A/N: Hey, first Code Geass fic here, hope you like it! I love this series. Title is a song by Explosions in the Sky, listen to them! They're amazing.

Title: It's Natural To Be Afraid

Pairing(s): Suzaku/Lelouch, Suzaku/Kallen

Warnings: Male/Male love, some violence, possibly lemon later on, coarse language, but come on, does that stuff really stop any of us?

Summary: Suzaku Kururugi and his partner, Gino Weinberg, are police officers sent to invastigate a young woman's murder. They soon suspect a man by the name of Lelouch Lamperouge, a surgeon with a past that has apparently caught up with him. Will Suzaku opt to help Lelouch, or will his feelings get in the way of everything? And what of his long term girlfriend Kallen?

Here you go.

"Ugh, I wasn't expecting this much blood." Suzaku Kururugi brought a hand up to cover his nose and mouth as he entered the apartment. When he first started this job the stench of blood had been nearly unbearable, but over time he was getting used to it. He didn't know whether to be thankful or concerned.

"That doesn't change the fact that we have a job to do, so the quicker you get over it the better." He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the sight of his partner, Gino Weinberg, walking through the doorway. He grinned in response, brushing past Suzaku to get a clear view of their crime scene. Suzaku looked down as well.

A young woman, perhaps in her early twenties, lay naked in a pool of thick red blood. She was lying on her back, staring directly at the ceiling with an expression of terror etched on her face. A thin line of blood ran from the corner of her mouth down into her hair. Cause of death was fairly obvious.

"Single gun shot wound to the chest," Suzaku said, kneeling down to get a closer look. He brushed his gloved hand over a patch of stained carpet then turned it palm up to check if there was any residue. Nothing. "The blood is dry, or at least most of it. She's probably been here a while." He looked at her face and sighed. "Does she live here?"

"Nope. Only resident is a man named Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Girlfriend, maybe?"

"It's possible. I'll take a picture and see if anyone recognizes her. CSI should be here in about five minutes to examine the evidence."

"Okay. I'll take a look around the apartment." Gino nodded, took a camera out of his bag, snapped a photo and left. Suzaku stared at the empty doorway for a moment before standing up. He glanced around. At the moment, he was in the middle of the living room. The carpet was a soft cream color and the walls, which adorned several framed black and white photographs of various scenes of nature, were painted a pastel shade of green. A black leather couch was positioned against the wall opposite him, a matching chair to his left. A large bay window reflected the room, as the lights were on inside and the sky had long since faded to black. Aside from the body in its center, Suzaku thought that the room was quite appealing. Clean, also.

Suzaku walked from the living room into the kitchen. It wasn't cramped, but he certainly wouldn't describe it as spacious. It was painted the same color as the living room, with dark brown cabinets lining the walls and a corresponding table set in the center. A silver refrigerator was placed against the far wall. Again, he noticed nothing of significance. He left the kitchen and continued down a narrow hallway. A bathroom appeared to his left, and a few feet further the hallway ended in a closed wooden door. Suzaku turned the knob and entered. His eyes widened.

Behind the door was the bedroom, or at least what Suzaku assumed to be the bedroom. Papers were strewn upon the floor. The sheets had been stripped from the bed and lay in a pile at its foot. A small desk had been overturned and the shelves violently ripped out, their contents spread all over the room. Suzaku spotted a red stain on the mattress and began to walk towards the bed to investigate, but stopped short when he heard glass crunch beneath his foot. He looked down at the floor and saw a photograph lying in a broken frame. He bent over to pick it up, careful not to cut his hands on the shards of glass that encased it, and brought it up to his face.

In the photo were two children, a boy and a girl. The girl, Suzaku noted, was seated in a small wheelchair. Her light brown hair fell in gentle curls, framing her face, which wore an expression of serenity and joy. One hand was placed delicately on her lap and the other was held into the air, fingers laced with those of the little boy. The boy was somewhat of a contrast to the girl, as his features were sharp compared to the softness of hers. His hair was jet black and his skin was pale. His eyes, which were a very bright violet, really quite unusual, were focused on the girl and his lips were fashioned into a small smile. It was obvious that the two loved each other very much and after a few moments Suzaku found himself smiling. He folded the picture and placed it in his pocket, due to the fact that it was about the only item in the apartment that gave the tenant some type of identity.

He began towards the bed again, this time alert of where he was placing his feet. When he reached it, he examined the red stain in the middle of the mattress. It was about the size of his hand and he was certain it was blood, but he knew it would have to be tested to make sure. That wasn't his job, however. Suzaku was a police officer, not a CSI.

He was standing in the living room looking at the photograph when Gino returned. Twenty minutes or so had passed since he left and he raised his eyebrows when he saw that Suzaku was the only one there. He shoved the photo back into his pocket.

"They're late again?"

"Yeah."

Gino rolled his eyes and walked to the window, looking down to the parking lot.

"They're just pulling up now so they'll be a couple minutes. Anyway, the neighbors said that the girl was a friend of Mr. Lamperouge's, but they apparently weren't romantically involved. They told me he was always working too much and it would be impossible to balance a healthy relationship." He chuckled

"Did anyone know her name?"

"Milly something. Did you look around?" Gino threw himself onto the leather sofa, yawned, and closed his eyes. Suzaku cringed.

"You know you're not supposed to sit on possible evidence."

Gino merely waved a hand lazily. Suzaku frowned but continued.

"Yeah, I took a look. It's really strange. The fridge is empty, the bedroom is a mess and I couldn't find any clothing at all. It's almost like he planned on leaving."

"Probably did. The neighbors also said that they hadn't seen Lamperouge in a few days." Suzaku's emerald eyes widened slightly.

"You think he killed her?" Gino raised his eyelids and glanced in Suzaku's direction.

"You don't? It seems pretty damn suspicious to me."

Suzaku frowned. "That's true, but-"

A knock on the door deterred him from completing his sentence, which he supposed was a relief because he didn't know what he was going to say. Gino jumped off of the couch and quickly flattened out his clothes. Two people dressed in black jumpsuits that read "CSI" entered the room, a young woman and a middle aged man. Suzaku and Gino quickly briefed them on the case, and wished them good luck as they exited, leaving them to their jobs. After reaching the main floor, Gino breathed a sigh of relief and turned to his partner, who gave a weak smile.

"Glad that's over," Suzaku nodded. "Want to go get a drink? Your shift's over now, right?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm just going to head home. Kallen's pretty pissed that I'm working the evening, so I think the sooner I get back the better." Gino laughed, placing a firm hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Man, that girl's got you whipped." Suzaku pouted and Gino gave another loud chuckle. "Fine, fine. I'll let you off the hook this time. See you later."

"Bye." Suzaku stood still for a moment, watching his friend pass out the door, before moving to do so himself. He checked his watch, 12:17 AM, Kallen was probably sleeping. He stepped outside and immediately felt the cool air embrace him, causing him to shiver slightly and increase his pace on his way to his car.

When he arrived at the apartment he shared with his girlfriend of one year, Kallen, she was indeed sprawled across the bed as he had assumed she would be. Not wanting to unnecessarily wake her, he assembled a collection of blankets and set them up on the couch in the living room. He fell asleep almost immediately and dreamt of being a young boy again, playing with the two children in the photograph that was still folded in his back pocket.

"Hey, wait up Kururugi!"

Suzaku had just arrived at the police station when he heard his name being called. He stopped walking and glanced over his shoulder, meeting the gaze of Gino. "What's up?"

"I'm just thinking that we should get working on our investigation, right? The CSI have given us their report, so we have more to go on now. Plus I figured we could run Lamperouge through the database and see if he's had any prior conflicts with the law." Suzaku nodded, and Gino's face lit up. The blonde was incredibly devoted to catching criminals as fast as possible. They walked in silence to Gino's office, inside of which was a wooden desk littered with documents, pens, and files. Gino grinned sheepishly at his display of untidiness and took a seat on the black leather chair that was placed on the far side of the desk. Suzaku stood beside him. Gino reached into a drawer and pulled out a thin file, handing it to Suzaku, who took it without hesitation. He opened the file, which contained about three or four sheets of paper plus a couple autopsy photos, and began reading.

The girl, identified as Milly Ashford, died of a GSW to the chest, which travelled directly through her aorta, and she had been dead for approximately three or four days. In addition to the bullet wound, she had large contusions on her neck, indicating that she had been strangled.

Concerning evidence, several prints had been lifted from the apartment, the majority belonging to Lamperouge, Ashford, and an unknown source that hadn't appeared in the database. This was surprising to Suzaku, due to the fact that all Britannian citizens had been ordered to be printed just last year. The CSI had also found it suspicious that the fridge and dressers had been empty, suggesting in the report that Lamperouge might have had something to do with the murder. Suzaku briefly examined the photos, several of the bruises on Ashford's neck and the hole in her chest, before closing the folder.

"What do you think?" Gino glanced up at him for a moment. "That thing about the fingerprints is weird, huh?"

"No kidding. But it could be a mistake, or maybe they're not from Britannia." His partner shrugged.

"Maybe…"

A few silent moments passed before the official Britannia Citizen Database appeared on the screen of Gino's computer. The blonde typed Lelouch's name into the search taskbar, pressed enter, and sat back in his chair. About ten seconds later a single result become visible. Gino clicked.

Suzaku leaned closer to the glowing LCD screen as information on Lamperouge began to appear.

Lelouch Lamperouge, age 25, born on December 5th 1999, and has lived in Tokyo since birth. No siblings were listed and neither were his birth parents. He was taken in by the Ashford's, a notably wealthy family, and attended one of the most prestigious medical institutes in the nation. He was now a surgeon at the Tokyo General Hospital. No previous altercation with the police. A picture had loaded on the right side of the window and as soon as Suzaku laid eyes on it his eyebrows rose into his brown disheveled bangs.

Lamperouge had sleek, medium length black hair that swept across his forehead and slightly brushed his shoulders. His long fringe fell just barely above his eyes, which were a stunning violet and were half lidded in bored indifference. His skin was as pale as it had been in the photograph, Suzaku thought, for this was indeed that child. He was older, though, obviously. His neck was long and thin, Adam's apple evident in the center of his throat. The fingers that gripped the piece of plastic that read his name were long and looked smooth, as did the rest of his skin. He was good looking; Suzaku would even go as far as to say he was attractive. He turned to Gino, who was apparently done reading as well.

"So he was adopted by the Ashford's, which would explain why he was close with the victim." Suzaku nodded.

"But I still don't see any motive he would have to kill her. Also, what about those unidentified prints? They probably belong to the murderer. Maybe he killed Lamperouge as well and just hid the body somewhere else, or-"

Gino held up his hands, grinning. "Whoa, hold it Suzaku. I'm also aware that there are many possible explanations for what happened, but I think the best thing we can do right now is find Lelouch before making any unnecessary assumptions. Okay?"

Suzaku pursed his lips, but agreed.

Gino's grin widened as he pressed a button to make the monitor go black. "Good."

The rest of Suzaku's day was spent doing mundane tasks around the station, paperwork from previous cases, mostly, and all throughout he couldn't get the murder investigation off of his mind.

His shift ended at seven and, eager to see Kallen, denied another invitation to socialize with Gino. He felt guilty when he rejected his friend, to see the blonde's smile falter for a moment before telling Suzaku that it was alright, there was always tomorrow. Then again, he felt even guiltier when he arrived home at midnight to a tired and irritated girlfriend.

When he opened the door to the shared apartment, the faint aroma of ramen invaded his senses. He removed his jacket and shoes, placing them in the closet to his right, and walked into the kitchen, expecting Kallen to be standing at the stove cooking. Instead, what he discovered was a single bowl of soup sitting on the table. He furrowed his eyebrows, and when he placed a finger in the brown liquid found it quite cold.

He heard a soft whimper from the bedroom.

Turning around the corner, Suzaku could see Kallen standing at the window, staring out at the city. No lights were on inside, and the glow from the window illuminated Kallen's front and each strand of her reddish hair. Suzaku felt his heart drop into his abdomen when she faced him and he saw the tears that ran down her face. She quickly turned away and brought a hand to her eyes to wipe them. Kallen was a proud woman and allowing even an ounce of weakness was pathetic in her eyes, this Suzaku knew from over a year of experience.

Suzaku walked towards Kallen, his footsteps echoing on the hardwood floor, until he stood directly behind her, bodies brushing against each other, and draped his arms around her thin waist. He kissed her neck softly before resting his head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so sorry…"

She placed her soft hands over Suzaku's rough ones, rubbing gentle circles into his palms, and leaned her head back.

"I know." He felt her hot breath on his ear.

He gripped her waist, turning her so that she was facing him and placed a rough, desperate kiss on her lips. She responded immediately, grasping his neck, and pulling their bodies closer. He led her to their bed and laid her down, never once breaking their kiss. After a few moments that seemed to last hours, Kallen broke away and so did Suzaku and Kallen was crying again. He wanted to comfort her, but all of a sudden he was so, so tired and found he was fighting against the urge to sleep. His eyes fluttered as the image of Kallen staring at him slowly fading to black…

"I miss you..." He heard her say, and he wanted to respond but he had no voice. He fell asleep and soon Kallen did also, both having completely forgotten the ramen that sat on the kitchen table.

He did not dream.

His phone was ringing. He did not know what time it was, it was still dark outside, but he knew that his phone was ringing and it was his duty to answer it. He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday, and his phone was therefore in his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Suzaku, we found him! Lelouch, that is. He was at the Ashford estate and we're bringing him to the station now so come in as soon as possible, I'll meet you there." Gino's voice was fast and his words slurred together, but Suzaku understood that it was out of urgency and so he quickly got out of bed and, not bothering to change; put on his shoes and left.

Upon arriving at the station, he discovered that he was the first. He sat at the entrance for about fifteen minutes, fidgeting anxiously with his hands, before the door finally burst open, and when it did Suzaku found standing before him the personification of elegance.

Despite having his hands cuffed behind his back and being led by two officers of the law, Lamperouge seemed perfectly calm. He took long, smooth strides, his feet not once faltering. His eyes, which looked even more brilliant in person, stared unwaveringly into Suzaku's as he passed, silky hair swaying with each movement and a small smirk played upon his pale lips. Suzaku found himself frozen and saw Gino enter behind them. He walked up to him, grinning as usual.

"This is good, now we can get information from the man himself, hey?" Suzaku looked at his partner, whose eyebrows suddenly shot up. "Wait, are you blushing?"

Suzaku felt his face heat up. "No!" Gino laughed.

"I know Lamperouge is good looking, but I didn't take you for one who played for both sides, if you know what I mean." Suzaku resisted the nearly overwhelming urge to punch the blonde.

"I don't! I-It's just hot in here." Gino stopped laughing, but the grin remained firmly in place.

"Sure, whatever. Well? You gonna interrogate him or should I?" He placed a serious look on his face. "We do want to make sure that all that goes on in that room is interrogation." Suzaku hit Gino in the arm, hard, hissed that he would do it, and began walking away.

He heard his partner call out, "don't forget there are cameras in there!" before he was out of earshot.

Thank you so much, R&R!