ITP: We make up for missing Mother's Day and Father's Day emo

[thekingsgambit]

[To most, a day of remembrance is a somber occasion. And Lelouch has already filled that requirement, having spent the majority of the day where he is now, in his room. For perhaps the second time, his laptop is closed and shunted to the side to make room for box containing Marianne's necklace. The box is open, although he has yet to touch it this entire time. Instead his attention is focused on an overturned jar of origami stars on the upper end of his desk. Some spilling onto the papers and schematics that crowd the desk's edge and tumble softly to the floor.

Another star bounces off his leg and falls onto one of pages already cluttered on the ground. Absently, his gaze travels to it, briefly reading the writing. Suddenly he jerks his head up from where he had been resting it on his palms, elbows doing their best to dig into the table. Lelouch snatches his jacket from the chair, not bothering with the mess he has made for the moment.

Eventually, he finds himself on a course only briefly trodden but one he has studied well enough to know his way. It helps that his destination is not a place. His walk is brisk and immediate, and it doesn't take him long to find what he's after.]



Should we be concerned?

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[ascendthethorns]

[Having been on patrol since early morning and being further worn herself by the weight of the anniversary, Cornelia rests as Lelouch approaches, seated beneath one tree and in the company of another, computer opened in her lap, eyes trained on its screen. She stiffens at his arrival and looks up slowly when his question closes, her expression cautious and her tone much the same.]

Concerned? About what?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

You have been gone all day. Has the situation changed?

[ascendthethorns]

[Shakes head and busies herself with returning her computer to her pack.]

No. I have just been busy on patrol.

[ascendthethorns]

[Finishes and rises.]

There are some areas of note in camp's father reaches that I've been meaning to see for myself and it took the day to cover them all. That I managed to make it back at all.. was.. hmn. Unexpected, considering.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Misses that last part noticeably.]

I would not have expected you to choose today for such.

[ascendthethorns]

... I had intended to keep the day clear. However.. Lelouch?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

I did not see Euphie at the cabin either...

[ascendthethorns]

No? You may have been just missing each other. It is common enough here, even among those who share residence..

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

I suppose I have been busy.




Is that why you are out here?

[ascendthethorns]

Avoidance? No. I apologize if that is how it appears.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Is this how you remember then? I am sure something more formal would be out of the question in Britannia. If even acknowledged.

[ascendthethorns]

Enough. We cannot do this now. Do you understand?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Cannot do what now? Acknowledge the day for what it is? Who else will? Only us three...

[Though the tone is sharp and demanding, the cut-off is too sudden for it to be intentional. Lelouch's very focused stare wavers, even as he tries to hold it in place.]

[ascendthethorns]

Lelouch..

[Takes a moment, then moves over to him to rest a hand on the back of his shoulder.]

Come. We can discuss this later. But first, we should return you to the cabin.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Bristles and viciously pulls away.]

Do not patronize me! I came here to find you. You searched for answers. You kept that necklace all these years...

[He lets the previous explanation fall and shifts his tone back to something more cool.]

I want to know more about you and her.

[ascendthethorns]

[Drops hand and takes a step back of her own.]

Very well. What do you wish to know?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Seems a bit surprised at this.]

No delays this time?

[ascendthethorns]

Yours is a simple request and one that I can attempt to fulfill. As such, I do not yet see cause for delay.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Makes a small sound under his breath, an acknowledgment and then delivers his question in low, almost dead tone.]

Tell me about just before... that night. Tell me how things were.

Mother had several absences over those few days.

[ascendthethorns]

You would ask me to begin there..?

... She was preoccupied. With her work. A new project, I believe? The demands it made of her time were significant, and I did not see much of her myself that.. week.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

And before that?

[ascendthethorns]

Before that?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

She trusted you. You were the captain of her guards. There had to have been something.

[ascendthethorns]

Lady Marianne was a proud, independent woman. And very protective. It came as.. no surprise that she would tell me nothing, and I did not wish to pry. We spoke rarely of work besides. She did not desire to discuss it often.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Protective... She never thought of protecting herself. Mother never needed that. She shouldn't have...