The idea for this fic came to me in a dream. Um, kind of. I don't normally dream about animu, but I had a dream that Rolo was in some kind of hospital. That's about it. Just a little glimpse. The rest of the dream was about me owning and becoming best friends with a horse. Then I went to a movie theater where the employees were extremely rude. Lolwut?

Summary: AU: There are angels everywhere. Sometimes life hands you more than you know what to do with, and that makes it hard to spot them. But sometimes one of them finds you.

"As the days slipped by, Harry started looking wherever he went for a sign of Ron or Hermione. Plenty of Hogwarts students were arriving in Diagon Alley now, with the start of the term so near. Harry met Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, his fellow Gryffindors, in Quality Quidditch Supplies, where they too were ogling the Firebolt; he also ran into the real Neville Longbottom, a round-faced, forgetful boy, outside Flourish and Blotts…"

Rolo's fingers toyed with the one of the pages, waiting until Lelouch's voice reached the bottom of the current one to turn it. He rubbed the paper between his fingertips. He read the words on the page as his brother read them aloud, eyes following along each letter.

A small chiming sound interrupted them, and Lelouch's voice stopped. Rolo made a small, disappointed noise as he laid the book in his lap to take his phone from his pocket. He nestled his face further into the shoulder of Lelouch's black jacket. His brother groaned.

"I have to leave," he said sadly, putting the cell phone back in his coat. "I'm late for work." Lelouch placed a bookmark between the pages they had stopped on, closing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Rolo played with the tassel on the old velvet-covered piece of posterboard.

"Will you bring Nunnally with you the next time you come?" he said softly, so softly that Lelouch had to lean in closely to hear him.

"I don't know," he said. "She'll have school the next time I'm coming to see you."

"Oh." Rolo's voice was small. The fingers that were fidgeting with the bookmark accidentally pulled too hard and the blue strip of fabric slipped right out. His eyes widened and he dropped it. "I'm sorry," he said hurriedly, "I didn't mean to do that. It's—I just—"

Lelouch quietly shushed him, cupping his face in his hands. "Rolo, it's all right." He gave him a reassuring smile, but the frantic look in Rolo's eyes barely dimmed.

"But, now we have to—we don't know where we were. We won't know where to start next time."

He bent to pick up the bookmark, placing it in the front cover of the book. "Don't worry about it." He put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. When I get home tonight I'll just look through the pages until I find where we stopped, and I'll put it right back where it was. It's not a big deal."

Rolo seemed to relax after that, body becoming less tense under his brother's comforting gaze. Lelouch reached to the other side of the sofa for his scarf and wound it around his neck before pulling Rolo into a tight hug.

"I wish you could stay," he murmured into the grey fleece of his brother's scarf.

"I do too." Lelouch sighed. "I can't though. My boss will be irritated with me." Pulling away, he kissed Rolo's forehead and sifted his fingers through soft, tawny hair. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Lelouch picked up the book and stood. He tried to pretend not to notice the feeling of Rolo's sad eyes watching him as he walked to elevator. Once past the doors, he turned and gave his little brother one last gentle smile as he pressed for the ground floor, gaze not leaving him until the doors were completely shut.

In the lobby, he stopped by the front desk. A nurse looked up at him from her computer. "Need to sign out, Lelouch?" she asked. He nodded and she searched around her desk area before producing a clipboard for him. He used one of the pens chained to the desktop and signed his name and what time he was leaving.

"Um, I was wondering." He handed the clipboard back to her. "I was thinking about bringing my sister sometime this weekend to see our brother."

"The sweet little girl in the wheelchair?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Would it be alright if she went upstairs? I know the elevator is a little small."

"It would be perfectly fine, honey. Just bring her in and I'll help you with whatever you need."

He smiled appreciatively. "Thanks so much," he said to her, and he turned to leave. Once outside, a gust of cold wind tore through his hair and he was momentarily blinded. His phone began to ring again, and he answered, trying to hold his bangs from his eyes. "Hello?" he said, a little too loudly.

"Hey, Lelouch," his boss, Ougi greeted. "I got Gino to come in early so you could have another hour or two off. Let you spend some more time with you brother."

Lelouch grew flustered. "An hour or two?" he half-shouted. "But, I just—" He pinched the bridge of his nose. Ougi had just tried to do something nice for him. He shouldn't be angry with him. "Thanks Ougi. I appreciate it."

"See you at three." The other end disconnected.

Lelouch sighed. He viciously closed his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. First he gets a text from his boss saying that he needed him to come in early, they needed him badly, and now this. Ougi was a nice guy, he really was, but sometimes he just didn't have it all together. And on some occasions, like this one, it cost people he knew. He couldn't just go and sign back in because Rolo always saw his doctor after Lelouch's visits, and that could not be interrupted.

Tears stung against his cold eyes. He plopped down on a wooden bench outside the hospital and opened the book to look for the place he and his brother left off. His hands started to shake, but it wasn't with the cold. Lelouch eventually found the right paragraph and slipped the velvet bookmark in the crease. He clutched the book to his chest, bent over and buried his face in his own lap. Sobs shook his body before he could stop them. The time he spent with Rolo was worth more than gold to him. It was nothing like having him home every time he came back from work or from class, helping Nunnally with her homework or reading to her on the couch. They were all he had left, and now it felt like they had all been ripped apart.

At some point, during his mindless crying, he noticed a pair of shoes and a shadow on the ground between his knees. Distraught, he looked up to see a boy, near his own age, staring thoughtfully at him. Lelouch sniffed, averting his gaze from the stranger.

"Is something wrong?"

"If there wasn't, would I be crying in the middle of the sidewalk?"

He had hoped his snappish remark would discourage the guy from talking to him anymore. He was sorely disappointed, though, when a hand was outstretched to him. In it was a small package of tissues. Lelouch gingerly reached out and took them, plucking one from the cellophane wrapper.

"Thank you," he muttered, wiping his nose. To his horror, the boy took a seat next to him on the bench, hands buried in his coat pockets, crossing his feet at the ankles. Lelouch looked at him funnily. "What are you doing?" he asked nastily.

"Making sure you're okay." He stared ahead at the traffic in the street, watching cars pass by. Lelouch's nose crinkled. Why would he care if he was okay or not? His eyes swept the kid over. He had on a nice coat that probably cost a pretty bit of money. His skin was unusually tan for this time of year. A pair of white earmuffs was around his head, buried in shiny brown curls. "Is someone you know in there?"

Lelouch was snapped out of his thoughts of a nice expensive coat and soft brown hair. The stranger tilted his head toward the hospital. "Yes," he said, giving him another strange look. "I do. How did you know that?"

"I saw someone crying outside of a hospital for the mentally ill. It was the first thought that came to mind."

Lelouch huffed angrily and turned his head away. What did this guy know about him? Who was he to draw such conclusions about someone he didn't even know? It pissed him off.

"A family member?"

"Yeah," he muttered irritably. "My little brother. And if you'll excuse me, I have to leave." He stood up, tucking the book back under his arm, but the stranger quickly jumped to life and jumped from out of his seat.

"Let me buy you some coffee," he said hurriedly after Lelouch, who had already passed the bench and was eager to be on his way. He turned and furrowed his brows at the other. "I'm sorry," the boy said, catching up to him. "My name is Suzaku." He held out his hand. "I just thought you could use some company, and quite honestly, you look really cold."

Lelouch looked at his hand. He was indeed shivering, actually, quite violently underneath his jacket. Weighing his options, he realized he had absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go until he had to be in for work. It would take too much time to get home and come back by three, and he really didn't have the money to buy his own coffee. This guy didn't exactly look like a creep. But he did look like the type to hang around until his request was granted. Silently, Lelouch took his hand and shook it hesitantly.

"Lelouch."

Suzaku smiled brilliantly, flashing perfectly straight, white teeth. Lelouch's breath wavered in his throat. He swallowed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lelouch."

Ten minutes later he found himself inside a local Starbucks not far from the hospital. It was relatively empty at this time of day; the only other customers there were a middle-aged man in the corner on a laptop and a teenage girl with an iced coffee in her hand, even though it was nearly as cold outside as the beverage itself. Lelouch was seated at a small booth near the window on the other side of the bar. He watched people pass by outside, his jacket folded in his lap and fingers fidgeting with the collar of his turtleneck sweater. Rolo's book lay on the table next to his elbow.

Suzaku returned the table with two cups of steaming liquid. "Chai tea, sweetened," he said, handing Lelouch his drink.

"Thank you."

The other sat on the opposite side of him, taking the lid off his drink and blowing the steam away. It smelled like cinnamon. "So, what do you do?"

"My work?" Suzaku nodded. "I work at a bookstore."

"You like to read?"

"Yes."

"That's cool." He took an experimental sip of his drink, and, deeming it cool enough, a longer draught.

"What about you?" Lelouch asked, curling his cold fingers around the sides of his cup.

"I go to school, mostly. Biology major." He smiled. "At night, though, I play alto sax in a jazz group. We play at small clubs and every once and a while we book events. It's a lot of fun."

"It sounds like you really love music."

"I've been playing piano since I was seven. I took up saxophone in school, and it just kinda grew from there."

Lelouch didn't say much from there. He listened to Suzaku talk about his jazz group, the songs he liked to play most, the classes he took. He was enthusiastic about jazz music. He asked Lelouch about his job. There wasn't much to say; it was a small bookstore with about six employees and a moderate amount of business.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Suzaku said, resting his chin in his hand.

"I…" Lelouch blushed, looking down at his tea. "I don't have much to say. I mean, I met you on the street."

Suzaku shrugged. "I guess you're right."

Lelouch's eyes found his watch, and he sighed. He had to be at work in fifteen minutes, and it would take him that long just to walk there. "I have to go."

"Oh." Suzaku looked disappointed. He leaned back in his seat. "Can I ask something of you?"

"What's that?" Lelouch stood to pull on his jacket and scarf.

"Can you meet me here again? Same time tomorrow?"

Lelouch bit his lip. He wasn't working tomorrow. Nor was he going to visit Rolo. He had to go shopping for groceries and pick up some of Nunnally's new medicine, though. But the pleading look in Suzaku's eyes made him think he'd look like a prick if he said no. "I… suppose."

"Great!" Suzaku grinned. When he smiled, his eyes shone in the most brilliant shade of jade green Lelouch had ever seen. He couldn't help but give in. "So I'll see you then."

"Yeah," he murmured. "See you then."

And he left. He walked outside into the cold and made for the bookstore, trying to hurry. Ougi would be a little miffed if he showed up late after he had been given two hours to be late. When he got there, Gino was standing behind the register, eyes looking to the ceiling, utterly bored. Seven or eight people were milling about the shelves.

"Lu!" Gino called to him, beckoning to come closer. "God, it's so dull in here today. Where you been?"

"Getting a cup of coffee," he said, hanging his jacket and scarf on the coat rack next to the counter. He took a deep breath. He loved this place. The entire store smelled of dust and old pages. The floorboards were ancient and creaked whenever you stepped on them, no matter where you were walking. There were books that had to be decades old on the shelves, as well as new releases that all the chain stores were sporting as well. It was more than just a bookstore; they sold a wide variety of fountain pens, notebooks, journals, datebooks, calendars, even printing paper. There was a big window on the other side of the register, brandishing in red letters trimmed with gold Ye Olde Book Shoppe. Lelouch had to digress. It was a stupid name. But, the business was good and his paycheck was decent.

Gino stepped out from behind the counter. "Take the register for a minute, I've had to race like a pisshorse for like the last half-hour." Without waiting for an answer, Gino hurriedly ran to the back. Lelouch lifted the little gate on the countertop and settled in an old office chair behind what was once considered an "office area" but had since been turned into a place to keep books he was considering to read. He picked one up and read the title, but forgot it in just seconds after putting on his reading glasses.

All he could think about were a musician's fingers wrapped around a paper cup filled with cinnamon coffee and a pair of ivy-colored eyes that smiled when they looked at him.

Oh god, you guys. This story is gonna be awesome. I can just feel it.

Can't you?

.