Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.

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Lelouch bolted up in his sleeping bag with sweats dripping down the eyebrows. His violet eyes were wide open, his lips trembling slightly as he slowly put up his hands to touch his hot forehead. It felt like he just had a fever.

He slowly turned his head around to give the all-so-familiar-yet-not-so-familiar-anymore room a look. All that he could see was the glowing dim light of his alarm clock that said it was only three in the morning, and that he needed to go back to sleep.

Lelouch let a small groan escape his lips as he fell back down onto the soft pillow. He brought one arm up to cover half of his handsome face, and listened. The room was so eerily quiet as if the only thing present in it was the pit of darkness with evil spirits lingering around; silent evil spirits, who patiently waited for their right chance to get him. How absurd, he thought angrily and turned on his side, to think that I would actually believe in all that ridiculous stuff.

He knew he had to banish all those crazy thoughts away and try to get some decent sleep, for he still had school tomorrow and Zero's duties; he couldn't let people who trusted him with their lives down now could he? Letting them down by not thinking clearly through the plans and tactics, by getting them killed just because of a stupid mistake? No, he couldn't afford to let that happen at all, he needed to have his head cleared.

So as he proceeded to pulling up the blanket to cover his thin frame, he forced his eyes to shut. He finally got his wish granted; sleep had come rather quickly than he anticipated. The dreams, however, were what he had dreaded the most.

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There he was, standing on the deserted field, accompanied by so many Knightmares and Guren. He, the mighty Zero, pointed his long fingers towards the Britannia citizens as he gave out a cold order, "Kill them all, don't let a single one escape. Remember you're doing this for Japan."

His soldiers were like blinded puppets, they would do whatever he said, even the cruelest things humans could possibly do. They had no questions, no doubts, only loyalty and obedience.

They charged down the streets, slaughtered everyone in sight who wasn't Japanese despite their screams of agony and begs. Some clerics were praying in the Churches, and before they could even finish their praying lines, their bodies were already scared with many bullets.

In the great chaos, Zero just stood there. His mask was on, hiding all the expressions he was possessing. But from the looks of things, it seemed like he was very satisfied. He looked on coldly as the streets were downed in pools of blood. He looked on coldly when people managed to crawl up to him and begged him to stop, only to be killed in a most horrible way. No Britannians were allowed to touch the Great Zero.

Then all of a sudden, his heart tightened hard to the point he wanted to tear his chest open and pulled out the cruel heart. What was he doing? Wasn't he supposed to be the symbol of justice? So what is this? Has hell broken loose? The smile he was having turned upside down, and he screamed. "No! Stop! Stop what you're doing!"

But it was all too late, the animals inside his soldiers had already taken the best of them; the slaughter continued on, laughter was heard here and there. Claws of the Knightmares tore open the flesh of their victims without disgust or hesitation. They had gone wild, and killing was their only fun right now.

Zero gasped loudly as he saw the children were being chased by a Guren. They were running towards him. Towards him! He just knew he had to protect them from the God of Death. Fate was never fair though. The Guren got them in its iron hands before they even screamed out "Help us Zero!" and crushed them mercilessly. Blood poured out freely like a flowing river, except this one had a color of dark red.

Zero thought he might die.

His body was shaking, his knees turned jelly as he slumped to the hard ground. What had he done? What good did he really do besides killing people, innocents included? Would he be able to complete his quest? Would he even be at Hell's mercy when he left this body? Heaven was already too far to reach, where would he go after this lifetime? Trillion of thoughts running wildly through his head that he didn't notice a wrinkled, bloody hand grabbed his arm. When he looked up, he was met with only a bloody mask that seemed to be cut severely; the mask that looked as if it was being torn away piece by piece. And he screamed.

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"NOOO!" He bolted up in the bed once again, this time face covered in sweats entirely.

"Lelouch?" Asked a cool voice somewhere close by; a woman's voice.

The boy in question quickly scrambled out of his sleeping bag and rushed towards the door with one hand clamped over his mouth, as the other yanked the said door wide open. And ran out.

C.C.'s one delicate green eye-brow was raised up slightly as she heard the door to the bathroom got slammed shut hastily, following by some strange muffled sounds. It sounded like vomits, decided the green-haired witch as she stared out the darkened hallways.

It seemed like Nunnally was sleeping sound; to the point she couldn't hear her brother's horrifying scream. Or maybe she did, but couldn't get out of bed since the poor girl was crippled. She might be calling out desperately to get attention, but unfortunately enough, there's no one here except for Lelouch and C.C.; Sayoko already left early in the evening, and C.C. wasn't going to risk being exposed.

So letting that thought aside, she fell down onto the soft pillow and glued her golden, wide-awake eyes to the ceiling. Her Cheese-kun was temporarily forgotten.

After several minutes, the door to the bedroom creaked, signaling its master had returned. C.C. lifted her head slightly to stare at the figure. He just stood there, leaning heavily against the closed door with one hand touching his forehead while the other resting on the doorknob behind his back. His breathing was shaky and uncontrollable.

"Lelouch, what's wrong?" The green-haired girl asked as she slowly got into a sitting position. Her eyes never left his tired face.

"Nothing," he said wearily. He then left his pose to come back to his futon, managing to not getting tripped in this pit of darkness with only exhausted eyes to see.

"You know you can tell me everything," C.C. said firmly as her emotionless gaze followed him around. "You're my contractor; I need to keep you in well-being."

"I'm fine, C.C." Was all he concluded simply. Giving the clock one quick glance, he silently cursed under his breath that he only had two hours to sleep before the alarm clock went off for real. Another day of two different, complicated lives, he thought as one hand reached down to pull up the thick blanket. Involuntarily, he heaved a small sigh.

C.C. could only stare at the boy lying in the sleeping bag with an unreadable expression. She really didn't need him to tell her that something was wrong, she could tell from his demeanors and the way he acted.

Waking up in the middle of the night screaming, then running out to the bathroom to vomit, and came back with a zombie's look on his face. So much for 'everything's fine". C.C. rolled her eyes at that.

She asked because she wanted to hear it from him, coming right from his mouth. She wanted to know what truly bothered him, but since he didn't want to talk about it, then so be it. She wouldn't push him any other way since she, herself, also hated persistent. But she'd be there for him whenever he needed her. Maybe he just didn't need her right now.

"Alright, whatever suits you Lelouch," she said before a small yawn escaped her lips. Without bothered looking at him one last time, she lazily grabbed her forgotten Cheese-kun next to her and flopped down again. Her eye-lids closed slowly as sleep drifted back.

Very opposite to C.C., Lelouch was struggling to get some sleep. He felt so tired and exhausted as if his body were screaming for some rest, literally, yet he couldn't even force his eyes to shut. And as weary as they were at this state, they were still too stubborn to comply with his commands.

The raven-haired teen rolled restlessly over to his side, his back was to the witch on his bed, as his long fingers clutched tightly into the blanket around him. This time he was determined to actually get a decent amount of sleep; he couldn't afford sleep deprivation at the moment.

Strangely, whenever he managed to close his eye-lids, what he saw wasn't the darkness or some comfort but the pool of red liquids lying ahead. Everything was so red, the ground he was standing on was red, the sky up high was also red. Even his clothes were dyed in red. It was as if the whole world was turning red permanently. Red, red and red. And then somewhere far away, some figures were limping over. He couldn't make out what they were, but they seemed as thin as skeletons, and as they slowly came to him, their arms reached out desperately. Then without a warning, they all jumped at him.

His violet eyes popped open immediately. Oh no please don't let this happen again, he prayed as he shook his head violently, trying to clear the images to no avail. It didn't matter that he was now back to the reality, those images were still lingering in his head, refusing to leave.

He really thought he was going insane.

Nunnally….Yes Nunnally can help me…maybe I should spend the night in her room with her…

But then she would wonder why I want to do that, and I would have to explain everything. No, that's not possible, I can't let her know my secrets…..not yet….

No wait, she wouldn't wonder that…I've been going to her room more than once to read her stories—ah stories, maybe I could read some to her now. She'll be happy….No, impossible, it's 4:15 a.m. who would want to hear stories at this time?

Then how am I going to explain myself when I go to her room before dawn breaks? She wouldn't believe me if I said I'd rather sleep with her than alone….Would she believe me? She's my sister! She has to!

Lelouch didn't realize he was holding his head tightly in his hands as his body was curled up into a ball.

His eyes shut as sweats dripped down like drops of water, and tears threatening to spill out at any moment's notice.

He felt so cold and empty all of sudden. And depressed.

Nunnally….would you still love me if I told you my secrets? You know I love you, always. That's the reason I'm doing all of this. For you Nunnally, for your sake… Nun—

His thoughts were cut short as a small stir sounded somewhere from his left.

Lelouch had forgotten that he wasn't alone in this endless pit of darkness at all.

His witch was with him.

He slowly lifted his head and looked over his shoulder at the modern sleeping beauty on his bed. The thought that had crossed his mind was discarded the first time almost immediately, but as the eerie coldness got worse and worse with each second passing by, he didn't even bother giving it a second thought as he quickly scrambled up on his feet and made his way towards the bed.

One golden eye popped open as C.C. heard some movement behind her. She could feel the bed flex slightly at the contact, and a knowing smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.

"So instead of talking to me, you decided to sleep with me?" She asked in a sleepy tone.

"It's cold down there C.C." Lelouch answered as he tried to nudge her over to get some room.

"You know the bed isn't big enough for the both of us."

A small sigh escaped his lips. "It is my bed. I know how big it is." More push but C.C. remained stubbornly motionless.

"Come on C.C. Don't be selfish and just scoot over!" He said impatiently as he tried to make her move one more time to no avail.

The green-haired girl heaved a sigh of her own; she knew once he was determined to do something, he wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted. He's just foolishly stubborn like that.

"Fine," she said finally as she picked up her body and dropped it heavily on the other side of the bed. Her back was still to him.

Lelouch grunted something along the lines of "thank you" before smoothing out the mattress and falling onto the pillow himself. Unbeknownst to C.C., he was facing her.

Several minutes passed and everything was quiet, until—

"C.C.?" A whisper was heard.

"Lelouch?"

"Can I hug you?"

Needless to say C.C.'s sleeping eyes opened wide awake immediately at the strange request. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly together. The guy was acting really odd, wasn't he?

"I didn't know you're afraid of the dark." She said amusedly.

"I'm afraid of them."

"Them?" Now this got her interest as she slowly turned around and was met with a handsome, expressionless face staring straight back at her.

Putting the Cheese-kun on one side, she brought up her arms to wrap them around his thin shoulders and pushed him against her frame. Her chin resting peacefully on his soft raven locks.

Lelouch had no idea that being close a girl who wasn't related to him in any way could so comfortable like that. He quickly shifted position and put his head between her chin and her breasts, his arms brought to her back and wrapped them protectively around his witch. A small sigh escaped his lips again.

However, not a single dirty thought ran through his mind regarding their poses. All he needed right now was absolute comfort.

The green-haired girl made her slim fingers dance lazily beneath his beautiful locks as she said. "What 'them' are you talking about Lelouch?"

"Dreams…It has happened for the last few days, and they are just horrible C.C…."

"What did you see?"

"Blood. Blood everywhere. People got slaughtered, children got killed, and worst of all…" He trailed off, ashamed.

"Worst of all?" She prompted, her fingers never stopped their little dance.

"It was I who ordered them." He said quietly. His body pressed a little bit further against her.

C.C. just stared into space for several seconds before deciding to respond to him. "Lelouch, dreams are not real. They're just collections of events that have happened earlier during the day. They were just relay over in your head—"

"But they feel so real C.C.!" Lelouch thought he might have a mental break-down. "It felt like I was really there. There in the battle field. Giving out orders. It's scary seeing myself doing that."

"But those are orders you gave in reality are they not?"

"Yes but I have never been so close to a slaughter before. And I definitely don't give out orders to kill innocents."
"Oh Lelouch, do you honestly think wars are fair and that people who don't want to get involved won't get involved? Sacrifices are asked to be made in wars. Even if you don't notice it—or don't want to notice it, civilians are still getting involved. Millions of people were killed—"

"Stop it C.C…"

"Gods of Death would never leave anyone out once their fate was met."

"Stop it."

"But it's all for greater results is it not?"

"Greater result?" He gave a dry laugh. "So far all I'm seeing is people getting slaughter, or begging for me to stop but I wouldn't."

A silence.

"Fate is a cruel thing, Lelouch," muttered C.C. "You can't trick it. Nevertheless, what you're doing right now could have saved more people in the future than the amount of the ones getting killed at the moment combine together.

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"You think I will succeed in this quest?"

"That would have to be left to Fate to decide, but know this Lelouch," she stopped her fingers' dance in his hair mid-way and traveled them down to his neck, tilting his head a little bit downward. He didn't bother to stop her or struggle; he silently complied.

"I will always be there with you no matter what. I won't leave you alone in this world."

"That's a promise C.C.? Even when I turn into a monster?"

"Lelouch, remember what I said to you when we first met? That we are apprentices, and we will always remain by each other's side? Never forget that."

A brief silence.

"C.C.?"

"Yes?"

"I think we are more than just apprentices."

She gave a light chuckle. "How do you know that?"

"I just do." And to prove his point, he tilted his head up slightly and claimed her pink lips with his.

C.C.'s eyes widened a bit as her mind processed what was happening. Lelouch had never kissed any girls before of his own accord, so for him to be doing this—

She smiled against his soft, moisture lips as realization dawned upon her. The nails that were on his shoulders clutched tightly into the fabric of his night shirt as the kiss became more passionate and quite hard.

And that's it. After a few seconds they both broke loose and stopped. The kiss only lasted long enough to leave the satisfactory and stinging sensation flushing through the teens' bodies.

Soon enough, they were both back to their previous position with Lelouch's head underneath C.C.'s chin, and her chin resting comfortably on his raven locks.

They would just lie there, and for the first time ever since last night, Lelouch wasn't bothered by the long-lasting silence at all.

"Lelouch?" C.C. asked, breaking the quietness.

"Yes?"

"How long are you going to keep at sleeping on my bed?"

"You mean our bed?" He chuckled.

"You really are a warlock."

"And you're a sly witch."

C.C. couldn't help but smirk. "Of course I am, I'm C.C. after all."

Lelouch let out another chuckle as his arms around her tightened, pressing her thin frame even further against his and ducking his head further down. "How about just tonight?"

"Sounds good enough."

The raven-haired teen smiled slightly, he knew he would have the most peaceful sleep with the most pleasant dreams as long as he was engulfed in his witch's warm embrace.

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-end-