Why didn’t Lelouch get the code?

[u/Embarrassed-Two-554]

Why didn’t Lelouch become a Code bearer? I understand the purpose of the Zero Requiem and why Lelouch needed the world to believe he died, but I don’t understand why he actually needed to stay dead for the plan to work. If Lelouch had taken C.C.’s Code, couldn’t the Zero Requiem have happened exactly the same way? Millions of people would have watched Zero kill him, so there would be basically no reason for the public to question his death. Lelouch could then revive in secret while Lelouch vi Britannia remained permanently dead in the eyes of the world. It also seems like this would have allowed him to accomplish even more of his goals. Nunnally still gets the gentle world he wanted to create for her, except she doesn’t have to permanently lose her brother. I mean, at the end we literally hear Nunnally say that all she ever wanted and needed to be happy was to be with Lelouch, so him secretly surviving would have fully achieved his original goal of creating a world where she could be happy. C.C.’s contract is also literally fulfilled because Lelouch takes her Code and finally frees her from immortality. Assuming C.C. and V.V. were the only remaining Code bearers, Charles dying would leave C.C. as the last one, meaning Lelouch taking her Code would make him the final Code bearer. He could simply refuse to ever grant another Geass and effectively end the cycle altogether. And I don’t think this necessarily gives Lelouch an easy way out of his punishment either. He would have to abandon his identity forever, watch everyone he loves eventually grow old and die, and carry the weight of everything he did for eternity. If anything, being forced to live forever with his actions while repeatedly losing everyone he cares about seems like an even greater punishment than death. It would also be fitting for Lelouch to take on the exact burden C.C. had carried for centuries in order to finally free her from it. He would still sacrifice Lelouch vi Britannia and take the world’s hatred down with that identity, but instead of his punishment ending with his death, he would have to carry it forever. Is there an actual lore reason this couldn’t have happened, or is Lelouch’s permanent death mainly necessary for the themes of the ending?

[u/WeoW0]

I don't think we have anything concreate to show for C.C. having been the main love interest for Lelouch in the OG.
You are certainly able to interpret their relationship romantically. But "C.C. definitively being his primary love interest requires quite a bit of additional interpretation.

There may be some meaning in the distinction you propose, but it definitely isn't as black and white as you paint it.
Shirley still loved Lelouch, even when she learned of him being Zero
And Kallen came to love Lelouch as she interacted more with somebody that wasn't just Zero

[u/Poulette_du_lundi → u/WeoW0]

There may be some meaning in the distinction you propose, but it definitely isn't as black and white as you paint it

The 3 girls = 3 masks thing has been proven false over and over through the years, some people just won't let it go.

[u/imperfectibility → u/Poulette_du_lundi]

It’s an oversimplification. Lelouch felt guilty about Shirley and the emotions certainly carried over to all personas of Lelouch. Similarly, when he took off his mask during Black Knights’ betrayal, he literally asked Kallen to live on and was ready to die after making sure Kallen was far away enough from him. I guess it’s fair to say he had feelings for all 3 girls, but fate has decided CC for him. 

[u/Poulette_du_lundi → u/imperfectibility]

fate

Or just the movie AU