Lelouch hummed softly to himself as he prepared dinner. He'd never felt so… relaxed. Body, mind, everything was just perfect. He always enjoyed cooking, and doing so in this state was a real pleasure. Even anticipating everyone's reactions was a joy. He was so looking forward to the meal.

Rolo poked his head in. "Need any help?"

"Almost done." Lelouch took out the chicken. "Can you set the table and get Nunnally?" He'd go get Suzaku himself.

Rolo smirked. "She's… um, I'll get her. It may be a while, she's… er… doing something. By the way, the bathroom echoes."

Even that wasn't enough to ruin Lelouch's mood.

OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-Oo

"If you break my poor silly brother's heart, I'll go through with Cornelia's threat. And Rolo will help me hide the evidence," Nunnally growled into Kururugi's ear. Her kendo lessons had come in handy indeed – she had managed to seize Kururugi's arm and pin him to the floor, taking the bastard by surprise.

Suzaku couldn't believe it: he'd been outmatched by two innocent-looking teenagers in a row. He remembered the girl from before, of course, but she had seemed sweet and harmless, not blood-thirsty and aggressive. Another yandere.

"Would you please let me go before Lelouch sees your bad side?" He muttered. Suzaku just knew it would be pointless to try to explain his intentions to her.

"Lelouch is cooking." Rolo's emotionless voice rose over the room. "I'll let you know if he's coming. Also, supper will be chicken."

"I'll let you go. For now." Nunnally glared for extra persuasiveness. "But don't get any ideas – we'll be watching your every step, playboy."

Suzaku burst out laughing, to her dismay, clearly not intimidated enough. "I'll have that in mind, Nataly."

Nunnally sweatdropped. "W-what did you say?"

"Oh, nothing much." Suzaku assumed a completely innocent expression. "Nothing much."

"Ah… it was Nataly." Rolo said pensively. He smiled. "If you two are done, Lelouch is waiting downstairs." He slid a hand around Nunnally's waist, leaning in as if sharing an intimate secret. "Just let him underestimate you. It'll work to your advantage."

Suzaku headed out, following the mouthwatering scent, and Nunnally glanced at Rolo in mild interest.

"I see… good advice." She smiled, not minding where his hand was. "We just have to make sure Kururugi doesn't corrupt our pure Lelouch."

Rolo couldn't help chuckling. "Coming from you that's… a perfectly appropriate concern. Um. Not hypocritical at all. But, you did hear what was going on in the bathroom right? I mean, I don't want you out of the loop on this one."

"Of course, I did. I don't mind Lelouch getting laid, as long as Kururugi is being nice and considerate. I'm just worried that Lelouch would let him walk all over him. He's such a softie with his loved ones, just like Euphie." Nunnally's gaze turned pensive. "But that's what we're here for, right?"

"Right." …there was something about the way she looked, and something about their shared connection over Lelouch, and something…

They'd had sex numerous times (the latest bout accompanied by the sounds of Lelouch and Suzaku going at it) but they'd never kissed. For the first time, Rolo wanted… "Nunnally…"

"Just kiss me already, you dummy!" She exclaimed, brimming with something undecipherable. It had started as a desire for revenge for stealing Lelouch from her, but now that they had a common goal… Besides, Rolo could keep up with her – an impressive feat, all in all.

Even after the order, Rolo hesitated. He'd rather expected her to… screw it. He pinned Nunnally against the wall and pressed his body against hers (it was becoming a familiar sensation to him) before capturing her lips in a hard kiss. He had no idea what he was doing, but he figured that confidence was half the battle.

Now that was what Nunnally had been waiting for. When confident like that, Rolo was a very different thing from that pitiful puddle in the corner of a dark room she'd met before.

She had to admit that she found this change rather… striking.

Nunnally let him take over the kiss, enjoying the sensation and inwardly rejoicing at her little victory. She had successfully distracted her rival from clinging to Lelouch and considering him in that way. Mission accomplished.

…great. He was getting hard. Rolo tried to remember that supper was essentially now and that Lelouch would be by any moment to check on them and that… Nunnally tasted so good, why hadn't they kissed before? He wanted to try this at the same time as sex, thrusting inside her as they breathed into each other and–

"Rolo!" Lelouch's shocked voice snapped him out of his little fantasy.

Nunnally recovered before Rolo did and flipped them over, letting the boy slide down the wall.

"Ummm… we…" She had no idea what to say. A day ago, Nunnally would have let Lelouch throw Rolo out of the house (in fact, it had been her not-so-secret desire), but now… She wasn't so sure of it anymore.

"Lelouch, what's the big deal?" Suzaku murmured, hugging Lelouch from behind and effectively preventing him from lashing out at anyone. "If both of them are clearly okay with that, why not?"

"But… Nunnally's only…"

"Lelouch," Suzaku did his best to sound as gentle as possible. "It is her choice, not yours. You can't decide everything for everyone. And I could tell that it was Nunnally's choice."

"But… why… Rolo…"

"Yes?" Rolo looked up from the wall, still clearly dazed, but responding almost instinctively to Lelouch's use of his name. It was a little pitiful.

"Lelouch, it's all my fault. Rolo didn't even want it," Nunnally admit, feeling extremely guilty. She hadn't expected this to go so far. "I wanted you to… I was so jealous that you have Rolo instead of me… I just wanted you to get rid of him. It was so selfish. I didn't know he loved you or took care of you. I though I was the only one who could do it."

"That's not… that's not true!" Rolo managed to sit up properly. "Nunnally, Lelouch adores you. You were all he talked about and… I was never an 'instead of you'! I knew that! I was just so grateful when he accepted me into his life and I felt so awful that I'd betrayed him by…" He took a deep breath. "You're amazing. You're incredible. I've never met anyone with your kind of passion and devotion and… I don't want to stop being with you."

"I don't want it to stop either…" Nunnally simply replied, looking into Rolo's eyes. She didn't know what it was, but she really liked him. And she didn't feel so alone anymore, for the first time in the last three years.

"Don't want what to stop?" Lelouch whimpered faintly. He could still feel Suzaku's hands holding him (back) and leaned into them. They were the only thing that made sense. "You two just met!"

"We've met at Milly's party the night, if I got it right, you were with Kururugi. And you two have, incidentally, also just met." Nunnally pointed out. What she really hated about men in general were those double standards. She had thought Lelouch was better than this.

Lelouch stared at her. This was he precious little sister and… his mind snapped a little, just enough to stop him from thinking about it. "Well. Supper's getting cold and… we'll talk about this later."

Rolo nodded, but didn't meet Lelouch's eyes as he laced his fingers with Nunnally's. He could understand her change of heart – yesterday if you'd asked him to pick between the siblings, he would have chosen Lelouch without a beat. Now… now it was harder.

"Gosh, what a family!" Suzaku rolled his eyes. "I suppose anything is possible at this point."

"Do you have any qualms, Kururugi?" Nunnally glared at him.

"Nah, I like the thrill. And all the shouting," he retorted light-heartedly.

"No shouting at supper," Lelouch ordered absently. "It causes indigestion."

And it would be a real shame to get heartburn after a meal like this - breaded and baked stuffed chicken breasts, fresh tomato salad, creamy mushroom sauce on top of linguine with freshly baked bread rolls… speaking of freshly baked…

"Are there still cookies left?" Rolo asked.

"Some. I'll bake another batch tomorrow." Lelouch smiled and gestured at the table. "Bon appétit."

"Ah, I can see now why Kururugi is being so civil. Those are killer-cookies," Nunnally remarked. "Thank you, Lelouch."

"Indeed…" Suzaku paused. "I can confirm the statement."

"Guys. Chicken." Lelouch reminded them pointedly. "Cookies are for after." At least he was getting over the shock of his sister and his kind-of brother getting it on in his hallway.

Suzaku wanted to say: 'I thought it was you… and Rolo', but Lelouch was still recovering from the previous incident.

Given the recent revelations on all sides, the meal passed relatively pleasantly, as did the conversation afterwards. But then it was bedtime and…

"You two are not sleeping together."

Rolo nodded obediently, not wanting to cause more trouble.

"Do you want me to sleep with Kururugi instead?" Nunnally's grin turned leery. Rolo scowled. Suzaku looked unimpressed.

Lelouch folded his arms. "No, you will sleep in your own bed. Rolo can take the couch." Again, Rolo was the paragon of acceptance. He really didn't want this to be a problem.

"Interesting. If I hear any noises from your bedroom… Hypocrite." Nunnally's rebellious urges had calmed down a little, so she ended up doing what Lelouch wanted. Tyrant.

"This is just for now." Lelouch tried to soothe his sister's obviously ruffled feathers. "After an appropriate courtship and after Rolo gets everyone's acceptance, you can start dating."

Even Rolo wasn't able to look thrilled at that. Given the size of Lelouch and Nunnally's family, that could take months! And they'd just discovered kissing!

"Can we cut it down to you and Mom? That the only real family I have, anyway," Nunnally continued the negotiations. She was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Or," Rolo spoke up for the first time this conversation, "we could just sneak around behind your back due to your draconian rules and maybe, just because I can't come to you for advice, maybe I'll accidentally get Nunnally pregnant? Or we could all just act like adults and sleep wherever we darn well want to."

There was a long pause. "Or that thing. With your mom. We could do that too."

"I don't think Lelouch would be that good of an information source on the subject," Suzaku gave voice in amusement. "Just saying."

"Not the point!" Lelouch snapped. "I… FINE! Whatever! Just do what you want you… gah!" He got up and stormed out of the room.

"…sorry." Rolo really did look apologetic. But he also moved closer to Nunnally.

"I'm on pills," She reassured him. "And all…"

Suzaku wondered if it wasn't too late to run for his life and the hell out of here. It probably was. He stood up, leaving the lovebirds to themselves, and went after Lelouch. Suzaku figured he could use some support right now.

Lelouch looked up as Suzaku came in. He'd heard several doors opening and closing as the actor had tried to find his room and had had more than enough time to compose himself. "Well? Are you going to tell me I'm being foolish as well?"

"I was going to tell you that you're a control freak. But a loveable freak." Suzaku smiled fondly, plopping down on the bed beside Lelouch. "You'd just keep everyone in cages, wouldn't you? Safe, well-fed and within your grasp."

Lelouch glared at him, half-heartedly. "It's not the same thing. You… you were special, of course. But Nunnally… she's still a kid. And Rolo is too, in a way. And… and it's not wrong to want to protect and care for the people I love. It's not. Even you…"

"Clearly." Suzaku hooked an arm around him and pulled him closer. "Know what? I'd have never thought gentleness could get so creepy."

"Stop saying that, it's insulting," Lelouch huffed. He cuddled into Suzaku's arms. "Um… is this going somewhere?"

Suzaku looked at him very intently. He wanted to say how Lelouch reminded him of Cornelia with this obsessiveness over his younger sibling, but it would ruin the mood. Suzaku thought that he had more or less understood Lelouch's thought processes on the matter of caging by now. He wondered if Lelouch needed therapy.

Suzaku also asked himself if it was any of his business. If he walked away from Lelouch's life, his tendencies could get even more destructive and he could really start hurting people.

"Fine," Suzaku whispered, kissing Lelouch's forehead. "I have no idea where any of this is going, but you have accidentally made me care about your insufferable self."

Very much so.

Lelouch's eyes widened. "Oh. Um. I was just wondering if the cuddling was going to… er… evolve into um. Sex. I wasn't asking about the future or anything." He smiled. "But I am happy to hear that, Suzaku." He placed a gentle kiss on Suzaku's lips. "I love you, after all."

"And who's got a dirty mind now?" Suzaku grinned. "Can't I just cuddle with you? That's not something I've done with anyone."

If anything, that made Lelouch's smile wider. "I'm honoured to be your first, Kururugi Suzaku." He curled up in Suzaku's arms and threaded his hands through his hair, massaging and rubbing at the scalp. Kind of like petting an adorable puppy.

"So am I… So am I," Suzaku murmured pensively, not minding what Lelouch's hands were doing at all. It felt very nice.

"We should get ready for bed," Lelouch said, not moving a muscle except for the ones that were petting Suzaku.

Suzaku smiled without much desire to move a limb. "Uh-huh." He was really sleepy.

"Right, so…" Lelouch yawned and snuggled a little closer. "We'll just… do… that…"

"Oyasumi," Suzaku mumbled, joining him in his sleep.

OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO

The first thing Suzaku did in the morning was to go through with his threat. Because he was still in a dire need of a satisfactory retribution, cuddling and what not notwithstanding.

Suzaku ignored the missed calls and an angry torrent of text messages, skipping straight to dialling her number.

"Kaguya? It's me, Suzaku," He greeted his cousin cheerfully.

"Who?" Came a cool reply. Suzaku had just remembered for how long he hadn't called. He look around cautiously, making sure that Lelouch was out of the hearing range. And his siblings too.

"Listen, there is a pretty girly boy whom you could do your worst to. I mean, your worst. Like a bunny suit."

"Ohoho, that Suzaku." Kaguya's voice instantly warmed up. "Is he going to put up any resistance?"

"Nah. He doesn't have a choice," Suzaku reassured her. This was proceeding smoothly.

"Could Shiitsu come along?" Kaguya asked tentatively.

"Sure." Suzaku didn't see any big deal. In fact, he had no idea who that person was at all.

Lelouch stuck his head in the room. "Oh, There you are. Rolo and Nunnally still aren't up and their room smells like…" He trailed off disgustedly, only then noticing the phone. "Who are you talking to?"

"Kaguya, excuse me for a sec." Suzaku covered the cell phone. "My cousin. She's a fashion designer."

"Sumeragi Kaguya?" Lelouch looked impressed. "I had no idea you two were still on such good terms."

"Ah, well, she sort of warmed up when she heard of our plans for today." Suzaku grinned.

Lelouch frowned. "Plans for… you weren't really serious about that, were you?"

"Kaguya, I'll call you back to set the time." Suzaku hung up the phone.

"Listen…" He stepped into Lelouch's line of sight, meeting his eyes. "It doesn't matter what exactly do you do… Be it wearing a dress or whatever. But if you're not willing to actually step out of your comfort zone, then all your declarations of love were just talk. You've made me suffer through many unpleasant things. But the only one I'm really holding against you is seeing me at my worst and making that happy face, because things had gone your way." Lelouch looked like he wanted to say something. Suzaku held up his hand, stalling him.

"Lelouch, I could just leave, and we'll continue with our lives, as if nothing had changed. Or you could do something meaningful. The choice is yours." Suzaku wasn't sure that he'd expressed properly what he really wanted to say - he had never been good with words. But, for some reason, he was afraid of Lelouch choosing the first option.

"Do you want to leave?" Lelouch asked quietly. "Or do you want to… Are you saying that if I…" He bit his lip. "Suzaku, are you saying that there's a chance that you'll stay with me?"

"I…" What a question. Suzaku swallowed nervously and gathered all his courage. "Yes, I… I want to stay. I want to believe you."

"Are you sure?" Lelouch asked, his eyes shining. "I don't want to force you into anything but… if that's what it takes, I'll… anything, Suzaku." He stepped closer to Suzaku, taking his hands. "Anything you want."

Suzaku slowly brought Lelouch's hands closer and placed them on his chest, where his heart had begun to beat more rapidly. "So, I'm calling Kaguya to confirm the time?"

…oh right. Crossdressing. Well, it wouldn't be the first time. And Kaguya was renown for her taste and restraint. "Kiss me and then call." He felt comfortable making this tiny, little, selfish demand.

"Tsk." Suzaku shook his head and kissed the back of Lelouch's delicate hand. "Well?"

"…I'll leave you to your call, then." Lelouch said, taking his hand back and flushing with pleasure at the gesture. "Would you like anything special for breakfast?"

"I'm not picky." Suzaku shrugged. To tell the truth, he couldn't wait to drag him out of the house and into Kaguya's welcoming arms.

Lelouch smiled and left, still cradling his hand is if it had been blessed.

OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO

Kaguya was jumping up on her seat in her studio, looking over the clothing items she'd picked lovingly.

"Even when we're not in a car, you're able to make me carsick," Shiitsu commented without any heat. "…are you sure there's going to be pizza at the end of this?"

"Shiitsu, you really have to do something about your addiction." Kaguya cast a worried glance at her friend. "All you can think of is pizza. It's getting disturbing. Where is Marianne looking?"

"According to her, my ass." Shiitsu said calmly. "Which is mostly pizza, so…" She frowned at something Kaguya was holding. "That's… how did you say your cousin described this guy?"

Kaguya replied, relaying all the little details, so generously provided by her cousin. She had never witnessed Suzaku being so enthusiastic about anything. "Why? Do you know him?"

"What? No." Shiitsu was pretty sure she wouldn't remember him if she did. "But… I think that would be perfect…"

Suzaku entered Kaguya's studio in high spirits, nearly dragging Lelouch kicking and screaming. The closer they go to the fated door, the less certain he looked, casting at him frantic glance of various degrees of panic. One would think that Suzaku was going to lock him up in his basement. Hypothetically.

Even his panic, however, didn't stop him from freezing completely as soon as he entered the room before flinging his arm out dramatically and pointing at Shiitsu. "You!"

Shiitsu gasped and stood. "You! …who the hell are you?"

Lelouch gaped at her. "Just… tell me my mother isn't here."

"Ooh… you're Marianne's eldest." Shiitsu smiled and sat back down. "You take after her. Nice to meet you."

"We've met a dozen times before!"

Suzaku and Kaguya simultaneously choked in laughter at their exchange, wearing absolutely identical amused expressions.

"Well, someone introduce us," Shiitsu said. "Unless you're Odysseus's kid or something."

"Oh, that would have been a revelation," Suzaku remarked slyly. "Hello, Kaguya, hello miss Shiitsu."

"Name, please." Shiitsu barely looked at him.

"This is Suzaku," Suzaku said, pointing at Lelouch. "I'm Lelouch."

Kaguya nearly fell out of her chair.

"Marianne would never have named her son after the Japanese Guardian God of the South. She hated that otaku stuff." Shiitsu smiled. "But good try. So… Lelouch is getting dressed up then?"

"Yes, he's looking forward to it." Suzaku nodded, impressed by her knowledge on that subject of his native folklore. "Right, Lelouch?"

Lelouch whimpered. He'd hoped for the best - wearing one of Kaguya's creations wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world - but Shiitsu (even if she didn't remember it) seemed to exist solely to torment him. "I… can't we just go buy a dress?"

Kaguya threw up her hands, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do you have a problem with my clothing?"

"No ma'am." Lelouch gulped. She was tiny and terrifying.

"Well, then, here it is." Kaguya stood up and danced her way to the outfit. "Let me introduce you to your fabulous new clothing."

Suzaku whistled in approval. Lelouch wanted to curl up into a ball.

"Where can he change?" Suzaku asked, taking charge.

"I'll take him." Shiitsu volunteered. "Unless we're all going as a group…"

"No, I leave him in your capable hands, Miss Shiitsu." Suzaku literally lifted Lelouch off his feet and put him back in front of her.

Shiitsu took in his terrified expression and wide eyes and smirked. "I'll be gentle."

The worst part probably was that she was gentle. She'd clearly done this before, helping people put on things they'd never worn before and was efficient and impersonal about it, even when her hands grazed sensitive areas.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked idly. "Lose a bet?"

"It's my part of a bargain." Lelouch stared at himself in the mirror, reminding himself why he was doing this. "It's a kind of… punishment?" Suzaku seemed a little peeved when he'd insisted of it, so that was a reasonable guess.

Shiitsu shrugged. "Well, you wear your punishment well." She fixed his veil. "What do you think?"

On a purely aesthetic level, Lelouch knew that dark blues and purples worked well on him. Also, the outfit drew attention to his slim waist rather than his flat chest. The bells were a little much, but the baggy pants actually felt nice and cool and the midriff at least covered up his nipples which was more than a bathing suit would.

But he looked like a girl. And not just that, he looked like an Arabian bellydancing girl. He sighed. "It doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what Suzaku thinks." He took a deep breath and returned to his waiting audience.

"Wow…" Suzaku was awestruck. Also, Lelouch's belly was so invitingly exposed, and he desperately wanted to scratch and tickle at it. "You're so… stunning." He wanted to say 'pretty', but he didn't really want to aggravate Lelouch that much.

Kaguya beamed at her handiwork, circling around her victim and straightening the creases.

"Please don't touch there…" Lelouch gave up. "This is most impressive, Sumeragi-sama. To be perfectly fair, though, I have to say that the bet encompassed two full days of crossdressing, did it not, Suzaku?"

"Ummwhat?" Suzaku was too distracted at the moment. "Ah, right… Nobody said it was going to be just one dress, right? I'm sure Kaguya would be delighted to pick more for you."

Time to suck up. Lelouch was rather good at that. "That is quite a relief. Having one of the lead fashion designers this side of the Atlantic pick my outfit is sure to at least mitigate the embarrassment of having to wear a dress."

Kaguya cast a loving glance at him. "Aww, Suzaku, you have such a charming boyfriend this time. I do hope it will last." More dresses.

"I…" Suzaku paused, hit by the realization that, judging by how things were progressing, they were indeed… dating. His worst nightmare came true. But the he saw Lelouch's hopeful gaze and made up his mind. "Yes, we will most certainly try."

And that, that one sentence, somehow made this all… worth it. Lelouch ducked his head and studied the floor (the shoes were nice too, but a little impractical – basically just slippers…) in an attempt to avoid everyone's gaze. He knew full well he was blushing.

"Are you going to go with the bunny suit?" Shiitsu asked, ruining the mood.

Lelouch ignored her. "Just give me a second." He grabbed his cell from where he'd left his pants by Suzaku and ducked around a corner, dialling Euphemia's number. "Euphie?"

"Lelouch? Are you all right?" She instantly answered at seeing the caller's ID.

Suzaku had trailed behind soundlessly, curious about whom Lelouch was going to call. That wasn't what he'd expected at all.

"I'm fine." Lelouch grinned into the phone. "I… I just wanted you to know that things kind of worked out with Suzaku. You're right he's… he needs someone like you or me and I'm just sorry he couldn't see that when he was with you."

Suzaku's eyes were downcast in guilt throughout their conversation, even though he'd had it coming.

"I'm so happy for you two!" Euphie exclaimed, ignoring a stab of regret. She'd have to move on, and this was as good time as any. "Please, take care and give Suzaku my best wishes."

Nina smiled at her across the table. "Who was that?"

"Lelouch, my elder brother who had just returned from France," Euphie replied, putting her cell phone back into her purse.

Nina's smile brightened. "Oh, is he anything like Mr. Schneizel? He just gave the go-ahead for my prototypical lighting apparatus and… I'm boring you again, aren't I?" She sighed. "I'm sorry, I just…" Her cheeks were dusted with a faint flush. "I get a little nervous around you sometimes."

"Oh, really? Why?" Euphie asked in confusion. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"No!" Nina nearly tipped over her water in denial. "No, you… have you ever been around someone who… who makes your heart race and your stomach clench and your mouth dry?"

"I… It didn't end well…" Euphie whispered in sadness. Then she processed what Nina really was saying. "Wait, does that mean that you… um… like me?"

Nina's mouth was open and moving, but nothing was coming out. She managed a nod and then looked abjectly terrified. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I… I can stop, I'll try really hard to stop, I just… please don't stop being my friend."

"Ah, no, Nina, I…" Euphie waved her hands in agitation. "You know, I've just decided to try again, so… I would mind if we… I've never dated a girl before, but I'll do my best."

"Re-really?" Nina's eyes widened to twice their normal size. "I… I'll make it worth it, I promise. We can go as slowly as you want, anything to keep you comfortable. We can even just… keep doing this. Whatever you want."

"That's great!" Euphie jumped up her seat and pecked Nina on her lips in enthusiasm across the table, accidentally knocking off her glass of water and spilling it all over them.

Nina gasped and started laughing. That was… so something she would have expected herself to do. Maybe this… maybe this wasn't so crazy. She reached out a slightly trembling hand and rested it on Euphie's cheek. "You're so very pretty."

"Thank you." Euphie flushed at the praise. "You have very beautiful eyes, especially when you're not wearing glasses."

Nina flushed. "Um… my apartment's nearby… That's not a line! it's just that we're all wet and… That's not a line either! I just… I have laundry. Is what I'm saying."

Euphie giggled. "Okay, let's go."

Nina beamed, and even brighter when Euphie took her hand. This was completely a dream come true.

From the street, under the cover of a tree in full leaf, Kanon took two candid shots of the girls and added them to the ones he'd taken of Lelouch and Suzaku on their way to the Sumeragi studio. The ones of Rolo and Nunnally cuddling on Lelouch's couch were already stashed away in the glove box.

He pursed his lips, considering if this was enough. He thought so – it wasn't as if he'd been asked to capture any of the pairs in mid-coitus. He picked up the phone and pressed speed-dial 1.

"How are the things proceeding?" A smooth voice answered.

"Guess." Kanon smirked into the phone. If this was something important, or if things weren't going well, he'd have delivered a terse report. As it was, he was feeling playful.

"Just as planned." The corners of Schneizel's mouth tugged into his trademark smirk.

Kanon chuckled. "Actually, even better. Your sister is headed to the geek girl's apartment. If you wanted, I could try to get some more shots of them there…"

"I'd rather have you back here," Schneizel murmured. "It's getting lonely."

"It is nice to be appreciated." Kanon tossed the pictures onto the passenger seat and started up the car. "Anything you want me to pick up before I get there?"

"Surprise me," was the reply.

Kanon laughed. "I've never managed to yet, but I'll give it my best shot. Office or home?"

"Office."

"Then I'll pick up something water soluble. And cookies." Kanon gunned the engine and drove off, Schneizel's amused laugh ringing in his ear.