CG, "Cold Feet"
Gino isn't joking this time. He's really, honestly inviting her on a date. To Ougi's wedding. Where people Kallen knows will see them together. ...it's a dilemma.
Contains (obviously) Gino/Kallen, some background pairings. Written with the 30_romances prompt "1. Cold hands ; cold feet" in mind.
.cold feet.
She'd been aware of Gino's interest in her, from somewhere miles away. One of the first things he'd said to her in their first real meeting was an avid compliment to how she looked in her borrowed Britannian gown; one of the first things he'd said to her after joining up with the Black Knights was to ask her playfully if she had a boyfriend. But it had seemed like a joke -- he had always left it at a joke, with a laugh and a wave, and he had never made it anything more.
Part of Kallen had liked the attention. It was nice to feel wanted and attractive (she'd never felt like that before, not on a personal level, not on an intimate level) without feeling that she needed to make a decision, without... pressure.
And now, finally, here it was.
The decision.
Kallen stared at the invitation on the table and said, flat because she was uncomfortable, "I have an invitation to Ougi-san's wedding."
"Of course you do," Gino said, cheerful. He picked his up again and flipped it open. "But, see, it says, Sir Gino Weinberg of the Sovereign Commonwealth Britannia, and guest. So we're welcome to go with someone else. And I thought we could go together."
"Or I could go by myself," she pointed out. "Since I have an invitation."
Gino just laughed, completely unfazed by her response to his question. "Miss Chiba's got an invitation too, but don't you think she'll be going together with Toudou?"
She knew that they'd be going together, because Chiba had been glowing with it ever since the war ended. Sometimes when they were together, Kallen felt like the older one listening to a teenager: nothing overt, no gushing about how in love they were, their perfect dates; just a quiet, effusive wonder about Toudou and everything that he did.
"They seem happy, don't they?" Gino said softly.
Unspoken was, We could be that happy.
Kallen didn't know if she believed that, and she eyed him. Would she ever be the kind of woman who would say 'He's so -- amazing' about Gino?
But would she have said it for Lelouch? Did she even want to be that kind of woman?
Well... She had to make the decision eventually. And... she'd sort of liked being the center of his attention, warm when he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, playful when he bantered at her.
He was a Britannian, but that didn't matter anymore. He was an idiot, but she could always pretend to her friends that she was taking him out of pity. That would save her reputation, she thought. So the only real factor was that... she'd sort of liked his attention.
"I guess there's no reason I can't give it a try," she said, feeling the flush rising in her face. "Rivalz and Meeya are going together, so it's not like it's a big statement."
He lit up. "My limo can swing by at eight!"
"But if you don't wear a suit like a normal human being, so help me, rich boy," she threatened.
Gino didn't even seem to hear her, grin so charged that he almost glowed, and it made her remember Chiba. She thought in spite of herself, Maybe he'll be Chiba and I'll be Toudou, and then she couldn't stop laughing, which confused the matter a great deal.
Contains (obviously) Gino/Kallen, some background pairings. Written with the 30_romances prompt "1. Cold hands ; cold feet" in mind.
.cold feet.
She'd been aware of Gino's interest in her, from somewhere miles away. One of the first things he'd said to her in their first real meeting was an avid compliment to how she looked in her borrowed Britannian gown; one of the first things he'd said to her after joining up with the Black Knights was to ask her playfully if she had a boyfriend. But it had seemed like a joke -- he had always left it at a joke, with a laugh and a wave, and he had never made it anything more.
Part of Kallen had liked the attention. It was nice to feel wanted and attractive (she'd never felt like that before, not on a personal level, not on an intimate level) without feeling that she needed to make a decision, without... pressure.
And now, finally, here it was.
The decision.
Kallen stared at the invitation on the table and said, flat because she was uncomfortable, "I have an invitation to Ougi-san's wedding."
"Of course you do," Gino said, cheerful. He picked his up again and flipped it open. "But, see, it says, Sir Gino Weinberg of the Sovereign Commonwealth Britannia, and guest. So we're welcome to go with someone else. And I thought we could go together."
"Or I could go by myself," she pointed out. "Since I have an invitation."
Gino just laughed, completely unfazed by her response to his question. "Miss Chiba's got an invitation too, but don't you think she'll be going together with Toudou?"
She knew that they'd be going together, because Chiba had been glowing with it ever since the war ended. Sometimes when they were together, Kallen felt like the older one listening to a teenager: nothing overt, no gushing about how in love they were, their perfect dates; just a quiet, effusive wonder about Toudou and everything that he did.
"They seem happy, don't they?" Gino said softly.
Unspoken was, We could be that happy.
Kallen didn't know if she believed that, and she eyed him. Would she ever be the kind of woman who would say 'He's so -- amazing' about Gino?
But would she have said it for Lelouch? Did she even want to be that kind of woman?
Well... She had to make the decision eventually. And... she'd sort of liked being the center of his attention, warm when he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, playful when he bantered at her.
He was a Britannian, but that didn't matter anymore. He was an idiot, but she could always pretend to her friends that she was taking him out of pity. That would save her reputation, she thought. So the only real factor was that... she'd sort of liked his attention.
"I guess there's no reason I can't give it a try," she said, feeling the flush rising in her face. "Rivalz and Meeya are going together, so it's not like it's a big statement."
He lit up. "My limo can swing by at eight!"
"But if you don't wear a suit like a normal human being, so help me, rich boy," she threatened.
Gino didn't even seem to hear her, grin so charged that he almost glowed, and it made her remember Chiba. She thought in spite of herself, Maybe he'll be Chiba and I'll be Toudou, and then she couldn't stop laughing, which confused the matter a great deal.