Hypothermia

Hypothermia
A Code Geass fan fiction story
Written by Archangel
Edited by Comixgal

Chapter 1 - Hypothermia

{Author’s Note: This chapter was initially posted without the benefit of an editor. It has since been edited. Consequently, you may want to reread it if you’ve already done so. Also, this chapter now has a music suggestion! “Suteki Da Ne” by Nobuo Uematsu.

I wrote this two days after the English premiere of Code Geass episode 12. I did not yet know what was going to happen further on in the show. This fanfic is not intended to be canonical in the slightest. This story presumes that you have at least seen CG episode 12. Further notes at the end of the story. Enjoy, and please provide feedback! RATE and/or REVIEW, please!}

“Lulu, tell me. Zero… he fights for the weak, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah… well, that’s what he says.”

“Then… then why did he kill my father?”

Lelouch gasped, his eyes going very wide and his face the very picture of shock.

“You know my father… was so gentle. He never ever hurt me! He didn’t do anything wrong! But he was buried alive… he couldn’t… breathe…” Shirley looked up at Lelouch, her pale green eyes dripping with tears beneath her soaked bangs. She looked ready to die of shock and horror. “I... don’t want this!” Her purse fell unnoticed to the wet pavement. “Noooooo!”

Shirley hurled herself at Lelouch in the pouring rain, her fingers seizing the front of his jacket and holding on desperately. She couldn’t feel anything, couldn’t think. All she knew was that Lulu was the last thing in her life that could make her happy. She felt him stagger very slightly under her momentum, then straighten up and let her lean against him. Sobbing uncontrollably, Shirley kept hold of Lelouch’s jacket in a death grip, determined not to let him go. He couldn’t go. He was all she had left. “Please, Lulu… help me!”

And then his arms came around her, holding her tightly. Shirley hugged him back fiercely, her tears flowing even more freely now she knew Lulu wouldn’t push her away. She had half-expected that… dreaded it… he was always so cold and reserved to everyone except his sister…

Shirley had just a glimpse of tears shining in Lelouch’s lovely violet eyes before his lips came down to meet hers. Her whole body froze for an instant, unable to believe it. She had never dared dream this far. But Lelouch’s kiss swept the last vestiges of rational thought from Shirley’s battered mind, and she leaned into his body, kissing back. It was an awkward and clumsy kiss, for it was Shirley’s first—and Lelouch’s too. But it was wonderful. The cold, hard rain falling in sheets over the pair just made them press even closer together, desperate for body heat.

After a few minutes that seemed like hours, Lelouch gently parted his lips from Shirley’s, breathing a little raggedly as he stroked her soft cheek. He must have felt the bone-deep chill that prevented her from blushing under his intense gaze as he murmured, “C’mon, let’s get you someplace dry.”

Lelouch stepped back from the embrace and knelt down, scooping items back into Shirley’s fallen purse and collecting it along with his discarded umbrella. He looped the purse over his left arm and held the umbrella over both of them as his right arm slipped around her waist. The next thirty minutes were a confused blur of grief and joy to Shirley as Lelouch gently guided her back to Ashford Academy.

It wasn’t until the door closed behind them that Shirley realized Lelouch had led her to the small suite he shared with his younger sister Nunnally in the main administration building. Still in shock, Shirley just looked around blankly as Lelouch set the purse and umbrella on a table to dry and slipped out of his wet shoes. He then helped her out of hers and took her hand, leading her to the suite’s bathroom. Her mind was still a blanked-out whirl as Lelouch gave her a hand stepping into the tub. It wasn’t until he stepped in after her and turned on the shower blazing hot that Shirley was jolted back to herself with a quiet yelp of surprise.

Shirley shied away from the hot spray which ignited a cold fire of pain wherever it hit her chilled skin. Lelouch pulled her gently into his arms again and guided her under the hot water, his hands rubbing her body vigorously through the sodden silk of her dress. “Wh—why?” Shirley asked him through teeth that had suddenly decided to begin chattering violently.

“Hot water is the best way to treat hypothermia,” Lelouch replied in that gentle, confident voice that always sent little shivers down Shirley’s spine. Standing here in his arms, she felt those shivers more strongly than ever. Or it might have been the cold that seemed to have sunk into her bones. Regardless, her slight body was trembling violently, which only caused Lelouch to hold her tighter and rub her back, sides, and arms all the more. The shivers all seemed to be traveling down and collecting between her legs. Realizing this, Shirley blushed fiercely, reaching up to wrap her arms around Lelouch’s neck and pull him down into a kiss, then another.

As the two kissed in the steam and the spray, their skill grew steadily, as did Shirley’s confidence. As her body thawed out, her actions became more and more desperate, even violent in the intensity of her desire. Her hands found the buttons of Lelouch’s jacket and all but ripped them open, forcing it down his arms to drop into a sodden heap on the floor of the tub. Lelouch’s eyes widened at the ferocity of her advances but he responded, his hands finding the concealed zipper on the back of her dress and drawing it down to her hips before she pulled his shirt over his head.

Clothes came off more rapidly as they stripped each other, hands exploring chilled flesh and rubbing it back into warmth. When they finally stood completely naked, Lelouch and Shirley hardly noticed, so focused were they on kissing and stroking each other. Their hands explored while their eyes remained closed, caught up in the passion of the moment. When they finally parted for air, Lelouch gently disengaged himself from Shirley’s arms, drawing a little mewl of disappointment from her lips. He bent down and scooped their fallen clothing into his arms, pulling the shower door aside and stepping out. “I’ll be right back,” he assured her with a quiet smile, then was gone.

Given a moment to catch her breath, Shirley realized that her entire body was radiating an intense heat, hotter even than the water spraying on her. She also realized that not all the wetness on her thighs was from the shower. Like many girls at Ashford Academy, she had spent nights fantasizing about Lelouch, had dreamed scenarios like this and woken up with wet panties… but the power of her reaction to the real thing surprised her. Her dreams were a mere candle flame compared to the firestorm that overtook her body now.

Unfortunately, with Lelouch gone for the moment, her conscious mind began to operate again. Shirley began giggling uncontrollably as she thought of how many girls at the school would shed blood to be in her place right now. She thought back through the whirl of the evening, wondering how she’d come to be here… then Narita came rushing back to her like a speeding truck. The look of sympathy on that teal-haired knight’s face… her father’s lifeless body lying in that impersonal, horrible grey bag.

The fire in her slim body died as if blasted by a hundred fire hoses. Her uncontrolled giggling became uncontrolled crying. Shirley’s tears flowed as freely as her juices had a minute before. Exhausted by the extremes of joy and sorrow, her strong swimmer’s legs gave out and she slumped to the floor of the tub, curling up into a fetal position as violent sobs wracked her entire body. The still-freezing porcelain and the hot spray pelting down on her only furthered Shirley’s confusion and the sense of utter loss that overtook her.

*****

While Shirley suffered her emotional backlash, Lelouch had taken the pair’s soaked clothing to the tiny laundry room adjoining the suite’s kitchen. Wringing the garments out quickly over the washing machine, he checked the tag of Shirley’s dress to see if it was machine-dryable.

“It’s not often you have visitors,” a soft and rather sarcastic female voice said from behind Lelouch, who didn’t even twitch. I must be getting used to her, he thought as he turned to momentarily regard C2, clad only in the white leotard she wore to sleep.

“You can’t let Shirley see you,” Lelouch told his rather odd housemate, completely unruffled by his nudity as he tossed his clothing and Shirley’s undergarments into the dryer and carefully hung her dress and stockings to dry.

“Why her?” C2 asked bluntly, disregarding Lelouch’s statement as she leaned against the door frame with her arms folded, her long green hair spilling around her body.

“Jealous?” Lelouch replied with a sardonic smile as he saw C2’s eyes run casually up and down his body. He put a scent sheet in the dryer and turned it on before straightening up.

“I don’t know,” she replied with a thoughtful look of her own.

“Well, it’s your turn on the couch tonight,” Lelouch told C2 matter-of-factly as he brushed past her and headed back to the bathroom. On the way he paused to look in on Nunnally, and then to grab his bathrobe and a couple of big, fluffy towels. He unceremoniously dropped the latter on the bathroom counter as he heard Shirley’s loud sobs, stepping back into the shower as quickly as he could.

Lelouch knelt beside his copper-haired friend and picked her up like a child, cradling her in his arms and kissing her cheek softly. Shirley uncurled from her ball and clung to Lelouch so hard it hurt him, but he didn’t object. He didn’t do anything but hold her tightly and stroke her hair. The force of her sobs shook both their bodies as the hot water continued to rain down on them.

After what seemed a long while to both of them, Lelouch began to let his hands wander, stroking Shirley’s body in a manner simultaneously soothing and seductive. While he really didn’t want to take advantage of her grief, Lelouch’s heart was being torn apart seeing her like this… and he couldn’t think of any other way to help besides trying to smother her grief in joy, however temporary.

Lelouch sat Shirley gently on the largest of the shelves built into the side of the tub, first sweeping the bottles and soap perched there carelessly off into the tub. He knelt before her and gently took hold of her smooth legs, drawing them apart. Before Shirley fully realized what was happening, her lover was kneeling between her legs, kissing his way tenderly up her thighs. “Lulu…” Shirley breathed, half of her pleading for him to stop at once and half pleading for him to never stop. The latter impulse won completely as Lelouch’s lips brushed the outer lips of her shaven sex.

It was as if somebody had set off a bomb in Shirley’s subconscious mind. The shockwave of pleasure swept outwards and consumed her rational mind, reigniting the burning heat in her body. Her grief mingled with the ebb and flow of ecstasy now starting to build within her, combining to form a fierce sexual desire that shocked Shirley even as she gave herself to it completely. She draped her legs over Lelouch’s shoulders and dug her heels into his back, urging him on. “Oh, Lulu…” she whispered again, the name coming out this time as a wanton, pleading moan.

Lelouch eagerly answered that plea, working on Shirley with lips, tongue, and fingers. Lelouch mentally thanked the heavens for the reading he had done on female anatomy; that knowledge combined with his natural dexterity and his skill at reading reactions to create a surprisingly excellent cunnilingual technique for a complete beginner. However, the fellow virgin whose legs were locked around his head didn’t know the difference. What Shirley did know was that the sorrow of her loss had been swept away by a red tide of pure sensual ecstasy which now battered at the remaining shreds of her rational mind. She could feel the heat and energy building rapidly deep inside her, a primal welling of her being unlike anything she had ever experienced, or even imagined.

The fact that it was this boy she loved—yes, loved! Shirley was forced to finally and truly admit it to herself. She loved Lelouch, had loved him for longer than she’d ever realized. The fact that it was her love touching her and giving her these sensations turned exquisite pleasure into something so wonderful there were no words to describe it. Shirley found herself crying again, this time in joy, as her body shook under Lelouch’s wondrous onslaught. As the remaining bits of her conscious mind tried to make sense of all this, the magma chamber between her legs reached critical pressure and erupted, destroying those threads of thought completely.

The feeling burst outward from Shirley’s sex and ripped instantly through her entire body. She saw little stars and fireworks superimposed over her vision of Lulu’s brown hair, her slim fingers buried in its wet tangles. The fire burned clear to the very tips of Shirley’s fingers, from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. She felt her body spasm once and go completely rigid, her fingers tightening with incredible strength in Lelouch’s hair and her strong swimmer’s legs nearly suffocating him.

A white tide of blissful oblivion followed on the heels of the red. It consumed her entire body in a fraction of a mind’s blink, overtaking her consciousness and clouding her vision. The last thing Shirley perceived before passing out was her own scream of joy.

*****

Shirley awoke in stages, drifting up through translucent membranes towards the surface of consciousness. She felt dry, warm, and good. So good. Her body glowed with pleasure, similar to the endorphin high she always got after a swim meet, but many orders of magnitude greater. As she floated higher, Shirley realized she was lying in a soft bed, with a warm presence all around her that she instinctively found comforting. Specifics were fuzzy, distant things, and she did not pursue them. She was content to revel in the gentle joy of the moment as she gradually drifted out of the deep chasm into which her climax had thrown her.

When her eyes fluttered open, it was to the sight of pale skin and a few brown chest hairs. The warm presence now resolved itself into a pair of arms around her and a pair of legs entwined with her own. And a body pressed tightly against hers. She squirmed loose just enough to raise her head and found herself looking into Lelouch’s striking violet eyes. Shirley smiled happily, and her heart leapt to see an answering smile on Lulu’s handsome face. Shirley reached up and ran her index finger lightly around his lips, tracing that smile. “I think… this is the first time I’ve ever seen you smile. Really smile.” She giggled.

Lelouch blinked a few times, then seemed to sober for a moment as he gazed steadily at Shirley. He leaned down to kiss her tenderly. “You are so beautiful…” he whispered when they parted for breath, his warm hand stroking her cheek. The two lay there on Lelouch’s bed, enjoying just being together with nothing separating them.

However, that lack of separation began to impress itself increasingly upon Shirley’s body, still excited from earlier. As her breasts rubbed against Lulu’s chest, she felt her nipples grow and harden. As her womanhood rubbed against his hip, she felt a familiar heat and wetness building. And as Lelouch’s manhood pressed against her smooth, flat stomach, she felt it stiffen and grow. It was rather… larger than she would have guessed, and she couldn’t help blushing as it twitched slightly against her skin.

They continued to lie together for a time, feeling the sexual tension build between them. Their occasional kisses became deeper and more passionate, their hands began to wander even more. Finally, Shirley couldn’t take it any more and slid her hand down to touch him. Lelouch’s sharp intake of breath drew a giggle from Shirley, who began to move her hand slowly up and down his length, her fingers exploring curiously while her eyes remained locked with his.

After a few short moments, though, Shirley felt Lelouch’s hand close around her wrist and remove her hand from its explorations. She tried to twist it free without success, amazed at Lulu’s strength. His grip was as unbreakable as it was gentle as he raised Shirley’s hand to his lips, kissing her palm lovingly. “Not tonight,” Lelouch whispered, his voice sending its usual shivers of delight down Shirley’s back. “Not like this…”

Shirley opened her mouth to protest, to question, but Lelouch swiftly laid his index finger over her lips, quieting her objections before they began. It was then that Shirley felt the painful ache in her heart once more, the hole where her love for her father had been. Its resurfacing this time was a quiet thing, and it did not occlude Shirley’s happiness at being here with her love. But neither could it be denied. She felt her smile fade and tears brim in her eyes again.

Lelouch must have known her thoughts, for he cradled her cheeks in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes before speaking. “Shirley… I can never tell you how truly sorry I am.” His eyes were grave and sparkled with a few tears of his own, and his tone was odd. Shirley had the momentary impression that Lelouch felt personally responsible for her sorrow. But she set such thoughts aside as he gently guided her head down to rest on his shoulder. It was then that Shirley truly let go and was able to mourn.

Now that the shock had passed, there was only her sorrow, and Shirley clung fiercely to her lover, her face buried in his neck as she cried. Instead of the violent, despairing sobs of before, Shirley’s crying now was gentle. Lelouch had granted the desperate plea she had made in the rain outside the theatre. He had helped her. He was still helping her, offering his presence and comfort, his shoulder to cry on.

Shirley cried quietly on that shoulder for nearly an hour, allowing the sadness to pour from her heart as she thought of all her memories of her father… a kind man who had been absent far more than he had liked, but doted on his daughter nonetheless. A man she would never again hug in gratitude for some wonderful surprise. A man whose sound advice was denied her forever more. The list went on.

Lelouch remained silent through all this time, motionless save for the hand which slowly rubbed Shirley’s back. His own mind writhed in torment behind the practiced mask of his face and eyes, but reached no conclusions, no peace like that which the beautiful girl in his arms was finding. By the time she raised her head and kissed him slowly and gratefully, Lelouch knew what he must do to achieve anything close to peace over this. But that would have to wait for several days, at least.

When the kiss ended, Lelouch sat up and pulled the covers of his bed up to cover both of them, for the room was getting colder as the night went on. He tucked a pillow under Shirley’s head and rolled onto his back, Shirley snuggling up half atop him and half next to him. With one final kiss, Lelouch Lamperouge and Shirley Fenette faded off to sleep curled in each other’s arms.

{More Author’s Note: When I saw the end of the episode, my immediate thought was how I would try to comfort Shirley under those circumstances. The idea blossomed, and the absence of anything to do at work that day has resulted in this story. I chose to write most of it from Shirley’s perspective, since I don’t want to grapple with Lelouch’s guilt, responsibility, and so forth. If I feel so inclined, I will explore that in further chapters. This story is my way of consoling Shirley.}