A/N: Because I've had this idea for a while, I ship them so much and the feels and unfairness of it all won't leave me alone. -Mufin

Warning: K+

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, because if I did it would clearly have ended differently. And would also be severely lacking in character deaths and interesting plot.

I Once Knew a Girl ~MufinXoxo

Oneshot

It was a rare day. Almost special. Today, Zero was off duty, an occurrence that was never meant to occur, but did all the same at Nunnally's urging that Suzaku should have at least one day to be himself. Suzaku didn't want a free day, didn't want to think about himself when there was nothing left of what he had been, but he accepted it all the same.

So he did the same thing he had done on previous off-days; he visited her grave.

Walking down the street and into the park, it was good to notice that things had changed for the better since Lelouch's demise. There was peace, enough food for everyone and people smiled more often. Most people smiled more often. Some couldn't, as they were buried six feet deep, but that was a technicality that neither men, Lelouch or Suzaku, had really considered when they embarked on their plan. It had been for the greater good.

The greater good...

He sometimes wondered about that, when most of the good people he had known were also those resting under the ground.

Suzaku halted before the monument. Located in the former Special Administrative Zone of Nippon where she had been 'justly' shot by Zero, it was designed to serve as a reminder and to honour the fallen. Suzaku was sure she wasn't one of the dead that was meant to be honoured, but he decided to ignore it. She had fallen, an innocent angel trying desperately to fly despite the chains, but murdered and sent hurtling back to the ground until her blood dyed the very soil and his hands red.

White stone that gleamed in the sun and fresh flowers had been placed at its feet. The only words carved into the stone in golden lettering read;

'We will forgive, but we will never forget the ones that we lost.'

Mockingly, someone had scrawled in lopsided, drunken writing at the base in a blood red pen;

'We may forget, but we will never forgive.'

When Suzaku had first noticed it, he tried scrubbing it off. Many people had tried scrubbing it off, but the writing remained, barely fading. Someone with a dark sense of humour may have laughed-Lelouch probably would have-finding amusement that the writing that echoed the innermost thoughts of those left behind would remain even after the golden lettering peeled.

But they were not to be voiced; there was no space for resentment in a longed for peace.

Suzaku placed the pink flowers, reminiscent of her hair, next to the other ones. He kneeled for a long time before the monument, feeling the wind ruffle his hair, listening to the chirping birds and passing chatter of people as they passed. He closed his eyes, seeing her smile flash before him as she twirled around and danced, laughing, always laughing.

"Ano, excuse me..." A small voice asked.

Suzaku opened his eyes, surprised, turning his head to the side as he inspected the person who had, for all intents and purposes, just snuck up on Zero, former White Knight or Grim Reaper, and caught him completely unaware.

The small girl was at his eye-level, as he was still on his knees and had her hands clamped together behind her, rocking back and forth ever so slightly, "You look sad mister, so, so..." She faltered under his look, before sucking in a breath, loosening her hands and forcefully thrusting a flower in his face, "So I wanted to give you this!"

Tentatively Suzaku took the flower, noting that it was drooping due to the girl's death grip. The petals were white, crinkling slightly at the edges like paper. A heavenly scent wafted up his nose, "Thank you." He replied genuinely.

If everyone was as kind as you... as kind as her... he thought wistfully.

"Mister, you look sad again."

Suzaku offered a small smile, "You just reminded me of someone."

"Of who, of who?" She bounced on her feet.

"A girl I once knew. I miss her a lot." Saying the words, he realised just how true they were. He felt a pang in his chest when he thought of her, a vast sea of loneliness and grief threatening to drown him. Fighting for peace had been his gasps of air, all that was keeping him above the surface. Now it was Zero, maintaining the peace that kept him breathing, but on days when he was just Suzaku, his oxygen supply ran dangerously low.

"What was she like? Was she brave and kind and smart and pretty all the things Mama says I should try to be?" the little girl pulled him out of his reverie, large inquisitive eyes blinking at him.

Suzaku smiled properly now, "She was all of those things. So strong in her convictions, brave, very kind and smart too. She was also very beautiful." Her smile appeared before him again, pink hair billowing around her as she spun and spun, endlessly dancing in his mind...

"Also, mister-"

"Momoko, are you annoying strangers again? And such a handsome young man! I'm terribly sorry." The girl's mother apologised, grabbing her daughter's hand, "We have to go see Oba-chan now, did you forget?"

"Don't worry about it." Suzaku said, surprised when Momoko gave him a small wave as her mother dragged her away.

"I hope you see her again!" Momoko called, her voice light, full of hope and good will.

"Momoko! That man is in front of the memorial, don't say such thoughtless things! Honestly..." The voice faded into the distance as the pair moved further away.

Letting out a sigh, Suzaku looked at the white flower in his hand, before placing it next to the pink ones on the steps.

How he wished he could see her again.

Euphemia...

A/N: Like already said, the feels! :`(
Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions so I can improve my writing in the future! ^_^-Mufin