Chapter Text
Milly knocks on the door. Probably a little too fast, a little too impatient. Can you blame her, though? This is an event.
“C-Come in.”
She collects herself quickly. She can’t get too excited here. She still wants to seem like she knows what she’s doing.
Milly opens the door to Nunnally’s room. The girl in question is sitting center-stage, in her very high-tech (and very, very expensive) wheelchair. She looks a little nervous, and Milly can tell she doesn’t know what she should be doing with her hands right now. Glancing up, she gives her a sheepish smile. “Hi.”
“Hey.” Milly shuts the door behind her before crossing the room in one swift movement and plopping herself down (without permission) on Nunnally’s bed. She crosses her legs. “Alright kiddo. What’s up?”
Nunnally looks a little taken aback by her forwardness, but quickly steadies herself. She’s got her priorities straight.
“W-Well, it’s just… I kinda have a… crush on someone. And I’m not sure what to do.”
Milly screams. Well, not actually. Just on the inside. This was exactly the kind of thing she was hoping for when Nunnally asked if they could talk. She steels herself. Focus. Focus.
“Is that so? Well, you came to the right person. Trust me, I know all about romance.”
Nunnally snorts. “Yeah, that’s… kinda what I was hoping.”
Milly claps her hands. “Great! Then, first thing’s first: is it a guy or a girl? ‘Cause that changes our strategy depending.”
“Oh. Really? How?”
“Well, if it’s a guy, we should definitely rope in Suzaku. I hate to admit it, but he has way more experience with guy problems than me.”
Nunnally suppresses a giggle. “Well, I don’t think we have to worry about that. It’s a girl.”
“Oh. Well, that settles that.” Milly leans forward expectantly. “Alright, can you tell me about her?”
A faint blush dusts Nunnally’s features. “Well, uh. You know her. I think. Remember Kaguya?”
Milly scans her memory. “Oh yeah… I remember her. That politician girl, right? I don’t think I ever actually met her, but I’ve definitely seen her.” She puts on a mischievous grin. “I gotta be honest, though. I didn’t peg you as being into the political type. I thought that was more Lelouch’s thing.”
Nunnally’s blush grows redder. “I– I’m not! I mean– That’s not why I like her!”
“Really? Then pray tell, what do you like about her?” Nunnally gives her a glare. “Oh c’mon, don’t give me that look. Y’know I gotta have details.”
The younger girl sighs. “Well, I… I like a lot of things about her. She’s really smart, and brave, and strong. She’s a natural leader, she’s so kind… and she’s… really pretty…”
Yeah. Thought so. “Right. Right. And, just to be clear, you have actually met her, right?”
Nunnally splutters. “Wha– Of– Of course I’ve met her! You think I–”
Milly raises her hands in surrender. “Whoa, whoa! Slow down there. I’m just making sure.” As Nunnally simmers down, Milly ponders. Okay. Okay. I can work with this. “Okay, so. You like her a lot. You guys are about the same age I’m pretty sure. Seems like a match made in heaven!”
Nunnally frowns. “Yeah, I– I guess…”
“So, what do you need my help with?” There’s a beat of silence as Nunnally glances around the room. She starts fidgeting with her hands.
“W-Well, it’s just… I’m not really sure if… it’d be right…”
Milly raises an eyebrow. “Explain.”
“Um– Well– I don’t really know if I’m… good enough… for her… y’know? I mean… There isn’t really a reason for her to… like me back? I guess?”
Milly gapes. “Are– Are you serious?”
“Uh– Yeah?”
“Dude. That’s stupid.”
Nunnally gives her another glare. “Hey. I didn’t call you in here so you could be a dick.”
“Ugh, sorry, I didn’t mean– Just– You have to be kidding. You think you aren’t good enough? You?”
Nunnally throws her hands up. “I don’t know! She’s– She’s got her act together! She’s the head of a noble house for fuck’s sake! She like, meets people! And she’s on TV like every other week!” She takes a second to calm down. Her voice comes out quieter. “And like, look at me. I’m just some crippled loser who needs help going up and down the stairs. What am I doing with my life?”
Milly sighs. “Nunnally. You are literally royalty. Like, you are an actual princess.”
“And? What do I have to show for it? I live in a massive house, I have infinite money, but so does she. And c’mon, being rich and ruling-class aren’t exactly admirable qualities.” Nunnally’s eyes bore into the floor. “I’m sure there are plenty of rich assholes who want a piece of her. I’m just another face in the crowd.” Her eyes don’t move an inch.
Milly lets out another sigh. Pinching the bridge of her nose, her voice comes out stern.
“Nunnally. Look at me.” She glances up. “C’mere.”
Pausing for a second, Nunnally rolls over to the bed until she’s right up close, face to face. Milly leans in, grabs her by the shoulders. “Nunnally. Listen to me.” Her voice is still stern, but there’s a layer of genuine kindness there that Nunnally isn’t used to hearing from her. “You. Are. Good enough. Don’t think for a second that you’re not.”
Nunnally’s mouth opens as if to rebut, but Milly counters quickly. “Nope. Nuh-uh. Let me finish.” She squeezes Nunnally’s shoulders. “Listen. I know a lot of people. You know a lot of people. And I don’t know anybody, or know anybody who knows anybody who knows anybody who has ever heard of anybody who’s met you and didn’t think you were fucking amazing. No, don’t gimme that look, I’m serious. I’ve known you for a long time, Nunnally. You are literally one of the most awesome people I know.”
Milly grins in what she hopes is a reassuring manner. Nunnally, for her part, looks like a deer in headlights. She takes this as a… not-terrible sign, and continues. “You’re insanely smart. I seriously don’t know anyone other than Lelouch who’s as smart as you. And between you and me, your brother can be kind of an idiot sometimes.” That gets a giggle out of her. “And hell, when it comes to emotional intelligence? You’ve got him beat by miles. I mean, remember when he and Suzaku got together and Shirley totally freaked out? And then Lelouch thought it would be a good idea to– to–”
“To tell her she could be the maid of honor at their wedding? Yeah, don’t remind me.” Nunnally finishes the sentence for her as Milly is consumed by laughter. She tries to continue between wheezes.
“Right– Right– Hah… Dude, that was–” She snorts. “That was so stupid.” Inhale. “But! Uh, my point is, after that disaster, you were the one to get her back on her feet. I don’t know what you said to her, but honestly? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her look as content as when she walked out of that room with you. Ya feel?”
Nunnally blushes again. “Well– It wasn’t really– I mean–”
“Ugh, come on Nunnally. It wouldn’t kill you to take a compliment every once in a while. Can’t you see what I’m trying to say?” Before Nunnally can even think of responding, Milly releases her shoulders and grabs both of her hands. “I’m saying that no matter how lame or unworthy or whatever other bullshit you think you are, it’s not true. You’re endlessly empathetic, selfless, smart, funny, and above all else, kind. Don’t you think it’s time you start extending some of that kindness to yourself?”
Nunnally looks down. She looks like she genuinely isn’t sure. Milly, of course, is prepared for this. She raises Nunnally’s hands with her own. “Hey, am I lying?”
Nunnally’s eyes shoot up, before lowering again to their entwined hands. Her gaze softens.
“N-No. You’re not. You’re not lying.”
Milly grins. “Right. I’m not. And if I believe everything I just said, I think you can believe it too.”
“R-Right. Right… Thanks, Milly. It means a lot. Really.”
“Always. And hey, who would I be if I wasn’t looking out for my little sister, huh?” Milly reaches up to ruffle Nunnally’s hair, eliciting a giggle.
“Oh god, does Lelouch know you call me that?”
“Sure he does. I call him little brother all the time! He hates it.”
Nunnally rolls her eyes. “Of course. Should’a guessed.”
A comfortable silence passes between them. Nunnally was apprehensive about this conversation, Milly can tell. She’s just happy she got to help. Speaking of…
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Huh?”
“Y’know, the plan. To like, get with her. I know we just covered your self-worth issues but we haven’t even talked about what you’re actually gonna do.”
Nunnally grimaces. “Right, right. Well, uh, the reason I wanted to talk to you today is that, uh… I actually have a date with her. Like, really soon.”
Milly squees. “Dude! You should’ve led with that! Jeez, you were having this whole crisis and the cat was already out of the bag? You’re more forward than I thought!”
Nunnally averts her gaze again. “Well, not quite. I mean, she doesn’t really… know…”
“Huh?”
“I mean, she knows we’re hanging out, duh. But like, I don’t think she knows it’s a uh… date. Like a real one.”
Milly blinks. “Oh. Uh huh… Well, are you gonna tell her?”
“I mean, yeah, that’s the plan.”
“When.”
“Um. On the date?”
There's a pause as Milly just kind of stares at her for a second. “Is that, um, bad?”
She shakes her head. “No! No, that’s fine. That’s workable. Right, right, okay. So. Do you have any kind of itinerary? I assume you’re not gonna just walk around aimlessly. Where are you even going?”
“Well, what I told her was that we would go to Shibuya and just look around for a little while. There’s also a theater at the Omotesandō and I thought we could see whatever’s playing. I don’t really have it all mapped out.”
Milly taps her cheek. “Okay, sure. That doesn’t sound terrible. Hmm, how are you getting there?”
“She’s picking me up. From here.”
“She drives?”
“She has like a chauffeur or something.”
“Uh huh. I guess that makes sense.” Milly furrows her brow. “Does Lelouch know about this?”
“He knows I’m going out, but he doesn’t know it’s supposed to be a date.”
“Yeah, keep it that way. If he knew you were trying to get with someone he’d freak out bad.” Milly leans forward. “Okay, you don’t need to plan everything out to a tee, but here’s what I’m thinking– You guys head to Shibuya, you look around for about an hour, maybe two. Once you get bored—trust me, you will get bored—you can make your way to the mall and check out the theater. I don’t really keep up with movies but you should ask Gino or Nina, they’ll know what’s playing. Then, after the movie, take her to a restaurant. One that’s nice but not too fancy. There’s like a million places to eat over there, I can send you some good spots.” Nunnally can only nod as Milly continues to basically plan out her date for her. Not that she’s against that, or anything! “After that, I think a good way to end the night is to walk around Yoyogi Park for a bit. There’s a bunch of cute fountains there, plus the lake is gonna look really pretty at night.” Milly pauses. “This is gonna be in the evening, right?”
“Uh– Yeah. Yes.”
“Right. Right. Okay. Does all of that sound, uh, good to you? Sorry, I was just rambling.”
“No, no! It’s fine! Yeah, that sounds great. A lot better than what was probably gonna happen otherwise, I mean…”
Milly flashes a grin. “That’s what I’m here for!” In a blur of motion, Milly goes from sitting cross-legged on Nunnally’s bed to hanging over the side, upside-down. This goes unquestioned. “So, another question for you—at what point during the timeline I just explained do you think it would be a good time to break the news to her?”
Nunnally blanks. “The, uh, news?”
“Y’know! That it’s not just a hang-out, it’s actually a super hot date and that you’re totally head-over-heels for her and you wanna make out with her really ba–”
“Okay, okay! I get it! Jeez. Don’t be gross.” Nunnally crosses her arms in mostly-mock frustration. “Um, I think… maybe at the park? Like, y’know, we’re walking around, we make it to the lake, and the water’s all sparkly… and right there, I… I tell her. How I feel.”
Milly stifles a laugh. Nunnally shoots her another glare. “Hey! Ugh, that’s stupid, isn’t it?”
Milly waves her hand, still giggling. “No, no, not at all! It’s not stupid!” She takes a breath. “I actually think that’s a really adorable idea. I just never took you as the type to come up with something all romantic like that.”
“You… really think so? That it’s romantic?”
“Totally. The only thing that could make that more dreamy would be fireworks.”
Nunnally snorts. “I hate fireworks.”
“Yeah, little lady, I know.”
The conversation winds down after that. Milly asks how school’s going (“Ugh, I hate precalc. Our teacher just talks about Greek philosophy the whole time! We waste like half the class on Socrates’ assassination or whatever!”), Nunnally asks her about her internship (“My supervisor, Parker? He’s high all the time. I think he actually grows his own narcotics in his backyard.”). Neither of them bother to check the time, but after a while, Milly notices the lack of light peeking through the curtains.
“Alright kiddo. It’s gettin’ late. I’m gonna head out, okay?”
“Y-Yeah. Okay.”
“Text me if anything else comes up, will you?”
“Yeah. Of course. And uh. Thanks, again. For helping me with this.”
Milly takes one final opportunity to ruffle Nunnally’s hair on her way out.
“Any time. You know I love you. I’ll always be here to offer my impeccable services.”
That gets a laugh out of the younger girl. “Pfft, yeah, yeah. Go away, dick.”
Milly gasps in feigned offense before putting on a vaguely European accent.
“My, how rude! Rather unbecoming of a princess, no?”
Nunnally flips her the bird as she shuts the door. She sits in silence for a few moments before bringing her hands up, rubbing her face. In her head, she declares her resolve. An unwavering statement of fortitude.
Tomorrow is going to go so fucking well.