Code Geass Fan Fiction

Two Names, One Heart

By Kraven Ergeist

A/N: I know I'm not going to last until episode 2 comes out, so I decided to write this to sooth my impatience.

Kallen was used to keeping her emotions in check. Then again, when she was passionate about her chosen field as she was, sometimes a little emotion went a long way. But when Zero had entered the picture and practically manifested her desire for a liberated Japan into physical form, she couldn't help but feel intensely drawn to him. Because he kept his face behind a mask, she was always kept at a distance. And she had accepted that. If that was Zero's wish, then she would go to great lengths to make it so. And she knew that it was a good idea to keep there relationship strictly professional, no matter how much idolization went on in the background.

However, on that fateful day when the mask came off…

She hadn't felt anything particularly special for Lelouch before then. She knew he was an exceptional student, gifted and talented. And of all the students at Ashford Academy, he was one of the few Britannians she could call her friend. But he was a friend – a classmate – who had nothing to do with (and really, knew nothing about) the real her. The Kallen that she displayed to them was a mask, just like the one Zero wore. The face they kept beneath…

"Zero?"

The rescue of their thought-to-be dead leader had gone off a little bumpy, but otherwise successful. They had retreated to a safe haven within the Kyoto house, deep beneath the remains of Mount Fuji and the surrounding countryside. Despite having seemingly lost his memory as they'd been told, CC had made good on her promise to unlock his memories and undo the seal on his mysterious power, which the Black Knight's still knew very little about.

Their leader sat up from the small cot they had managed to procure, having been recovering and given time to sort through his memories to get an accurate picture of things. Kallen had expected CC to be with him, but he was alone. CC must have been helping cover their escape. She was a surprisingly versatile asset to the Black Knights in that regard.

"Oh…it's you…" Lelouch blinked several times, as though recalling her name. "Kallen…Kozuki Kallen…"

Kallen nodded, giving a slow, deliberate salute. "Sir…the Black Knights have sorely missed you."

Lelouch nodded, dropping his tone of voice and expression to fit his role as Zero. "Well, I have returned. And that is all thanks to you. Admirable work."

Kallen felt herself smiling. "I'm just sorry it took so long, sir."

Lelouch shook his head. "Nonsense…frankly, I consider it a surprise that I was even left alive. I'll need a debriefing of our tactical situation in a moment…"

Kallen saw his eyelids close halfway, as though he was lost in thought…or perhaps, looking down discreetly? There hadn't been enough time (or adequate privacy) to change out of the bunny girl outfit she wore as a disguise in the Tower of Babel, and apart from her pilot's jacket thrown over her shoulders for warmth, she realized just how exposed she was.

"But first, I feel I must apologize…" Lelouch said, glancing the other way. "That in order to reach me, you had to compromise yourself personally to such an extent…"

Kallen was already blushing, and the unmistakable color in her leader's cheeks only made it worse.

"Not at all, sir…" Kallen bit her lip, trying to stay professional. "Everyone came out alright, and the mission was a success…"

Lelouch turned back to her, his expression now one of seriousness and…was that guilt?

"And now…I sense that you desire an explanation…"

Kallen nodded. Although she had been surprised to discover Zero's identity, it all made sense in a certain way. Who else would be smart enough, have the resources, or the knowledge…

But where did the motivation come from? He was a Brittanian. It just didn't add up. She had wanted to query him since the moment she laid eyes on him in the Tower of Babel (though on the list of things she'd wanted to do with him, this was still outranked by another particular desire), but her sense of loyalty had commanded her to ensure his successful retrieval first, which meant sticking the plan of feigning ignorance.

But now that things had settled down some, those questions boiled to the surface.

"Zero…why did you leave?" Kallen blurted out, a hint of betrayal in her voice. "That could have been our finest hour. We needed you, Zero…why…?"

"Kallen…" Lelouch said, his face a mask of dispassionate stoicism. "Why do you fight for the Black Knights?"

Kallen straightened. "The liberate the people of Japan."

Lelouch got to his feet. "We both know that's just a pretty speech…" he stepped over to her, imposingly. "Now why do you really fight the Brittanian Empire?"

Kallen stiffened, nervously. Or was it in anticipation?

"For…for my brother…and for my mother…" she said in a trembling voice. "For vengeance…and to create a safer world to live in…"

Lelouch nodded, evidently satisfied.

"You don't know this because it was kept a secret from everyone at Ashford, save for a select few individuals…" Lelouch said, lowering his gaze. "My full name is Lelouch Lamperouge vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the Britannian Empire. I am – or rather, I was – seventeenth in line to the throne."

Kallen nearly fell over. Had Lelouch not reached out to catch her, she would have. She just couldn't believe it.

"You're joking…you have to be joking…" Kallen babbled, her eyes unfocused. "Not only are you a Brittanian…but you're a member of the Royal family? A descendant of the Emperor?"

She was trembling, as if her whole body rejected the idea. It was just ludicrous!

Lelouch took her face in his hands, staring into her eyes. "Not all Britannians believe in Britannia. But what you don't know about me is that when I was ten, the Brittanian Empire had my mother executed, just for being common-born. The event scarred my sister Nunnally for life, leaving her in the state you last saw her in."

Lelouch dropped his hands away from Kallen's shoulders when she was able to stand up straight, slowly getting over the shock.

"Our reasons for fighting are the same. I fight Britannia to avenge my mother...and so that Nunnally can live in a better world than the one Britannia has made for her."

He sat back down on the cot, as though stricken with grief.

"I always knew there'd be difficulties being both Zero and Lelouch," he said lamenting. "Ideally, both would make decisions independent of one another. The concerns of Lelouch would not affect those of Zero, and vice versa. But we don't live in an ideal world…"

Lelouch turned his shame-filled face towards Kallen's now lucid eyes.

"I left the battle because…someone kidnapped Nunnally. And as her older brother, I was obliged to find her…I was obliged to put the one before the many, drop everything I had worked for, and sacrifice the success of the Order of the Black Knights…"

Kallen stared hard at the man she called her leader. Her whole world collapsed in an instant. The man she had been more proud of than any she had ever known had been reduced to tears.

"Can you ever forgive me, Kallen?" Lelouch mouthed, his eyes wet and his throat tightened in guilt. "I swear to you, I will make our goals a reality…and for that, I need your trust. Before, I lead the Black Knights through vision and secrecy. But you're worth more than that. You've proven your devotion time and time again…and for that, you deserve to hear the truth…"

Kallen bit her lip. The feeling of hurt and betrayal hadn't gone away. It had intensified noticeably, come to that. But with it came something unexpected. A feeling of sympathy, admiration for surrendering what power his deceptions might have held over her, a connection to something that was truly human after all.

Cautiously, she approached him.

"Is that Zero's request?" she asked candidly, "or Lelouch's?"

Despite himself, Lelouch felt himself smiling. "Zero's. Lelouch feels no guilt for putting his sister before everyone else. But Zero…feels the weight of all the lost hopes of the people of Japan."

Kallen sat next to him, lacing her fingers around her knees. "I may not agree with what you did…but I understand. I…I forgive you, Zero…" she turned her eyes to him, looking serious. "As long as you haven't given up on us."

Lelouch smiled. "Never. Too much is depending on me. I won't abandon the people of Japan…and…I won't abandon you, Kallen…never again…"

Kallen's eyes widened. His voice…it had changed. Before, he had been speaking using Zero's voice. But just now…his voice had been purely that of the schoolboy she had known him as before.

"Are…" she bit her lip, blushing slightly. "Are you saying that as Zero…or as Lelouch?"

Lelouch smiled in a way that made Kallen want shriek in terror and squeal in delight all at once.

"At this moment…" Lelouch said, leaning closer to her. "Both of them want the same thing…"

Kallen tilted her face up to receive his kiss, letting herself dream that this was actually happening, that the man she had worshipped for so long was sitting here, revealing his secrets to her, pouring his heart out to her, and kissing her in open affection. Whether it was gratitude for her forgiveness and continued devotion, the bursting of the damn that had held back his emotions for so long, or the rush of hormones that were no doubt surging at the sight of her in this bunny girl outfit, she didn't care. Zero…Lelouch…was kissing her.

And then she opened her eyes, and she wasn't dreaming.

"And while we're on the subject my dual identities…" Lelouch said with a hint of candor. "Which of the two do you see now? Lelouch…or Zero?"

Kallen blinked, still recovering from that initial kiss. "You…I…"

"I'm not asking you to choose one over the other…" Lelouch smiled mischievously. "I just want to know…" he leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "…If we were to make love, which name would you be screaming, I wonder…"

Kallen's knees became jelly, her face on fire. "Z-Zero!" she shouted, more in surprise than anything else.

Lelouch nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Kallen, you've been nothing but devoted to me ever since you joined the Black Knights. You've fought by my side, you've saved my life, and you've turned down every opportunity you've had to unmask me…so you can trust that I'm not doing this just to entice further devotion out of you."

He stroked her face, comfortingly.

"This isn't something that I need as the leader of the Black Knights…this is something that I want as a person…"

He kissed her again. This time, Kallen had the wherewithal to respond in kind, returning fire with her own heated kisses, shrugging out of her flight jacket to press her lean (and scarcely clothed) body to his, savoring the barest hint of a flinch running through his body as her breasts pressed against him.

Lelouch broke off the kiss.

"There'll be time for this later…" he cleared his throat, face clearly red. "The rest of the Black Knights deserve to be heard…"

Kallen smiled, part of her thrilled at her victory, the other part agreeing with her leader's reasoning.

"I would prefer the rest do not learn of this, at least, not right away…" he was back in Zero mode, speaking in that lowered tone that chastised and uplifted simultaneously.

Kallen nodded, contently. "I understand."

Lelouch headed for the door, stopping before he touched the handle.

"I never said 'thank you'…" he said, apologetically.

He felt Kallen wrap her arms around his waist, placing another kiss on the back of his ear.

"Yes you have…"

xxxxx

A/N:

Just a quick waffy one-shot that will hopefully fit in with the new series. I couldn't speculate about Rollo or Nunnally, so I left their fates as ambiguous as I could.

Hope everyone enjoys.