[The second the words fall from his lips, Jeremiah's eyes grow wide. Not the startle to his features at the cut of his words, no, wider than that. Wonder, bright and tenuous, still searching Lelouch's face so close to his for any trace of jest. None appears before him.]
Master Lelouch...
[His voice is hushed, softly reverent. It feels dangerous using his name in any crowd of any size, no matter how quietly it's said, but he can't contain it. The tightness in his chest that had faded returns, but it's different this time.
There's no need for titles. There's no need for any of these old conventions, he knows, even as he stands by them himself. It's impossible to say where this new world will take itself, as untouched by their hands as it must remain to survive, but the world as it exists for the two of them is theirs to continually shape as they see fit. Lelouch doesn't have to knight anyone anything, might even be tired of it for all he knows, but he knows Jeremiah. He's familiar with the gravity these things hold for him even if he hadn't known its name, so he'd granted it.
It's why Jeremiah won't listen when he says he can't find happiness here. If Lelouch sincerely believed that with all his heart, he wouldn't have bothered to bestow him with such a promise. They probably wouldn't even be having this conversation at all.
Taking his offered hand, slim and pale in his own, Jeremiah uses his other to grab hold of his pack, and rises to his feet. He doesn't mask his smile, reaching all the way to pinch the corners of his eyes, shining with conviction in the lamplight.] Yes, Your Majesty.
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Master Lelouch...
[His voice is hushed, softly reverent. It feels dangerous using his name in any crowd of any size, no matter how quietly it's said, but he can't contain it. The tightness in his chest that had faded returns, but it's different this time.
There's no need for titles. There's no need for any of these old conventions, he knows, even as he stands by them himself. It's impossible to say where this new world will take itself, as untouched by their hands as it must remain to survive, but the world as it exists for the two of them is theirs to continually shape as they see fit. Lelouch doesn't have to knight anyone anything, might even be tired of it for all he knows, but he knows Jeremiah. He's familiar with the gravity these things hold for him even if he hadn't known its name, so he'd granted it.
It's why Jeremiah won't listen when he says he can't find happiness here. If Lelouch sincerely believed that with all his heart, he wouldn't have bothered to bestow him with such a promise. They probably wouldn't even be having this conversation at all.
Taking his offered hand, slim and pale in his own, Jeremiah uses his other to grab hold of his pack, and rises to his feet. He doesn't mask his smile, reaching all the way to pinch the corners of his eyes, shining with conviction in the lamplight.] Yes, Your Majesty.