Probably a thousand years ago, an old woman had once told her. "Young lady, if I were you, I'd stop playing with these men's feelings. Don't you know that love is a sacred thing? You shouldn't take it for granted." And she had laughed it off.

Young Suzaku glared at him and said through gritted teeth. "Lelouch, stop being so manipulative! Is that a Britannian trait or something?" And he had huffed at that.

Neither one had taken the hint seriously.

Neither one could have known that karma could be a bitch.

000

"Good-bye, Lelouch," said Kallen as she took a step back. As if her tone of voice wasn't sad enough, her deep blue eyes had to be equally grieving when she looked at him, when she broke off their kiss. Lelouch wished he could look anywhere but into those mournful blue orbs but he simply couldn't.

She waited for a moment and he fancied that maybe she was hoping he'd change his mind, his strategies and undo what he'd done. It was too late to turn back now, though.

Then, she gave him another last dejecting look before turning around and walking up the marble staircase. The clink clink sounds of her heels echoed off the empty white walls.

"Good-bye, Kallen," he murmured under his breath, knowing full well she was already out of earshot.

Back at the headquarters, C.C. stood up from her position in the commanding chair and paced the room. A slight frown was creasing her forehead. Then she stopped and glanced up at the big screen again – the one that contained no visuals whatsoever, only audios. Taking a deep breath, she returned to her former spot and flopped down, tapping her slender fingers impatiently on the keyboard.

A second passed before she gave up. Grabbing the microphone conveniently placed next to her on the table, she pressed the miniscule red button and spoke into the phone. "Hey Lelouch, when are you coming back?" And she rolled her eyes at his answer, then raised an eyebrow as she said, "We still have to go over the plan, do we not?" A pause. "Well, then hurry up." And she hung up without waiting for a reply.

Later that day…

Lelouch heaved a small sigh as he eyed the papers in front of him, which were clipped into a plain folder. He then stood up and started pacing; his movements were being monitored by two watchful pairs of eyes. After a minute, he halted and stretched out his hand, the one holding the folder, and another stronger, more muscular hand reached up to grab it.

Suzaku stood up from the sofa, his scrutinizing gaze now transferred to the papers that he'd received from Lelouch. "Is that it, then?" he asked, to which his friend nodded.

"The final plan," said C.C. idly on the couch. Both guys turned to her and the corners of their lips curled down slightly in unison into a grimace, and a tiny, bitter smile graced her pale face. A grim understanding slowly and silently blossomed between the trio.

"If you need anything, you know where to find me," Suzaku said as he moved the folder from one hand to another. After receiving some acknowledging nods, he turned on his heels without uttering another word and strode out of the headquarters, leaving the couple behind.

The doors soundlessly slid shut behind him.

Lelouch sat down on the couch, on which the green-haired witch was half-lying, half-sitting. She watched him as he leaned slightly forward to grab a teacup off the coffee table and brought it to his lips, sipping the green liquid thoughtfully. She then glanced at her own, untouched, and studied the slowly evaporating steams without interest.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lean forward yet again. This time, however, he was pulling some papers off another folder, equally plain and boring. Then, silence engulfed them as Lelouch read over the report and she simply stared at the still liquid in her beautiful china teacup.

When C.C. gazed up at the clock on the wall, she thought at least fifteen minutes must have passed, while in reality only a minute did. She let out a tired sigh.

And earned no response from him. He must have been quite engaged in the writing, mustn't he?

C.C. then scooted closer, her elbow brushing against his, and this time his bright violet orbs moved slightly to the right to look at her. "What is it?" he asked absently.

"Did you enjoy the kiss?"

To say Lelouch merely sputtered and stuttered and blushed was a great understatement.

"Wha-What are you-"

She waved a hand at him. "Don't play dumb, Lelouch," she said, raising a delicate green eyebrow. "You know there's a mini microphone attached to your shirt collar." To prove her point, she reached up, earning a small and subtle gasp from him in the process, and flipped his collar to one side to reveal the said phone. "I could hear everything you said. Wasn't that the plan?" She withdrew. "Suzaku and I could hear everything that happened."

Then, a taunting smirk touched the corner of her lips as she slightly and flirtingly lowered her heavy eyelashes. "Poor Suzaku, I can only imagine his awkwardness…" drawled C.C.

Lelouch let out a dignified huff. "Why does it matter, witch?" He pressed. "You never cared for such thing."

"Hmmm…" C.C. let his comment sink in. Her bright golden orbs found a captivating spot in the high ceiling above, and one of her slender fingers started twirling a long lime lock around it as she mulled it over. "I wonder…"

000

He was sitting on the window's sill, still in his Knight's outfit, with one long leg propped up and one hand stretched out to rest on his knee when she walked in. A small picture was clutched gently in his slightly curled fingers.

"Do you have any regrets?" queried C.C. as she ambled over, and soon stood by his side and joined him in his activity of gazing out the window.

She noticed how his normally bright emerald green orbs had now turned a shade darker and a haze seemed to settle over them. However, when he spoke, his voice was clear and there was no trace of doubt or hesitation. "No, I don't. It's too late to turn back now, anyways."

He was determined, she had to give him credit for that. Quite determined, actually. After what happened to his father, to Euphie, and now he was willing to throw his own life away. Was that an action of atonement? She supposed both he and Lelouch had a lot to amend for. But who was she to judge?

A wry chuckle escaped her lips involuntarily, and he titled his head to the side to look at her. The glassiness was still there but not as apparent as it was before. "What's so funny?" he asked.

She gave a shrug. "Nothing." She then took a glimpse of the photograph in his hand. Due to its being held in sweat and exposed to sunlight and air over time, the picture itself had become quite worn out. A sudden weariness passed over her. "How many times have you looked at that?" She gestured at the picture in his hand. He looked down, and a small, sad smile stretched out on his tanned face.

"Who knows?" he said. "I don't keep count anymore."

"You must have loved her dearly."

Suzaku stared at the picture of a happily smiling Euphie. Her long, long pink hair was flowing softly in the wind. He remembered when he'd taken this particular photograph. When he had already become her knight, and when she decided to give him a day off so that they could go to this cherry blossom festival together, as normal citizens. Of course that didn't last long because sooner or later, someone tended to recognize Euphie's unique hair color. But they had fun. And that was the last time they had spent together, not as a princess and a knight on duty, but as two people in love.

Now, all of those happy memories were no longer what kept his smile in place. They were what haunted him at night. They were the culprits for his severe lack of sleep. But no one knew about it, except for Lelouch and C.C.

"I'm envious." The witch's cool voice drew him from his reverie, and he snapped back to her face, realizing that she had been studying him all this time under that same indifferent and emotionless gaze of hers.

"Of what?" said Suzaku simply as he stood up, stuffed the picture securely in his pocket and walked away from the window, away from her. He didn't seem to want her to dig into his feelings more than she already had, and since she could care less either way she didn't seem to be bothered.

C.C. watched him trail over to the large couch next to the working desk and sit down in it. He then reached over to get the folder that was earlier delivered by Lelouch, and started studying it.

She followed his path with hands clasped behind her. When she was standing directly behind him, she spread out her slender arms and wrapped them gingerly around his strong shoulders, resting her chin on his soft, brown locks. He didn't even once flinch or tense under her touch, like he had.

"I've never met a man so devoted to his lover like you," she was saying. "Euphie was a lucky girl."

"She's the only one who ever understood me."

"Not even Lelouch?"

A pause.

Whatever Suzaku intended to say was cut off abruptly for the doors to his room slid open unexpectedly and in came none other than Lelouch. When his eyes befell the scene in front of him, they slightly widened.

000

"That was not nice, Lelouch," said C.C., a bit annoyed. She halted in her tracks. "Now let go of my wrist, boy." Her voice was quite menacing that it temporarily distracted his thought process long enough for him to glance down to find his hand clasped tightly over her small wrist.

His eyes widened with mouth ever slightly agape. What was he doing?

She yanked her hand back rather forcefully, and that was when the realization of his action fully hit him on the head. He staggered back with trembling hands and lips. His eyes never went back to their normal sizes.

"What's the matter with you, Lelouch?" inquired C.C. with a highly raised eyebrow and arms crossed over her breasts. "You just barged in, grabbed and dragged me all the way back here-" she nodded at the headquarters's main space as if to solidify her obvious point, "without any warning. Don't you think you owe Suzaku an explanation? Or me for that matter?" Even though C.C.'s tone remained as monotonously as it was on any normal day, there was something else in her voice that startled him. Confusion, maybe? Or just plain irritation? Or perhaps impatience?

He couldn't place his finger on it and this new feeling was driving him up the wall.

"That's…" was all he could manage to get out. Shaking his head, he murmured, "Forget it." Then he turned around and stalked away, once again failed to deliver a reason behind his questioning action.

C.C. could only watch his retreating back with an uncharacteristically creasing forehead.

The doors to his bedroom slid open and stood at the threshold was the green-haired witch. Her expression was unreadable under the dim lights illuminating the room as she studied the figure in front of her.

Lelouch was sitting gloomily on the edge of the bed, his back slightly hunched with hands clasped together between his knees. Even his normally stoic expression couldn't conceal the melancholy he must have been experiencing.

"Isn't this enough, Lelouch?" said C.C. softly while walking towards him. She then proceeded to sit down on the bed with her back to him. A second later, she drew up one leg, wrapped her arm around it, and leaned against him. He made neither movement nor comment.

"Nunnally's happy," C.C. continued when she heard no response from him. "She's in good hands. Is it not too late to turn back now, Lelouch? After all, everything you've done, you've done for her."

"It's too late, C.C.," he spoke at last. His voice was barely audible. "All of the people who have lost their lives… I can't stop now, can I?"

She had anticipated the answer, however, that didn't mean she was ready to accept it, or content to accept it for that matter. But she knew there was absolutely no turning back. The graves they had dug for themselves had gotten deeper and they couldn't just simply climb back up without expecting some dire consequences.

Her rosy lips curled into a slightly bitter smirk as she leaned farther against him. "Ahh, that's right… You can't. We can only move forward now." Without warning, she tenderly placed her hand above his. Once again, he made neither movement nor comment, and she supposed that maybe he was too depressed and/or tried to shut down all the functions in his brain that dealt with emotions that he could no longer feel anything. After all, for a teenager, he had indeed been through a lot.

"We are accomplices, Lelouch," C.C. said firmly. "I'll remain by your side till the end."

"Accomplices?" A wry chuckle was heard from behind her, and it startled her for a split second because it was the first personally reaction she'd witnessed from him since they started having this dreary conversation.

Her silence must have prompted him to continue because he said, "After a year, are we still at square one?"

Her golden orbs travelled to the farthest left side of her eyes. "What are you implying?"

"We've been through a lot together, haven't we, C.C.?" He was wringing his hands. "And I've been doing some thinking. Maybe I'm not destined to find true love."

She chuckled lightly. "Are we really talking about love right now? When the Zero Requiem is underway?"

"I've never known what love really is," he carried on as if he hadn't heard her at all. "I used to think that it was a meaningless feeling. It's just something with which I can manipulate to get people to do things for me…" He trailed off, swallowed and went on. "I never cared about their feelings."

"Their?"

"Kallen." A pause. "Rolo. Even though I'm not his blood brother, he'd sacrificed his life for me. He was willing to die for someone who had lied and used him." His voice was becoming strained as he continued. "And then… Shirley..." A longer pause this time.

C.C. had already closed her eyes and her hand that was laid atop his subconsciously tightened.

"Till the moment that she died, she still wanted to be the only true thing to me. She… She loved me even though I'd manipulated her memories, her feelings… She never hated me. In fact, she…" He trailed off once more, and it didn't seem like he could keep going because a minute passed by without him elaborating.

With their backs together, C.C. could feel his whole frame silently and slightly trembling against hers. She didn't know if he was crying or merely shaking, but she didn't want to turn around. She didn't want to see his tears. She didn't want to see what she was afraid to see most. She didn't want to see him break down. And most importantly, she-

Suddenly, he straightened his back, and when he spoke again, it felt as though the boy she'd just had a conversation with had disappeared and been replaced by a firm, ruthless and determined leader who would never allow anything to get in his way.

"But there's no turning back now," he was saying. His hand under hers balled into a fist. "I have to do this, for the sake of all those who have lost their lives. Right, C.C.?"

She squeezed his hand in return. "Ahh, that's right."

Lelouch stood up, and she leaned away, her back was still to him and her eyes obscured by her long bangs. "I should be going," he announced in that authoritative, void of emotions, voice of his. "Suzaku's probably waiting at the maintenance room. You can come later; we're just going to go over the plan again."

Without waiting for an answer, he started to walk away, and she called out. "Say, Lelouch…" He stopped in his tracks. "You know my true wish, right?" she spoke softly, still not facing him, but she was already in the process of turning around when she popped this next question. "Do you think you could've granted me that wish in this lifetime?" Now, she was looking at him with a rarely bright smile and eyes filled with glistening liquid.

A knowing smirk crossed his face as he answered, "If you could wait for me that long, then I, Lelouch vi Britannia, will be glad to fulfill your most sacred wish."

She let out a chuckle while getting off the bed and standing up. "Silly, you won't be a Lelouch vi Britannia anymore." She stepped close to him and stopped. Her bright, luminous golden orbs met his beautiful and brilliant violet ones passionately. "You will be someone else, a different person." Her slender arms snaked their ways up his neck and wound themselves around it as her body pressed close to his. Their smile and gaze hadn't wavered once. "But I'll always recognize you, no matter what." He gingerly put his hands on her tiny hips and titled his head down, brushing his lips against hers, coaxing her smile to widen. He loved it when she smiled. "So I'll be waiting." The deal was sealed with a kiss.

No matter who you are,

No matter what disguise you're under,

I'll know it's you,

So I'll be happy to wait,

No matter how long it takes,

Just promise me, love,

That you'll find your way back to me.

000

Suzaku was staring impatiently at his watch while tapping his foot anxiously on the concrete floor.

"Damnit, where are they?" he murmured while fishing out his cell from his pocket, and as he was about to speed-dial Lelouch's number, Arthur jumped down from apparently out of nowhere, landed on his arm, earning a bewildered gasp from him, and in the process knocking the phone down into the drain.

"Arthur!"

A/N: Sorry for the delayed update! I had to rewrite this particularly stubborn chapter many times because it's so stubborn that it wouldn't agree with me on the first few drafts.. But finally, finally haha I nailed it down! So this is it, the last chapter, the finale. Apparently, I'm going with the theory "Lelouch is dead for world peace." Personally, I think that that ending is what makes Code Geass quite memorable and still one of my favorites, so he died in this story... But don't worry! You must factor in the reincarnation! And by now, I believe you've already guessed the 'price' that they had to pay huh? Evil of me, right? Hehe it's okay, they're going to meet again, some day in the far, far future, but they'll be reunited once more :))

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the little ride. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Lots of love!