Chapter 9: Happy Father’s Day

Well, it's time to return to the capital, and in good time too as the kida can finally expose their plans and ensure their dad gets a butt kicking Father's Day.

Despite their enjoyment of seeing the different regions under the imperial flag, each bringing with them news stories, the royal family all returned. The first to arrive back in the capital was the emperor and his consort, Dorothea, as their time in Cuba had come to an end. However, unlike Kallen's arrival in Japan, when his airship touched down in Broceliande, it was with little fanfare. However, part of that could be that their arrival at Greystone Imperial Air Force Base, which was very much off-limits to the public, was not publicized.

"You seem happy to be back. I didn't think you hated the Cuban weather and parties." Lelouch mused as the two waited for the massive airship to come to a halt. The man dressed in clothing more befitting a Britannian emperor, though he made damn sure he looked nothing like how his father had looked, even in his prime.

Dorothea, like her husband, had switched to more 'court' clothing now. However, she did admit she preferred the sundresses and capri pants she had managed to buy while away. "We only went to 2; the rest of the time, we remained indoors thanks to this angel being fussy." She turned her attention to Alicia, who was currently asleep in the baby seat across from them.

"Considering how much we did the deed, which makes them, I assumed you didn't mind how angel being fussy." Lelouch joked, getting a mild blush from his consort and a bat to the shoulder, which lacked any real force.

“Stop, you darn horn dog.” She scolded, as it wasn't her fault that the hot sun, music, and scents had put her into a rather romantic mood. Besides, it took two to tango, and he had been quite the eager partner.

"Do I need to remind you which of us was the lead in the dance?" Lelouch leaned in, whispering into her neck as she let out a little burst of laughter, and he wrapped an arm around her. “Was it the weather?”

"The weather was lovely, but I would like to hold Lewis myself, not just have video calls before his bedtime." She replied, killing the romantic yet jovial mood, but replacing it with a softer merriment. As she was the mother, at least in blood, to 2 children, but the 2-year-old Lewis hadn't gone with them.

Maybe during his father's reign, such would have been a massive blunder, one inviting the child's death from her rival consorts and political enemies at court, especially as she didn't have a powerful family she could just drop the toddler on.

But this wasn't Charles' reign, and Lelouch didn't treat his consorts anything like his father had. Because of that, Lewis could stay with any of them and be safe, happy, and loved by them as if he were born from them. It certainly would have meant he would have other kids around whom he could interact with.

“It was unfortunate he couldn’t come with, but perhaps we can make it a family vacation come winter. Escape the snow and bittering cold for the warm sun, cool beaches-” Lelouch started, interrupted when their aide knocked on the door and announced they could disembark.

As they rose and Lelouch went to fetch Ailica out from her baby seat, being careful not to jostle and risk waking her, Dorothea threw a sly comment. “And seeing all of us in swimsuits."

Lelouch hummed, matching her slyness as their door was opened and they walked towards the exit, his imperial guard falling in line behind them or forming up ahead of them. "Are you implying you'll wear something so skimpy it would be better than what I've seen of you?" Once, he wouldn't have spoken like this when so close to his guards, but if he could trust them with his life and the lives of his family, he could trust they wouldn't just keep quiet if a couple of talks made them uncomfortable.

Dorothea hardly kept her chuckle in as they reached the stairs for the airship, stairs that led down to the tarmac. "I'll leave that to Kallen; this is meant to be a family vacation, so I'm looking forward to our children's reaction to the beach. It'll be Lewis's first time."

Dorothea had always been puzzled by Kallen. She seemed like she was not a fan of all the lewd and lustful things they got up to, but then she would rock up wearing the skimpiest, blood flowing, pussy wetting, dick hardening things. Even outside such events like their orgies, most of the time she had seen her in a swimsuit, at some point, it would come loose-it was like a curse.

Lord knew it wasn't one the emperor minded, and if Dorothea was honest, neither did she. The younger consort had a body that seemed like she was the child of Ares and Aphrodite.

“Well, then we should ensure it’s a wonderful experience where we can make memories.” Lelouch stopped the thought and had another as they descended the stairs, lining the sides were more soldiers and guards, while knightmares were posted further back. “Hmmm, perhaps the trip should be to South Africa then. They have beaches, it would be good weather, and we can travel to some natural parks and view the wildlife."

“It would be funny seeing you with a Lion.” Dorothea's comment poured cold water on his parade.

“Lions are cats.” He had no fear of animals, never had, probably never will, when they didn't seem to have an issue with him. Most even seemed open to him, including predators and other aggressive prey. However, cats always seemed to enjoy messing with him. With his luck, the lion wouldn't attack to kill or maim, but to mess with his clothing or make him a cuddly buddy.

“But you’ll do it.” She teased him.

"I had no idea you loved when I'm disobeyed," Lelouch grumbled, as they looked to the far side and saw a waiting limo, but not just that, along with it stood his Prime Minister, the Japanese man well past his prime and having something of a gut even with his fancy clothing. Still, his white peppered beard and kind, mischievous eyes marked a man who hadn't lost his touch where it counted.

At his side stood Leila, though she hadn’t brought her own house with her. She had only given birth 3 times, but the second had been twins and the third triplets, so she had 7 children with her, aged from 7 to 2.

Instead, she had only one child with her, this one being dark-skinned, with rich violet eyes, and he was fidgeting as he spotted his blood mother approaching.

"I like seeing you miffed. You can't always be in control, and now, private time does not count." Dorothea replied as they reached their welcoming party.

“You two were having fun, wish to share?” Leila inquired as Lewis lost all control and rushed for Dorothea, the woman kneeling to receive him as he jumped into her arms. The consort started to lay kiss after kiss across his face, and Lewis giggled and wiggled about in her arms, happy to hold her again.

“We can discuss that later.” She sent a quick response to Leila before her full attention went to her eldest son. “Hello, Lewi?”

“Momma!” Lewis wrapped his tiny arms around her neck, trying to hug her even closer. "I miss you and Papa."

"Oh, we missed you, too. I hope you're good with your other moms." Dorothea replied as they all moved toward the limo to take them back to the Imperial Palace.

“Hmm!” Lewis quickly shook his head as Lelouch glanced towards Leila, who hosted Lewis while Dorothea was gone.

"We spent plenty of time in the gardens. He, along with Peter, Francis, and Conan, had a very long game of pirates." She explained, as she pulled out her phone and showed them some pictures of the four boys having the time of their lives, wearing costumes and getting utterly filthy doing it.

The palace staff must hope that the kids will grow older and no longer be so prone to tracking dirt inside, which they will then have to clean regularly.

“I hope he was the navy officer.” Lelouch chuckled, as the irony of him wishing for his son, any of his sons, to be lawmen was not lost on him.

And neither was it on Dorothea and Leila. "None of them were, we have some of the staff act as them as the kids ran around looking for treasure, Lewis loves singing sea shanties now," Leila remarked, though her eyes added. ‘Poorly.’

‘He’s 2, not much you can expect.’ Lelouch asked in turn, keeping it to no words as they all got into the limo, the door closing behind them as it slowly took off. Their things would arrive at the palace later. “Well, I’ll have to take some time off to see that.”

"I want to play with momma," Lewis grumbled, pouting towards his Papa, who he knows always keeps momma busy. He didn't like it; he preferred playing, hearing bedtime stories, and watching the stars at night.

"Would you like Momma to play pirates with you?" Dorothea easily drew his attention and lightened his mood.

“Hmm!”

"Looks like he's keeping that for later, oh, the joys of children." The Prime Minister, Sumeragi Jūgo, chuckled, his belly rumbling as he did so.

Lelouch sighed, relaxing into his seat. "Believe me, I'm well aware of it, Prime Minister. But don't think I won't rely on you when they reach their teenage years, especially my eldest, as Lord have mercy, if she's anything like her mother was…" He shuddered.

"Forgive me, your Majesty, but I would be more scared if she were like you." Sumeragi joked that, as he last checked, it wasn't consort C.C. who slayed royals and usurped the throne.

"That is another fear, but that can come later. I assume you have issues to discuss with me that couldn't wait till I was back in the imperial palace?" Lelouch pondered, Dorothea and Leila ready to distract little Lewis even as the emperor kept his infant daughter to his chest, the princess fast asleep in her father’s arms.

“No, I just wished to discuss some minor things with you relating to the coming festivities. I have received some additional…proposals from Duchess Ashford.” Sumeragi started, the man giving the emperor a part amused, partly pained smile as the most powerful man in the world nearly cursed.

“Oh…”

“Yup.” Sumeragi agreed, as it was as crazy as it sounded

“This will need alcohol,” Lelouch had hoped that Kallen would be able to keep the Milly insanity to a minimum, as he knew he couldn't trust Rivalz, who would only encourage it. Still, it seems his hopes were not to be.

"And a drinking buddy, one who, unlike my assistant, who's a stick in the mud, or the deputy Prime Minister," Sumeragi noted, as both thought back to the woman who had been made deputy Prime Minister around the same time as Sumeragi had been named Prime Minister.

"She's an effective administrator. One whom I hadn't thought would join when she did.” Beatrice Franks, was a former duchess within the old regime, a former Knight of Two and before he rose to power, a prominent administrator within Charles’s government, serving as Special Duty General Inspector which among other duties, kept her close to Emperor Charles, handling imperial security around the emperor and when Bismarck wasn’t an option she had the authority to command the Knights of Round.

She was also what he would generously call a quintessential Britannian, having believed in just about every racist, bigoted, supremacist crap the old regime peddled and harped on about. So much so, she openly hated Suzaku being elevated to the Knights of Round. But unlike so many other nobles, she wasn't just an annoying figure, but incredibly competent, resourceful, accomplished, and skilled.

And that was why when he took power, he had her arrested and her family stripped of their noble titles.

Hell, Lelouch suspected she had worked with Schneizel. Still, she, like Monica and Dorothea, had been horrified by the destruction of the old capital and testified that she had not worked with him. Though unlike the former Knights of Round, she hadn't joined Lelouch, at least not then.

“Countess Franks is a hardliner, but first and foremost, she's a patriot," Sumeragi spoke, as it was he who had requested that she be freed from prison and given this chance to serve once more. It took a long time, and Lelouch begrudgingly reinstated her family's titles, lands, and privileges. However, she was downgraded from a duchess to a countess.

 “Besides, between the two of us, she’s a lightweight and hates getting drunk around me.” Sumeragi chuckled, as he had seen the woman dunk once. Just once, and she seemed like the type…who, as one could say, liked silver foxes.

When she sobered up the next day, she had thought he had done something, and when he swore he merely drove her home, she seemed even angrier. So he learned never to be close to her when she drank.

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The next day, another royal airship returned to the capital, one carrying Kallen and her house. And as soon as they got back to the palace, her 2 eldest ran off to find their siblings, who had gathered once again in their big sister’s room. “I have returned! And I got candy!” Naoto declared as he and Byakuya carried large boxes filled with candy.

“From Japan?” Artemis asked, jumping off her bed where she had been reading something.

Byakuya nodded, a big smile on his cute face as he set the candy down on his sister’s table. "Where else, Dad's gonna be real happy with this, Auntie Milly said they're Dad's favourite."

“Did you tell her what we were planning?” Artemis asked, as auntie and dad were super close, she could ruin the surprise!

"Nope, I just asked because I thought he would want some," Naoto replied, but that seemed a little off to the 3rd eldest of the royal children, who had been playing with toys when his brothers barged in.

“You forget, didn’t you?” Louis accused, which tripped up Naoto.

“N-no!”

“You totally did!” Artemis crossed her arms, an angry look on her face.

“I totally didn’t, so there!” Naoto defended himself, though they could tell it was a lie. “I got candy, so no problem!”

“And the rest? You were meant to do more than that.” Atalanta asked.

"We did, we talked to a lot of people without Momma knowing and got a lot written down," Byakuya replied as his big brother pulled out his notebook, one filled with lots and lots of stuff they had heard from Auntie Milly's place, and even from that Kaguya lady.

Opening it, Atalanta could barely read most of it, having not gotten to that point in her own lessons, but turning page after page, she saw that each had writing on it. “It looks like a lot.”

“We can handle it,” Artemis declared, marching up with all the ego and presence of a young princess, holding up her little brother's notes. She smirked as she said a phrase which seemed almost hardwired into her DNA. "Hehehe, all tasks at hand have been cleared. With this, Papa won't know what hit him."

“Don’t forget uncle, too!” Her younger sister, Louise, called out, nodding to her twin, Marie.

“Uncle who?” Naoto asked, as they didn't have any uncles, but there was Suzaku, but this was for Papa only, so he couldn't be

“Suzaku. Diana wants to do something for her dad, and we said we can." Marie explained, which made Byakuya frown in concern.

“But didn’t Mr. Cestoni say Father's Day's gotta be super personal or something? How are we gonna do this when we only have a few days?" That was a good question, as they only had 4 days to put this together and keep their father from noticing. He was busy now, as he and the Prime Minister drank the juice that the rest of his siblings weren't allowed to get close to, and discussed plans for the big party next month.

Artemis, if nothing else, had her father’s confidence. "We have everyone here, I'm sure we can do it, and if we do, it'll be super cool, the best one ever had!"

“But…it would be the only one we’ve had.” Louis pointed out as he waved her at him, her face a little red from the embarrassment of the reminder as she tried to dismiss it.

"Details later, action now! Let's move it, people, I want to knock the socks off Papa and uncle with this!" She ordered as they all grabbed their things, and the young royals raced out of the room to put things together.

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Lelouch was a busy man, which just came with being the emperor, one who was deeply involved in the governing and day-to-day work of his empire. He would prefer to spend his days napping, playing little games, and spending time with his family. Still, he knew what the crown would mean when he ceased it. He had worked for almost a decade now to build his homeland into something worthy of being called the 'Holy' Britannian Empire.

He was not arrogant enough to believe he had achieved that yet. Still, he liked to think he had helped his nation and people make great strides in some areas, and smaller yet important steps in others.

So it wasn't as if he was made of free time when, as the sun started to sink towards the west. Night slowly crept over the imperial capital, and his daughter burst into his study, a girl on a mission, as she demanded he come with her, her voice echoing that of a true princess.

At least, that was what he imagined she would want to think. Truth was, she had barged in, but only after she knocked to make sure he wasn't busy on the phone or with paperwork first. And she asked him to follow her. As soon as he rose from his chair, she took him by the hand and led him out of the room, almost dragging him along.

"And where are we going, little huntress?" Lelouch asked, sending nods of greeting towards the palace staff and servants who saw them along the way; his underlings were long used to seeing the emperor being led around like a proper father.

Little fingers curled around the emperor's as she made a turn down a hallway towards some polished stairs that led up to the roof. "I saw some cool flowers on the roof, Father," Artemis replied, though she made sure not to look Papa in the eye, else he would pick up on the lie.

"And I had to see them now? I'm sure they'll be there tomorrow. I, on the other hand, do need to get back to-"

“No!” She turned, stomping her foot before she realised her mistake as Papa looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Quickly coughing, she tried to play it off like she had seen all the cool people in her favourite shows do. "I mean, it…I wanna see them with you now, Mom said, looking at the flowers This time is the best."

“She did?” Unlucky for her, this was not one of her favourite shows, and she chose a pretty poor lie as C.C. was not the ‘flowery’ type. Still, he didn’t burst her bubble just yet. "Hmmm, but we could always see them tomorrow, I can even make time for it, so we can have the entire sunset for it."

“Please, papa.” Artemis grabbed her Papa's hand, giving him the biggest puppy eyes she could, the sort she only broke out when she really, really wanted something.

Lelouch supposed he had his fine and decided to go along with it. "All right, fine, let's go then."

The joy on his daughter's face was worth more than gold. “Yay!” Leading him up the rest of the way, she reached for the door and opened it.

The rooftop of the palace unfurled before them. Unlike Pendragon Imperial Palace, which only held a VTOL pad on its roof, the new palace had a cultivated patchwork of flower beds, all regularly attended to by the head gardener and his best staff.

But tonight, the place looked even grander, more natural, as there were at least twice as many flowers and shrubs around, placed into pots of all shapes and sizes. Roses and wildflowers were trucked between boxwoods and herbs, giving the area a wonderful floral and natural scent that was sweet on the nose and calming on the nerves.

Lanterns were strung along cords to illuminate the place, with tables set up with mismatched teacups and plates, treats packed to the brim on plates in a way only a child would have tried. But that wasn’t what drew his attention.

“Happy Father’s Day!" The gathered crowd erupted. His consorts, all present and watching on with joy at their children's work. His Knight of One and one of his closest friends, Suzaku, also present with Cecile at his side, hugging her husband close as she held a cup of juice, so there was no way the kids could have gotten their hands on any liquor for this.

At the centre of the group were the true masterminds behind this little stunt, his 7 eldest children. Artemis had run ahead to join her siblings as they presented with a collection of handmade cards, all wishing him a happy Father’s Day. His heart grew 3 sizes as he received all the cards and read the messages his children had written in them.

"We made this with clay and painted it. We hope you like it," Marie held up a little trophy. It was lumpy, uneven, and looked like a real had been placed in a blast furnace for 20 seconds and then tossed into an ice bath.

He loved it.

Scooping his daughter up, he kissed her across the forehead. “I love it, Marie.”

"It's not just for you, it's for Uncle, too!" Louise pointed towards Suzaku, who gave a face a deer in headlights would appreciate.

The daughter of the Knight of One, the gremlin she was, burst out from under one of the tables, smiling as she held up a giant card which read 'My daddy is the coolest!' “Yeah, I helped so papa would also know he’s the coolest dad out there!”

“Wait, me?” Suzaku asked as his wife pushed him towards the emperor.

"Yes, you, now get over there, you oaf, so we can take the picture," Cecile told him as someone took a picture of the two standing together. One holding the trophy, which reads 'best dads reward', and Suzaku with his comically big Father's Day card.

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The party continued after that. Lemonade and other juices flowed, and snacks were consumed as the children ran about. At one point, both fathers were wrestled to the ground and made into beds for their kids. However, Lelouch had it worse as Suzaku only had one child, whereas the emperor had over a dozen.

They played plenty of games, danced as the kids tried to copy their parents, who mildly toyed with them, and started performing the most complex dances they could. Naoto looked like he would die when he saw Suzaku easily lift his wife over his head, as Artemis smirked at him and his very much not muscular arms.

Lucky for him, Lelouch snapped up his eldest, swapping dance partners so Naoto found himself being carried about by Leila, which, despite his cries to the contrary, they could all tell he enjoyed.

Lelouch and Suzaku exchanged stories of their youth and advantages, all sanitized to not traumatize the children. Still, as the fireworks show went off, marking the climax of the day for not just them, but for all families celebrating with their fathers, Lelouch found himself breaking off from the festivities and retreating to a relatively quiet corner.

"You know anything about this?" Suzaku asked as he approached, with drinks of sparkling non-alcoholic cider in hand.

Lelouch accepted one of the drinks as Suzaku came to stand next to him, the two men looking out over their city. Their home as fireworks lit up the sky in all manner of colours, the sounds of their families filling the background. "Of course I did, but I wasn't going to spoil all their hard work," Lelouch stated as the two fell into a silence. Not a comfortable one, but not an uncomfortable one either. Just…a silence.

A few minutes later, Suzaku broke it. "You know, there was a time when we had something like this happen…"

Lelouch nodded, as he too was thinking about Ashford. The day Milly tried for a second time to create the world’s largest pizza. “Yeah, things have changed since then…” He also recalled how things ended, with Suzaku’s trap on the roof.

"Yeah, once upon a time, I was holding back the urge to throw you off a roof like this," Suzaku admitted, to which Lelouch snorted.

"And I'm shooting you in the face, not that we have fireworks, tarts, and kids who would be really mad if we started fighting." He dryly commented, but Suzaku started to chuckle at it.

Lelouch glanced towards him. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing just…you ever wonder if this could have happened earlier? If our dad has been this willing to just talk?” Lelouch raised an eyebrow at that.

“Like my bastard of a dad would have listened. He was so obsessed with that he wanted nothing else to matter." Lelouch grunted, but truth be told, most of his anger towards his father had long burned out. It was...exhausting to hate a dead man who didn't care about anything but his dreams, his selfish dreams.

Suzaku hummed, thinking it over, though he already knew the answer. “Yeah, and my dad wouldn’t have been so willing to just work with him, still.”

“Still…but we can be better. Hell, we haven’t killed each other yet, so we must be doing something right.” Lelouch joked, prompting Suzaku to laugh as he raised his glass.

“To not murdering each other?” Suzaku proposed a toast, one which met.

“And praying our kids don't fall in love, forcing us to be in-laws," Lelouch added, and with that, their classed tapped before the two finally took a drink.

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And we're back with a fresh chapter and one which I did…some build up for, which, as the name says, is the father's day deal, in November, yeah, a weird time to be sure. It did come out shorter than I was expecting, as I looked at that word count and realized it's getting high, not for the chapter, but for the story limit.

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10 years later:

Naoto, now 17: Dad…I want to marry Diane.

Lelouch:…God fucking dammit!

Suzaku reaches for his sword: Lelouch..., you promised me.

Lelouch: How the hell was I supposed to predict this?! The story doesn't reach this far into the bloody future!