Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. I do not make any kind of profit writing this fanfiction. I wish I did, but I don't. (Geez, I wish writing fanfics would pay for college expenses.)

A/N: Beware OOC-ness. This is just a little impulse-oneshot written for the lulz (and the fangirls). :D

SuzaLulu pairing.

Worrying for Suzaku

"Hello, they told me this was where I could find Suzaku."

Cecile Croomy looked up from her paperwork, blinking in surprise. No one had ever stopped by the hangar looking for the Eleven pilot, so it was understandable she was a bit confused. Taking a closer look, she noticed the teenager wore an Ashford Academy uniform identical to Suzaku's. Well, that explained a few things: This boy was a classmate of her young coworker. A friend, perhaps? She beamed, hopeful at the thought, and set down her work, giving her undivided attention to the raven-haired boy. "Normally that's true," she answered, a smile present in her voice, "but I'm afraid Suzaku himself hasn't returned from school yet today. He might have one of those Student Council meetings to attend. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have a better chance at catching him back there."

Violet eyes narrowed in frustration, and the boy snapped, "Did Suzaku give you that cover story to spread around?"

The blue-haired researcher shrank back from the venom in the boy's tone. "N-no," she stammered. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She raked her eyes over his expression, startled to see anger flicking across his face. Suspicious now, she asked, "What do you want with Suzaku anyway? Are you two friends?"

Immediately, the boy's rage dissipated. His eyes widened, and his brow smoothed out. A faint tinge of red painted his cheekbones. "Friends?" he repeated shakily. "Yeah...sort of..."

Cecile raised an eyebrow, clearly displeased with the answer. "'Sort of'?" she echoed. "What's your name, and why did you come here looking for Suzaku?"

"It's complicated!" the boy snapped again, bristling with suppressed fury. "As for my name, it's Lelouch. Lelouch Lamperouge. And I'm here because I desperately need to speak with Suzaku; he hasn't shown up at school for the past week and a half. I figured here was the most logical place to look for him. I'll ask you again—where is he?" His fingers curled into fists at his sides, and his shoulders trembled.

His name tugged at some forgotten memory, but she couldn't place it before the shock set in. "What do you mean, 'he hasn't shown for the past week and a half'? Suzaku always comes to work at the time when classes let out; except on days when he has Student Council business, then he gets here a bit later. Now, last week, he did have to miss Thursday and Friday for military purposes, but I can assure you that he attended class every day this week." Her tone was firm and placating, and he must have believed she was speaking the truth because he sighed, letting down his guard.

"And I can assure you that he most certainly has not been in class this week. At all. Nor does he have things to do for the Student Council. I checked with the president, just to be sure." He pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting an oncoming headache. "I understand he has a tough workload with the military, and I believe you trust that Suzaku has been attending class, but that is neither here nor there. I rather do need to speak with him, so please, if you would be so kind…?" His gaze was almost pleading, and Cecile found herself nodding. He was being so mature now compared to before; he was controlled and composed.

"The only other place I can think he'd be is his dorm room," she suggested, trying to wrap her mind around the issue of Suzaku. Why would he deliberately skip school? He was always reassuring her that he had so much fun there on the Student Council, even if the academic part dragged him down. Could this black-haired, purple-eyed boy be trusted? Was he telling the truth? He seemed so earnest...

Lelouch nodded. "I appreciate your taking the time to help me. Thank you."

Cecile bit her lip, unsure of what he was really after. He still seemed to be fighting down large amounts of irritation. "Come along," she offered, standing and leading the way to the dormitories attached to the lab. The boy followed along silently, a frown on his face. When she reached Suzaku's door, she knocked and called out, "Suzaku! Are you in there?"

There was a crash behind the door, and a moment later it opened to reveal a tousled brunet, sloppily dressed in his school uniform. "Yes, Miss Cecile?" he greeted warmly—before emerald eyes caught sight of his second visitor. He gulped and backpedaled, forgetting to close and lock the door in his panic. "Le-Lelouch!" he squeaked, voice unnaturally high. His tan face paled dramatically, and his dilated pupils darted in every direction, looking for an escape route.

Light blue eyes surveyed the situation. Cecile would normally have left the two boys to talk in private, but there seemed to be something off. There was a strong tension in the air, and Suzaku's face sported an expression of pure terror. Was she wrong in showing this Lelouch boy to the pilot? Could something have happened between them? Her musings were cut short when the black-haired boy marched purposefully into the room.

"You have a lot of nerve," Lelouch growled. "What is your problem, anyway? You haven't shown your face in school at all this week, and yet you've been pretending you're the perfect student? Where do you get off wearing that uniform and pulling this charade? Are you that much of a coward?" He stepped closer to the brown-haired boy, backing him up against the side wall. Furiously, he shot forward, slamming his palms flat on the wall on either side of the soldier. Purple eyes spit fire, and he hissed, "How dare you run away after what you did?!"

Suzaku swallowed again, nervously licking his lips. He managed to weakly defend himself with, "Y-you don't even go to class yourself half the time, so you have no right to lecture me about—"

"Idiot!" Lelouch snarled. "I don't give a damn if you show up to class or not!" He pressed forward even more, his body making contact with his prisoner's. "It's the fact that you've been avoiding me that makes me upset!" Glaring daggers, he leaned his forehead against Suzaku's, his fiery purple eyes level with shimmering pools of green. "For your information, I went to every—single—class this week, just in the hopes of seeing you. Are you that afraid to face me..." he whispered, hot breath wafting over the other's lips, "...Suzaku?"

Suzaku trembled, completely pinned to the wall by the slighter boy. The tears finally dropped from the corners of his eyes, and his fingernails dug into his palms as he curled his hands into fists. He made no move to defend himself; he even kept his gaze locked with Lelouch's. It wasn't that hard to do, though, considering their foreheads were mashed together.

Cecile's jaw dropped, and slowly but surely, burning rage lapped at her body. It had always been one of her worries that Suzaku wasn't getting along so well in school as he so cheerfully claimed; she knew that there were some Britannians who still despised Elevens. Had things gotten so bad, then—had the bullies gone too far? Had it become too much a struggle to even attend class in the first place? Was he finally scared into hiding? Was this black-haired boy the ringleader, come looking to make sure "the Eleven" didn't escape punishment? She took a menacing step forward, eyes hard, then froze in shock when the Britannian boy moved again.

Lelouch pushed forward that last little centimeter, intimately connecting his lips with Suzaku's.

The scientist choked on a sob. Suzaku was being sexually harassed at school? Did the authorities do nothing because he was an Eleven? How long had this been going on—since the very beginning? Was this Lelouch boy the main assaulter, or was there a whole group of regular students who took turns, taking advantage of Suzaku at every opportunity? Sorrow and pity tore at Cecile's heartstrings, and she hated herself for encouraging the Eleven pilot to go to school. Was his happy face just a mask he wore to protect her—to protect himself—from the horrors of what he faced in the Ashford Academy hallways? Was he constantly threatened? Why didn't he just defend himself? Why didn't he just tell her? Lloyd might not have cared, but hadn't she made it clear she did?

Suzaku was clearly an unwilling party in this kiss, despite how he tilted his head and automatically parted his lips at some hidden signal from the black-haired boy. The brunet's fisted hands were still shaking by his side, even as the other teenager moved his hands to cup the pilot's face. Suzaku inhaled sharply through his nose, his eyelids fluttering, and couldn't help but let out a very long, deep moan. There was regret and heartbreak, shame and humiliation mixed with pleasure obviously present in that low, resonating sound.

Cecile gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. Poor Suzaku! He'd been conditioned to respond favorably to unwanted intimate touches. Steeling her resolve, she strode towards the two kissing boys. It had always been her fear that Suzaku was being mistreated at school, and she felt her stomach sink at the sad truth that her fear was realized. Forcefully, she yanked the black-haired boy away from her coworker—her friend—and swung him around to the opposite side of the room. Even if she was a researcher first and foremost, she was still a soldier. She watched with satisfaction as he landed on his butt, purple eyes wide with a surprise, an angry blush still on his face. "Stay away from Suzaku!" Cecile ordered, stepping between them and spreading her arms in a defensive position. "Just because he's an Eleven doesn't give you any right to molest him like that! I have half a mind to turn you into the police, you…you delinquent!" She groaned inwardly, thinking about the type of person she was dealing with; hadn't Suzaku just mentioned that the black-haired boy never attended class?

Lelouch Lamperouge was clearly a problem child. Honestly, what were his parents doing, raising him to turn into a lazy, racist good-for-nothing?

"It's not like that!" the purple-eyed boy protested.

Cecile glared, not lowering her stance. She was shocked when she heard a soft voice from behind her, however.

"It's really not like that at all," Suzaku explained, backing up his 'sort of' friend while wiping at his tears. "I…Lelouch has every right to be angry with me. I wronged him and didn't face the consequences. It's a...well, it's..." he tried, floundering for words.

Lelouch sighed and repeated his explanation from earlier. "It's complicated."

Slowly, Cecile lowered her arms and looked between their two earnest faces. She kept silent, waiting for more details.

Suzaku fidgeted under her gaze. Finally, he admitted, "I kissed him first." Ignoring her shocked gasp, he locked eyes with Lelouch and attempted to stand up straighter. "I'll accept any punishment you think I deserve, Lelouch. I know what I did was unforgivable."

"Idiot!" Lelouch snapped again. "I'm not angry that you kissed me, Suzaku. I'm angry because you bolted right after and avoided me! What, were you planning on just never seeing me again? We're best friends, moron!"

"So you are friends," Cecile interjected, very confused.

Lelouch groaned. "It's—"

"Complicated, I know," the blue-haired woman finished for him. "But what exactly is the nature of your relationship?"

Violet eyes regarded the pilot thoughtfully. "I don't know," he confessed. "Suzaku, what are we?"

Suzaku squirmed against the wall. "I…" He sighed, slumping forward in weariness. "I don't know either, Lelouch. You're the smart one between us, remember?"

The black-haired boy frowned. "I'm not a mind-reader. Why did you kiss me to begin with?"

Cecile froze. She knew she was listening in on a very private conversation, and she was pretty sure both boys had forgotten her existence by the way they were so intensely staring at each other. But she couldn't make herself leave. Part of her was still worried for Suzaku, irrationally so. Another part was just devilishly curious.

The brown-haired pilot blushed then, shyly looking to the floor. "Because I love you, Lelouch."

The other nodded, as if he'd already come to that conclusion and just wanted to hear it confirmed. "Right. We'll come back to that. Why did you run from me?"

"I was scared."

"Of what?" Lelouch prodded, leaping to his feet. "You know I'd never think ill of you—especially for your feelings. Suzaku..." The brunet shrugged helplessly, unwilling to elaborate, and Lelouch growled in frustration. "I'll tell you what you were scared of, idiot. You weren't scared I'd reject you; of all people, you should know how I feel about you. No, you were scared I'd accept you and embrace a relationship between us—which I will, whether you want me to or not—and you don't want that to happen because then you'd be happy and god forbid that ever happen! I'm so sick and tired of you treating yourself like this. Stop trying to please everyone and just be selfish for once! If you love me, great; I love you, too! End of story! Get off your high horse!" He ended with a shout, breathing heavily. He glared at his maybe-lover, the rest of his pent-up anger leaking through his shaking frame.

Suzaku stared at him, shell-shocked and wide-eyed at his outburst. "Lelouch…" He'd never seen the other lose his cool like that. Then again, Lelouch had been letting the frustration fester for over a week.

Purple eyes narrowed at him. "You've been hiding back here this whole time, convincing yourself you don't deserve to be loved. That's what irritates me the most—how you always downplay your own needs. You don't have to be scared of being happy, but if you want to think of it this way instead, feel free: you want to put my needs first? Wonderful. My number one priority—besides Nunnally—is you. So take care of yourself for my sake, Suzaku."

The brunet's heart pounded wildly in his chest. Lelouch sounded so passionate. About him. Did he dare go against the strong-willed ex-prince? …Did he really want to? Coming to a decision, the green-eyed pilot quickly mumbled a barely audible, "I'm sorry, Lelouch, please forgive me," and stepped forward. He smiled, still a bit hesitant, and leaned in to softly kiss his 'sort of' boyfriend.

Lelouch wordlessly accepted the apology by kissing back.

Cecile turned and retreated, blinking tears out of her eyes. This was so touching. It seemed this Lelouch fellow shared the same exact frustrations she harbored about Suzaku. It was one of Cecile's greatest worries that Suzaku was being mistreated in school, but she had to smile when the black-haired boy returned the pilot's affections. At least she knew she could entrust Suzaku to this Lelouch boy.

Original A/N: I love Cecile. x3 Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, despite any OOC-ness or crackish occurrences.

New A/N 8/27/16: Originally posted 6/15/09. Largely unchanged.