This story is basically an elongated novelization of a story found in PRT's 0-3. I did a rough translation of it and, heh, had to fill in some things where I did not know what was being said. _
Still, hope you enjoy!
(Oh, and, yes, I know that in Code Geass Suzaku, Lulu, and Nunnally were only together over the summer when they were kids, but, this story features snow. That's just what Mayu (PRT) wrote.)
Life at the Kururugi Shrine was nothing like living in the palace in Britannia. Seeing the place the young brother and sister, the place the young former heirs to the throne of their father, the place the young former prince and princess had been provided to live in was... a shock to say the least.
The old store house was tall, but rather small and run down by the looks of the outside. Lelouch could only stare at the monstrosity, his heart sinking at the thought of what it must look like on the inside. It was not that his little sister could see it (for which he was thankful in an odd way- and probably the only time he would ever be remotely grateful his little sister could not see), but her other senses had been made sharper due to her blindness. ...Not that Lelouch was of the opinion sharper senses would be needed to tell where they were living was a significant downgrade from where they had been living... and a rather far drop from where most of the normal population would live, too...
Lelouch imagined a musty smell permeating each corner of the storehouse. As he stood outside gaping at the storehouse, his little sister in the wheelchair next to him, he could already hear the creaking floorboards and feel the shifting joints of the old storehouse. Lelouch knew it could only be his dread making the situation out to be worse than it really was, but he just regretted not being able to check out the storehouse before his little sister, maybe fix it up a bit before she was rolled inside.
Lelouch did not have that option, though. He could only suck in his breath and hope for the best, being careful where he brought his little sister, attempting to avoid any spot he saw that might lead her to suspect right away that the place they had been given to live was not nearly what they were used to-
No. What was Lelouch thinking? His little sister would never imagine a place like this. Particularly not when they had been sent to live with (...as hostages...) the Prime Minister of Japan. Okay, they would not be living in a palace, but they should have been living in something respectable. That was why when his crippled sister asked with such happy anticipation and curiosity what their new home looked like, Lelouch could only... lie. He had to make it out to sound a lot better than it truly was.
While his mother had told him it was wrong to lie, Lelouch could not see how it was wrong in this case. It was to shield his little sister from the horrible way they were being treated... and they had just gotten here. Although, Lelouch was not sure why he had actually expected any better. They had been sent here as hostages, after all.
Then came that fateful meeting. The one with the Prime Minister's son. Suzaku Kururugi. The Prime Minister's son had heard all Lelouch told Nunnally, the fabrications he had made in regards to the appearance of the storehouse. Suzaku had scoffed at the lies Lelouch told. In his haste to keep Nunnally from finding out the truth less than a minute after he had told the lies, Lelouch attacked Suzaku- only to find himself on the ground in the next moment, his own attack never reaching the target.
Had it not been for Nunnally's intervention, Lelouch was not certain the boy would have stopped so easily. Each word he had said dripped with revolt for Brikis like him.
However, all that was in the past now. That tumultuous first meeting gave way to a solid friendship. An ever lasting friendship for all three of the young children.
The air had steadily grown colder as the hot months gave way to the cooler days of autumn, then proceeded right into the bitter days of winter. Those days of the nice in between temperature where it was neither too hot nor too cold never lasted as long as it should. Both literally and desirably.
A soft moan roused a young Suzaku Kururugi from his light slumber. By the very early morning light just beginning to steal the darkness from the room Suzaku could make out Lelouch's features as he lay on the other side of the small girl between them. Distress slightly contorted his beautiful, pale face.
Suzaku knew right away Lelouch was having another nightmare. Lately, he seemed to be having more of them. Suzaku tried to hedge the subject before, but Lelouch never took the bait. Even when Suzaku tried to bring up the subject when they were not around Nunnally, like at the times Suzaku would help Lelouch take down the wash hanging up outside or something.
Suzaku wondered if Lelouch simply did not want to admit he had nightmares because he thought it made him look weak. Yet, Lelouch never told Suzaku he could not sleep over any longer. Why? They were hostages and Lelouch did not really have any authority to tell Suzaku what to do? Or he did not want to be faced with that reality more than they already were because, if push came to shove, Suzaku could easily assert his authority and live in the storehouse if he so desired because he was the son of the Prime Minister of Japan and they were the hostages?
No, wait, those would be wrong. Lelouch never had a problem telling Suzaku what to do or not do- whether Suzaku actually listened to Lelouch or not.
So, then, did Lelouch not tell Suzaku he could not sleep over any more because of Nunnally, because she was fond of Suzaku and wanted him here, too, in her small world? Because, since Suzaku had proved himself to be a friend, Lelouch did not want Nunnally to be without him, for her world to, once again, only consist of Lelouch?
Suzaku was not certain and he did not think Lelouch would give him a straight answer were he to ask. Suzaku, meantime, could not fathom the problem. He knew Lelouch had nightmares, Lelouch knew Suzaku knew, Lelouch knew Suzaku was trying as tactfully as he could (which was really good for Suzaku and not so good when compared to Lelouch's finessing of words) to get the subject brought up, and Suzaku had even stopped trying to bring it up in front of Nunnally (which he could see had been his obvious first mistake).
What was the big deal?
That was when Suzaku realized that the nightmares themselves, the content, must be what Lelouch was really trying to avoid. He did not want to talk about what he was dreaming. Thinking like that, Suzaku could understand better why Lelouch would not want to talk about it because Suzaku highly doubted it had anything to do with the spiders who had occasionally found their way inside the storehouse over the summer.
The nightmares... surely ran much deeper.
Perhaps he dreamt about the night his mother was assassinated. Perhaps he dreamt about Nunnally being crippled. Perhaps it was about the uncertainty of their life here. Perhaps it was about his helplessness to truly safeguard his little sister when he was just a child with no real authority any longer, in a foreign land, surrounded by strangers- enemies- at basically every turn. ...Perhaps it was when Suzaku had mopped the floor with Lelouch at their first meeting! Er, never mind that last one. Ill-placed humour which made Suzaku glad he had not been saying these possibilities aloud to Lelouch.
No matter what Lelouch dreamed about, he had been having more lately. That made Suzaku wonder if it had something to do with the change in the weather. Perhaps Lelouch was scared about the winter which had settled in. Perhaps he was scared... of what might happen to Nunnally.
To be honest, while Suzaku was concerned for both of his friends, he was more concerned about Lelouch. Nunnally might be the one in the wheelchair, she might be the one who was blind, but Lelouch was, in other ways, more frail than her, though he always pushed himself to provide as best he could for Nunnally and to make her life here as comfortable as possible.
Suzaku did his part to make both their lives more comfortable and enjoyable. He had even managed to bring one of his old TV sets here so they could watch TV and play video games. While Nunnally could not see the TV or play the video games, it was enough for her to be with Suzaku and Lelouch, enjoying these things with them as much as she could.
With the winter having settled across the land, Suzaku had brought a couple of space heaters from the house. Those were the best he could get for the storehouse. Yes. Suzaku was sure this was a point of concern for Lelouch. The glittering snow wrapped around the storehouse and spreading out as far as the eye could see was incredible to most people. To Lelouch, it must have only spoken of how easily he and Nunnally could freeze to death.
Was that the cause of Lelouch's increased nightmares? Or was it something else and the timing just coincided with the snow?
Suzaku could only guess; guess as he thought of something that might help his troubled friend. Lelouch already had enough horrible things that happened in his life, he had enough- too many- responsibilities for his young age. Suzaku... wanted to help. He just did not know how to best do that, not knowing what was wrong.
Suzaku reached around above Nunnally's head and gently smoothed Lelouch's hair. He thought about what Nunnally had told him, how her mother told her a touch was good for tears. She asked if he thought so when she touched his cheek to stop his tears.
The answer was yes.
Now, he hoped his touch might soothe Lelouch a little, might ease his dreams... even a little.
Suzaku just continued to follow the same pattern, carefully watching Lelouch for any changes as he pondered the days. Over and over he went through the past few days, the past few weeks. He hoped to find something that would jump out at him to help him discern why the increase of nightmares. Or, even if nothing jumped out at him, maybe some small clue, some pattern, some increase to coincide with the increase of nightmares. Something he overlooked, something that would give him more options so he would know what he was dealing with and did not just settle for his first guess and leave it at that because thinking was not his strong suit.
No. While thinking was not his strong suit, he would have to make it his this time.
He just feared that whatever was wrong would be a culmination of things- things that were far out of his control.
Finally, Lelouch's breathing eased and the moaning stopped. His once troubled face melted into one of more restful slumber. Suzaku ran his hand over Lelouch hair a few more times, smiling as he thought of the reaction Lelouch would have were he to know what Suzaku had been doing for the past five, maybe ten minutes. Suzaku pulled his hand back a little, finding Lelouch's hand and laying his on top of the former prince's hand as the small boy held onto his little sister's hand.
Suzaku was up with the sun as was customary. He quietly went down to the small, makeshift kitchen and prepared breakfast, letting his two friends sleep. Lelouch was fond of sleeping, but he would usually rise early so that he could make breakfast for Nunnally and attend to a couple other routine things before Nunnally woke up. However, the colder temperature seemed to have caused Lelouch to sleep in later because each time Suzaku slept over, Lelouch woke up later than he had in the hotter weather.
Nunnally slept a little later, too, but not like Lelouch. That always left Lelouch rushing to get everything done before Nunnally woke up. Suzaku understood some people slept later in the colder weather, but he could not honestly say he understood. He himself got up pretty much the same time each day. Sometimes a little earlier, but he could not recall the last time he woke up later. That held true even on the times he and Lelouch would sit and talk through the night.
Suzaku's internal clock simply did not understand late sleepers or shifts in rising patters due to alternations in seasons...
Breakfast was almost complete when Suzaku heard a noise. A smile stretched onto the Japanese boy's lips. He would be able to tell those soft footfalls anywhere. He turned around to greet the newcomer, frying pan and wooden spoon in hand.
"Suzaku?" the young Britannian asked, confused- and still a little drowsy.
"Breakfast is almost set!" the other announced, emeralds proudly shining.
"Why...?"
"Because, I want to bring you somewhere after breakfast," Suzaku answered, vaguely, his smile morphing into a mysterious grin.
Suzaku made certain breakfast was over as quickly as possible. He was excited. He had thought and thought about what might make Lelouch more comfortable. The conclusion he reached was to share something special with Lelouch. No matter what was bothering Lelouch, knowing he had someone there for him would help. That in itself would fix nothing, but it would be of some solace to him. Suzaku figured that the way to strengthen the fact he was here for Lelouch was to share something very meaningful to himself.
That was why Suzaku was so anxious for them to finish breakfast- only without making it seem that way. He did not want Nunnally to feel as though she was missing out on something special. In a way, she was; but this was something he wanted to share with Lelouch alone.
Assuring Nunnally they would be back in time for lunch, Suzaku wrapped Lelouch up in an oversized, dark brown housecoat with a black collar that looked much like a japanese robe. It was big for Lelouch, but it kept him warm. Suzaku quickly slipped on his own white coat and light grey scarf and quickly led Lelouch outside, their boots making a trail in the fresh fallen snow.
"Suzaku," Lelouch panted, trying to keep up with his friend. "Where are we going."
"You'll see. Just come on!" Suzaku encouraged, seizing Lelouch's small wrist and pulling him faster through the grounds, piled high with snow.
Higher and higher they climbed up the Kururugi grounds. Lelouch was getting tired, but he did his best to keep up with Suzaku because Suzaku was so excited about what he wanted to show him. Lelouch could easily tell how Suzaku had done his best to not be too excited around Nunnally so that she would not feel upset when they left without her.
It did not take long after he and Suzaku left the storehouse before Suzaku was bubbling with excitement. Lelouch's frustration at himself for oversleeping swiftly vanished as curiosity at what had Suzaku so excited replaced it.
Suzaku pulled Lelouch faster as they neared the place he was bringing Lelouch- until he had to slow down after Lelouch tripped and nearly fell. Suzaku was excited to bring Lelouch here, but he meant it to cheer him up, to support him- not to make him feel worse by falling and getting hurt.
As they took the last few steps before reaching the summit of the hill, Suzaku almost clamped his hands over Lelouch's eyes so what he wanted to show Lelouch would be a total surprize, but he resisted the urge and just led the way. When they reached the summit Suzaku only had to say one word: "this". That was more than enough for Lelouch to know what Suzaku wanted to show him. Although, Lelouch's joyful cry of "Wooow!" and the way he looked around, his eyes dazzled by what they beheld told Suzaku there had been little point in saying anything at all.
"It's pure white," Lelouch breathed, amazed, as he gazed around at summit covered in untrammeled, diamond-encrusted snow. "Amazing! It piles up like this overnight..."
"Cool, right? No-one comes to this out-of-the-way place. I'm the leader of the charge!"
With that, Suzaku took off, arms spread out to the sides as though he were a plane, and raced further across the summit. The soft sound of snow crunching in the otherwise quiet caused Lelouch to look back.
"Ah," Lelouch softly cried, seeing Suzaku racing away. "Wait!" Lelouch yelled taking off after his friend- until a thud made it to Suzaku's ears and he looked back to see a puff of flaky snow burst upward into the air.
"Le- Lelouch!?" Suzaku hurried back to the small Britannian boy, who now lay facedown on a cold, white blanket. "What is this? This vicinity is deep," Suzaku quickly added, having momentarily forgotten Lelouch did not know the terrain as he did.
"Snow is also soft," came a muffled observation from the raven haired boy who had not come into much contact with snow in Britannia.
Suzaku smothered a grin Lelouch could not see anyway, letting the majority of the grin melt into his mouth as he spoke.
"Here. Let me help you up."
Lelouch looked up from the light snow, his face red from the sudden, unprotected contact with the frozen precipitation. Suzaku let out a choked cough as he attempted to cover the burst of laughter that nearly made itself evident from the way Lelouch's face was speckled with flakes of snow.
"Let's go before you get soaked," Suzaku suggested, at the moment more to push things along before he could not keep from laughing. Lelouch just would not understand. Then he would get angry. Then this would go completely opposite the way Suzaku intended.
Before Lelouch responded- or even held out his hand- Suzaku took hold in one of his gloved hands the cloth underneath where Lelouch's hand would be, the robe sleeves being so long they covered Lelouch's hand, and helped Lelouch to his knees, where Lelouch seemed to be content to stay. Suzaku could not figure out that part. Snow was cold- not to mention there was so much more he wanted to show the Britannian!
"Say, say, it's time to advance-!" Suzaku stopped short, nearly having shouted 'charge!' and taken off running. Nope. Not with Lelouch. Not in the snow. They would just see more of the summit in a more casual manner. Good.
Suzaku stepped forward, trying to lead his friend along. Gathering Lelouch really did not have much experience with snow, or maybe just not with snow this deep, Suzaku offered some advice. "Step forward with one foot before the other one sinks."
Suzaku paced in front of Lelouch a few times, demonstrating how to best walk in this type of snow. He then smiled, playfully- and a bit jeeringly. "I suppose I can walk!"
Instead of walking, the steps quickly turned into a jog, falling just short of a run. Lelouch deadpanned.
"Only you. ...Can do that kind of thing." Lelouch watched as Suzaku sped around, each footfall as steady as the one before- and having quickly increased to a racing speed. It took mere moments for Suzaku to make a large lap around the area, coming to a stop near Lelouch where he turned to look up at the sky, hands on his hips, smiling broadly.
Despite Suzaku's unnatural athletic abilities even in the snow, Lelouch found himself happy again, Suzaku here by him and looking up at the snow spitting from the sky above.
"However, it's really pretty."
The contented, light, happy sound in Lelouch's voice caused Suzaku to look in surprize. It had been some time since he had heard that tone from his friend. It was not that it was not part of the point to stir that reaction from within Lelouch; Suzaku was just surprized it actually happened. Rather quickly, too.
Oh. This is so moving, Lelouch thought, joyfully, as he gazed up at the snow floating gently down upon the land and upon him, never having seen this quiet, peaceful sparkling whiteness back home. It was magical.
Suzaku stood there near his first real friend, proudly smiling. Lelouch had lost himself in the beauty of this place. For a time, he was able to forget about his troubles. Even though leaving troubles not dealt with only led to more trouble more times than not, there was something to be said about taking a break from them no matter how small the break. If one only bore trouble, the trouble would eventually become crushing.
Suzaku's pride only lasted a few moments. The smile melted from his face as he watched Lelouch's wondrous, dazzled gaze slowly morph to a deeply pained regret.
Then it hit Suzaku. His mistake.
...Ah- He thought about Nunnally. Lelouch had been so troubled lately that Suzaku wanted to help him, wanted to do something special for just him, wanted to demonstrate in this small way he was here for Lelouch. That was his mistake. Singling out Lelouch as much as he had. Nunnally was Lelouch's world and she his; of course it would not be long before it would trouble Lelouch that Nunnally could not partake in this experience... that she could not see what they were able to see.
Suzaku looked away, casting his eyes to the ground. Always, that's the way it is. If only I could show this also to Nunnally. Only I'm sorry I can't
but saying such things...
!
Lelouch flinched as the cold mass collided with the side of his head. Lelouch looked next to him, holding the contact point. It hurt a bit, but it was more cold than it hurt. He was also baffled by why Suzaku had attacked him with a snowball.
Lelouch was surprized to see Suzaku was closer than he last recalled. His Japanese friend was now kneeling on the snow near him, looking determined and pumped.
"We'll bring Nunnally a present! Hurry and make something! She's waiting for when we will return!"
"Y-yes!" Lelouch agreed, uncertain about this sudden shift in Suzaku's focus, but it was easy enough to move past his confusion and agree because Suzaku was thinking of his little sister.
She's not even able to see the pretty thing by herself. My method isn't bad, though, Suzaku thought, confident this path was the best for all three of them. Especially his two friends.
"Kyaa! Cooold!" Nunnally cried, delighted. "It's a Mister Bear of snow!" Nunnally exclaimed, feeling the formed snow Lelouch and Suzaku made for her.
Lelouch could not look, covering his face with his hands and turning away partially. Suzaku mustered the voice speak somewhat evenly.
"Is it something like... a rabbit?"
In the end, Suzaku was not certain how long this would take Lelouch's mind off of what was troubling him, but he thought this might help even if it had not gone as Suzaku intended. Suzaku felt that Lelouch knowing Suzaku had Nunnally's welfare and happiness on his mind, too, brought comfort to him.
If this would help much, only time would tell.
Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated.
Special thanks to Mayu! :)
Also, to those of you who know the original story, I would like to say I tried to stay as close to it as possible. My developing skills at Japanese was the problem. I think I did a pretty okay job for the most part. There was one place, particular, where I ran into terrible trouble figuring out what Suzaku was thinking. He thought "Nunuri- no mo misete yaretara na toka jibun daka ga gomen toka Nunuri- ni wa boku ga tsuite inai to dame nanda" Then either Lelouch or Suzaku thought "nante iu kedo".
I had to guess who said it because, if I had been able to follow along with the other sentences better, then it should have been easier to determine who thought that last one.
Anyway, if anyone knows what he/they was/were thinking, please send me a message. Also, to those who might know the original story and you see where I got what they were saying completely wrong, please send me a message. I am always open to learning. :)