Memories
Title: Memories
Author: Tawnia/drayling
Pairing(s): Friendship C.C./Lelouch, implied Suzaku/Lelouch
Word count: 1,649 words
Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): General, angst
Summary: C.C. is lured back to Britannia by their fantastic pizza. She decides she might as well pay a memory a visit.
Warning(s): -
Author's note: This was originally a fill for a cgkinkmemeii prompt: Remembering the Demon Emperor - something based on this. I'll be honest and admit I have never watched any episodes from R2. So hopefully I managed to portray C.C. as in-character as the situation in this fic goes.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, written for fun, not money. All canon characters belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.
Memories
“All hail Empress Nunnally!”
At the audience's responding roar of approval, C.C. turned and quirked an eyebrow in slight interest. From her spot on the windowsill of her fourth-floor hotel room, she could see the thousands upon thousands of people witnessing the crowning of their new monarch. At the very front of the sea of humans were representatives from various TV stations, newspapers and magazines.
The entire nation must have assembled.
Shaking her head once, C.C. returned her full attention to the scrumptious slice of pizza in her hands. She had yet to comprehend the fevered excitement and flag-waving of the masses. They said that this occasion heralded the beginning of a new era and all that, but she personally believed that the new age had already been ushered in two weeks ago - at the instant when the Demon Emperor was struck down. Today's elaborate coronation was merely a formality, and also to allow Zero to fade into obscurity. She suspected that the free-flow of champagne for nobles and prominent businessmen was also part of this particular ploy. Let them get drunk till they're dizzy, and Zero's the last thing on their minds.
“You think of everything, don't you, Lelouch?”
She licked the last of crumbs and grease from her fingers and slipped down from the windowsill. Yawning and raking her fingers through her hair, she made her way to the bathroom. As she washed her hands in the sink, she looked curiously at herself in the mirror. She started to lean in closer to inspect her face more carefully, then caught herself and rocked back on her heels. For the first time in decades, a sheepish smile crossed her face.
It had only been two weeks. She had to be more patient and less eager. Enjoy what she had for now, for it wasn't as if she had all the time in the world now. The Black Knights must be keeping an eye out for the elusive, eccentric companion of their former leader, hoping to capture her for political and personal reasons alike. Remembering a certain redhead's ardent claims for revenge, she knew she had to be cautious when she went out on the streets now. A bloody end in some dirty, trash-filled alley was not stylish. Totally unfashionable. And then who would be responsible for Cheese-kun's welfare?
No, she had to tread carefully now.
C.C. padded towards the bed and sank down on to the springy, comfortable mattress. She pulled Cheese-kun into a tight embrace and fell into a deep slumber. When she awoke, it was late afternoon. She rose sleepily and had a quick shower. There was a flight she had to catch at ten o'clock that night, so she had a couple of hours to spare. She might as well spend it productively. Or sentimentally, she thought, as an idea crossed her mind. And why not? She could afford very human emotions now.
To celebrate, she left the hotel without paying. The room key in her hand felt like a milestone in her life. Two weeks ago, she would have never allowed herself to entertain such silly, self-destructive sentiments. Two weeks ago, she would have forbidden herself from feeling. But two weeks ago was not now, as like the past was not the present - and it would never be again. Not for her. Right now, it was all about the future. Her future. Something she didn't have for a tortuously long time, until two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago, Lelouch kept his promise.
“The debt has been repaid in kind, Lelouch.”
There was a satisfying sense of liberation as she watched the room key spiral through the air and into the water channel below her. Then she leaned against the metal railings and watched the slow, lazy swirls of the water flowing past. It seemed that everything had suddenly gained some sort of significance, she mused. Because at that moment she was thinking of how the flowing water symbolised the continuation of her own life, where previously she had been stranded in time.
After awhile, she decided it was time for some art appreciation.
The National Museum of Britannia was quiet and completely empty, as everyone else was at the coronation. Ignoring the guard's stare at Cheese-kun tucked between her side and the crook of her elbow, she handed him the fee. She was mildly surprised when he shook his head. “Admission is free today due to the Empress' coronation.” He pressed a button and the small, metal gate swung open for her.
Of course, it had to be free on the day where everyone would be attending the coronation and royal celebration afterwards and had no time to visit the museum. She refrained from clucking her tongue like some prim and proper middle-aged lady. She wasn't that old, not yet. She ascended the short flight of stairs and emerged on to a wide, grassy courtyard lined with large, gray flagstones. Ahead was the main section of the museum, which housed the featured or the most famous art works. Climbing the second set of stairs, she entered the cool, cavernous building. Upon seeing her reflection on the shiny marble floor, she spared a moment to look around at the luxurious surroundings, having never been here before. When her gaze swept to the right, her eyes widened and her haversack slipped from her shoulder, landing on the marble with a soft 'plop'.
There, on the wall, hung the largest painting she had ever seen. Hugging Cheese-kun closer, she stepped forwards and tilted her head back to admire the enormous painting in its entirety.
There was Lelouch vi Britannia in all his regal splendour. His usual expression of detached arrogance and haughtiness had taken a far backseat in this painting, replaced instead with a relaxed and tranquil countenance. His crown of gold and in-set blood-red rubies sat atop glossy locks of jet-black hair. He wore his Emperor's ensemble, a pure-white outfit with gold trimmings that clung to his lithe figure almost reverently. One leg crossed over the other, stretching the fabric of his pants it a way it accentuated the length of his slender legs. His elbows were propped on the arm-rests of the throne and his fingers were laced elegantly together beneath his chin, supporting his head. The edges of his lips were lifted into a small but beatific smile.
But it was his eyes that caught her attention.
Those deep, amethyst orbs held a look of tenderness so genuine, so raw, that even C.C. stared. Lelouch wasn't one to wear his heart on his sleeve, so for him to reveal this much emotion to others... It was a look she normally associated with Nunnally, though this time there was something different about it. Then she realised what it was.
Tears.
He was in tears at the time he was being painted, thought C.C. And she instinctively knew that Nunnally must have been next to or behind the artist. While Lelouch did not express such loving emotions readily, he was an open book around his beloved younger sister. It was clear from the way he gazed in the artist's direction. From there, she could also infer that the painting had been painted at the time when Lelouch had decided to pass on the legacy of Zero. Now she could appreciate the difficult choice he had made. Especially when he knew Nunnally had seen him die. That must have been the most agonising moment of his life.
He must have already been dead - inside, and emotionally - before he was actually physically executed.
She gave a heavy sigh and looked at the gold plaque beneath the painting.
It read:
Lelouch vi Britannia
99th Emperor of Britannia
C.C. stood for a while more, staring at the painting of the one who had changed her life. Irrevocably, and forever. Then she bent to retrieve her haversack and, with a last lingering glance back, walked out of the building.
“I can't believe I would actually say this, but... thank you, Lelouch.”
There would be no looking back, for either of them.
She had originally planned to tour the entire museum, but after seeing that painting, she thought that perhaps it was enough for now. She was hungry, afterall. Making her way down the steps, she extracted from her haversack the reserve slice of pizza she had saved from lunch.
The memory of the painting Lelouch was vivid in her mind as she walked away, smiling as she noshed devotedly on the slice of extra-cheesy pizza. Around her remained the peaceful silence, but the wind was picking up and rolling around the open courtyard. It was as if the wind was sending her a last farewell, before she left for complete seclusion once and for all. The cool breeze sifted through her unbound hair and sent them rippling back in waves, revealing the smooth, clean skin of her forehead. As she skipped through the courtyard her smile grew in intensity, morphing into an wicked, amused smirk.
Her cool, clear laughter rang out at the thought of what they had done. If the world knew, he would truly be a legend.
“I hope you're enjoying yourself in heaven, loverboy.” Tap, tap, tap went her light footsteps on the warm, grey flagstones. She waltzed past the startled guard and the golden arch of the museum's entrance. Casually, she lifted a hand and petted down her flyaway hair, hiding her unmarked forehead behind a curtain of lush, green fringe. “Oh, I bet you are.”
Finally, she was leaving, leaving this world behind.
About time, too.
“You've got an eternity ahead of you and your Suzaku.”
She paused. “And me?”
Her expression softened and settled into a serene, quietly joyful smile as she lifted her face to the blue skies and warm, golden rays of the sun. “Well, I've got pizza.”
“And the memories of us.”