The sun shone brightly as the day continued to be perfect. Birds sang their songs and children played their games in the somewhat crowded park that was in the middle of what remained of the Tokyo Settlement. The atmosphere was a completely happy one with not a single gloomy face visible.
Of course, there was the one gloomy expression hidden behind a pair of sunglasses that covered the person's green eyes completely. They also helped conceal the brunette's identity. If anyone were to find out that Suzaku Kururugi was still alive, let alone enjoying a Saturday at a public park, then chaos was sure to ensue. Thankfully, the "disguise" he wore did its job and no screams and shouts of anger and panic could be heard.
The only thing that actually drew attention to him was the frown that carved a deep trench on his face. But then again, people wouldn't dare mention it to his face; especially since he was making such an angry expression.
And he was okay with that.
Suzaku was more than glad that no one came near him as he sat on the wooden bench and soaked in the sun's natural warmth. This way, he could focus on the problem causing his now non-existent optimism to go running for the hills. Couples were walking around on the cement walkways and even crossed the grass. Some were mere teenagers while others were mothers and fathers. There were also plenty of seniors walking around as well. And they were all something Suzaku could no longer have.
His lover was gone and he was never coming back.
The brunette could no longer smile so lovingly to his emperor or give him roses as red as blood or hold his bony hand like he was holding gold. In order to fulfill his only friend's wish, he had to give that very same person away.
"What's got you in such a horrid mood, boy?"
Suzaku let loose one of the most suffering sighs he could muster at the moment before turning to the green haired woman who sat down to his right.
"What the hell are you doing here, C.C.? Last I heard you were in Rome and that was a year ago."
The immortal witch gave him a blank stare before turning to look at the scene before her. "I merely had a feeling you would be needing company." Her blank stare turned into a full blown smirk. "Plus I found something that you might like. Consider it a late birthday present."
The younger Japanese male arched an eyebrow before grunting in reply. He was far used to the witch's antics to really raise his voice and mention how his birthday had been nearly two months ago.
"What? You're not gonna ask what it is? Whatever happened to the curious little boy that I knew?"
Suzaku ignored her for a few minutes; deciding to play with the yellow and white sundress she wore. "Fine then, what is it?"
"You'll just have to follow me and see for yourself."
Suzaku let a sigh escape his chapped lips. "I guess I should have seen that one coming."
The two stayed silent for a while longer before C.C. broke it when she stood. "Well, come on. If we don't leave we might miss it."
…
The train ride over to Ikebukuro was surprisingly silent, only broken by the loud murmur of the people that surrounded them. Suzaku felt too tired to even think about filling the silence that had fallen between them. In fact, he's been quite tired for a while now.
At first, the sun kissed male thought that it came from the stress of being Zero. It had remained like that until Kallen pointed out that it was also a symptom of depression. He had immediately begun to take medication for his new found depression before discarding them all together. If he was depressed then he didn't want any medication entering his system.
Suzaku wanted to feel depressed. Perhaps it was one of those self-hatred kind of thing he had been known for when he was still Suzaku Kururugi to the world. But then again, who would want to stop feeling sad when they killed the person they were supposed to love most in this sorry excuse for a world.
He was so deep in thought, that Suzaku barely had enough time to stop himself from crashing into C.C.
"What the heck C.C.? Why'd you stop?"
"Look there," she said in a quiet sort of whisper as she pointed towards the sky.
There, a dark shape got bigger and bigger until Suzaku realized that it was a vending machine flying through the air. It kept moving closer and closer and while Suzaku vaguely realized that C.C. had already moved out of its way while he stood there dumbstruck, he could not help but continue staring.
"Move out of the way, dumbass!"
Before he knew it, Suzaku found himself staring up at a pair of reddish-brown eyes that were glaring back something fierce. The familiar strength of that red heated glare caused Suzaku to entirely miss the sound of a vending machine being smashed into itty bitty pieces a few feet away along with his sunglasses that had fallen during the tackle.
"What the hell were you thinking, idiot!? Do you have a death wish!? Or are you too stupid to realize that a vending machine was about to smash you to bits, baka!?"
The red eyed male then pulled back slightly, eyes widening in surprise. Suzaku was given the chance to notice that his skin tone and hair color were more than similar to the late Emperor's. The hair was shorter and a little more muscular from what he could feel but the similarities were a bit much to overlook. Especially his voice.
It was a voice that has left him weak more than once. A voice that would whisper to him in the dark or cry out his name in pain or pleasure.
Before the brunette could get a single syllable out, his forest green eyes flickered to a movement that occurred from behind the raven.
A blonde man with a snarl present on his face was glaring down at the two of them with eyes that showed his anger and confusion even through his blue sunglasses. In his raised arms was a bent traffic sign. Their eyes met for a single moment and in that instance, Suzaku understood what he saw.
"IZAYA!"
It didn't stop him from grabbing onto the fair skinned male and rolling them out of the way of the oncoming traffic sign. The sound of something cracking reached his ears even as he held the raven to his chest.
"Suzaku let me go…" the black haired man said in a soft, gentle whisper.
Shocked at the tone of the stranger's familiar voice, he let his arms fall limply to the ground beside him. The raven pushed himself back onto his hands and knees and smiled down at him with confusion and recognition warring on his face. Before the older Japanese man could ask how he knew his name, the younger male stood up abruptly and turned to the blonde male.
"You have to watch where you're throwing those poor vending machines, Shizu-chan! You could really hurt somebody." From his place on the floor, Suzaku sat up and watched as 'Shizu-chan' stalked closer; an angry smile on his face.
"Well if you'd stop jumping around like the flea you are, I wouldn't have to worry about missing!"
Lelo-no…Izaya gave Shizu-chan a manic smirk.
"I highly doubt that. Shizu-chan's ugly monster strength would destroy everything around him even if I stayed still."
Shizu-chan snarled once more before heaving the sign back into his arms and running forward at full speed. "IIZZAAYYA!"
Izaya quickly turned around and began to run while a knife appeared in his hand. "Come on Shizu-chan! Let's see if you can catch me!"
With a roar, Suzaku stood there, thunderstruck, as Shizu-chan chased after Izaya; forgetting about him completely.
For how long he sat there in the setting sun, he didn't know. Yet the next thing he knew, C.C. was standing there beside him. "Well, there's you present. What do you think?"
The green eyed Japanese man felt his resolve harden as he stood on his own two feet. "Do you know where they went?"
He felt himself feel slightly surprised when she gave him a pitying glance. "It's a bad idea for you to go after them Suzaku. You have no place here. Not in his life."
Suzaku glared down at the immortal witch before turning around and walking away. "You know what? Screw you! Screw you for coming into Lelouch's life. Into my life! Screw you for giving Lelouch Geass. Screw you for trying to make a world without lies! Screw you for leaving me after Lelouch died. Screw you for coming back. And screw you for thinking that you can stop me!" The brunette quickly barreled down a random street that simply felt right. Suzaku heard C.C. say something about needing a car but quickly threw that thought away.
He continued to run down what seemed like random streets; feeling as if he was getting closer and closer to Lelouch. Soon, the sun was completely gone and the city lit up almost magically. Yet he continued to run. Finally, at the sound of an "Izaya" and a "Shizu-chan~" Suzaku turned into an alley and found both the blonde and raven.
Having sex on the floor of the alley.
As soon as he came across the scene, he knew that it was a mistake. It had to be. Yet he could not deny that, no he was not dreaming and yes, Lelouch/Izaya was on his back and having the blonde male thrust into him.
He vaguely realized that his tears were falling while his mind asked him why it felt so weird to hear another's names fall from his lover's lips. As he questioned himself, Izaya tossed his head to the side in order to let Shizu-chan mark him. This caused him to meet Suzaku's eyes.
The effect was immediate. His stiff arousal quickly shrunk away and the hits to his prostate were a pleasure that he could easily ignore. All the informant could feel was horror, shame, and guilt. It was made a million times worse when he realized that Suzaku was crying and his eyes spoke of heartbreak.
"Lelouch," Suzaku said in a broken whisper before turning around and running away from him and perhaps even his dreams of their nonexistent future together.
Izaya stayed still for a single second before trying to get up off the floor to go after the familiar stranger. The familiar name felt alien on his tongue as he reached out towards the alleyway entrance only to be snatched up in a firm grip.
"What the hell, Izaya? What's wrong?"
The raven barely spared him a glance before struggling to sit up with Shizuo's huge member still inside him. "Sh-Shizuo…please, I have to go…"
The older blonde gave him confused look (because, really, when has Izaya ever said Shizuo and please and not be teasing him in some manner?) before turning away with a low 'tch'. "Fine…just...meet me back at my place?" The insecure look in the taller man's eyes had Izaya leaning over and pressing a kiss to his lips.
"Of course Shizu-chan. Especially since I have to help get rid of this." Izaya grasped Shizuo's monster and squeezed tightly before moving away.
…
Suzaku ran and ran until he could run no more. Before he knew it, he found himself collapsing onto a bench next to a bus stop. After taking in five deep breaths, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar letter cutter. It was of a red eye surrounded in black with a gold rimming. It had light emerald colored jewels hanging off it and a single intricately carved gold blade sticking out in the same direction as the jewels.
Suzaku stayed there and fingered the letter cutter that had been given to him by Lelouch when he had become his official knight, not even thinking about what he saw. Instead, he remembered the endless summer that did not last very long.
He only looked up at the sound of a honk only to find C.C. behind the wheel of a roofless white car. "Come on, I booked us a hotel to stay in. We're going to leave tomorrow."
Suzaku said nothing. Instead he stood up and got inside the car. He paid no attention to the direction in which C.C. was driving. He merely stared out to the side where the window should be. Before he could take a second to blink, a biker on top of a completely black motorcycle raced passed them only to screech to stop and turn to look towards them. He continued to watch the biker in the side mirror until C.C. took a turn.
…
Izaya watched as Celty typed up her message before showing him.
[A man with brown hair and green eyes?]
Izaya nodded, not bothering to speak.
[Now that you've said that, I remember seeing a man like that riding in a car with a woman who was driving. They were especially creepy.]
Celty shivered as if she was cold, bringing the phone back closer to her.
[They had a really strange aura around them. The woman seemed to be giving out power in waves. And the man, he wasn't exuding waves of power. It was merely hovering around him.]
Izaya frowned at the information. "So they're supernatural beings like you?" The dullahan shrugged. This caused the red eyed man to sigh heavily before waving the faerie away. "Thank you for your information. It's very much appreciated." He stopped and turned to look back when he felt Celty's hand on his shoulder.
[ Actually, you have similar waves hanging around you as well. Does this mean anything to you?]
At this Izaya frowned before shaking. "Nope, not at all. But thanks anyway." And with that, he began to head for Shizuo's apartment; his head down and his feet dragging a bit.
…
Suzaku stared at the ground beneath his feet as he waited along with C.C. for the train to come. As it turns out, the car from yesterday was just a rental. C.C. watched him with an irritated look in her eye that seemed to grow with every sigh.
He sighed.
"I'm going to the bathroom," he said as he stood up, not waiting for her answer. She looked like a single step from zapping him with her mind memory power of hers.
Even as he dodged around crowds of people, Suzaku's mind was long gone. C.C. had been right. He had no place here. Not in Izaya's world where the two of them were practically strangers. No not practically. They were strangers.
Suzaku was knocked back by some unknown force, forced to take a few steps back in order to keep his balance.
"S-sorry, I'm so sorr-…"
He was right there. Suzaku's green eyes widened as well as Izaya's.
They stayed that way and just before Suzaku was about to express his apologies once more, Izaya beat him to it.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Suzaku asked dumbly.
Izaya gulped visibly before beginning. "I'm sorry for making you cry." Suzaku opened his mouth once more but was once again interrupted.
"Izaya!"
Both of them turned and saw Shizuo standing atop a set of stairs, glaring down at them suspiciously. Thankfully, because of the distraction that the blonde provided, Suzaku heard the last minute calls for his train.
Deciding that now was his chance, the brunette grabbed hold of Izaya's upper arm and forced him to turn towards him.
"Are you happy here?"
Izaya looked at him in surprise, causing Suzaku to start believing that, perhaps that expression isn't always on his face. "What do you mean if I'm 'happy here'? And who are you?"
Suzaku felt his eyes harden and he gripped the raven's arm tighter. "Are you happy here?" he repeated, letting his eyes flicker to the blonde that was coming closer to them with a scary expression on his face. "Happy with him?" he added as he nodded towards Shizuo.
Izaya gave him a hard stare of his own before nodding. At that moment, Suzaku felt a piece of himself die all the while the rest of him felt slightly freer. The weight of something was no longer on his shoulders.
He nodded. "Then…now…all I can do is wish you happiness for the rest of your life. And this," he said before leaning closer and placing a soft, barely there kiss on the informants lips. Izaya gasped at the electric feeling that raced through him; something that's only happened between him and Shizuo (who was now a few feet away from them, cursing up a storm).
"I will never forget you, Izaya."
And then he let go before racing to the closing doors of the train.
He quickly made his way over to where C.C. sat and looked out the window with her. They both smiled and waved as they passed by the couple. Both stared back at them; dumbstruck.
When the two younger Japanese men could no longer be seen, Suzaku pulled C.C. into a hug and kept her their tight. "I…I loved my very late birthday present. Thank you C.C."
The immortal witch felt her eyes widen in surprise as she felt Suzaku's tears reach her shoulder before pulling him into hug any mother would be proud of.
"It's alright, boy. At least you let him go. Now he can have a life where he is happy."
…
Shizuo looked at Izaya with confusion as the black haired man's eyes flashed an eerie reddish glow while he cried slow, silent tears as they watched the train that held those two passengers left the station and headed elsewhere.
…
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Days until I retire: 721
