Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.

Author: licoricefactory

Author's Note: This is my first time writing for the Geass fandom so I'm sorry if it's a bit confusing. OOC-ness will definitely ensue so forgive me for that.

Pairing: Kalulu

RED

His ears barely registered the sound of the anguished cries of his mother-in-law as his expressionless amethyst eyes gazed upon the unmoving body of the red head that he so openly gave his heart to.

He cannot help but feel that fate was toying with him, mocking him until that little grip of sanity that he has left finally escapes from his grasp. Everything that he touched, everything that he loved, eventually always turned to dust. Death once took his mother from him and just recently, Death came back for the second time to take away his wife.

He can still remember with vivid clarity the day that his mother died. It all started with the flying bullets that pierced her flesh. He witnessed with his own eyes how his mother took her final breath while holding his trembling sister, Nunally, in her arms. Crimson liquid stained her immaculate dress then, defiling something so pure and tainting it with the scarlet hue of horror. His widened eyes then gazed at the red puddle forming around his mother's body. It was a nauseating sight, the smell of copper filling his nostrils coupled with the crimson blood blaring brightly against his eyes.

He hated red, hated the color of blood.

But she changed that.

000

Even years after his mother died, he always kept to himself, shutting people out and wallowing in his misery. But one ordinary day, he was given the chance to meet one extraordinary girl.

It was the day after his college graduation, an event in his life that symbolized that he was soon about to explore the real world. His college friends invited him to a night in the local theme park before they parted ways. He had originally wanted to decline for he felt that going to a theme park was just a waste of time. In the end, he accepted the invitation for his best friend Suzaku bothered him about it to no end. He acquiesced, if accepting the invitation would equate to shutting Suzaku up.

"Hey Lelouch! Are you up for a ride on that roller coaster?" Rivalz suddenly asked while pointing towards the mechanical contraption blinking with bright lights.

"No." He stated with finality, his eyes flashing warning signs towards Rivalz.

"Come on Lelouch! Don't be such a wimp!" Milly taunted him. "Don't chicken out on us!"

"I knew coming here would be such a mistake." Lelouch muttered under his breath.

Suzaku came forward, using his super strength to grab an unwilling Lelouch towards the cue of people waiting in line to get a ride on the Lancelot Scream. He tried his best not to gag as he took notice of how the tracks seemed to twist and plunge.

His friends were paired up in two's and he was left without a companion. Milly sat with Rivalz while Suzaku accompanied a frightened Rolo. He was sitting on his seat with a scowl on his face, seemingly wanting to get over the damn ride already. And then she came.

Absently, the dark haired teen scuffed his shoes against the floor, having a bored expression on his face while waiting. His eyes took notice of red sneakers greeting his line of sight.

"Is this seat taken?" A female voice greeted his ears.

He found himself staring at a girl, probably his age, with cerulean eyes and a thin frame. What caught his attention the most though was how red she looked then.

Red hair, red Chucks ,chipped red nails and red hoody. The female personification of the color that he hated the most.

"Go ahead." He answered without emotion.

She took a seat, properly buckling herself into place.

"What's with the scowl on your face? It looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed." She asked while tilting her head to the side, a gesture which Lelouch found to be oddly endearing.

"It's nothing that you would like to know about." He retorted, not in the mood to continue the conversation and having the intent to ignore the person sitting next to him.

After the nauseating ride, the inevitable happened.

He felt bile rising up to his throat and as his steps wavered, the red head gripped his shoulders and steadied him. He felt disgusted with himself as he realized that he had emptied out the contents of his stomach on the red head's jacket.

"I'm terribly sorry." He apologized, with his black hair obscuring his face from sight, hiding the fact that his cheeks were flushed from embarrassment.

He expected a slap. She laughed instead.

It was then that he realized that she was not some superficial girl who worried about appearances or clothes and he was oddly thankful for that.

"I'll forgive you under one condition." The red head stated with a hint of mischief coloring her voice.

"And that condition is?" He asked with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

"Go out with me."

000

He accepted her casual invitation for a date. It was the least he could do, and the right thing at that after humiliating not only himself but her as well.

They had gone out on multiple dates then, had a steady relationship and learned much about each other.

Lelouch learned that she had a deceased brother, a man named Naoto who died fighting for Japan's honor. He learned that Kallen loved piloting Knightmares though she had an odd fascination for Hello Kitty items. He supposed that she was girly in her own little way, while remaining a spirited fighter to the very last bone. Kallen mentioned something about joining in an organization that fought against Brittania in hopes of liberating Japan. He warned her against it, but she just brushed the matter aside, directing her attention on him by assaulting him with questions about himself instead.

He had never openly shared anything about his mother's death to any other person but he trusted Kallen. For the first time in his life, he was able to share his feelings to a person who understood what it meant to lose someone. The result was overwhelming. He didn't cry then as he shared the details of his mother's death with her. She cried for them both, a moment of vulnerability that he rarely saw in her.

Time passed and what started out to be an odd friendship blossomed into something more. He always marveled how such a girl like her had managed to worm her way towards his heart.

000

Lelouch and Kallen sat side by side on the ferris wheel. Memories of their first meeting three years ago in the same theme park flooded his memories and he couldn't help but let out a small smile.

Kallen was looking out the window of the ferris wheel, staring into the fireworks grazing the sky while absently tracing the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Kallen," he called out to her.

"Yes Lelouch?" She turned her gaze towards him, acknowledging the fact that she heard him.

Angling his body sideways, Lelouch picked up the Knightmare printed paper bag that lay beside him.

"Happy birthday," he announced as chimes sounded in the distance, signaling the arrival of midnight.

Her slender fingers proceeded to carefully untie the white ribbon holding the paper bag closed. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took out the limited edition Hello Kitty doll that he ordered online just for her birthday.

"It's the limited edition Hello Kitty doll! How did you know that this is the one I want?" She asked with curiosity.

"I saw you looking it up on the net."

"But how did you get this? There are only ten of these Kitty dolls released in Japan!"

"I have my connections." He stated smugly with a smirk adorning his gorgeous face.

'She hasn't caught on to the exact surprise yet,' he silently thought.

Kallen stared at the Hello Kitty doll with childlike eyes and with the flash of fireworks from outside, the doll was illuminated, bringing to her sight a black ribbon tied around the doll's neck with a ring at the center of it. Kallen gasped, placing a hand over her mouth.

"Lelouch," she silently whispered, her voice squeaking.

He took the doll from her, untying the ribbon holding the ring from Hello Kitty's neck.

"Will you marry me?" He asked while trying to conceal the slight desperation in his voice, afraid that she would reject him.

"Yes!" She answered ecstatically without a hint of hesitation

In the spur of the moment, his beloved red head encircled his neck with her slender arms. His eyes widened since they rarely showed their affections for each other in a physical manner. He suppressed a groan of want as she boldly straddled his lap. Her kisses were like an all consuming fire, burning in their passion and sheer intensity. They parted then, the need for oxygen separating their swollen lips.

Lelouch proceeded to place the ring on her finger. A jewel so red that it matched the fiery red of her hair.

He had once hated red but because of her, he came to love it instead.

000

"for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death us do part…"

"You may now kiss the bride."

BANG!

"Call the paramedics!"

"Kallen! Kallen! Hold on!"

000

It was ironic how his wedding day turned out to be the happiest, yet the saddest day of his life as well.

Barely only a few seconds of their marriage had passed before his wife was taken away from him. He felt a sense of déjà vu overcome his senses as the sound of a gunshot pierced the air while he was kissing Kallen in front of the altar. She slumped against him as he felt liquid seeping out of a gaping hole on her head. The color of red dyed her immaculate white kimono as he felt his throat quivering in shock.

He asked Suzaku to call the paramedics.

Three words rang in his head like a mantra: DEAD UPON ARRIVAL

She looked beautiful then, even in death. She looked like a broken angel with a halo of blood around her head as she lied on the stretcher that transported her body to the nearby local hospital.

The authorities investigated. The culprit was a man that Kallen knew, an Eleven that she worked with in an organization that fought against Brittania. The criminal came forward, admitting the fact that he killed her after he found out that Kallen was half Brittanian. It was blasphemy, the criminal thought, for a person to fight against one's own kind.

And that was probably the reason why the criminal found himself with a black-eye courtesy of Lelouch, who was the last person on earth who can actually deliver a good punch.

000

He silently blinked his eyes, stopping himself from further going down memory lane. His amethyst eyes gazed at her form, at her face that was devoid of any emotion, at her cerulean eyes that would forever be closed from the world, at her hair billowing around her face that greatly contrasted with her milky skin.

She was wearing a dress, a dress so white and pure while lying inside an open casket full of white feathers surrounding her unmoving body.

His mind barely took notice of the stinging pain as his fingers gripped the thorny stems of the red rose that he was holding.

His slender fingers ghosted over his beloved's cheek, marveling at the sheer paleness of her skin. He placed the single red rose that he was holding in between her clasped gloved hands and leaned over her face as he whispered the following words in her ear:

Neither white flowers nor plain clothes suit you.
What suits you is the red of passion,
The color of liquorice burning the landscape.

Author's Note: You may have noticed that I have used the word red quite a couple of times and that was indeed intentional. The three liner quote at the end is a quote that I have taken from Kuroshitsujo episode 6. I do not hold any credit for that quote. I could never come up with something that poetic but it actually is the main inspiration for this one shot.

As for the Hello Kitty idea, I guess that Kallen's the last person on earth who would actually collect dolls, but I guess it's an odd sort of fascination for her. Plus Hello Kitty came from Japan, just like Kallen! I tried to reflect how much she loves her country through small details like the Hello Kitty doll and the kimono. Yeah, I know it's pretty corny but who cares.

Anyways, I don't know if this one shot is any good or not so please tell me. Thanks for reading and review!