Author's Notes: Here's that fluff I promised! I actually ended rewriting most of this chapter; no matter how many times I read over it, it just didn't sound right to me and I didn't feel entirely comfortable posting it until I'd fixed it. Hopefully, that explains the delay in getting it to you guys well enough.

Harley's head had been spinning ever since Zero's return the previous day. Not for the reason she'd been expecting either; she didn't really care one way or the other that Zero had been resurrected. She'd always be grateful to him for saving her life during the hotel incident, but she would never have forgiven him if his actions had ended up causing Lelouch harm. No matter what she did, she kept replaying the events of yesterday over and over in her head, the only difference being that Lelouch didn't survive the assault on Babel Tower. She could feel her entire world stop whenever she got to that point and even though she knew it was irrational and completely irrelevant, she couldn't stop herself from asking 'what if'.

This irrational behavior, of course, led to another question: Why did the thought of never seeing Lelouch again bother her so much? Of course he was her closest friend and, naturally, Harley didn't want anything to happen to him but the thought of him being killed in that attack made her physically sick. She'd been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she was barely able to focus on classes and wasn't able to give Lelouch much more than a shaky affirmative when he asked if she was feeling okay. Thankfully, the day passed quickly enough and Harley was about to head back to her room to try to sort out her thoug-

"Harley!" Milly called as she latched onto the girl's arm, effectively startling her from her musings. "Where are you going? You promised you'd help Lelouch and me cook for the dinner tonight."

"Dinner?" Harley asked absently.

Milly sighed. "The one we're having to celebrate Lelouch and Rolo coming back alive, remember? You can't have forgotten already."

"Oh right, that dinner," Harley mumbled as she snapped her fingers in recognition. "Tell you what, Milly. You go ahead and tell them to get started without me. I've got to call my Dad real quick but I'll be there as soon as I'm done."

"Okay," Milly replied hesitantly. "Is...Is everything okay, Harley? You've been acting kind of off all day."

"Yeah, I'm okay," Harley replied tiredly. "I've just...had a lot to think about, I guess. That's part of why I need to call my Dad." She let out a quick sigh. "You go on ahead and I'll meet you guys when I'm off the phone with him."

Milly nodded, turning in the direction of the clubhouse. "Alright. Well good luck, I guess. See you in a bit!"

"Hey, pumpkin!" Tony greeted when he picked up his daughter's call. "What's going on?"

"Hey, Dad," Harley replied as she sat down on her bed. "You know me; I'm just busy dealing with things way beyond my maturity level. I was calling because I needed to ask you about something. Have you heard about what happened at Babel Tower yesterday?"

"About Zero coming back? Hell yes, it's been all over the news," Tony answered.

"And you remember my friend Lelouch, right?" Harley asked.

"Of course," Tony confirmed. "How are things going with him?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Harley began. "See, he was caught up in that mess at the Tower and-"

"Is he okay?!" Tony cut in. "What was he even doing at Babel Tower in the first place? You guys were supposed to be in class."

Harley sighed. "It's not important why he was there; all that matters is that he was. He came out of it unscathed but my head has been an absolute mess ever since. I can't stop asking myself what I would have done if he hadn't made it back. I've made myself sick over it and even though I keep telling myself that it doesn't matter because he made it out and he is okay, I just can't stop myself from worrying about it happening again. I don't know why the thought of something happening to him bothers me so much more than the thought of something similar happening to my other friends. I...I just-"

"You love him," Tony stated.

"W-What?" Harley stammered. "No. No. Dad, don't be ridiculous. I don't-"

"You just told me that the thought of something bad happening to him makes you feel ill," Tony pointed out. "And that no matter what you do, you can't stop yourself from worrying about him."

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean-" Harley started to argue.

"Tell me, how do you feel when you're with him?" Tony asked. "Does being near him make you feel like everything's going to be okay? Like he's a piece of you that you didn't know was missing until he came into your life?"

Harley thought long and hard about her father's words. It was no secret that she was attracted to Lelouch, not just physically but also to the fact that he was the only person at Ashford that she could have an intelligent conversation with. Even so, she'd simply written her feelings off as mere infatuation; she hadn't even entertained the idea that they might run deeper than that. But as she considered her father's words, she realized that somewhere over the course of their long talks, their fun in the Student Council, cutting classes together, and the nights she spent with him beside her, her feelings had become something more.

"So this whole time...I've been falling for him?" she asked.

"Mmhmm," Tony hummed.

"But how did you know?" Harley inquired.

"Princess, I saw it coming from a mile away," Tony answered, his tone warm. "You've never looked at anyone the way you looked at him when your friends came to see us at the factory." His voice took on a more playful tone. "For the record, while I do think you're making the right choice to wait to start a relationship until after you graduate, I wholeheartedly approve of the two of you getting together. You two would make some really pretty grandkids."

"Oh my God, Dad!" Harley exclaimed, a bright red blush washing over her face. "No. Just...just no! We haven't even-whatever! I don't want to think about that right now!"

Tony laughed. "Just thought I should let you know."

"I'm hanging up now," Harley stated, her face still red.

"Okay, okay. I'll talk to you soon, princess," Tony replied. "I love you."

Harley smiled. "Love you too, Dad. Talk to you soon."

"President, can I ask something?" Lelouch asked as he, Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley stood in the clubhouse kitchen, getting things ready for the dinner.

"Certainly," Milly chirped. "Although I may choose not to answer you."

"So today, we are celebrating Rolo and me coming back alive?" Lelouch inquired.

Milly nodded. "Mmhmm. You two escaped that terror attack alright. Shirley was practically out of her mind, the poor girl." Shirley looked toward them at the sound of her name, only to rush toward Milly, flailing her arms and shouting with a blush on her face, when Milly continued. "'Oh, if my Lulu's been killed, I'll-'" That was as far as Milly got before Shirley reached her and clamped both hands over the blonde's mouth.

"Hey, where is Rolo, anyway?" Rivalz asked. "Harley too, for that matter. I know you said she was talking to her father, but she sure is taking a long time."

"She told me she's had a lot on her mind; she probably just wanted to talk to her father to try to figure things out," Milly replied, her voice muffled by Shirley's hands.

"Now that you mention, she has been acting pretty strangely today, even for her," Rivalz agreed.

"As for Rolo, I spoke with him but you know," Milly continued. "The boy's a lot more sensitive than his older brother."

"That's partly why he doesn't have any friends, isn't it?" Rivalz commented.

"You should simply say he's quiet," Shirley corrected.

Milly leveled her gaze on the redhead. "Umm...not that I mind your dirty hands on my mouth but-"

"Oh, right. I'm sorry," Shirley apologized as she released her friend.

Lelouch frowned as he turned back to the food he was making. He clearly remembered his father rewriting Harley's memories in front of him, but it looked like she wasn't the only one; none of the other council members appeared to remember anything about Nunnally. Of more immediate concern to him was Harley's behavior. Lelouch had noticed how distant she'd been throughout the day; she had barely spoken to him during class and was hardly able to make eye contact with him when he'd asked if she was alright. He knew it was unlikely, but the overly cautious part of him was concerned that she may have somehow remembered that he was actually Zero. He remembered his father telling her as much just before he tampered with her memories and he wondered if it was possible that seeing Zero on the news broadcast could trigger her memory of that conversation. It was definitely a long shot, but if it was true he had to figure out what to do about it. The most obvious solution would be to use his own Geass to make her forget again but, for some reason, the thought left a sour taste in his mouth. He couldn't quite understand it, but the idea of using his Geass on Harley for any reason made him feel immensely uncomfortable. Before he could dwell on the matter any further, the door to the kitchen slid open and said brunette walked in.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry I took so l-" Harley cut herself off as she looked around the room and took in the mess the group had made, amusement crossing her features. "Umm...do I want to know what happened here?"

"This is what happens when we have to have Shirley stand in for you, Harley," Lelouch replied, turning toward the girl with what he hoped was a convincing smile on his face.

The amused look on Harley's face fell slightly when her eyes locked with Lelouch's and she cast her gaze downward as she tied an apron on. "Well...I guess I'd better get to work, then. Where do you need me, Prez?"

"Would you mind decorating the black forest cake?" Milly asked.

"No problem," Harley agreed, walking to the cake placed next to the stove and setting to work.

"Hey," Lelouch whispered as he gently nudged Harley with his elbow. "Are you feeling okay? You've been acting kind of strange today."

"No. No, I-I haven't," Harley denied, still refusing to look at him, her voice equally quiet.

"You've barely said a word to me all day," Lelouch pointed out. "Even now, you won't look at me. Have I made you angry somehow?"

Harley sighed and shook her head, glancing behind them to make sure the others weren't listening. "No, you didn't. I...I just...You know what, it's not important."

"It is, though," Lelouch argued, gently resting his hand on Harley's shoulder. "You're obviously upset about something. If you tell me, I might be able to help you."

'Oh trust me, you can help me more than you think,' Harley thought before finally looking up into Lelouch's eyes. "Fine. If you really want to know, what happened yesterday freaked me out."

Lelouch quirked an eyebrow, studying Harley's expressions carefully. "Really? I figured you'd be happy that Zero was back."

"Who gives a rat's ass about Zero coming back?!" Harley asked, her expression angry and her voice a harsh whisper. "I was talking about the fact that you could have died. If Zero's return had meant your death, I'd find him and send him back to hell myself."

"But he saved you, didn't he?" Lelouch asked.

"Doesn't give him license to harm someone I care about," Harley retorted. Her expression softened. "I...I really could have lost you yesterday, Lelouch. I guess the reality didn't hit me until today but...I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you. I can't stop wondering what would have happened if you didn't make it out of Babel Tower and-"

"Don't worry about that," Lelouch interrupted, placing his other hand on Harley's opposite shoulder and turning her to face him. "It doesn't matter what would've happened if I didn't make it out because I did. There's no sense in worrying yourself sick over it."

"I know you're right," Harley agreed. "I know it's stupid to fret over something that didn't happen but I just..."

"Hey," Lelouch began, pulling Harley away from the cake and into his chest. "I'm sorry I made you and everyone else worry. I can't change what happened but I can promise you that I'll be more careful from now on. In exchange, I need you to promise me that you won't keep fretting about this. Deal?"

Harley snorted but wrapped her arms around him as well and Lelouch could see the corners of her mouth turn upward. "Deal. But I swear that if you do die on me, I'll drag you back from hell and kill you myself."

Lelouch nodded. "Fair enough." He let his shoulders sag just a bit; relief taking over his expression both at the fact that Harley hadn't remembered that he was Zero and that she was more or less back to normal now. He looked down at the girl in his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"So...are you two going to get back to cooking or should we leave you alone for a minute?" Milly asked, her voice teasing.

"Oh, right. Yeah. Sorry," Harley stammered as she and Lelouch quickly separated and went back to their tasks.

Milly giggled. "Are you sure you guys aren't a thing?"

"Not yet, we aren't," Lelouch replied. He leaned toward Harley, keeping his voice down so only she could hear him. "You're staying over here tonight, aren't you?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Harley quipped as she continued icing the cake. "Just because I was worried about you doesn't mean I've somehow relearned how to sleep without you."

Ending Notes: Well, we're over twenty chapters in and Harley has finally gotten to the point of accepting the 'L' word.

Originally, the phone call with Tony wasn't going to happen and Harley was going to come to terms with her feelings on her own, but then I realized that Harley's already admitted that she's never been in love before and I started thinking that she might need a little help to figure out why she was feeling the way she was. Besides, I think giving her relationship with her father a little more depth was a nice touch.

I know Lelouch's reaction is a bit irrational too, but he strikes me as the type of person who immediately jumps to the worst possible conclusion when he's faced with something like this.

Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constant criticism are always welcome! Geekinthepink, out!