gloucester if she encounters one."

"Even so!" Naoto clenched his fist, "I can't let her go… you understand, don't you?" the thought of his sister dying brought the Kozuki to tears.

Of course, Lelouch understood. If he was in the same position with Nunally, there's no way he'd let her go into battle, even with the impressive Knightmare performance number she puts up. This had nothing to do with abilities, no, this was personal.

"Lelouch, I'm sorry, but if you're going to continue pushing this. Then I need you to leave." this was a development that the Prince didn't foresee coming. However, Naoto soon clarified what he meant, "Don't get me wrong. I'm not asking you to leave the resistance group entirely. I just… I don't need you for this mission if you're going to try and get my sister into that Knightmare."

Lelouch didn't like the choice Naoto was making here, completely cutting him out of the mission, but he was afraid if he kept pushing, it might come to the point where they'd have to part permanently. So, he took the Kozuki's advice, "I'll tell Kallen of your decision."

With that, the Prince left the room in defeat, though, he made sure it didn't show on his face as he passed the resistance cell members, earning their gaze as he went up the exit ladder. Kallen soon followed Lelouch out, "Wait!" she called, "What did Naoto say?"

The raven-haired boy stopped walking, "He's not going to let you go." he replied before coldly walking off.

No. It couldn't end like this, "Wait!" Kallen grabbed Lelouch's arm, stopping him dead in his tracks, "Why are you leaving? Don't tell me Naoto-"

"He doesn't want me around if I'm going to push the idea for you to join the truck. Don't worry, this is only temporary, once the mission is complete, we'll meet again." Lelouch muttered. He clearly wasn't happy, but it was something he was forced to accept. Yet, Kallen knew it couldn't go on like this.

What transpired today, built a gap between Naoto and Lelouch.

Of course, that gap was always there, except it was subconscious, something both of them knew existed and wouldn't cross it. That gap was Kallen. Or rather, it was their sisters. The older brothers valued their sisters more than anything in the world, and they wouldn't put them in harms way, no matter what the other said. Except, Kallen asked Lelouch to do that. She asked, no, demanded the Prince to jeopardize his partnership with Naoto because of her selfishness.

Obviously, the red head was only doing what she thought would be best, but that doesn't change what happened. "I'm sorry," she whispered, pulling Lelouch into her embrace, "I shouldn't've asked you to do that."

Lelouch felt her face bury into his back; if his mind wasn't in such a mess, he'd be blushing right now. However, he couldn't focus on that. "It's not your fault," he replied calmly, "I chose to go through with that course of action, and I got burned for it."

He tried to walk away, but Kallen only increased her hold in response, "Don't say it like that."

"Like what?"

"Cold, heartless, and calculating. While one of those traits is nice, the other two aren't needed."

"It's who I am. I can't fight it."

Kallen used her left hand to grab Lelouch's, "No, it's not. I've seen how you act around Nunally, Milly, me, and even Naoto at times." she slowly intertwined their fingers, "You're so much more than cold and heartless. You're a loving big brother, a kind friend, a trustworthy partner, and…" she flicked the side of his head playfully, "A good baker."

"Stop being stupid," the Prince replied with a smile that began to form on his face.

"I'm not." Kallen finally separated herself from the boy, "Everything I said was true, even the baking part. Of course, you're not as good as Milly." she gave a teasing smile while saying those words, "But seriously, don't shut yourself off from your friends just because you failed. I'm here for you."

In the last timeline, Lelouch would constantly shut down after a major setback, such as the first battle of Tokyo, SAZ incident, and when he found out Shirley died. Kallen knew she had to solidify herself as someone he could turn to in those times. And while it was unintentional, she created the perfect opportunity to do so.

"You got one thing wrong there." the Prince looked at the red head with a smile, "I'm a better baker than Milly"

"Sure you are."

"I can prove it."

Kallen raised an eyebrow, "And how're you going to do that?"

"Let's go back to Ashford, and I'll show you."

The red head laughed at the suggestion, "Okay, but what're you going to do? Bake me a cake?"

"Nope. I'll be baking cupcakes. Nunally said she was in the mood for some, and I need a taste tester for the frosting anyway." he then looked at her with narrowed eyes, "Unless… you don't want to?"

Kallen shook her head, "No! I want to!"

The Prince began walking away, "Then hurry up, it's pretty late, and I don't want to have to explain to your mother why you're home late."

It seemed like the events that transpired today were mostly wiped from Lelouch's mind. Of course, they still lingered somewhere in the back of his head, but at least there, they won't cause trouble any time soon.


"Nunally? Sayoko?" Lelouch called as the duo entered the clubhouse, "I guess they must've gone somewhere…"

"Maybe they're with Milly," the red head suggested as they entered the kitchen with two grocery bags, "Are you sure this is all you need?"

"Of course, I'm good at baking, after all," the Prince replied as he took out the items.

Kallen watched as the boy put on the pink apron Milly got him, and began mixing ingredients together in a bowl, "Hey… if you're so good a baking, then how'd Milly beat you?" she asked as he opened a cupboard.

"Firstly, Milly didn't beat me. I don't know if you noticed, but I baked both of those pies"

"Then how'd she beat you?"

Lelouch sighed, "It's because the challenge was deciding which method was better, which she won."

"But aren't you supposed to be good at baking? So, you should've already known the outcome, right?"

"I've never baked a pumpkin pie before." the Prince answered while pouring the ingredients into several cupcake molds. "While it's not a problem for me to bake, I'd rather spend Thanksgiving with my sister, than cook in the kitchen."

"What if Nunally asked for a pumpkin pie?"

"Then I'd make it."

Kallen smiled as she watched Lelouch making two types of frosting; one strawberry and the other chocolate, "Hmm… It's almost time, isn't it?"

The Prince chuckled, "You've been doing nothing this whole time, and only now are you deciding to take action?"

The red head stood up and slowly approached Lelouch from behind, "Of course, this is why you called me, isn't it?" she rested her head on his shoulder, slowly bringing her right hand up and snaking it toward the chocolate mixing bowl. Then, it was slapped away.

"It's not ready yet." the Prince replied.

Kallen puffed out her cheeks, "Why'd you set it to the side then?"

"Because it needs more sugar."

"Oh! I can help with that!" the red head grabbed a nearby bag of sugar and began pouring it in.

"Hey, don't put so much-"

Lelouch tried to reach for the bag, however, at the last second, Kallen raised her hand, causing the Prince to accidentally knock over the chocolate mixing bowl. In response, he tried to catch it, but ended up knocking over the strawberry mixing bowl too. So, he tried catching both. Of course, he who tries to catch two rabbits, gets neither.

While attempting to catch the strawberry bowl, he hit his head on the counter-top, causing him to stumble back into Kallen, knocking both of them over. Lelouch managed to stop himself from completely falling onto the girl, by outstretching his hands, planting them on either side of her head. Kallen stared Lelouch in the eyes as he laid a few inches from her face, his breath gently caressed her cheeks as he tried to keep himself steady.

"I'm sorry about that…" he whispered, "Wait… why am I whispering?"

As Lelouch tried to get up, the red head wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him in place, "Lelouch… have some faith in me…" she replied.

Was this the right move?

How would he react?

Would he reject her?

Those thoughts flooded through Kallen's mind as she gently pulled the Prince down, closing her eyes as their lips connected. At first, Lelouch was unresponsive, just as he was in the past timeline. However, much to the red head's relief, the boy began to relax into the kiss, fully accepting their position.

With that, the worries in Kallen's head melted away, replaced by a certain bliss that she couldn't describe. She didn't want this moment to end, that's all she knew. Lelouch carefully moved from using his hands to keep himself up, to using his elbows, bringing them closer together. Eventually, they were going to have to separate, but they could stay like this for a few seconds longer, right?

Wrong.

A camera shutter immediately broke them out of their state of bliss, bringing them back to reality, where they saw Milly, Sayoko, and Ms. Kozuki staring at them. To say Ms. Kozuki was stunned would be an understatement, as she had her jaw dropped with her eyes nearly popping out of her skull. Milly had her phone out, pointing it at the duo as they separated, "Ooh, look who's trying to give Lelouch an early birthday present." she said while holding her phone.

"What's going on?" Nunally, who was in her wheelchair in front of Ms. Kozuki, asked, "Is Lelouch home?"

"So it would seem. Kallen's also here too." Sayoko answered

"Kallen's here too? Why isn't she saying anything then? And what about Lelouch?"

Currently, the Prince was tunnel visioned on one object, so he couldn't hear the conversations going on around him. Meanwhile, Kallen was staring at her mother with a red face, also not able to focus on the conversations.

"Milly… did you-"

The blonde grew a teasing grin as she interrupted Lelouch, "Yes, yes I did. If you want me to delete it, then you'll have to catch me!" with that, Milly ran out of the kitchen with her phone in hand. Soon, the boy chased after her, stumbling over the carpet in the process, but soon corrected himself, leaving Kallen alone with Ms. Kozuki, Sayoko, and Nunally. "I think we should leave Kallen and her mother alone for a moment," the Japanese maid said as she carefully wheeled Nunally out of the room.

"Why? Did something happen?" the innocent Princess asked as the door closed behind her.

Now, the red head stared at her mother in an uncomfortable silence, "Listen… it's not what you think…"

"Kallen," Ms. Kozuki interrupted her daughter, "Do you remember what I told you before?" her daughter nodded in response, "Listen… I trust you know not to make a stupid decision that would ruin your life… and with time, I've also learned to expect the same of Lelouch. So, I won't scold you. I just want to tell you to be careful, because I know that's all I can do."

Kallen slowly breathed in, then out, "Don't worry… it's not like that… today was just-"

"Why do you keep saying that?" her mother unexpectedly asked, "You two clearly have feelings for each other. I won't stop you from dating, and I'm sure Naoto wouldn't mind your relationship. Why not just date him already?"

The red head wasn't ready for such directness, especially from her mother of all people, "Um… well… I-"

"Am afraid of how he'll react, right? You won't have to worry about that, after all, a boy doesn't simply return a kiss to a girl he doesn't like."

"How long were you standing there!?" Kallen exclaimed

Ms. Kozuki smiled gently, "Long enough," her eyes wandered to the mess on the floor, "Now, let's get this cleaned up. After all, I'm sure Nunally would like the cupcakes for her brother's birthday topped with frosting, instead of nothing."

As the two began cleaning, Kallen asked, "Lelouch's birthday is tomorrow?"

"Yep. And Nunally asked him to bake some cupcakes for her. Of course, he doesn't know that these are for his birthday. All he knows is his sister's craving cupcakes, so that's what he'll make for her." Ms. Kozuki looked at her daughter, "What're you planning on getting him?"

Kallen's face turned red upon remembering their kiss, "I… I don't know… I'll find something tomorrow."

"That won't do!" Milly's voice chimed in, stunning both of the women.

"What are you doing here!? And where's Lelouch?" Kallen questioned as sweat dripped down the blonde's brow.

"I'll admit, that training regiment Villetta's got Lelouch on is doing wonders for his stamina. However, he really needs to work on his coordination, because he ran into a bush during the chase." Milly took a seat at the kitchen table, "He's probably scouring the school for me. But enough about that, let's talk birthday presents." she then eyed Kallen from top to bottom, stopping at two particular areas, before saying, "Are you sure you don't want to be his present~?"

"Milly!" Kallen shouted with a red face.

"What? It wouldn't be such a bad idea, right? I'm sure Lelouch would appreciate it."

"My mother's here! Have some shame!"

Slowly, the blonde turned to the Japanese maid, who smiled uncomfortably upon hearing the suggestions, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there!" she began to apologize.

"It's alright. I'd just appreciate it if you didn't…"

Not allowing her to finish her sentence, Milly interrupted the woman with, "Don't worry, I'll take this seriously!" she then looked at Kallen, "What are you planning on getting Lelouch?"

"What would Lelouch like for his birthday?" the red head closed her eyes in deep thought, "He likes chess… so maybe I could get him something related to that." that's when she came about a new revelation, "Wait… what does Lelouch like?"


December 5th 7:00 AM

"Wake up Lelouch!" Milly shouted while entering the boy's room.

Lelouch sat up in his bed, only wearing a white dress shirt and black dress pants, "What are you doing here?" he asked groggily.

"No time to explain!" the blonde replied while dragging the boy out of bed, exposing him to the cold air.

"What is your problem!?"

"Kallen needs your help buying Nunally a Christmas present. So, you two are going to the mall today."

"What about school?"

Milly's eyes narrowed, "You really want to go to school?" Lelouch shook his head, "Good, then go get changed. Unless you want me to help you~"

"Get out!"

15 minutes later, the Prince left the clubhouse, meeting up with Kallen who was talking to Milly, "What took you so long, huh?" the blonde began, "Actually, don't answer that! Kallen, he's all yours!"

The red head grabbed Lelouch's arm, not making eye contact while dragging him off campus, "Why aren't you saying anything?" the Prince asked as they boarded a train.

Kallen stayed silent while tightly holding onto her hostage's arm. "What do I say? Ever since that kiss… I can't even look at him in the eyes!"

While the red head was wrestling with her own thoughts, Lelouch was doing the same, "It's because of what happened yesterday… right?" he might not've shown it on his face, but he was still embarrassed about it. Not because it was bad or awkward, but because Milly took a picture of them. "All of my worries would go away if she'd just delete that picture… why does she have to make everything so complicated?"

Finally, the train arrived at their station, allowing for them to get off. "So… where are we going first?" he asked, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts.

However, once again, Kallen didn't say anything. "I'm supposed to keep him here for at least an hour… and yet I can't even talk to him. Not to mention, I still don't have a present in mind."

"Kallen." Lelouch called more forcefully while grabbing her arm, this time, she reacted by looking at him in the eyes, "Are you okay?"

She was trembling. Her eyes slowly moved down to the boy's lips, "I… um…" she sputtered while trying to get a sentence out, but after a deep breath, she said, "I think… we should go to the bakery first…" upon seeing the boy raise his eyebrow, she clarified, "I mean… you haven't eaten, right? We could grab a quick bite to eat while looking around."

Once again, the suggestion was just to quell her own stress, as Kallen was notorious for stress eating in times of distress. This was one of them. "I am kind of hungry…" the Prince muttered, "And I suppose it would be nice to actually get a look at that bakery again…"

As they stood in front of the bakery, they stared at a sign with their times posted:

M-F: 9:00AM-2:00PM.

Weekends: 8:00AM-3:00PM.

"Seriously, they're only open five hours a day? How on earth do they make money?" Lelouch muttered.

"Well… they're open longer on the weekends"

"This isn't the weekend." Kallen hung her head in disappointment, making the Prince pity her slightly, "How about we try the food courts downstairs?"

The red head nodded, and soon, they were seated at a table. Lelouch chose to eat a combo meal consisting of a hamburger, fries, and a coke, while Kallen opted to eat a pile of burgers. Just burgers. "You're going to get sick if you keep eating that fast," Lelouch suggested as his 'date' wolfed down three burgers in 10 seconds. A new world record. Just a shame she could only do this when stressed.

Kallen rolled her eyes while polishing off another burger. Lelouch took a sip of his drink while watching the spectacle with an amused smile, "Do you like burgers?" he asked.

The red head stopped chewing, "Well… they're something I always grew up with, and while I do like Japanese food, sometimes nothing beats a good burger," she said, or at least, that's what she would've said if her mouth wasn't full of food. Instead, what came out was a bunch of incoherent gibberish the Prince couldn't understand.

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

Kallen quickly tried to swallow her food, but came upon another problem: it was now stuck in her throat. Instinctively, she snatched the drink out of Lelouch's hand, and began gulping it down. The Prince watched in silence as she finished the drink off with a "Fwuah!" placing it back in his hand, as if nothing happened, "Thanks for that."

Lelouch looked at his drink with confusion, swirling it once, only hearing ice sloshing around inside, "I'm glad you liked my drink."

Kallen slowly realized what the boy meant, and soon, her face was beet red, so she hid behind her pile of burgers, trying to calm herself down. However, Lelouch wasn't going to let her do that, as he walked to her side, and knelt next to her, "Kallen, are you okay?" he whispered.

The red head turned her head to face the Prince, "How can I be? It's so embarrassing…"

"What's embarrassing?"

"The…kiss."

"What's so embarrassing about it?"

Kallen turned to the other side, "You're not talking about it, that's why." she muttered, "It's almost as if it didn't happen. It's not even affecting you."

Lelouch sighed, walking over to the side she was facing, "Truth is, I am… affected by it. It's just… I'm worried about something else…"

"What's that?"

"Milly."

"What'd she do?"

The Prince raised an eyebrow, "Do you seriously not know? She took a picture of us."

Kallen suddenly shot up, "Ah! You're right! I was so preoccupied with buying you a present and-" she covered her mouth.

"Present?"

"For Christmas!"

"Oh." Lelouch looked at a nearby store, "Well, I was thinking of a few ways we could deal with Milly, are you in?"

No. Kallen wasn't in. "Is it really so bad?"

"Yeah, I mean, I don't want Milly showing that picture to everyone in the school."

"So… you're ashamed of being with me?"

"That's not what I said." Lelouch replied, "What's going on? It feels like my words are being twisted against me"

That's exactly what Kallen's doing. Now, her objective is to get Lelouch to say he wants to be in a relationship with her. Of course, she doesn't just ask this out right, since she's scared of the results, so this was her best bet. At least, that's what she thought, "Then why're you ashamed? If she shows the whole school, then they'd just know that we're together… and word would spread to Ms. Villetta, who would have no choice but to believe our relationship."

Lelouch was more confused than ever. "I'd rather not have the school see me in such a vulnerable position."

"Why not?"

"Because actions like those are meant to be taken in private."

Kallen's ears perked up, "So, you're saying it's okay if I take that kind of actions if we're alone?"

That was the last straw for Lelouch. "What the hell is going on!?" he exclaimed, "I don't know what's with you, but I'm tired of this round-about conversation we're having!" he took a seat directly across for her, "We're resetting the conversation. From the top, what is it that you want, Kallen?"

The red head tried to hide behind her burger-wall, but failed to do so, as Lelouch moved a few out of the way, exposing her blushing red face, "I don't know what I want…" she whimpered while holding her head. It was her inferiority complex kicking in. She didn't feel like she could date this Lelouch because of her actions in the past timeline. However, what she failed to realize was that this was a different Lelouch, one that didn't see her as a subordinate first, and a romantic partner second.

"Then… how do you feel?" he asked with a genuine tone, one that was soft and gentle.

Kallen slowly looked at the boy in the eyes, "I feel… conflicted. That kiss yesterday, I thought it would make everything clear to me, and yet, now I just feel more confused than ever."

In other words, when push came to shove, she crumbled. Though, it was mostly due to the voice in the back of her mind, sowing doubt where she was once confident.

Lelouch leaned back in his chair, "Do you remember what I said about us before?"

"You said… in a year you'd give it a chance."

"Yeah, I did." the Prince stared into the sky; he couldn't look her in the eyes while asking this, "How about now?"

Kallen lifted her head off the table, which now left an imprint on the table, "What?"

"You heard me; do you want to try it now? A relationship."

"Look at me when you say it."

Reluctantly, Lelouch looked at Kallen in the eyes, "Would you like to… try a relationship with me?"

"A romantic one?"

"Yes, stupid."

Kallen chuckled at his response, "I'd like that…. I'd like that a lot."

The Prince let out a sigh of relief, "Now that that's out of the way… let's look for a present for Nunally."

"Nope. I just got an idea for one." the red head said while running off, "You stay here, I'll be back in a bit!"

Lelouch watched her retreating back enter a pawn shop, "What did I get myself into?"


10:00 AM.

Kallen and Lelouch returned to Ashford Academy, looking significantly happier than when they left, "You're seriously not telling me what's in the bag?" the Prince asked while reaching for the bag that his companion held close to her chest.

"No way!" she shifted away from him, "It's a surprise!"

"But I bought you those pastries, didn't I?" he held up a pink box filled with cupcakes and danishes.

"You bought most of those for Nunally!"

"I promise I won't tell her what you got." they finally arrived at the front of the clubhouse. Kallen playfully stuck her tongue out as the Prince pulled his keys out from his pocket, "That's strange, the clubhouse is never locked during school hours…" he muttered while opening the door to a pitch black room. The windows were covered by a dark red cloth, blotting out any and all light.

From behind, the red head shoved Lelouch in. That's when the lights came on, "Surprise!" shouted the members of the student council, Ms. Kozuki, Sayoko, and of course, Nunally.

"It's about time you got here." Milly approached with two party hats, placing it on the couple's heads, "I was afraid you two got… lost~"

Ignoring the implications of that statement, Lelouch asked, "What's all this?"

"Wow, you really are dense!" Rivalz put his arm around the Vice-president's shoulder, and blew out a party popper, "It's your birthday!"

"Birthday?"

"Yeah. Today's the 5th of December," Shirley approached with a smile, "Nunally and Milly set this all up."

The clubhouse first floor was decorated with balloons and a long table with food. "It might not be much, but it's the best we could put together with such short notice."

After all, who could forget Lelouch's Birthday?

Maya and Mario emerged from the kitchen, carrying a birthday cake with a poorly drawn illustration of Lelouch's face made of frosting. "Isn't it cute?" Milly said, "Nunally suggested we order the cake like that, so you better appreciate it."

Lelouch covered his red face, "Please don't tell me you picked that up in person…"

"Of course we did!" Nunally chimed in, "How else would we get it?"

The Prince gave his sister a hug, "It looks great."

Ignoring the change in his pulse, the Princess replied, "I'm glad you liked it. We had to get Kallen to distract you for the day to get this set up."

"Speaking of which…" the President slowly crept up to the red head, "It looks like you finally decided on a gift. What is it?"

Kallen instinctively backed away, "This is for Lelouch's eyes only!"

Milly stomped in frustration, "Fine. Then let's hurry up and cut the cake already!" Ms. Kozuki began placing candles on the cake, while Sayoko lit them with a lighter. Once all seventeen were lit, Rivalz pushed the Prince over.

"Why're you rushing me so much? What if I want to enjoy the moment?"

"Too bad! I want to see the presents!" Milly demanded. "Hurry up and make a wish!"

Lelouch took a deep breath, "What do I want? Of all the things that've happened, there's not one specific thing I want. Although… one thing does come to mind…" he blew out the candles.

"What'd you wish for?" the blonde asked before the Prince could even recover his lost breath.

"It's a secret."

Milly puffed out her cheeks in frustration, "Fine. Keep your secrets." then, she snapped her fingers, "Present time!"

Maya was the first to step forward, "This one's from both Mario and I. Be grateful, as I don't make inventions like this for just anyone!" Lelouch received the box shaped gift and tore off the wrapping, revealing a… toy drone. "Impressed? You should be. I stayed up all night creating that bad boy"

"Where's the controller?"
"It's pending."

"Meaning, she wasn't able to make it in time," Mario chimed in.

"Hey! I thought you wouldn't tell anyone!"

The rest of the guests laughed at the interaction, "Lulu, open mine next." Shirley handed Lelouch a box that was slightly bigger than Maya's.

Just as he did with the previous gift, he tore off the wrapping, and opened the box, revealing a teddy bear that was holding a heart that said 'Lelouch'. "Oh… wow… how sweet of you," he said while looking at the bear's eyes.

Kallen glared at Shirley, who returned the gesture with a smug smile, "I got it made last month in preparation for today."

"How bold, Shirley," the red head watched as her friend pointed out all the bear's details, "However… I've already won."

A smug grin found itself on Kallen's face as Shirley finished her explanation. Of course, the girl noticed, "No way! Does Kallen have a better gift for Lulu?" that's the conclusion she came to upon seeing the expression.

Despite the anticipation, Milly quickly cut in line, "Are you ready for my present, Lelouch?" she held out her phone with a certain picture, which nearly made the boy lunge forward, "Since it's your birthday today, I'll be generous, and delete this picture of you and Kallen. Aren't I the greatest?"

"Yes, you are the greatest," the Prince said sarcastically, "Now, can you please delete the picture?"

Just before the blonde could press the delete button, she stopped, "Can't I just enjoy this moment first?" she took in a deep breath, "This moment of power… this moment of finally getting a one-up on you."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're amazing and all that."

"So you admit it? That I'm the best President this school's ever seen?"

"Yes."

"And that everyone should be grateful for my existence?"

"You're pushing it."

Milly laughed, "I know, I know." finally, she deleted the picture, taking a huge weight off Lelouch's chest. "Now then, I think your endearing sister has something for you!"

Just as she said this, Nunally rolled up with a plate of cupcakes topped with various kinds of frosting. "Here you go, big brother."

"Are these… the cupcakes I made yesterday?"

"Yep! Nobody was really confident in their baking skills, and it was a bit late to order cupcakes from a bakery. So, I had you make these yesterday." she held the platter up, "Of course, Mrs. Stadtfeld made the frosting. I even got to be her taste tester!"

"Aw… that was nice of her," Shirley said while patting Nunally's head.

Nina approached Lelouch meekly, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't find a birthday present for you…" she said in a whisper.

"That's okay. I'm just glad you could attend the party."

"T-thank you for having me…"

Finally, it was Kallen's turn to give her present. "Wait just a second!" Rivalz called out, "Are you forgetting your best bud, Lelouch?" he held a champagne bottle that made the red head get an unpleasant flashback.

"Where did you get that!?" Shirley shouted, "We're the student council! We can't be drinking alcohol!" she tried to snatch the bottle from the blue-haired boy, only for him to pass the drink off to the Prince, who caught the bottle, "Not you too Lulu!" she tackled the boy to the ground, causing the cork to come loose, sending it flying into Kallen, who swiped it away.

However, she couldn't avoid the incoming stream of champagne, as it soaked her hair and clothes. "S-sorry about that…" Rivalz apologized.

This didn't stop the incoming fury from Ms. Kozuki though, "Mr. Cardemonde!" she began, "Just who do you think you are, trying to serve alcohol to kids?"

"I mean… it was just a celebration…"

"That's no excuse! Look at what your 'celebration' has done, you've soaked my daughter in alcohol, and almost ruined Lelouch's gift! What would you have done if she had dropped her present, destroying the contents?"

Rivalz held his head down in shame as Ms. Kozuki continued to scold his actions, with the only response he could give was, "Yes, Ma'am."

For the rest of the guests, it was an amusing sight, but for Kallen, it made her oddly… happy, to see her mother act like an actual mom for once, instead of a meek Japanese maid that served the Stadtfeld household.

"You can clean up in the shower upstairs, Kallen." Nunally said, as Ms. Kozuki began comically hitting Rivalz over the head with a rolled up newspaper.


"I thought I escaped such a fate, and now look at me," Kallen washed the sticky champagne off her body, "I guess, there are just some things that are destined to happen."

Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door, "Kallen, I've brought you a change of clothes." Lelouch's voice called.

"Okay, you can come in now. I've pulled the curtain"

The Prince entered the bathroom with his eyes almost glued to the floor as he approached the sink next to the shower. "These are my clothes, I hope they fit you."

"Thank you." just as Lelouch was about to leave, Kallen called again, "Wait. I haven't given you your Birthday present. It should be next to the sink."
The boy picked up the bag, "Is this a-"

"They didn't have the colors I wanted, but I suppose it's my fault for not being prepared." Lelouch pulled out a small glass chess set that had yellow and purple pieces, "I know it's not much, but I didn't know what else to get you."

"Thank you." he said while holding onto the chess set, "I know just where to put it."

Kallen slowly opened the shower curtain, "Turn around," she made sure the rest of her body was covered while saying this. Once the boy turned around, she quickly planted a kiss on his lips, before retreating behind the curtain, "That's how you properly say thank you from now on, understand?"

Lelouch was still stunned, however, he eventually recovered and said, "Bold words from someone who's hiding behind a curtain."

"Go away, you perv," the red head replied playfully. Of course, she wouldn't let their conversation end with those words, as she heard him open the door, she poked her head out and said, "Lelouch, happy birthday."

The Prince walked back to the shower curtain and pecked the red head on the lips, "Thank you, Kallen."


AN: I don't really know how to feel about this chapter; I like and at the same time, dislike this chapter. I can't really explain why though, maybe I'm just not happy with how I wrote Kallen and Lelouch interacting.

Next chapter should have an official appearance of C.C, so that should be fun to write, hopefully.