Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.

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Her dreams of being surrounded by beloved pizza slices were shattered immediately by a distant cough.

C.C. closed her eyes tight, willing her mind to return to that faraway land. The land in which the focus of her love was residing at.

More coughs, some grunts and some more coughs.

It was useless. C.C. let out a grunt of her own before saying without turning on the bed. "If you're sick, go get some medicine already," she said.

More grunts in place of a reply. Some shuffling sounds as an indication that the figure lying in the futon on the floor was tossing around.

Then, silence came, and C.C. let out a sigh of brief relief. Silence meant she could focus on the dreamland and perhaps, by some means, transport herself to that wondrous land overwhelmed by pizza and pizza.

She smiled as a small familiar image slowly crept into her mind. Ahh, this was it-

Louder coughs.

C.C. couldn't suppress her mild anger anymore. She violently, more than required or necessary, tossed her body around and faced the boy in the futon, who seemed to be doubling over in a coughing fit.

"Seriously, Lelouch. Forget about me for a second, you could have waken anyone within a mile radius." Her delicate green eyebrow shot up. "Should I remind you that your sister is sleeping in the room next door?"

Even in the darkness, she could feel his intense glare that he was successfully directing toward her. At last, he slowly sat up as if such a small feat hurt. He only got to his knees when he crumbled back down on the futon again. Then, stillness.

The already raised eyebrow rose higher as C.C. waited for a reaction from the boy. And when none came, a sudden unease washed over her. "Lelouch?" C.C. slid down the bed and crawled on all fours toward the dark figure lying a few feet before her. She reached out one hand to touch his shoulder and shook it gently. "Lelouch?" repeated C.C. again.

This time, he managed to let out a soft grunt. Weakly reaching around, he fumbled for the blanket, and when his long fingers found it he dragged it up till it covered the lower half of his face. A slight, subtle tremble under her hand confirmed her suspicion.

"Don't tell me..." C.C. murmured before moving said hand up to his forehead, brushing away his raven bangs. Her warm hand was met with an unnatural hotness.

C.C. sat back on her heels. Great, just what she needed right now. A boy with a 100-degrees Fahrenheit fever.

A hand appeared out of nowhere, grabbed hers, and pushed it away gently. Lelouch then turned on his side so that his back was to her while trying to wrap the blanket tighter around his fame. C.C. didn't think it was possible, considering the blanket basically seemed to be attached to him due to all the excess pulling.

"You're sick, Lelouch," C.C. stated matter-of-factly, though she knew he knew that.

"I'm fine," he answered weakly. His voice came out as hoarse as a frog. Under other circumstances, she would have chuckled. But this wasn't one of those funny moments, because the Black Knights leader was sick, and tomorrow the Black Knights leader had to deliver a special speech to rally people's support.

He picked a perfect time to get sick, didn't he?

Suddenly, a realization dawned on her. She stared at the boy lying there, trembling slightly, then shook her head. Then, heaving a small sigh, she asked, "Where's the medicine? I'll get it for you."

He was about to open his mouth to speak, or protest, when she gave him a firm look and said, "No buts. Where is it?"

Realizing it was no use to go against the witch in this state, he replied carefully as if giving direction to a young, clueless child. "It's in the kitchen's cabinet located near the fridge. When you go through the kitchen door, you'll see it right away." He paused when another coughing hit him, then continued in a strained voice. "Inside, there should be a bottle labeled…" He paused again as if trying to remember the name. "Labeled Mild Illness, I believe," he finished.

C.C. thought it was funny that they would name each bottle of medication like that. She guessed it was easy than trying to memorize all the complex, super long, soon-to-forget original names of the pills. But she didn't comment on it.

"Be right back," said C.C. as she stood up. Lelouch gave a grunt to acknowledge that.

She was careful to close the door to their bedroom as soundlessly as possible, but the door still creaked stubbornly. She was debating whether to close it or not. It wouldn't be as much of a hassle to leave it open, but what if his coughing fits intensified and woke Nunnally, then where would they be?

She shouldn't have been bothered.

As soon as C.C. reached the younger sibling's bedroom with the door slightly ajar, a soft voice called out from inside. "Onii-sama?"

C.C. froze.

"Onii-sama?" Nunnally tried again when she heard no response whatsoever from out in the hallway. There was this concern hinted in her tone that C.C. could easily detect.

There was no way out of this. Only one option standing and C.C. had to take it, or else her – and Lelouch's – identities and plans would have gone down the drain this instant.

C.C. cleared her throat, dropped her voice down three octaves, and prayed to all the deities she knew that this newly adjusted voice would match that of the sick boy lying in the room next door. Overall, that this plan would not meet an epic failure.

"I'm sorry to wake you, Nunnally," said C.C., sure that she was sounding quite deep. Whether it was deep enough, she had no clue.

Now, it was quiet inside the young girl's room, and C.C. couldn't help worrying that this plan probably already met its end. Then, Nunnally spoke softly, "Are you okay, Onii-sama?"

It took the witch a whole lot of effort to not let out a relieved sigh. "I'm fine. Why did you ask?" she replied.

"Your voice sounds quite… strange," concluded Nunnally. "It sounds a bit high-pitched."

"Does it? It must have been…" She fumbled for an explanation when Nunnally conveniently provided one.

"Are you sick?" asked Nunnally. The concern jumped to another level.

Suddenly, C.C. didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore. The conversation had reached a point where she could maneuver it to her liking. So, she went with the flow.

"Yes, I haven't been feeling well. I was thinking of getting some pills from the kitchen."

"I heard your coughs."

Told you, Lelouch. "It's nothing big, really. Sorry to wake you, Nunnally. Go back to bed."

Silence. Then, some shufflings were heard. C.C. assumed that the girl was sliding back beneath the blankets and tucking herself in, and that it's time to move on when a cough held her in place.

"What's that?"

"Nothing, I just-"

More coughs were heard. And not from her spot.

"Is that…"

"A cat!" C.C. quickly made some unintelligible sounds to mask the irksome ones coming from the room behind her. "See? It's just a stray cat outside the window. Please, go back to bed." C.C. knew she was making no sense, but sincerely hoped that Nunnally was too tired and bewildered to notice it.

Finally, after a short uncomfortable quietness, Nunnally made some more shuffling sounds. C.C. heaved a small relieved sound.

"Good night, Nunnally." She moved forward.

"Good night, Onii-sama. I love you. Get better, okay?" whispered Nunnally. It was then that the gray witch finally understood why Lelouch loved his sister so much that he's willing to do anything for her.

"Lelouch, get up. You have to take this."

Lelouch cracked his eyelids open groggily. His mind was a mess of thoughts and images and dancing spots. All he could see was a blurry image of a figure kneeling before him. All he could feel was the burning sensation coursing through his body. It felt like he's dying, which at the moment, didn't seem so bad an option.

"Come on, this should help lower your fever," said C.C. She put a spoon filled with some pink liquid to his mouth, and he sipped it obediently.

And spat out right away, earning a gasp from her.

"Lelouch!"

"It's bitter!" he got out weakly. Bringing up his hand, he wiped his mouth with his long white sleeve.

C.C. shot him an exasperated look, more annoyed at the fact that he probably couldn't even see it, dug the spoon into the bottle and filled it once again with the remedy. "What are you? Five? Even a five-year-old knows better," she said.

Lelouch let out a groan. "I should have known," he said, "that wasn't a pills bottle. It's a syrup bottle."

"Of course it is. Now drink this." Waiting for when he opened his mouth to object, she quickly shoved the spoon into his mouth. He gagged and was about spit it all back out again when she clamped his mouth shut with her hands, forcing him to swallow it. It wasn't the nicest thing to do with the sick but she had no patience to deal with this. Especially with a very stubborn person.

Finally, after some twitching and subtle wrestling, the liquid made its way down his throat. She slowly released her hands.

He shot her a dirty look. And she shrugged nonchalantly. "If you don't want to go through that again, I suggest you obediently drink this." She put the spoon to his mouth, coaxing him to open it.

The look intensified but he silently obliged. This time, no more force-feeding.

After another spoonful, which made it three total, C.C. put the spoon away, closed the cap on the bottle, and sat back on her heels, watching the boy before her.

The room wasn't scarily cold, but it wouldn't help with his fever if he kept lying on the ground like this. Though not directly, but she didn't doubt the cold could still manage to creep up through the futon.

"Let's get you up the bed," she murmured. Then, lacing one arm beneath his neck, she pushed him up from his lying position. Lelouch still had some sense left in him to follow her directions. He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and pushed himself on his wobbly legs. Then, he let her half-carry, half-drag him toward the bed that once was solely his.

When they reached their destination, C.C. let him fall down. He did with a tired grunt and pulled his legs up in slow motion. She helped him with that. Then, she went ahead to adjust the pillow, pull the blanket up to his chest, and tuck him in as if he were a mere five-year-old, which he seemed to be at the moment.

Letting him lie there, she went out into the hall and into the bathroom, glad that it's located near his bedroom, and that she didn't have to pass by Nunnally's again. There's no telling what was going to be in store for her this time.

When C.C. came back, she had with her a hot towel. Walking toward Lelouch, she got down on her knees and placed it neatly on his forehead. He let out a satisfied sigh, and C.C. couldn't help smirking a little. Being immortal had its advantages, and one of them was that she would, or could, never get sick. However, the fact that she still remembered how to tend to the ill had proven that she hadn't lost all of her human qualities.

Now that he's all taken care of, C.C. sat there with her hands placed on the bed and her chin on her knuckles. Her golden orbs observed the sleeping boy.

But she could tell he couldn't sleep.

He still endured some coughing fits, but they were apart and short now. Sweats were lingering on his forehead, and his eyes kept fluttering open at the smallest sounds. She believed her breathing could have probably kept him up all night.

Then, she remembered something.

"I know why…" he uttered quietly and weakly.

"What?"

"I know why I'm sick."

She didn't say anything. She had already guessed the reason.

"It's all because of that night." All this time, he was speaking without opening his eyes.

C.C. cocked her head slightly to one side. "You had to, didn't you?" she said. "She's just lost her father, after all."

He let out a laugh, which sounded more like a high-pitched grunt than a laugh, really. "If I were Suzaku, I wouldn't have gotten the fever so easily like this."

"If you were Suzaku, it'd be absolutely impossible for me to get you up on the bed."

He chuckled. Then, he glanced toward her. His eyelids were barely open but she could still see the bright violet orbs hidden behind them. "Thank you," he whispered.

"We're accomplices, aren't we? I couldn't have you dying on me." Her mouth was dry when that remark came out.

He nodded, coughed, then turned his head back and closed his eyes. Still, he appeared restless.

Without giving it much thought, C.C. reached out her right hand and intertwined her fingers in his slightly curled ones.

"A nun once told me that telling stories to the sick helps them rest better and ease their suffering," C.C. said softly. "Want to hear a story, Lelouch?"

He didn't say anything. And she smiled.

"I was sick too, you know. Before I got the Code and became immortal, I was once a human being just like you. And I remember that night I got a cold so bad that I thought I might die from the fever." She put the side of her head on the bedsheets, eyes bore into Lelouch's handsome face, and the hand that was holding his squeezed a bit tighter as the memories from centuries ago came flooding back.

"I was so sick, probably worse than you are right now, and the nun stayed by my side all night. In case you didn't know, she's the one that gave me the Code. She tended to my illness all night long. She'd change the towel every time it turned cold, and she'd let me drink this syrup to help lower the fever. I don't quite know what it was but it certainly did the trick." A sad smile crossed her face. "She's the only person who wasn't affected by my Code so I loved her truly. She's no nice and caring and loving. Who could have thought…" She trailed off. Who could have thought…

"Who would have thought that such a cruel woman like her could exist?" C.C. finished quietly.

Lelouch was breathing evenly now. Meaning he had drifted off to the ideally peaceful dreamland during her tale.

C.C. let go of the hand, got up and walked toward his working desk. She saw what she needed right away. A clipboard with a piece of paper on it and a black pen. She grabbed them, sauntered back to the bed, sat down on the floor next to it, leaning her back against the bed's frame, and started scribbling something on the board.

This was going to be a long night.

Everything was disoriented when he woke up.

The first thing he heard was the chirping sounds of the birds perching on a branch outside his bedroom window. The first thing he saw the familiar white ceiling. The first thing he felt was that he was higher and closer to said ceiling than he should be.

Lelouch became alert instantly.

Then, a soft sound from his right captured his attention immediately and he whipped his head toward it.

"C.C.?"

The gray witch was sitting on the floor with her head nestled in her folded arms. Her head was positioned sideways so he couldn't tell if she were asleep or not. However, the soft snoring washed away all his doubts.

Lelouch reached up and pulled the warm towel from his forehead. The soft cushions beneath him told him that he was lying on his bed, and everything that happened last night gradually came back to him. He was still groggy but he certainly felt better than the night before, that's for sure.

Lelouch slowly sat up, and looked at C.C.

"Did she just take care of me for the whole night?" Lelouch spoke so low that even if she were awake, there wasn't a chance she could hear what he'd said.

Something sticking out beneath her bended knees caught his eye. Lelouch slid down the bed, careful to not wake her, and grabbed the clipboard. To say that he was surprised was an understatement.

On it was a piece of white paper. But that's not all. There were words, thousands of them. Some were written in elegant handwriting, some were smeared, some were scratched out, and some were done in haste. But he knew what they all were, what they all meant.

They were words in his speech addressed to the supporters today. C.C. had stayed up all night to write this for him.

"Lelouch?" a soft, sleepy voice called out from behind him. He turned.

C.C. was awake, sort of. She was rubbing one eye with her knuckles. The other eye was studying him.

"C.C..." He didn't know what to say. No, scratch that, he did know what to say. "Thank you," he said with a smile that only Nunnally could get out of him.

She stared at him for a few seconds, then a small smile creased her rosy lips. "No one has said that to me for a long time," she said.

When he looked at her perplexedly, she waved a dismissive hand. "Regardless, do you think you are ready for today's event?"

Back to old business. He nodded. "Of course." Then he showed her the board. "I'm sure I can get everyone's support with this speech."

C.C. should have smiled wider, but instead she rolled her eyes and climbed onto the bed like a cat. After pulling the blanket up to her chin, she rolled onto her side, facing the wall. "Go, boya. And don't disappoint me," she said.

Lelouch allowed himself a smirk. Then, he quickly got dressed, made sure that he didn't forget to put the Zero costume, as well as its mask, inside his bag, and that the speech was secured in his notebook.

Lelouch walked to the door, grabbed the handle, and seemed to be debating something because he didn't yank it open right away like he usually did. At last, he uttered. "Since no one has said it to you in so long, I'll say it again. Thank you, C.C."

A quick silence, then C.C. replied. "Don't worry about it. We're only mere accomplices."

He opened the door, stepped out. "Are we really?" And the door closed.

-end-

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