Author's Note: So this idea of "post R2 immortal life" is probably not original at all, but well isn't it every LelouchxCC fan's dream for them to have their happy ending of living together for all of eternity? ^^ It's Japanese legend that folding a thousand paper cranes will be able to grant a wish, and I doubt that C.C.'s wish is really to die, but rather to feel truly loved and cared for. And also I have no other inspiration for a title so yeah.

Disclaimer: Do not own any Code Geass but maybe if I folded 100000 cranes I could...

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"This is completely unnecessary," she droned, with only the slightest twitch of her eye as the hydrogen peroxide made contact with her skin.

Lelouch ignored her, brushing away some of her long chartreuse hair to inspect a particularly nasty wound on her shoulder. When he used the pads of his fingers to apply pressure on the surrounding skin, blood spurted out from the opening into a bulging sphere. He sighed, running a wash cloth under the faucet and wringing out the excess water. "C.C. only you would do something like this."

She turned her head away as Lelouch gently scrubbed at her gash. "Really, would I be the only one? The world is a big place Lelouch, and the last day to redeem the limited edition Cheese-kun calendar is today."

"Yes, but would anyone else hotwire a motorcycle,"

A shrug.

"And speed at nearly a hundred miles per hour,"

A glint of amusement dancing in her golden eyes.

"At eleven o' clock at night,"

Another shrug.

"In the midst of a pounding thunderstorm,"

A grunt that sounded inappropriately smug.

"All while balancing a pizza box in one hand, two bottles of Tabasco sauce in the other, and that ridiculous calendar in your mouth. Would anyone else do all this for an utterly useless novelty item?"

A smirk curled up on the edges of her lips, traces of pride glimmering in her eyes.

"Oi! Don't smile at that!" Lelouch berated crossly, rubbing disinfectant on C.C.'s exposed flesh with a bit more force than necessary. "You'd think that with all the time you've been alive you would have gained some common sense. It was inevitable that you would have toppled off the motorcycle and go careening into a side rail."

The green haired girl bit her bottom lip thoughtfully, effectively suppressing a wince as Lelouch sterilized the cut. "Hm. Perhaps next time I'll try steering with the hand holding the Tabasco sauce," she mused.

Lelouch rolled his eyes, another sigh rushing out his lips. He stood up and rummaged through the cabinets for a band-aid; sagging his shoulders as he realized every package had an image of a yellow blob donning an odd black hat as the design.

"Why are you even doing this anyways?" C.C. suddenly asked from her perch on the kitchen counter, the curious raise of her eyebrows betraying her dull monotone.

"Cleaning your wound? Isn't it obvious? You're hurt."

"Isn't it obvious? I'm immortal. I can't die from such a silly wound, or from anything for that matter." She plucked up a clump of her damp hair and examined the tips. Bits of blood clung to the ends of her hair, streaks of the red liquid still shining conspicuously against her green locks.

"Oh just be quiet and be grateful for what I did, if it wasn't for me you'd be hobbling home on one leg until a truck ran you over," Lelouch grumbled as he just short of slapped a large Cheese-kun bandage onto C.C.'s shoulder.

"You didn't have to leave the pizza behind…" A forlorn expression washed over her face. "It was in a box, it didn't have to fit under the umbrella."

"There's no way I could have dragged both you and that pizza box back home. I'm no Suzaku. Or Kallen. Or well basically anyone else with superhuman stamina," Lelouch said, picking up a brush and running it through C.C.'s tangled hair, paying no heed to the blood staining his fingers. "I used to brush Nunnally's hair…it made her feel better," he mumbled, feeling a need to explain himself.

C.C. observed the peaceful face of the Cheese-kun band-aid that was plastered on her shoulder, absently noting how soothing it felt to have someone else comb her hair. "You could have left me, preferably with the umbrella, I would have caught up soon."

"I have not reached the stage of immortality to be so heartless yet," Lelouch dryly replied, "Though living with you may speed up the process."

The witch seemed to not have heard him, or if she did, pointedly disregarded him, and continued where she left off. "This is nothing more than hurt on the outside, it's very easy to fix." She extended her right arm as minor scrapes and bruises on her hand quickly sealed up, leaving sans a scar to even indicate cuts had once existed.

Something clicked inside Lelouch's mind as he remembered a conversation from seemingly another life. His hold on C.C.'s hair loosened and he tilted his head to gaze out the window. White sheets of rain slammed against the windows, pelting through the mesh screen so quickly that water was constantly streaming down the glass. Lighting cracked frequently, illuminating the pitch black sky, with the booming thunder rumbling soon after. All the while the wind rippled through the air and knocked branches against the windows in rhythmic thuds.

How could anyone go into weather like that and not expect anyone to worry about them?

"Then what do you do for the pain that's on the inside?" Lelouch questioned softly, stroking her hair with almost tenderness. For a split second the C.C. in front of him flashed into a different version. Haughty regality to quivering child. Wry smirk to trembling lower lip. Cold eyes to unabashed innocence.

He blinked away the image and shook his head from side to side.

"Pain on the inside?" C.C. repeated, propping her elbow on her knee and leaning forward. "It takes longer, but time heals everything. Once enough time goes by you gradually forget everyone that ever hated you."

"Isn't there another option?" Placing the brush down, Lelouch crawled onto the counter and leaned his back against hers. His shirt immediately moistened and clung to his skin, but he only pressed further into her back and tipped his head against hers.

Mirroring Lelouch, C.C. straightened her back and lolled her head backwards. "Another option? Not that I know of." She fluttered her eyes shut.

A silence lingered between them, the storm rampaging outside causing the ceiling lights to sway slightly.

Lelouch broke the silence with a faint exhale, "What about friends? Someone special that stands beside you," he whispered, echoing the words of a young green-haired slave girl from so long ago. His hands unclasped from his lap and fell towards his side, resting on the smooth granite of their kitchen counter.

C.C. lightly chuckled, her own hand drifting onto the counter. "Where did you ever get such a strange idea Lelouch?"

"A friend."

"Oh really?"

Fingers inched closer to each other.

"Would friends bail you out of jail?"

"They wouldn't have if they knew you'd make them sleep on the floor."

Hands brushed together almost tentatively.

"Would friends come with you to make a giant pizza?"

"They'd be the ones shoving you into the tomato truck."

One hand slid over the other until it was completely enclosed.

"Would friends do completely unnecessary things for each other?"

"Like following that friend into a raging typhoon?"

"Yes, that's completely unnecessary."

"If it could heal the pain inside, even just a little, then yes."

Fingers laced together and smiles curved up on faces.