A/N: Thank you, Akira-Hayama and Wintergables for leaving reviews on the last installment. And thank you so much for reading, following, and faving. XD I haven't been too active lately, and I'm sorry. Real life is really getting busy, and my own attraction to certain video games are not helping. Still, I'd like to say now, that I'll be keeping this short story up until C.C. gives birth. Which is pretty soon XD

'Til the next ;)

Cheese

"I'm fine, Lelouch. I'm just pregnant. Not incapacitated…"

How many times did he hear C.C. say those same words (or variations of it) for the past six months?

He knew she was perfectly independent and capable all on her own, but he couldn't help it. Everything had to be perfect. If they were going to get through this with as little problems as possible, then all things needed to be considered, and C.C. needed to be treated with the utmost care.

Not for the first time, Lelouch thanked the heavens for an obedient son who was just as concerned for C.C. as he was. In his own childish ways, Alexander always did what he could to make sure Mommy was as comfortable as possible. Lelouch adored him for it, and C.C. doted on their little boy even more than usual.

Truth be told, Lelouch didn't mind being all over the place for one bit. C.C. was the one with a human life growing inside of her; she was the one experiencing imbalanced hormones and physical changes, and eventually, she would succumb to the pain of labor in three months. If this was the least that he, as her husband, could do, then he'd do it pretty damn well!

He vowed, from the moment he found out about their second baby, that he would do anything within his capabilities to give her an easy pregnancy.

The price for that was the shit he had to go through every time C.C. was in the middle of her emotional meltdowns or severe food cravings.

Lelouch had lost count on how many times he had received weird stares from the staff of a particular diner. Because it seemed that every order he placed in the drive-through was weirder than the last. Each food item had one thing in common though: they all had cheese!

One time, C.C. asked him for peanut butter cups with melted cheese and pickles specifically from a certain fast food diner. That other time, she asked for macaroni and cheese dribbled with chocolate syrup. The worst craving she had was pizza from Pizza Hut with every kind of topping available on it. He only allowed her one slice of that though, because the saltiness was ungodly.

Her most bizarre craving so far was mashed potatoes with shredded cheddar cheese on top of one scoop of cheese-flavored ice cream, and then drizzled in caramel syrup. That one, Lelouch had to create himself.

"My last pregnancy, I had an aversion to pizza. How queer that it's the other way around this time." C.C. told him once as she munched away on her cheese pizza with 7-layers of cheese.

Each time Lelouch woke up in the morning, he always wondered what she would be craving next. Thankfully, she only asked for normal food these past two weeks. Recently C.C. craved chocolate milk and tuna fish topped with Parmesan cheese… She had it for snacks and sometimes, breakfast.

But what was supposed to be another normal day quickly turned upside down when he closed the door to the bathroom and came face-to-face with a red-faced C.C. and her teary eyes. Heart dropping into his stomach, he immediately reached for her — if only to hold her tenderly and banish the most worrying thoughts inside his head.

"C.C., what's wrong? Is the baby—"

His wife hiccuped but managed to shake her head. "The baby's fine. It's just—" A sob cut off whatever she had been about to say. "It's all me, Lelouch."

Tense shoulders relaxed slightly as her hold on him tightened. He stroked her hair and peppered her face with kisses — a gesture he knew she delighted in. He didn't know how long he and C.C. had been standing in front of the bathroom door, but frankly, he could care less until he heard she was doing much better. Plus, he really didn't mind one bit.

"Will you tell me what upset you?"

"You'll laugh if I tell you." She reasoned quietly as she rubbed the excess tears from the corners of her eyes.

"A sad song?" He tried guessing, tilting her chin up to brush his thumb across one of her flushed cheeks.

"Worse…"

He kept guessing — each stab at the truth becoming more ridiculous than the other. His lovely wife shook her head and laughed or smiled at all of them, still silently deprecating herself and her hormones for the ridiculousness.

He snorted and slowly rocked back and forth on his heels. "I bet it was another Pizza Hut commercial." C.C. stilled in his arms as she buried her face into the crook of his neck some more. "It was, wasn't it?"

The silence was a sufficient answer already…

Lelouch promised her he wouldn't laugh, but trust him when he said it was very hard. He settled for an amused smile with his chin on top of her head — something C.C. sensed somehow and she jabbed his gut for it. Because yes, she knew it was silly. But in her defense, pregnant women couldn't help their meltdowns. Hormones were hormones.

"Did they stop making Cheese-kun?— Oof!"

C.C. peeked at him with narrowed eyes, still a little red from her crying. He really did chuckle this time, and she paid him back with another sharp jab on the gut.

"It was nothing… Just another stuffed souvenir."

That was the end of that, and C.C. didn't really think he'd take her seriously. Why should he?

Nevertheless, she awoke to the sight of a very familiar Pizza Hut mascot one morning. The stuffed cheese doll smiled at her, with a blue beanie sewn on top of the blob, lying innocently in the spot where her husband usually slept.

"Silly, Lelouch…"