"That young man, the boy who piloted the Lancelot at Shinjuku-" Cecile began as she set a stack of paperwork in front of Lloyd.
"The eleven boy they accused of murdering Prince Clovis?" Lloyd interrupted. "What about him?"
"He applied for a position here at ASEEC."
"Did he now?" Lloyd said with mild bemusement. "Might as well approve his transfer. He was an excellent Devisor."
Cecile fidgeted in her seat. "The problem is he needs to be eighteen to work in our department. Or have consent from his guardian and he has no family that I could find."
"I'll do it. Get me the paperwork." Lloyd said with a sigh.
"I'm sorry, Lloyd, but do what?"
"Be that boy's guardian. If he's going to work directly under me I might as well keep him as close as I can."
Cecile said nothing. The rash conclusion that Lloyd came to was his own, and if they could keep Suzaku as close to their department as possible, well that would be a plus. Probably. But never in a hundred years had Cecile expected Lloyd to appoint himself guardian. She had assumed that she'd have to be the one to do it. She rose from her chair and left the lab to make the phone calls and print the papers that Lloyd would need to become Suzaku's guardian.
The whole process went much smoother than expected. Suzaku spent half his time in a bowing position mumbling thank you over and over again to Lloyd and Cecile and apologizing for causing trouble. And Cecile spent her time bowing back to Suzaku and keeping Lloyd's wandering tact in check.
"Well my little eleven, this is it." Lloyd said as he climbed into the driver's seat of his big brown military issued transport vehicle which also operated as the Lancelot's operations base away from the ASEEC building.
"This is what?" Suzaku asked as he climbed in behind Cecile who pushed Lloyd out of the driver's seat.
"The dawning of a new era my boy! The Lancelot has the best devisor there is and you get to work under me. Things are going to be fun, fun, fun!"
"Right. Thank you again Earl Asplund for doing this for me."
"Suzaku, you can stop thanking him now. It's not like he can return you if he doesn't like you, you're stuck with us now." Cecile said with a smile and a giggle. Suzaku laughed hesitantly and settled into his seat for the drive. He tried not to worry about his new arrangement, but he still felt uneasy having an Earl appointed as his guardian. Even if Lloyd insisted that he was himself, a scientist first and foremost.
"We should stop and pick up pudding Cecile. There's none in the fridge. Oh right….What's your bucket…boy-"
"His name is Suzaku Lloyd. Can't you be bothered to learn his name?" Cecile chided as she changed lanes.
"Right Suzaku. I don't know how the barracks were where you've been stationed, but at ASEEC we're living 2-3 people a dorm. You get to stay with Cecile and myself."
"Oh, you and Miss Cecile are married?" Suzaku asked innocently. Cecile swerved dramatically, nearly hitting a school bus.
"No! No we are not! When I joined Lloyd was the only one without a roommate and our supervisor back then assigned us to our rooms and-'' Cecile corrected Suzaku rather hysterically.
"Yes and we've kept our particular arrangement because it's easier on me when I have brilliant ideas in the middle of the night if one of my best engineers is just down the hall." Lloyd chimed in. "You need to turn up here for the market Cecile. Groo~oceries remember?" Cecile took the turn that Lloyd pointed at and pulled into the market parking lot with some difficulty thanks to the size of the transport vehicle.
"Alright we just need the basics." Cecile said as she pulled out her list and grabbed a hand basket. "Eggs, rice, milk and some meat. Suzaku is there anything in particular you'd like to eat tonight? I can cook-"
"No! No you can't Cecile….Suzaku here is the new guy. He needs to make dinner for us." Lloyd interrupted hastily.
"I'd be happy to make something, but I'm afraid I only know some very simple Japa-eleven dishes." Cecile nodded and headed off towards the vegetables.
"Japanese, eleven, if it's real food you can call it whatever you want." Lloyd mumbled as he draped himself across Suzaku's shoulders. "A word of advice, if Cecile offers to cook, refuse. You'll be in the hospital for a week. She likes to…mix things together that god never intended to mingle on the same plate." Lloyd shuddered at the very horrible tasting memory of wasabi covered orange slices for Christmas. "Go get the ingredients you'll need. I'm buying!" Lloyd said with a grin as he smothered Suzaku in a hug. "Real food, REAL FOOD!" He twirled off in the opposite direction of anything healthy, leaving Suzaku standing alone in the entrance to the market. Seconds later Cecile hurried back to his side and apologized for leaving him alone. They shopped together and had to wrestle Lloyd away from the pudding.
Suzaku placed the last grocery bag into the back of the brown monstrosity and climbed into the front with Lloyd and Cecile.
"I can't believe you carried all those bags by yourself Suzaku! That was amazing, I've never seen anyone balance grocery bags like that." Cecile complimented as she started the engine.
"It…it was nothing. I'd just rather carry twenty bags at once than have to make two trips. It saves time right?" Suzaku smiled. Lloyd laughed and agreed.
Cecile smiled and pulled out of the parking lot. She was hesitant about the new arrangement but also excited.
