For @shiitsuu who requested: a drabble involving the unholy trio going to the movies.
Sometimes Lelouch wondered if he had done something horrible in a past life, because he certainly seemed to be tortured like he had. It was the only explanation for what happened to him.
As it was, he had never expected to be trapped between Suzaku and C.C. in the middle of the worst movie in the world. Then again, he generally considered romantic comedies the worst genre. They were full of nothing but overused tropes, contrived plots and horrible acting. There was nothing to be gained from watching nearly two hours of something that could have been solved in the first five minutes.
He sighed and glanced over at where C.C. was leaned back in her chair. She was popping popcorn in her mouth a piece at a time, appearing into be enraptured by what was happening on the screen. Lelouch glanced up, raising his eyebrow as the heroine broke down and cried for what he thought was the fifteenth time in the last ten minutes.
Lelouch looked back at her as C.C. made a soft hum, the sound not carrying beyond the three of them. For a moment, she looked almost sympathetic, but then her usual neutral expression was back. Even with that, Lelouch knew for a fact that C.C. was enjoying the movie. She regularly read books that were the exactly the same as the movie that they were watching. Both she and Nunnally devoured romances with a fervor that was mind boggling. He had picked up one out of curiosity and had put it down just as fast. There was only so much bodice ripping that he could handle before he started to question what he allowed his little sister to read.
He gave C.C. one last look before turning his head to look at where Suzaku sat on his other side.
Suzaku wasn’t having the same success as C.C. at hiding what he was feeling. Lelouch could clearly see the shine of tears on Suzaku’s face, and he looked like he was one more tastefully broken sob away from joining the woman.
Lelouch sighed and put his hand on the armrest between them, partially amused when Suzaku immediately grabbed it. Suzaku briefly met his gaze with a watery smile before he went back to the movie. He found himself smiling as Suzaku squeezed his hand in thanks.
He should have known that Suzaku would cry during the movie, Suzaku was a sensitive soul. He cried for every heartbroken person and dead animal in every movie, but that was one of the reasons he liked Suzaku. The man’s compassion made up for his own cynicism.
Lelouch stroked the back of Suzaku’s hand with his thumb, watching just long enough to make sure that Suzaku would make it through the sobbing scene before turning his attention back to C.C.
She had turned her attention away from the movie, her eyebrow rising when she saw that he was holding Suzaku’s hand. Lelouch just shrugged and put his other arm on the armrest. “Need the support?”
C.C. huffed, her gaze going back to the movie.
Lelouch had fully expected the refusal and he turned his attention back as well. Even with his diversion he could follow what was going on. The heroine was struggling to come to terms with the man that she loved, who was a horrible asshole, was leaving her for good. Lelouch was sure that they would get back together in the end, because there wasn’t another sympathetic character. It was a horrible lesson to end the movie on, because the woman would probably go crawling back to the man.
He leaned his head back, letting it fall onto the slightly padded rest on the back of his seat. He was about to move his arm off the armrest when he felt a hand settle into his.
Lelouch made a face at the greasy slide of butter and popcorn, but he stopped himself from yanking his hand away when he heard a quiet sniff from where C.C. sat beside him.
He glanced quickly over at her, just long enough to see that her eyes were wet before he turned away.
He gave C.C. a few seconds to let her believe that he hadn’t noticed before squeezed her hand in return.
Author’s Note: For @shiitsuu because of her raging thirst for unholy trinity. Also an preview of a fic that will be posted in the future.
June 1868 atb
Pendragon, Britannia
C.C. worked at the knots in her corset, letting go of the tangled strings as she felt fingers brush against hers. She dropped her hands to her side, smiling at the brief brushes of Suzaku’s fingers against her skin. There was no way that her corset strings were that knotted, and she was not about to complain. If she thought she could get away with it, she would ask him to rub some of the knots that had worked their way into her shoulders.
The railroad connection to Pendragon meant a bustling business. There were always new shipments that were coming in, new things to attract the customers. Her regulars were a sure thing, but they always approved of something a little new. More people from Pendragon were starting to flock to her saloon as those further down Camlann Street started to get a bad reputation. If a prince of the empire frequented the Royal then it had to be better than any of the others in the city. C.C. wasn’t above using Lelouch to keep her business going. She just hadn’t thought that the Royal would get so popular.
An increase in customers meant more supplies, which thrilled Mary Cardemonde. The woman had been beaming the entire time she had helped C.C. and Sayoko unload the latest shipment and bring it around to the back of the saloon. The increase of people in Pendragon meant that she was doing brisk business as well. She had bought out the top half of the street and had expanded to renting lots that were dotted throughout the city. C.C. couldn’t wait for the day when the nobles started coming into Pendragon and realized that they would have to buy land from Mary, a divorced woman in an open relationship with a Number. She was almost tempted to find a way into those negotiations.
The corset dropped away from her, C.C. turning to smile at Suzaku before she kicked her dress and corset away from her. She reached back to undo her petticoat, wiggling out of that before walking to the other side of the room. She could feel Suzaku’s gaze on her as she walked, C.C. smiling to herself. Suzaku was never one to hide if he was admiring her, and C.C. couldn’t help but play up for him. Suzaku was the only one to show open appreciation for her, Lelouch was still too stuck in his Richmond and New London ways.
She picked up her nightgown, flinging it across her arm and not bothering to put it on. C.C. turned around, giving Suzaku a flirtatious grin before making her way over to the bed.
She sat down on the edge of bed, flipping the end of the nightgown over her lap. It was a relief to be out of layers of clothes after working all day in the hot sun. Even with the sun going down, it was going to take a while for the town to be properly cooled down after a day of baking in the heat. It was almost enough to make C.C. want to lounge around naked for a while longer. Then again, Lelouch was sure to come into the bedroom and she didn’t want to deal with his sputtering and trying to cover her up. It wasn’t like any of the three of them cared nor would anyone walk into the room. No one bothered Lelouch after sundown under the mistaken assumption that he would stop working.
C.C. sighed and pulled her nightgown on, wincing when it caught on the pins in her hair. She sighed and reached back to start undoing them, freezing when she heard the door open. She glanced over her shoulder, smirking when she saw Lelouch slipping into the room.
The prince glanced around, his gaze lingering where Suzaku was standing. C.C. turned her head, making an appreciative noise when she saw that Suzaku was pulling his shirt off. She grinned when Suzaku paused, watching as he glanced between the two of them before tossing his shirt on a chest in a corner of the room.
Lelouch made a disgusted noise, but didn’t go to retrieve the shirt. He was probably too used to dealing with the two of them to argue about keeping the room to his standards, but it must have been a long day if he didn’t bother to shoot Suzaku an annoyed look.
C.C. patted the empty space beside her, turning her back to Lelouch as an invitation as soon as he sat down. She felt him settle onto the bed a moment before his fingers carded through her hair. They tangled in the pins and braids for a moment, C.C. letting Lelouch feel out their position before he pulled back and started to work them out in earnest.
She closed her eyes and listened to the tap of pins on the bedside table, enjoying the brief press of Lelouch’s chest against her back when he leaned forward to place them there. One of his hands always stayed on her head, fingers curling slightly as he worked through her hair.
C.C. didn’t know why Lelouch seemed to enjoy playing with her hair, but she didn’t care. He always took the chance to work it out of its twist for the day. If he took longer than needed she didn’t complain, not when he was so gentle.
The bed shifted against as Suzaku climbed onto it, C.C. opening one eye as she felt him brush against her. He hovered at her shoulder for a moment before sliding down onto his stomach. From the sleepy smile he gave her, he wouldn’t be awake for much longer. C.C. shook her head and reached down to rest her hand on his shoulder. She had spent most of her time at the Royal, so she hadn’t heard what Lelouch had gotten up to. Now that he didn’t have to worry about Luciano, rogue town councils or the Indian tribes C.C. didn’t know what Lelouch was doing with his time, aside from riding relentlessly through the city and encouraging his workers to keep going. At least now there was progress to show for his heckling.
She heard Lelouch sigh as he finished with her hair, letting it fall down her back. C.C. shook her head to let it settle into place, feeling it cascade down her back. She felt him brush his fingers through the end of it before he rested his forehead against her shoulder.
C.C. chuckled, glancing down at Suzaku, not surprised to find the man half asleep. “You wore out Suzaku. Did the two of you have fun without me?”
Lelouch just grunted as an answer, one of his hands slipping around to rest on her waist. C.C. lowered her hand to rest over his, squeezing it gently. Her other hand she shifted to rest on Suzaku’s shoulder, stroking down Suzaku’s arm.
She could hear Suzaku’s breathing evening out as he fell asleep, sure that Lelouch was close behind her. C.C. leaned back into Lelouch, waiting for him to shift so she could curl up in the center of the bed.
Out of all the positions in the bed she enjoyed being pinned between the two of them. It was comfortable, especially when the night did cool everything down. She was trapped in her own pocket of warmth and lulled to sleep by two sets of steady breathing. The only flaw in her plan was the way that Suzaku was still sprawled partially across the bed.
She nudged at Suzaku with her toes, hearing him snuffle as he woke up. “Get up here.”
She thought she heard him grumble before Suzaku hauled himself to the head of the bed. He settled himself on her other side, his arm draped across her middle.
C.C. snuggled it between the two of them, rolling her eyes when Lelouch rolled over for his book. “Don’t keep me up forever.”
She didn’t see his expression, she was too busy settled back under the covers, tucking one hand around Lelouch’s thigh. She felt him shift to get more comfortable and then silence as he settled into his book. C.C. felt Lelouch lean closer to the lap, but she ignored it. With Lelouch’s legs tucked under the covers and Suzaku tucked against her back she had her own little pocket of warmth, just what she needed after a long day of hauling crates.
The pages of Lelouch’s book rustle just before C.C. felt a hand rest on her head. It sat there for a moment before Lelouch started carding his fingers through her hair.
She pushed her head slightly into the touch before resettling herself, letting the calming motion send her to sleep.
Do you love/hate/don’t feel strongly about this character? Suzaku is my favorite character. He has his flaws and I know half the fandom’s opinion on them, but I don’t give a damn. He’s a precious baby.
What’s your favorite trait of this character? His perserverence. Suzaku gets knocked down nearly constantly in the series but he never stops working towards his goal.
What’s your favorite moment/event involving this character?Any time he smiles, because it’s kind of rare.
If you could have one power/attribute/etc. of this character, what would it be? The spinkick. It looks so damn cool.
Have you ever pictured this character naked?Not really. I’ve seen fanart but there’s almost no need because of the pilot suits he wears.
When did you fall in love/hate with this character? If you don’t have any strong feelings toward them, why not?The first time I watched Code Geass I couldn’t even remember his name. I really didn’t have strong feelings for anyone until the second watch through, but I do remember thinking that Suzaku was a sweetheart the first time. The second time just cemented him as my favorite.
Who’s your OTP for this character?Overall, it’s Suzalulu. I just like the chemistry between them. That being said, I ship Suzaku/Euphemia because it’s sweet and as Suzaku/Lelouch/C.C. because I love the group dynamic at the end of the series.
Julius
Do you love/hate/don’t feel strongly about this character?I was confused about Julius at first, mostly because I heard about him before I had seen the OVA. Then, I loved him because of all the historical potential. Plus he helped my whole idea of Lelouch as a Roman Emperor and Britannia as Rome theories. I was 99% sure he was Lelouch, so my feelings for him are the same as Lelouch. He’s a fucking ridiculous noodle and I love him.
What’s your favorite trait of this character?I like the different kind of ruthlessness. You got used to Lelouch’s particular brand through the series, which was tempered in a way by the fact that he actually knew the people he was working with. This is Lelouch with no attachments and no holds barred, which is interesting.
What’s your favorite moment/even involving this character?The moments where he’s fighting off the geass, mostly because I want to know exactly what he remembers/when he is remembering himself being Lelouch.
If you could have one power/attribute/etc. of this character, what would it be?As Julius he’s basically just waving around the fact that he’s the extension of Charles’ power into Euro-Britannia so...the importance to have the Knight of Seven following him around.
Have you ever pictured this character naked?Not really. As I said before, fanart kind of negates the need for me to picture that stuff on my own.
When did you fall in love/hate with this character? If you don’t have any strong feelings toward them, why not?When Eggy put up the picture, because I thought it was Lelouch. And then when I started looking into his name. Honestly the entire meta post about Julius as Lelouch as Julius Caesar was essentially my love note to this side of the character.
Who’s your OTP for this character?Julius/Suzaku, because he doesn’t really interact with anyone else. For shit and giggles though, Julius/Water. They were meant to be, but they just keep getting separated.
