Story: Friends With Benefits Code Geass

There he was, minding his own business and walking through the corridors of Ashford Academy, merely spending a little time puzzling through Shirley's peculiar behaviour and this strange bracelet when, out of nowhere, he got to experience a rather enthusiastic tackle, headlock and "noogie" from his good friend Rivalz Cardemonde.

"Get off me!" Lelouch demanded, less dignified than he would have liked. Rivalz did not obey.

"Hey there, you lucky son of a gun!" Rivalz cackled, continuing his assault with renewed knuckle power. "Tsk, tsk! I saw you and Shirl just now! Huh? Huh? Finally noticed, didja? Come on, you can tell me all the nice details."

"Noticed?" Lelouch asked, finally finding the necessary leverage to free himself. His eyes narrowed. Rivalz knew something? "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Come on, don't play dumb." Rivalz slapped him on the back. He continued quieter, conspiratorially. "I saw you kiss Shirley right on the lips. It's about time if you ask me."

Normally, yes. That is the kind of thing that might have caused Lelouch a small amount of trouble. However, at this very moment he was completely unknowingly under the control of the friends with benefits bracelet stuck on his arm. Even his brilliant mind couldn't quite connect the dots. "That's right," he admitted, feeling completely confused. "I kissed her."

"Huh!" Rivalz blinked. "You know, to be honest... Kinda expected you to lie about it."

"Lie about it?" Now the prince in hiding was finding still new depths of confusion. "I hardly see what the big deal is."


"Oh, so you really are the playboy all the rumours say you are? Hmm? A kiss with a girl is no big deal to a guy like that. Man, now I feel kind of bad for poor Shirl."

But to Lelouch's current mind he hadn't kissed a girl. He had kissed a friend who happened to be of the opposite sex. To his enspelled mind there was quite the significant difference, and nothing especially strange with the disconnection in logic. The contradictions made sense to him, and even had Rivalz articulated them replete with diagrams, he would not have cared, nor even tried to rationalise.

"I just don't see what the big deal is," Lelouch reiterated with a shrug. "So I kissed Shirley. Why do you have to make a mountain out of a molehill? I didn't do anything with her I wouldn't have done with any other friend."

Rivalz shot him a flat look, then took a quick step back. "Oh, I get it!" Rivalz said triumphantly. "You're trying to confuse me!" Who was trying to confuse whom? "That way, even if I did try to blackmail you into giving up the details by threatening to tell Milly..."

"Why would I have a problem with you telling that sort of thing to Milly?"

Rivalz tapped his forehead and chuckled ominously. "Dude, you forget. I've seen you play chess enough times to get a peek inside that head of yours. That kind of bluff won't work against me."

Now the gears in Lelouch's head were really turning. Trouble was, they were missing a few teeth due to the effect of the bracelet. To his mind, it seemed as though Rivalz was also behaving in a most peculiar manner: Therefore, he could only conclude that Rivalz didn't want MIlly to learn the trivial fact that he'd locked lips with Shirley.

"Is that so...?" Lelouch chuckled, slower than Rivalz and more ominous in much the same way that the sun is more bright than a candle. "Well, I wonder. Why don't you tell me what it is you think I'm supposed to have noticed, or I could tell Milly that you were planning on keeping something from her."

"Hey, come on now!" Rivalz gulped. Yes, that's right, Rivalz. This is the double-edged sword of blackmail and extortion. Always make sure that your intended victim has more to lose from the deal being broken than you do. You had made a classic rookie mistake. "I've heard of mutually assured destruction, but Lelouch...!"

He didn't answer, just spun idly on his heels and started whistling.

"Okay, okay! Jeeze, remind me not to play poker with you."

"It's not really my game," Lelouch innocently said. "So?"

"She likes you," Rivalz said. "Shirley has liked you for a while now. That's why it was a bit of a shock seeing you -"

"Oh, is that all?" Lelouch asked. "Well, that was rather obvious. I thought it would be something new. How disappointing."

Well, of course Shirley liked him. They were friends. Friends like each other by definition. Had he been wrong? It seemed as though Rivalz really didn't know anything after all. Lelouch looked at the bracelet intensely. There didn't seem to be anything else for it. He'd have to track down the vendor personally to ask them some pointed questions.

Then he'd get back home and spend the evening licking every square inch of Shirley's body. That was, after all, the rational thing the two of them should be doing tonight.

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Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh! Oh, <i>gosh!</i> Lelou had just kissed her. Kissed. Her. Right out in the corridor where anyone could see. Oooh! She could simply die!

Come on now, girl. Shirley slapped her cheeks to make herself focus. Focus! Why had he done that out of nowhere? Answer: The bracelet. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew. It was the bracelet. There had definitely been something between her and Lelouch and -

Ooh, this was so exciting! She'd always been afraid he'd say no but there he was, kissing her on the lips without prompting or anything! So? So? What next? What next?

"Shirley, are you alright?" Nina asked, making Shirley nearly jump out of her skin. "You've been standing there hugging yourself for about a minute now."

"I'm fine!" Shirley replied. Oh gosh, how embarrassing! "Say, is that the budget report we're supposed to finish off this week?"

"Yes, that's right," Nina nodded. "In fact, Milly's called a meeting so we can sort it out. Are you sure you're feeling alright? You look flushed."

Feeling alright? "Yes, I'm fine! Really!" she insisted. Okay. She could deal with this. Maybe the kiss was a misunderstanding. Maybe she'd imagined it. Or maybe not. Right! After the meeting she was going to have to talk to him! This time for certain!

... Just like the last time she'd resolved to talk to him after a meeting to ask him out on a date. And the time before that. And the time before <i>that</i>! Ooh! This time was different. This time she had the power of a magical bracelet (probably) on her side!

This time, Lelouch Lamperouge was not getting away without being confessed to! On that, she vowed!

1. Lelouch tracks down the vendor, who reads his fortune and gives him some advice.
2. After the meeting, Shirley confesses to Lelouch. Things take a weird turn.
3. After the meeting Shirley tries to confess, but can't get the words out.
4. Shirley can't bring herself to even try, winds up making out with Lelouch anyway.
5. Something else