Gino pressed his hot, sweaty body against Suzaku's, his hand tight in Suzaku's hair as he leaned in. "Was there something you wanted to say?"
Suzaku met his eyes with a challenging gaze. "Take your time with me. Every moment you spend gloating is a moment closer to–"
"Cut! Okay, good. Now get Kallen in position and prepare to blow the wall."
"Thank god." Gino gave a little laugh. "You kinda stink, man."
Suzaku wrinkled his nose. "You're not much better. It's really hot today."
"Ready? And… action!"
The dust from the wall ended up everywhere and they had to take a shower before shooting the next scene. He and Kallen were supposed to kiss and Gino had been ragging on him all day about it like this was a high school production and not a summer blockbuster. He was so unprofessional sometimes. Neither Suzaku nor Kallen found the scene awkward, so why should he? Just because they were a couple…
When the lights went out, Suzaku wasn't too concerned – it was a set shower and power went out on a regular basis. Even the sound of footsteps didn't phase him – Gino had already showered, but there was nothing stopping him from coming back and teasing Suzaku for taking longer. In fact, it was practically expected.
The first sign that something wasn't quite right was when the footsteps stopped outside Suzaku's shower without a witty comment. Suzaku half turned, curious, when the second sign – a silhouette significantly smaller than Gino or even Kallen – made him pause, a sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through his body. He'd never been in a real life-or-death fight before, but he'd faked them enough times that he felt confident he could at least hold his own. His breathing slowed and he shifted slightly, balancing on the balls of his feet with his knees bent.
"Mr. Kururugi?"
The voice was young, but professional. "…yes?" Suzaku didn't recognize it.
"Sorry about this – power issues. We're trying to fix it as soon as possible. At least the water's still warm, huh?"
A security guard? Suzaku nearly laughed. Of course it was – this was a closed set and even if it wasn't, these were the cast showers. It wasn't that simple to get back here. "Thanks. I'll be done in a bit." He rinsed off and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist.
It didn't strike him as odd that he didn't see the security guard anywhere when he stepped out until something damp and suffocating was placed over his mouth and small hands lowered him to the ground as the world became blackness.
OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO
Smuggling an actor off a set wasn't much more difficult than smuggling drugs across the border. The trick was looking like you knew what you were doing and were supposed to be doing what you were doing. Even if what you were doing was wheeling an oddly shaped bag from the showers to a waiting car. Maybe people thought it was laundry. Heavy laundry.
Or maybe, as Rolo had long suspected, people were generally morons.
The exception to that rule got out of the driver's seat and helped Rolo lift his burden into the trunk. "Were you seen?"
"No," Rolo assured Lelouch. "He was alone and didn't even put up a fight."
"Good." Lelouch sighed. "The last thing I want is to hurt him more." He placed a gentle hand on the bag (either a shoulder or a knee from what Rolo could see) before closing the trunk. "Let's get him home."
Home. That was the one thing that Rolo had always vaguely wanted and never found before Lelouch. He'd thought that Lelouch being his home meant that he'd be Lelouch's, but after last night…
…he didn't want to think about that. About that girl and her laugh and her body and her voice moaning out Lelouch's name with as much desperate love as Rolo's. At least Lelouch was still pure, still untainted. At least his love was still good and not selfish like Rolo's. And to offer it to this man, undeserving as he must be – as undeserving as Rolo had been, surely – was just so like Lelouch.
And it was up to Rolo to ensure the practicalities.
"Where are we going to keep him?" Lelouch asked suddenly. Rolo had to hide a smile. "Seriously, Rolo, he's going to be mad at first. We need somewhere safe and secure…"
"Like a kennel."
"Something like that," Lelouch agreed. "But kennels don't take people…"
"We have one in our basement."
"…what?"
Rolo grinned. "The previous owner must have liked dogs. There's a kennel in the basement that's basically a small caged-off room." Rolo gave a little shudder. "At least I hope it was a dog kennel."
"It's perfect!" Lelouch grinned. "Thank you Rolo."
And, just in case he'd ever forgotten, that reminded Rolo why he did what he did.
OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO
When Suzaku came to, it was on a firm mattress with soft sheets and beside a plate of cookies and a glass of water. He almost wished he was tied up – at least that would have made sense.
The cookies looked good. Fresh baked – not warm, but still obviously soft. Where the hell was he? And why was he naked?
"Oh, you're up." Suzaku froze at that voice, perturbed at how, somehow, that wasn't as much of a surprise as it would have been if he hadn't woken up to complete domesticity. "Would you like some clothes? I can lend you some of mine, or I can buy you something if you'd prefer."
"Lelouch?" He asked in bewilderment. "What the hell is going on?"
It didn't look like a normal kidnapping by crazy fans (something that had once almost happened to him a few years ago, when he was still a bit green) because stalkers never offered you cookies for your trouble. Was it something that Lelouch had read in another of his romance novels? In that case, it was too early to start panicking.
Lelouch sighed. At least Suzaku wasn't being belligerent. "I talked with Euphie." He bit his lip. "Suzaku… you need help. Everyone who knows you and cares about you agrees that you need help. I just want to… I can help. Just let me. I do… I do love you, you know."
Suzaku felt an inexplicable surge of rage at Lelouch's condescending, saccharine tone and the mention of Euphemia's name struck a nerve. Added to that, the word 'love' made Suzaku wince. "Help? What do you mean by 'help'?" He snorted. "Look, I don't know what you've been seeing through your pink goggles, but I have better things to do than to listen to this. I'm leaving right now!"
It was only then when Suzaku fully registered… a row of steel bars, pretty much barring his exit. In fact, it seemed that he was inside of some sort of an over-sized cage.
"You're not going anywhere." Lelouch's voice held both regret and an almost smug edge of victory. "I'm not like Euphie, Suzaku. I won't let you continue to hurt yourself because I'm gentle and kind. I'm not. I'm willing to do what has to be done for your own good, even if you're not willing to accept it. Yet." He reached out and slid his hands over the smooth metal of the bars. "I don't want to keep you here longer than necessary, but until you're ready to leave, you're staying here. With me."
A shiver run down Suzaku's spine, and he broke into a cold sweat. He leaped off the bed, throwing himself at the bars and attempting to seize Lelouch's hands. But his captor had, unfortunately, been smart enough to pull away in time.
"Let me go this instant!" He roared on top of his lungs, the gravity of the situation finally dawning upon him. "Who do you think you are to keep me here against my will? You have no right to do it!"
Lelouch stepped back. This was… unproductive. "Right or wrong, this is the situation as it stands, Kururugi Suzaku." Suzaku didn't even notice the proper name order. Ah well. "You will eat here, sleep here… there's even a bucket for… other things." His nose wrinkled with distaste at even referencing bodily functions. "You'll be comfortable until you finally unburden yourself. And I'll let you go then. You'll never have to see me again." He really felt that the whole point was being lost on Suzaku. "This isn't about me. This is about you. You're here for your own good."
It was a good speech, but Lelouch couldn't help the way his eyes traveled down Suzaku's body at various points. Well, he was nude and his muscles were flexing and Lelouch was only human. Still, he managed to keep his focus and never once got distracted by the sight of… um… yeah. Maybe it would be better to leave soon. Suzaku was furious and uncooperative and… kind of really attractive like that. Unproductive, Lelouch reminded himself.
"You're batshit!" Suzaku cursed under his breath. He wiped the sweat off his brow: none of the bars would even budge, but he'd have to try again when Lelouch left.
Then he noticed that the lunatic was very obviously staring.
"So much for noble talk!" Suzaku smirked. "You just want me as your personal fucktoy, am I right? Just like your brothers! Shall I tell you how Clovis likes his blowjobs? Or about Schneizel and whips?"
Lelouch gaped. It… he wasn't surprised as much as…
Okay. He was a bit surprised. Clovis? And whips? Suzaku's self-destructive behaviour was even worse than he'd initially expected, even after his conversation with Euphie (whom Suzaku didn't bring up, thank goodness). This would take possibly even more time that Lelouch had anticipated. And there was nothing to gain by hurrying things from the start.
"Don't bother." Lelouch was proud that his voice only wavered a little bit. "You can't hurt my feelings with such superficial insults and… seriously, Suzaku, not everything's about sex."
There. That would show him. Pleased with his final rejoinder, Lelouch stormed up the stairs to start preparing supper.
"FUCK YOU!" Suzaku screamed after him. He was furious at the treatment.
He breathed in and out, forcing himself to calm down. Someone would miss him and call the police. Lelouch's address wasn't a big secret – wait, were they even at his place or elsewhere?
Suzaku groaned and tugged at his hair in frustration: he was already beginning to feel like a caged animal. Not to mention that he was still naked – it was thoroughly humiliating.
He'd poked at the kennel bars again and again, but always in vain.
Fine, he'd just have to try to be patient.
Now that Suzaku was left all to himself and idle (that was why he preferred to bury himself in constant hard work, after all) thoughts began to swarm in his mind, like angry bees, not giving him any rest.
A wave of guilt washed over Suzaku like a tidal wave.
Euphie…
Of course, he remembered Euphie. She was the one who'd introduced him to her family and… that was how he'd repaid her!
In hindsight, it must have been inevitable. But at the time Suzaku didn't even think that she was physically attracted to him – he though that the rich Daddy's girl was simply talking pity on him, as if he was another of her injured kitties.
They had danced around each other long enough. And then… it happened. Suzaku had to admit that he wasn't even sober and didn't remember that night (if it was good for her or not).
Then came the morning after, and Euphie announced how happy she was, and asked not if, but when they were going to get married.
Come to think of it, she and Lelouch had a lot in common - only that Lelouch's idea of a cage for him was much less figurative.
Suzaku had chickened out… He was going to keep up the act - a knight in shining armour, his favourite, most effortless role - until the bitter end.
Only that he couldn't.
(His life wasn't a movie.)
Suzaku Kururugi didn't attend his own wedding ceremony.
He was a bit surprised that Lelouch hadn't heard of it from any of his family members (oh, Cornelia, who'd been threatening to gut him). Must be Schneizel's impeccable work – the man had covered up the mess, because the affair was too… unpleasant. Not a word of it had leaked to the press and general public.
(That was how he and Suzaku had become intimately acquainted, after all.)
Suzaku buried his face in his hands - in shame, despair, whatever. And there he'd been hoping that he would never have to face his past.
Suzaku sat in his newly found cage, rolled up into a tight ball of painful memories.
Waiting…
OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO
"Was that him screaming?"
Lelouch sighed. "Just don't listen. It's probably not going to be the last time." He wrapped his arm around Rolo's shoulder and pulled him into a light embrace, placing a kiss on his head. Rolo tensed up (unusual for him) before relaxing into the hold. "You're being very patient with me."
"Well. I put you through this at one point, didn't I?" Rolo asked. "I mean, I wasn't exactly happy when you pulled me off the streets."
"Well, it was my spare bedroom or jail. You adapted rather quickly." Lelouch chuckled affectionately and released his adopted brother to rummage around in the kitchen. "Hmm… Suzaku didn't seem overly impressed with the Japanese yesterday. Maybe something more simple?"
"Simple's good." Rolo grabbed the kettle and started filling it. Almost any meal needed boiling water. "…what if he doesn't?"
"Hmm?"
"What if Suzaku doesn't adapt? What will we do then?" Rolo asked nervously. "I mean, he's not just some kid off the street – he's a movie star. We can't keep him forever."
Lelouch frowned lightly, gripping an eggplant tightly. "You'd be surprised." He managed a smile. "They can shoot a lot of scenes around him to make up for time – it's what they do when actors are sick. We'll have a few days at least."
"A few days…" Rolo nodded. "I'm sure he'll come around by then."
"I hope so, Rolo." Lelouch sighed. "I really hope so."
OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO
The next morning, Suzaku was awoken to the scent of something like fried eggs and bacon from probably a mile away, and his stomach growled in anticipation. He frowned: he'd rather die than beg for food from the lunatic. He wondered how much time had passed - he'd slept, for the lack of better things to do, and even had eventually munched on the cookies.
Lelouch was wearing his usual motherly expression that annoyed Suzaku to no end. Seriously, Suzaku wished his kidnapper would mistreat him already, instead of cooking him a continental breakfast.
The coffee smelt nice too.
Lelouch hid a small smirk. Suzaku still looked guarded and mistrustful, but he'd eaten the cookies (well some) without even considering poison or drugs and every now and then his nose twitched even as he tried to ignore the food Lelouch had brought.
He'd turned away supper last night, and Lelouch was pretty sure he was hungry enough to accept a peace offering.
Or at least a coffee.
"Good morning."
"Huh," was Suzaku's reply. "I'm not so sure if it's even morning. What was that I heard about some clothes? Unless you really prefer me naked."
Suzaku deliberately fought off his urge to lunge at the food, instead, assuming a pose that Mr. Reid, his director, had called seductive countless times.
Clothes. Lelouch winced. "Sorry, I forgot - were you cold last night?" He bit his lip, half embarrassed at his forgetfulnes, half pleased that Suzaku was at least willing to accept things from him. "I can… if you want, I can go grab you something from my closet while you eat. We're about the same size…"
Suzaku should have known that it wouldn't work. Hmm, think, Suzaku, think. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
"…sure," he replied, trying his best to appear friendly. "Thanks."
Lelouch carefully folded the plate and passed it through the bars. "I… uh… I'll think of a way to get coffee in. Or tea, if you prefer." He stood, pleased with his work and with Suzaku's gradual relaxation and trust. This could work! "I'll be right back."
No sooner Lelouch turned around, Suzaku smirked, pleased with himself. Lelouch was so gullible. He'd just have to play along (something he had always been good at – improvising and all) and convince him that he was "ready" (whatever it meant) to be released.
Suzaku really regretted not having listened carefully to what Lelouch had been ranting before. It would have made things a bit simpler. No matter, Suzaku had been through much worse.
He reached for the plate and cleared it out, going as far as licking his fingers. If nothing, Lelouch was, most certainly, a good cook.
Lelouch had expected one of two things when he returned with a change of clothes. Either Suzaku would be glaring at the plat of food (and then, probably, at Lelouch) or he'd be eating.
He hadn't expected to come back to an empty plate and Suzaku with two fingers buried up to the second knuckles in his mouth. And an oddly guilty expression as if he'd been caught.
It was cute, really.
But his eyes… they were still distant and guarded. His body language said one thing while his eyes still tried to keep the world away. Lelouch smiled gently, willing to wait until those eyes could trust him. It wouldn't be long. "Here. Clothes."
"Thanks," Suzaku repeated, putting on the offered sweats. It was much better than nothing - even if he didn't mind being naked, he didn't particularly enjoy it either.
"So…" Suzaku really should have helped himself, but… "Now what, Mr. Evil Genius? What exactly are you going to do with me?"
Lelouch rolled his eyes. "It's just over half a day since you've talked to anyone other than me. And you haven't really said much to me either. You've been pretty much alone with your thoughts, so… would you like to share any?"
He grabbed the chair Rolo had brought down and sat. This could end very quickly or drag on for hours depending on Suzaku's attitude.
Suzaku really had to bit his tongue not to tell Lelouch to fuck off right away, but it would have been a dead end. Instead, he made himself comfortable – well, as much as he could – and sat with his legs crossed and pose relaxed.
"Are you going to play doctor with me?" He asked, trying to sound at least-half playful, and not spiteful. "Do you even have a diploma, Dr. Lamperouge?"
"Just graduated." From High School. "Which is hardly the point. You don't need a doctor, Suzaku… you just need to allow someone to care for you. And, you know what? I don't even care if it's ultimately me or not. I don't care if you walk out of here and never want to see me again. But, while you're here, I'm the only person who can release you, so why don't you just humour me, hmm?" He smiled. "You may call me Dr. Lamperouge if you wish, but I won't answer to it."
That again… lovely.
"Nah, I don't think the problem here is with me, Lelouch," Suzaku replied, his eyes flashing up. "It is you who cannot admit a defeat. I don't need your or anyone's care. I've been perfectly fine before you kidnapped me, thank you very much."
"Fine?" If Lelouch had been a doctor, he was sure he'd never get this upset this fast. Suzaku was just so… "You're fooling yourself if you think that faking your way through life is fine. This isn't a movie, Suzaku, it's your life!" Lelouch leaned forward, almost toppling off the chair in utter sincerity. "And you're not some beleaguered protagonist, you're Kururugi Suzaku and you… you have every right to be happy, just like everyone else."
"Happy?" Suzaku hadn't expected this to come out so bitter. Lelouch's scrutinizing gaze was getting really unnerving, and he was poking at something that Suzaku would have preferred to bury forever. "It's all the same, Lelouch. You play your part, do what others expect you to do. The moment you go out of 'character', you're screwed. You're lucky to have never learned it yourself. Life must have treated you kindly…"
Suzaku's tone became wistful for a moment.
"Besides…" he continued, "…is it really up to you to decide what do I do and do not deserve in life?"
Geez, Suzaku's throat had dried: he had never talked this much when not on screen.
"I clearly do a better job then you do," Lelouch pointed out. "I may have had an easier life, but it's been far from perfect. I've had losses and I've made mistakes, but I was still able to continue being myself. You… you've run away. You don't touch the world and you don't let it touch you. I thought… I thought it was only when you were on screen or in interviews, but after last night…" Lelouch's voice softened. "It's always and with everyone, isn't it." His voice and gaze hardened. "You've committed a great crime. You've stolen Kururugi Suzaku from the world." Lelouch tried to show Suzaku with his eyes how much he cared. "And I want him."
"You're so dramatic," Suzaku said. It was his turn to roll up his eyes. "I think you could have made a decent actor yourself."
"By the way," he whispered, as if revealing some great mystery, "I have no idea what you've just talked about. Mind games and word play are not exactly my forté. You should have kidnapped someone like Kallen Kozuki for that - she would have loved it, I'm sure of it."
The name rang a bell in Lelouch's mind – Suzaku's current female lead. She was Japanese too and there were questions around their relationship, but there were also rumours that she was seeing Gino Weinberg who was playing the villain. Schneizel had probably cast them all together for that reason alone. Ass.
"Let me make it simple and clear, then." Lelouch stood. "If you don't give me one reason to stay, one piece of the real you, then I'm leaving. I'll be back at lunch. But the longer you drag this out, the longer you stay here."
He was curious to see how Suzaku would react to an ultimatum. He was blunt and simple, by his own admission. Maybe he'd prefer Lelouch to act that way as well.
"You're crazy!" The phrase escaped Suzaku's mouth before he could slap it shut. "I am here… You have me here, under lock and key, naked if you wanted so, what else could you possibly need? I can't believe it!"
Lelouch was insane… there was no reasoning with the madmen. How could Suzaku meet his demands, if he didn't even get what his kidnapper was going at?
Lelouch shot one last pitying look at Suzaku. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you wanted to stay." And, without another word, he left.
"Dammit!" Suzaku had this sudden urge to kick something. Or rather, someone. He couldn't think of anyone who had ever irritated him this much.
Apart from…
"Suzaku, fasten your damn seat belt! Do you want to get your head bashed or what?"'
"Dad, you're annoying! I can drive, all right?"
OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO
"Suzaku?" Lelouch brought down the pita, having planned ahead for the bars this time. "Lunch. Are you ready… to…"
This was different from his previous sulking. Before, Suzaku had either turned away or glared sullenly. Now he was staring off at a random space of the wall. If he hadn't blinked (maybe once every twenty seconds) Lelouch wouldn't have known he was alive.
…was it a trick? He'd certainly seemed fine when Lelouch had left him this morning. "…Suzaku?"
Nothing. Lelouch dropped the food and turned to get Rolo…
…he'd sent Rolo off for underwear. Dammit… this was probably the worst timing ever.
"Su-Suzaku, stop… stop fooling around." Lelouch knew better than to open the (cage) kennel without Rolo for backup. He was no match for Suzaku and he knew that well enough. But… he was just sitting there… curled up and staring…
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Suzaku whispered to his father's dead, accusing face. "I didn't mean to… It was an accident…"
The man was staring at him in endless reproach, and Suzaku wished that he had died with the passengers on that day. Why had he survived? Why? When he was clearly the one to blame?
Suzaku's voice helped soothe Lelouch's panic. It wasn't until Lelouch had slumped onto the chair that he processed the words…
An accident? There had been a few in Suzaku's life – a set had collapsed on a crew member in one of his early films and his father had died in a car accident. Could he be talking about the relationship with Euphemia? There were too many possibilities. But…
…the point was… this was the real Suzaku. Somehow, in someway, Lelouch had unlocked this. And Suzaku, clearly hurting, was at least feeling somethingand was dealing with it. This could only be good.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't kill myself. I have tried so many times… I'm such a coward. Dad, why do you never say anything? Please, just answer me, please… I miss you…"
Tears started to stream down Suzaku's cheeks.
"I never told you this, but I so fucking miss you…"
Lelouch had never had a great relationship with his own father, but he did have people he loved – his mother, his sister… Rolo…
"I miss you too." The words were out before Lelouch even realized what he was doing. "And I forgive you. I love you, Suzaku." What else did fathers say? Proper fathers and not sociopaths like Charles zi Britannia. "You need to just keep living your life. That's all you need to do to make me proud." There. Lelouch had even lowered his voice at the end. He'd sounded… older at least.
"…really?" Suzaku felt so happy. Somehow, he had always wanted to believe that, but it would have been too good to be true. "Thank you. I love you too, Dad."
Suzaku saw his father slowly fade away, offering him a genuine smile in return as his farewell. Truly relieved, after all those years, he slipped into a dreamless oblivion.
Lelouch was worried when Suzaku toppled over, only to laugh at himself with the first loud snore. He was… more than merely relieved. He was exhilarated. That had been the real Kururugi Suzaku, the man Lelouch wanted to know and love. And he… he was so wonderfully vulnerable and open and… and Lelouch had helped him. And it was still only the second day! Everything was proceeding so smoothly, so easily.
He gathered up the dropped food and returned upstairs with a light heart. He'd let Suzaku sleep the day away and return tomorrow with more food (and underwear once Rolo returned) and they could move forward.
It would be perfect.
OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO
"Why, hello, cutie!" Nunnally chirped up, pinching at Rolo's cheek. "Does Lelouch have you buy his underwear too? How kinky!"
If the earth had opened up under him and swallowed him up, Rolo would have been grateful to an astonishing degree. As it did not, he decided to continue hating everything. "Na…taly?" He guessed. Her name was not what he remembered about their encounter.
"Oh, no, it's Nunnally. Can't you remember something as simple as a lady's name?" She asked, striking a Milly-like pose. "Tsk. Lelouch would have been more of a gentleman."
She had accidentally spotted this… replacement in the shopping mall and went as far as to follow him to the male underwear section. It stung, of course: surely, Lelouch wouldn't have been able to ask her to buy him that. Or anything, for that matter - her elder brother had been pretending that she was some kind of tamagochi for only Gods know how long.
It was just the right time to change that.
Rolo wasn't… afraid exactly. He wasn't thrilled, but… okay he was a little afraid. The first time he met this girl, he ended up inside her in a bathroom. And now she was accosting him in public and…
Lelouch. That was the second time she'd said his name. Third, if you counted the time she'd moaned it as she came around him and dammithaving his body react to that memory would have sucked at any time, but it was even worse in the men's underwear department holding a package of briefs.
…the earth wasn't opening was it? Damn. It.
Rolo took a deep breath. "What are you doing here?" …that hadn't sounded friendly. Oh well. He wasn't feeling particularly friendly right now. He set his jaw and stood his ground.
"Well…" She stepped closer, to whisper the no doubt shocking revelation right into his ear. "The truth is I was hoping you would take me to my dear brother, since he is clearly too busy to give me a phone call. Or something."
Nunnally wasn't angry. She didn't want to strangle anyone. Oh, no.
"…your brother?" Rolo frowned. Was she trying to play mind games with him? Well, he was an expert at dealing with mind games, thanks to Lelouch. "I'd be delighted to. Where does he live?" A car ride would be a small price to pay to get her out of his life.
Nunnally hugged herself, barely suppressing a bit of hysterical laughter. Okay, she took her words back: Rolo was absolutely hilarious.
"Oh, I think you would now better. After all, you have to deliver those black briefs to somewhere, right? I had no idea Lelouch wore something like that."
"They're not for… LELOUCH IS YOUR BROTHER?"
Nunnally pouted mockingly. "What, he hadn't even bothered to tell you about me, had he?" (It hurt.)
Rolo was still processing the previous information. "You… when you… when I… oh." He swallowed back a sudden wave of nausea. He'd had sex. With Lelouch's sister. By accident. And she – they both– had called out his name and… "This is so wrong."
"You tell me, sweetie," She growled, drawing near. "This is so wrong to abandon one's full-blooded little sister and run away overseas, then come back with an adopted 'little brother' on a leash and… NEVER EVEN CALL!"
Nunnally was shouting, but she didn't care. "WHAT THE HELL IS HE THINKING?"
Everyone was looking at them. Rolo couldn't really blame Nunnally - he was the one who'd started yelling, but… "C'mon." He grabbed Nunnally's arm and pulled her out of the store (shoplifting the briefs, but apparently the shopkeeper felt it a small price to pay to be rid of them. Not Rolo's finest moment).
It was a damn good thing that Rolo parked close. He had the feeling if it had taken more than a dozen steps, Nunnally would have started struggling and… and she might have won. "Tell me everything."
"My, you can be forceful if you want to, hmm?" Nunnally eyed him in approval. It was good to learn that he had some backbone. Wait, what was she thinking? He was her rival!
She crossed her arms and settled back in the seat. "I'll tell you if you drive me to Lelouch. And I will even pretend that today is your firstmeeting. Do we have a deal?"
…there wasn't much Rolo could say to that. He could refuse to bring Nunnally at all, but she'd likely find her way to Lelouch eventually and then everythingwould come out and… "If I'd known you were his sister I…" he would have what? Not been dragged practically drunk out of his mind into the bathroom for some sex that he had hardly consented to? "…deal."
OoO-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-OoO
Lelouch checked the clock for the third time in ten minutes. Rolo was taking a long time - not long enough to be worrisome, just long enough that he really should have been back by now.
For the second time, he considered his cell phone. He didn't want to be a nag, but… he was sure Rolo wouldn't be upset by him checking in. Especially given the news about Suzaku that would excuse the call.
Alright. With that decided, Lelouch reached for the phone just as the door opened. "Rolo, welcome ho–"
The first thing Nunnally did after three long years without seeing Lelouch…
…was to slap that happy expression off his face, so hard that he'd see bloody stars.
"Rolo, welcome home!" She parroted. "Is that how it is? Do you even remember who I am or should I fill you on that little fact of your tragic biography?"
"Nun-nally…" Lelouch looked stunned. And not just by the slap. "Nunnally you…" He couldn't stop the huge grin from spreading over his face. "I've missed you!" He grabbed his little sister in a tight embrace, burying his face in her neck. "I missed you so much!"
"Y-you…" Nunnally stammered in shock. She mustn't let his smile and his tone affect her. It was a matter of principle – he wouldn't get away with a hug, even a treacherous part of her simply wanted to return the gesture and forget about everything.
Instead, she broke away and cried out in accusation, "Missed me? Did you miss me so much that you'd spent two days in the city and hadn't even thought of giving me a call?"
She really wanted to slap him again.
A firm hand on her wrist stopped her. "Don't hit him."
Lelouch sighed and pulled Rolo's hand away. "She has every reason to be upset, Rolo." He frowned. "How did you two even meet up?"
"That isn't the point!" Nunnally exploded. "I shouldn't have to play detective to be granted an audience with you! Are you the Emperor himself now or what?"
"Nunnally…" Lelouch sighed. "If things were different… if I could have, I would have brought you with me, you know that. And I didn't want to contact you immediately because… well, Schneizel brought me here."
He expected that, even with three years of separation between them, she would understand that much.
"No, I don't understand a thing, Lelouch!" Nunnally was still very much peeved. "You'd wish you could just stuff me into a refrigerator and take out at your convenience! You and your excuses. You're not even sorry."
"Of course I'm sorry!" Lelouch said, pretty close to pleading with Nunnally now. "I've never wanted to use you and I've done everything I could to protect you and I… my biggest regret is not being able to be withyou, but it really was better this way. Nunnally, I love you. More than anyone else in the world."
"I… I love you too…" She could no longer help herself - Lelouch was so sincere and…
Nunnally hugged him back and hid herself from all the worries just like she used to.
The truth was… she loved him a little too much. And she couldn't ever find any replacement.
…speaking of, the soft sound of someone reluctantly clearing their throat broke through the room. "Um. I'll just… take these downstairs."
Lelouch barely even nodded, wrapped up in his little sister. She smelled like home and family and… faintly like Milly's brands of makeup. Ah well, she was Nunnally and that was what mattered.
"Well, what you've been up to?" She asked, dying from curiosity. "You must have been doing something if you'd leave Rolo in Milly's clutches on his own…"
…wait.
Nunnally wanted to facepalm. That had been the slip of the century!
Lelouch, meanwhile was trying to figure out a way to explain his most recent project without using the terms 'kidnapping', 'movie star', or 'psychological torture'. He was coming up blank.
"Mostly I've been… meeting people. You know how Schneizel is…" Controlling, persuasive, manipulative…"Well, meeting people and avoiding our big brother as much as possible. Which is why I'm home right now." Well. That and Suzaku had collapsed a few minutes ago.
Nunnally let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't noticed. Wait, why'd Lelouch sent Rolo downstairs?
"Lelouch?" She asked in confusion. "Is there anybody else in the house?"
Lelouch had two rules in his life – never get caught and never lie to Nunnally. He'd never thought those two would become mutually exclusive.
"Um… well… Rolo, of course…" Lelouch mentally flailed for a new topic of conversation, but came up blank. He smiled hopefully at his sister.
"Lulu," she used his childhood nickname, because he was being unbelievably cute, "you don't have to hide your girlfriend from me… oh, wait, it had been male's underwear. So, you're playing for the other team?"
That was… a relief. She would have preferred him to be gay (but not with Rolo, mind you), than seeing him with other girls. Yes, a nice, handsome and kind young man would have been great. As long as he didn't turn out like Euphie's ex. Oh, she hated that douchebag. She'd even thrown away her collection of his movies.
"It… it's not that simple?" Lelouch sighed. "There's another man here, but we're not… well, actually, I guess we technically are since we… the point that he… um. It's complicated?"
That Rolo knew was okay – the boy had had enough of a history and enough of a dependency on Lelouch to accept this and move on. But Nunnally – his precious, innocent sister – wouldn't have any idea why Suzaku needed to be caged and kept away from everyone but Lelouch. This was something she should be protected from.
"Lelouch, are you in some sort of trouble?" This was starting to get really worrisome. The way Lelouch avoided her eyes – he was clearly hiding something, and it was nothing pleasant. "Could I help you? You know… I'd do anything to help." (If only you ever let me.)
Nunnally. Helping keep Suzaku caged in his basement. Lelouch hid a shudder. "Everything is fine, Nunnally. Su– the other person here is just sleeping. I'll introduce you to him later. Promise." And he would. Once Suzaku smartened up - it shouldn't take too long since he'd made such excellent progress today already.
Nunnally didn't want to push him too far. She had already made spectacular progress, so she could leave Lelouch to his own devices… For now.
(As long as that 'Su' wasn't for 'Suzaku Kururugi'.)
"Oh, we've been just standing here all along!" She laughed a little. "Shall we have some tea, like in good old times? I'll even be nice to Rolo, I promise."
"I appreciate that." Rolo's voice came from the stairs. He mouthed the words 'still asleep' to Lelouch who nodded in return.
"Tea it is!" He gathered up his siblings and herded them towards the table. "Also, we have cookies." And they'd passed the Kururugi Suzaku test. Lelouch smiled – he couldn't help it. Today had been full of wonderful surprises and victories. The rest of the time passed so quickly that Lelouch didn't even have time to make supper and they had to order in. And then it was far too late for Nunnally to leave, so she stayed over.
The problem was they only had two beds. Lelouch had no qualms about lodging on the floor, as long as his siblings were comfortable. Well, wasn't that a management problem?
"Nunnally, you'll take my bed and I'll sleep with Rolo… Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing." She shook her head in disbelief. Over her dead body. "I think I could sleep with Rolo. It's such a nice way of bonding, after all. Isn't it?"
She shot a dirty look in Rolo's direction. A very dirty one.
Rolo gulped down the lump in his throat. "…sure. Why not?"
Ohoho, was that a challenge? Nunnally was so up to it.
Lelouch smiled, utterly oblivious throughout their exchange.
–
