Author's Note: I swear the fic is better than the summary. And I do not own Code Geass or its characters; if I did I would have fired the animators for making Lelouch's hair brown.
Also, this is the first fic I have ever finished and posted since I stopped writing horrible self-insert fiction, so while constructive criticism is appreciated, uh... go easy on me? ^^;
dedicated to my girlfriend on her birthday. I'd be a wreck without you.
He had to wonder - whether it would have been better to have lived out the rest of his life, wondering what happened to that Japanese boy he met when he was ten years old, or to have seen him for a few minutes, as a fully-fledged soldier, only to watch the other boy die to protect him?
Lelouch's head was full. The green-haired girl in the capsule. The bullet that had lodged itself in her forehead but didn't kill her. The power she had given him. The contract he had accepted on impulse, out of desperation. These logical questions puzzled him enough.
And then...
After seven years, his treasured boyhood friend from that terrible and magical summer, Suzaku, was still alive.
Lelouch would never forget the moment when the soldier's helmet was removed to reveal that soft smile and a pair of slanted green eyes that recalled memories of swimming, thick night air and bombshells.
"It's me, Suzaku."
Lelouch hadn't quite understood what he felt in that moment. Relief, sadness, happiness, love? Confusion, for sure. The last son of Japan was now a Britannian soldier? But why...
So many more questions. Where have you been? Did you ever try to find me? Did you... miss me? And what about Nunnally...
He would never know.
The thought tortured him in between questions about his Geass, its limitations, its uses, how he should go about rallying forces, should he start with the rebels he met in Shinjuku-
Then everything clicked into place during the viceroy's funeral - his brother's funeral.
"I repeat, Suzaku Kururugi has been arrested for murder."
He was alive - but after his "fair and balanced" trial, for how much longer - and how did he survive that bullet-
Lelouch felt little guilt having killed his own half-brother, but Suzaku had saved his life, and was now being punished for his own crime.
It was easy to guess why. Because of his honorary status.
Lelouch ground his teeth together as he watched the news report - Suzaku was being punished simply based on his nationality. This was the type of injustice and discrimination he wanted to fight against- and he owed Suzaku a favor, a favor to the friend who didn't deserve to be punished for his own wrongdoing -
This was his opportunity. This had to be it. It was as if it had been handcrafted, tailored for his purpose. To give it up would be foolish - downright stupid.
And... Suzaku.
Suzaku would be saved. Hopefully, out of gratitude and his similar hope for a better tomorrow, Suzaku would join him. He would never have to lose Suzaku again.
Twice was enough.
