Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or Suzaku or Lelouch or any of the other amazing characters in the show.
Hi everyone, this is the very first story that I am satisfied enough with to publish. Hopefully I can get inspired to finish the rest of the ideas I have. So be sure to review a LOT.
Oh, and I realize some things in this story are not entirely canon, such as characters being in Britannia when they should be in Japan, but just go with it. Also, this story takes place during season 2; at which point in season 2 this takes place is up to you. This story is somewhat based off the party scene in Episode 9: A Bride in the Vermilion Forbidden City.
Now, just sit back, read, and enjoy.
The music was soft and soothing. The gentle vibrations of violins, the soft hum of a flute, the light rustle associated with a ball gown as people danced. This was the Britannian Annual Banquet. Held every year, the Banquet was originally intended to celebrate the creation of Britannia, but it merely gave the nobles a chance to gather together, gossip about scandalous events of the previous months, and pretend to be better than everyone else. This year's main gossip was the Emperor's strange behavior. He still ran the country, but it seemed he was turning more and more of the political decisions over to his children, preferring to spend his time obsessing over strange archeological finds and crazy theories.
Suzaku sighed as he stood by the entrance door. As a Knight of Rounds, he was required to be at the party in order to protect the members of the Imperial family. While the other Knights of Rounds were there for the same reason he was, they also were socializing with the guests. They could after all; they were also nobles in the eyes of the superficial people present at the moment. Suzaku wasn't. No matter how high he worked himself in the system, these nobles would always view him as an Eleven. And discrimination against the Numbers was a national policy here.
That's why Suzaku found himself leaning next to the all-too intricately designed door watching everyone have fun. His eyes skimmed the crowd until he noticed the Second Prince Schneizel talking to the Second Princess Cornelia. They had flown home from Area 11 for the celebrations. Cornelia seemed even more agitated then normal and, more shockingly, Schneizel appeared to be nervous. Suzaku wondered what could be bothering them, the nobles were having fun, the ballroom looked glamorous, the food was set up. As far as he could tell, everything about the night was going according to plan.
However, the reason for their distress soon became all too clear in the form of a door opening.
Zero, complete with cape, mask, and Black Knights, walked right in. Suzaku, being the always-prepared Knight that he was, just happened to be standing at the exact same door as Zero entered.
He drew his sword, "This is the Britannian Annual Banquet; invitation only."
Much to Suzaku's surprise, Zero and all of the Black Knights pulled out legitimate invitations. By now, every single person in the room was watching the scene wondering what would happen next and if the room would turn into a battlefield in a matter of moments.
Fortunately for everyone involved, Cornelia intervened. "Kururugi, lower your weapon. Zero was invited."
Suzaku lowered his weapon, but was still ready to strike at a moment's notice. "Invited? Why would you invite this terrorist to the Banquet, your Highness?"
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"I invited him. I thought it would be good for negotiations. These people can experience the majesty of Britannia at its best and then I'm sure they will willingly join us." It was First Prince Odysseus, the idiot. Did he not understand that the extravagant nobles had caused Zero to fight against Britannia in the first place?
"Well boy, you heard me. Stand aside."
Suzaku reluctantly did, feeling annoyed for being talked down to, even from a prince, in front of the entire court and all of his fellow Knights of Rounds. Zero on the other hand, was particularly pleased that his entrance could embarrass Suzaku enough to make him blush; he did look so cute when he blushed. Very innocent; it reminded Zero of earlier times when he could make Suzaku turn red by telling him how charming he looked in (and out of) his school uniform. Well, that hadn't changed at least. He still looked great, though much more dangerous.
White did suit him so much better than black ever could.
Well, there was no choice in the matter now. He had to let Zero enter the Banquet. It was ordered by the First Prince. And Suzaku always did what he was told.
But still…Zero… Zero!? At the Banquet?
Just seeing the arrogant, self-righteous jerk made his skin crawl. He wanted to push the black clothed demon out of the room. Or even better out of a twelve story high window.
Suzaku stalked away from the group at the door, sulking. He immediately went over to Lloyd, the first person he happened to see. Lloyd had been watching the exchange at the door with amusement and a bit of a questioning glint in his eye. Thinking a conversation that avoided the one topic that everyone was talking about might calm his anger, Suzaku asked Lloyd how long the Lancelot Albion would take to finish and tried to follow as Lloyd started to ramble about some technical things.
Despite this being a conversation that he himself had started, Suzaku couldn't pay attention and kept unconsciously glancing back at Zero. Lloyd was talking about something really important, but Suzaku was zoning in and out of the discussion as his thoughts went to the very person he was trying to avoid, Lelouch.
Suzaku soon stopped listening to Lloyd completely, granted he hadn't fully understood what Lloyd was talking about in the first place, when he turned around to check on Zero again and saw, to his utter horror, that while Zero was still in the same place as before resting against the back wall, Gino was there as well and they were having what looked like a pleasant conversation.
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"So, dude, I couldn't help but notice that hot redhead you have with you," Gino's ever subtle approach shocked Zero out of his world-domination thoughts. He hadn't noticed the man approach and get himself comfortable, leaning against the wall next to him.
"Hot redhead? Oh, that's just Kallen." Zero dismissed his question emotionlessly. There was no reason he should be talking with his enemy, let alone about girls.
"She's the pilot of the Guren, correct?" At Zero's confirmation, Gino continued, "So are you two, like, going out or something?"
"What? No, she's just my top pilot, that's all!" Him, Zero, going out with Kallen. Ha, laughable. She was not his type. Not at all.
"Oh," Gino continued speaking, oblivious to Zero's desperation to end this line of conversation, "does that mean I can ask her for a dance?"
"Sure," Zero chuckled, "but don't expect her to just say yes. Kallen doesn't dance with the enemy." Maybe he would get some sort of entertainment from this ball after all. Watching Kallen beat up a Knight of the Rounds sounded like an excellent idea.
"Oh, too bad. That would have been sweet." Gino then turned and stared at Suzaku who seemed to be very agitated about something. Gino decided that he'd need to talk to that Lloyd character; it seemed he was the one stressing Suzaku out.
"So you and Suzaku, um, are you, um, you know?" Zero hesitantly asked after noticing where Gino's was gazing.
"Having sex? Dating?" Gino frowned, "No, not that I'd be against it mind you, but there's this guy he used to have a crush on and it didn't work out well. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but he's not entirely over it yet. I don't want to push him if he's not ready. Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering if I could ask him to dance."
"Oh, that would be great. A dance is probably just what Suzaku needs right now. But he'd never agree to it you know."
"I know; that's why I have a plan…"
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When Suzaku saw Gino leave Zero's side and approach him, he heaved a relieved sigh. Nothing good could come out of Zero talking to Gino. Especially if they were having a conversation about him, which, judging by the looks they kept throwing at him, was highly likely.
However, Suzaku was surprised when instead of talking, Gino pulled him onto the dance floor saying something about this being his favorite song and that they needed to dance. Bewildered and slightly shell-shocked, Suzaku tried to explain to Gino that he didn't dance, but that just didn't seem to matter at all.
And Lloyd was no help. He just smiled and waved them onward, practically singing "Have Fun!"
On the dance floor, it was clear that Gino was leading. Suzaku just copied the moves he thought were right and not hideously suggestive. Fortunately, the song was relatively slow and calming and eventually Suzaku found that he was actually somewhat enjoying himself. He rested his head against the blonde's strong shoulder, so unlike the scrawny one he longed to lean on.
After about a minute, the song began to speed up a bit and Gino decided to speed things up a little as well. Suzaku was no longer pressed against Gino's body. He was being spun around and then pulled securely back into Gino's arms. Well, that was certainly embarrassing.
He looked up intending to tell Gino that under no circumstances was he ever to twirl him around again, only to have his voice freeze in his throat. He was not staring at Gino, no, the exact opposite. He was staring at the trademark black mask of Zero!
Shocked by what must have been a mistake, Suzaku looked over his shoulder. Kallen was looking back at him from Gino's embrace, seemingly just as confused by what happened.
Simultaneously, Suzaku and Kallen tried to pull away and return to their respective partners, but both were held tight. Suzaku was very surprised that he couldn't break Zero's grip easily. Lelouch must have been working out; he was taller too, but that may have just been his platform shoes. He wondered what else had changed.
As Suzaku stood there contemplating Lelouch's many physical aspects, the rest of the room had frozen. There was no sound in the air. All the musicians had stopped playing and everyone had ceased talking; the other people who had been dancing quickly removed themselves from the area, just in case swords started swinging. They were all staring wide-eyed at the four people out on the dance floor.
Odysseus, despite Schneizel's urging for him to just stay out of it, clapped his hands and announced that the dance must go on. A fast foxtrot began to play as the musicians reluctantly took up their instruments again.
Still hardly anyone moved. Two of the people on the dance floor glared angrily, while the other two, cowering under those livid glares, began to think that this may not have been such a good plan after all.
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After a good three minutes or so in which people stared, musicians played, and the four figures on the dance floor remained where they were, Prince Odysseus had grown bored. He felt the people should be dancing instead of just staring at each other. Maybe this would even be beneficial for Britannia.
If Kururugi was a good enough dancer, then Zero may decide to stop being a terrorist. Because honestly who would choose to be a terrorist if they could just spend their time dancing! Maybe Kururugi could seduce Zero to the noble and good Empire of Britannia. It wasn't a bad idea at all, thought the First prince to himself. Now just to bring the plan to completion.
"Start dancing already!" The majority of the partygoers cringed as Prince Odysseus was fixed with three lethal stares and a furious looking mask.
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Finally, Kallen decided to take some action. She wasn't the type of person to just sit there and do nothing when her pride was at stake. Plus, she was getting bored at this party anyway. Maybe dancing with this Knight could entertain her for a while.
As she was a very competitive person, it only made sense for this to be a contest, a dance-off if you will. Plus, bonus points if she showed up Suzaku in a battle of any sort. She looked around again and made sure to lock eyes with the green-eyed boy. Good, he could see her. Kallen smirked in a challenging manner. Then began to dance.
Gino was certainly taken aback when Kallen began to lead him in dance, but he had no complaints.
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Suzaku watched as Kallen and Gino moved to the beat. Unlike when he had danced with Gino, there was no clear leader. The strong blond didn't have to lead; Kallen knew how to dance well. She had been educated as a Britannian after all.
Although the song was traditional, their moves were very modern with Kallen grinding against Gino a few times.
Suzaku sighed. He hated to dance and he wasn't very good at it either, but letting Kallen best him in anything would reflect badly on him personally and on Britannia in general. What if people thought that because Kallen could dance better in the ballroom, she could fight better on the battlefield?
No, Suzaku could not have people thinking that.
Which is why he grabbed Zero by the shoulders and pulled him into motion. They stumbled a bit at first, but eventually both got the hang of it. Swaying back and forth in each other's arms.
The song came to an end, but neither noticed as they continued to hold onto each other, minds lost to the past and what might have been. Unwilling to think about what was to come.
THE END
So that's it. I'm not quite as pleased with the ending as I had hoped, so if I get enough reviews, I may finish the alternate ending I have planned.
Please give me some constructive critisim. This is my first fanfic and I need to know where I should improve.