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[cosmicbiscuit.livejournal.com]

Just to clarify things beforehand, I did not write this. It was written for me by jade_pen, who's graciously allowed me to share it with y'all, since he's not a member here.

Title: Family Outing
Fandom: Code Geass
Character/Pairing: Anya, Orange/Sayoko
Author: jade_pen
Rating: G
Prompts: Halloween, Dark Alice in Wonderland costume



Black dress. White apron. Stuffed cat. Torn stockings. Anya nodded to herself, pleased at the end result. She'd even put on a dark wig, the better to complete the look. She also noted with some pleasure that she'd gotten dressed early; there'd be time for some pictures before they left, which even now was a habit she'd kept. The blogging, the pictures, even though there wasn't such a pressing need for her to keep those memories, it was still enjoyable. The only question was where her escort for the night happened to be. "...Jeremiah?"

She walked out of her room and down the hall, heading straight to the front room... and there he was. Jeremiah Gottwald. Dressed in the guise of the White Rabbit. Fluffy white ears protruded from his carefully-combed hair, an overly-large and -ruffly collar rested around his neck and on his shoulders, and a plain white sheet descended from said collar, decorated only with a single red heart over his chest. Of course, his left hand was clenching an oversized pocketwatch with such vehemence that Anya had to wonder how he hadn't crushed it with his metallic fingers. As he turned to meet her, Anya saw that he even had a pair of glasses dangling on his nose and a soft white bunny tail attached to the seat of his pants. He also wore an expression of near-martyred perserverence, his entire body shaking with the effort of maintaining his composure. Inwardly, he had to be mortified...

...so there was only one suitable thing to do. Anya raised her camera and snapped a picture.

Jeremiah gaped openly, something so amusing that Anya took a picture of that, as well. "...I didn't think you'd actually dress up for me. Now we can both go trick-or-treating."

The first muttered response was too quiet to hear, but the second was much louder and clearer. "I'd have preferred a different outfit. One that fits me better."

"So why didn't you?"

It was an innocent enough question, and yet the guardian's face turned a slight shade of red as he crossed his arms and looked away. "I was convinced otherwise. Are you ready to go?"

"Not quite yet. There's something missing, don't you think?" The voice was calm and polite, belonging to none other than Sayoko Shinozaki, wearing an outfit not at all like anything she usually wore. No, her outfit was... extravagant, yet tasteful at the same time. A low-cut dress with intricate patterns, a small crown, and a rather ominous-looking croquet mallet idly resting in her left hand. ...only someone like her could make a mallet ominous-looking, but she managed nevertheless. As she walked up to Anya and offered a large woven bag, she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I just reminded him of what happens when the Queen of Hearts is displeased. He should be even more well-behaved tonight than normal."

The bag was accepted, and Anya felt the tiniest of smiles creeping across her face. She could well imagine what sort of conversation that had been, and made a note not to be out too long. From how it had played out, she was sure that there were more promises than threats made. But first... she raised her camera to Sayoko, who obligingly posed for her almost out of reflex. She was far more photogenic than Jeremiah... then again, it was obvious that she enjoyed her role much more than he enjoyed his. Yet neither enjoyed it as much as Anya was enjoying this, a kind of scene that she'd never thought she'd get to experience. All for her own whims, too.

The only problem was that now she wanted a picture of the three of them together, and her camera phone was not the best instrument for that. "...could I get a picture of you two together? Then Alice and the Rabbit, and Alice with the Queen of Hearts. I think that should be good enough."

The two adults glanced at each other, and at an unspoken prompting from Sayoko, the cybernetic man cleared his throat and held out his hand with as much grave dignity as he could muster while wearing bunny ears. "Why don't we take one of the three of us?"

Granted, it wouldn't be the same, but... Anya still nodded and offered the phone to her guardian, then stood between the two of them. Jeremiah's arm rested comfortably on her shoulders and Sayoko stood reassuringly close, and despite herself, Anya found herself smiling as the older man counted down. She'd always recorded her memories as an outsider looking in, as though the memories were of someone else that she was just holding in safekeeping. But this? This was a memory that she wanted to fully be a part of.

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