Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: In order to avoid confusion, I decided to tell you in advance. The point of view will alternate between Lelouch and Suzaku. I know it's a somewhat difficult technique, and might confuse the reader if used recklessly, but if I follow Lelouch only, you guys will be bored before long.

Ok, here we go—

Chapter Two: Safety

Lelouch had hoped that Milly Ashford would be so focused on the newest addition to the council, that she would forget that he even existed. Unfortunately, that did not work, and it was all Kururugi's fault. The new guy proved to be everything that Lelouch wasn't; athlete, annoyingly cheerful, and with a happy-go-lucky personality that teasing him mercilessly did not gratify Milly; the guy actually laughed when they forced him into a fairy costume, which was complete with frills and wings.

Needless to say, Lelouch would fight (using teeth and nails if necessary), if they forced said costume on him. Sad thing was, Milly enjoyed using her authority, watching people trying to escape, and in the end, getting her way.

That line of reasoning implied complying with any plan that the Madwoman suggests, so maybe Kururugi had the right idea. But Lelouch knew better; Milly would seize the rare opportunity, and force him to do the unthinkable, if only to test his limits, watch him squirm, and finally, against all the odds, win.

He knew that under normal circumstances, he would have resented Milly, but he understood that this was her way of trying to make him show any emotion other than the usual (bored, disinterested, and sleeping), and hopefully smile sincerely. Besides, he was as ruthless as she was when it came to Chess; squirming opponents are always amusing.

Kururugi also seemed to have acquired the terrible habit of following him around. Surely, he still didn't suspect that Lelouch was a prince? He was certain that his trail was hidden from the world, but one could never be too careful.

He knew certain facts about Kururugi: he was Japanese, son of the former Minister of Japan (Died recently), missed Japanese food terribly, and knew almost nothing about foreign meals.

What kind of a spy did they send? And who are they, exactly?

But Lelouch could see their reasoning. Kururugi is what you would call a good teenager. His grades were high, although Lelouch could see that it was through effort, not intelligence alone. He was athlete, as previously stated (Almost labeled an exercise nut). Not a suspicious character at all.

Finally, he was honest.

That last thought was what almost threw Lelouch off. Honest. It was not a word that he had thought to label anyone, except perhaps his small sisters.

His heart clenched with nerves, and he shook his head, in a fruitless effort to shake the thought off.

"What is it?"

Lelouch turned to face his 'stalker', and suppressed a sigh. "Nothing important," he lied easily.

Yes, Kururugi was the exact opposite.

"You should eat, you know, you are so thin, almost Anorexic," Kururugi muttered, glancing at Lelouch's meal. The sandwich had been waiting there miserably for the last ten minutes; Lelouch had taken a few small bites, before leaving it there. Kururugi almost seemed sorry for the sandwich.

"I'm not hungry," Lelouch replied easily, "And please do not label me as Anorexic, my weight is within the ideal range,"

Kururugi narrowed his eyes in obvious disbelief; Lelouch could read him like an open book, "Are you sure? Never mind, don't answer that," Kururugi sighed, before smiling slightly, "Even if you are not hungry, you should finish the sandwich; it will be three hours before we could leave the school, and I know you haven't had breakfast. Not what I would call healthy. Eat."

"Kururugi—"

"Yes, Lulu?" Kururugi blinked in fake innocence.

Lelouch lost the battle of control once again, "Do not call me that," he hissed.

"You know what to do," Kururugi smirked, which looked unnatural on such an innocent face.

Lelouch had been subjected to this treatment many times before this. His immediate retaliation had been to ignore him, but then Kururugi had started calling him "Lulu!" in a really high voice. Realizing quickly that ignoring him was not the right tactic, Lelouch had quickly switched to teasing him with a growled, "Yes, Suzy?"

Again the plan had backfired.

The guy had only grinned widely, and said quite cheerfully, mind you, "Much better than Kururugi,"

Since then, Lelouch had come upon one conclusion; Suzaku Kururugi didn't care what other people think of him.

Not that Lelouch cared of course, but he knew his own weaknesses. He knew he was admired, and respected, but to be called Lulu was a stab in his masculinity that had suffered enough because of his 'delicate features, and bone structure'. He resolutely ignored the real reason the nickname bothered him when called by a male.

At least he was tall.

Back to the present, he wet his lips, "Suzaku," he began, thinking that he would never repeat that name unless it was absolutely necessary, and if he had to, he would call him by his full name, "I know my body's capacity and eating habits. I have had breakfast back in the dorms. I will eat after the lessons finish. I will not eat now." Kururugi pouted. "I'm serious,"

"That's the problem," Kururugi said softly, and Lelouch frowned slightly, "You are so serious that you don't enjoy the life you have before you. I hope you realize that before it's too late." Kururugi focused on his meal, obviously still finding it slightly difficult to use the knife and fork, as he was used to chopsticks.

"Would it hurt them to cut the steak to small pieces in the kitchen?" Kururugi growled at his meal, "I miss my chopsticks!"

Lelouch withdrew from the green-eyed teenager sitting next to him. He found it slightly fascinating the way he interacted with Kururugi. From the day they had met, Kururugi had apparently decided that he was his friend. Kururugi didn't really talk to anyone besides the Student Council, and even then, he still favored Lelouch. Why? It didn't make sense. Lelouch had not made it easy for others to befriend him, or to even try. Sure, everyone admired him, but it was all from afar. He remembered meeting Milly as a freshman one year ago.

He recalled that he was on his way to class, when he had been pulled from behind, and into an empty classroom. Lelouch had almost reacted violently, but then he had stopped to analyze the hand on his shoulder. The grip had been strong, yes, but the fingers were definitely feminine. He had forced himself to relax, and turned to face his assaulter. He had recognized her immediately as Milly Ashford, the superintendent's granddaughter.

"How can I help you, Ms. Ashford?" he had asked properly with a practiced smile.

She had been frowning slightly, glaring at him, but then she had suddenly grinned.

"I like you. You are going to be the Vice President of the Student Council."

So Milly had practically forced herself on him, really, and accordingly, he was forced on the other members of the council. He knew they were forced to join, but back then, he hadn't known. Rivalz had won Lelouch over by introducing him to the world of gambling using Chess. That was practically his salvation from complete boredom. Shirley, he remembered, had been wary of him, but for some reason her attitude had changed drastically, and she had become affectionate and honestly kind as she was now. He hadn't been able to refuse such honesty, and had even allowed her to call him Lulu in private (Which was how Kururugi had picked it up). He hadn't been sure about Nina, but her brilliant mind was enough to stop him from brushing her off.

Kururugi was another matter entirely. Lelouch was sure that he hadn't done anything to warrant the attention of the green-eyed teenager. A flash of red made him turn his head slightly. He took a moment to recognize her, but the fiery redhead was not easy to forget. She was the last member of the Student Council. Kallen Stadtfeld. There was only one way to describe her: vicious. She was vicious in everything; the way she walked, dressed, talked, loved, hated, and even ate. It was like she was making up for the six months she had spent in the hospital. But still, she had managed not to lose the year. Lelouch knew that it was her first day back.

Lelouch almost groaned. He never was sure who was worse; Kallen or Milly.

Maybe he should hold a contest to figure that out, but it would probably involve Lelouch himself as the unfortunate victim, so it wasn't worth the trouble.

"Listen, I have to leave, see you later," Lelouch said hastily, and without waiting for an acknowledgment from his companion, he rapidly disappeared in the crowd.

He didn't see Kururugi looking thoughtfully at his retreating back.

-----------------------------

"You could just cut off the eaten part if you are disgusted," an amused voice suggested.

Suzaku looked up, and smiled, "Hello, Kallen,"

Kallen sat down next to him, and though her face was completely neutral, her anger was clear in her voice, "Idiot, you are not supposed to know me!"

"No one's listening," Kururugi picked up the sandwich left by the amethyst-eyed teenager, and took a large bite. It was tasty, more so than the steak he had just eaten.

Kallen sat next to him, placing her meal in front of her. "Found the target?" she asked quietly.

"I thought it was Lelouch Lamperouge at first, but then—" he was interrupted by a derisive snort of his 'partner'. "What?" he asked indignantly.

"I admit, he's arrogant, pompous, and haughty enough to be a prince, however," Kallen waved her finger in front of his face so closely, that he went slightly cross-eyed. "That's the thing; the prince we are looking around for is supposed to be heartbroken, and almost comatose," Kallen sneered, "That Schneizel bastard—"

"You know, sometimes, I get confused about our objective when I hear you talking like that about our mission," Suzaku frowned taking another bite.

Kallen was silent for a second, glaring at him, but then she looked away, "Me too," she whispered.

And that worried Suzaku more than anything else.

-----------------------------

Lelouch was barely aware of his surroundings as the day continued monotonously. He knew he came across as more standoffish than usual, but he doubted anyone would notice. He knew that Kururugi was glancing at him frequently, but he ignored him. He was worried, as he always was whenever there was a meeting. Each week they would choose a different day to meet, sometimes the separation was less than a week, sometimes more. It's been ten days since he last saw her, and he knew that his anxiety was rising with each passing moment.

The bell finally rang signaling the last lesson. Lelouch sprang to his feet, his bag already packed with all his supplies, and dashed towards the door, leaving before their tutor. He was quite aware that he had attracted a lot of attention, but he also knew that most would shrug it off within the next minute; Lelouch was that weird.

He made it quickly to the back yard. He didn't even pause to catch his breath. He got on his precious motorcycle, and the engine hummed signaling that he could leave shortly. Now that he was doing something constructive, Lelouch allowed his shoulders to relax, and deftly secured the helmet, the belt slightly tight under chin. Finally, after he deemed it prepared enough, Lelouch sped away from the campus, leaving a wake of dust behind him.

After a few minutes into the main road, he hastily maneuvered his motorcycle toward the Mall, the car that was following him passed him after this unexpected change of course. He made it to the Parking lot, and left his motorcycle after making sure that he had paid the correct amount. He knew he was racing against time as he entered the public bathroom (which was empty), and into one of the stalls. He changed his clothes, a brown wig concealing his black hair, and a pair of brown contact lenses hiding his amethyst eyes. His clothes were baggy, concealing his slight build. He left the bathroom and the Mall under his new disguise, and quickly hailed a cab.

He ordered the cab to go to another Mall, in order to change his disguise yet again. This time he changed to casual clothes, changed his hair style slightly, and wore black contact lenses. He left the Mall fairly quickly, and opted to walk to his destination. This guise was more likely to blend in the Japanese society.

Now, he focused on the streets, the cars' movements, and the traffic lights, both to make sure that he was not followed, and to shift his worry away from the sole reason of his survival up to this point.

It was always like that, between every meeting; the relief that lasted barely for a day, the anxiety building gradually over the week, and finally relief again. It was always worse, of course, when the separation was long. Ten days? Bad things happen in mere seconds, if not milliseconds.

Lelouch could attest to that.

And Kururugi dared to say that to him, did he? "You are so serious that you don't enjoy the life you have before you. I hope you realize that before it's too late."

As if Kururugi could understand what he was going through? A familiar sting in his eyes told him that he should focus on his surroundings, rather than on what idiots like Kururugi utter when they feel like it.

Finally he could see his final destination; he headed straight to the Pizza Hut.

He barely acknowledged the guy who opened the door for him, choosing to look around before spotting his target. Lelouch forced himself to walk. His indecision was always like that; stop and never listen to the bad news, or run to hear any news?

Black eyes made their appearance when she looked up at him. Her black hair and eyes didn't deceive him of course. That expressionless face was one of a kind.

But he didn't spare a moment to worry about that.

"They are perfectly safe and sound," she said calmly, as if she was talking about the weather. "They are with Cornelia and Rollo now, painting, besides Schneizel is not in the Palace. He's in Morocco. V.V is with him. "

Lelouch always appreciated the fact that she knew that it was best to answer his unasked questions. Lelouch sat down with a dull thud on the coach across her, and closed his eyes, a heavy sigh of relief leaving his lips.

In the past, he had considered the possibility that she was lying to him, but she had proven him wrong quickly after one month of surveillance. Back then, Nunnally had fallen off her horse, and nearly broken her neck. Thankfully, Cornelia was there, so there were no lasting injuries. He remembered that she had told him about it immediately after his arrival. It had caused him enough shock to make him land quite heavily on the couch. She had quickly reassured him of her safety, but since then, she had always made sure that he was near something that would cushion his fall whenever she had bad news, which, thank Heavens, was not often.

"Painting?" Lelouch asked faintly.

"Pizza?" she returned with an expressionless face.

"Of course," Lelouch said allowing a tired smile to make its appearance.

After making sure that they got her order (to be served with one large Pepperoni and Extra Cheese Pizza each thirty minutes until she said otherwise).

"Please indulge me, C.C, before they bring the Pizza," Lelouch requested.

He always did that as well, but her answer was always the same.

"Each Pizza is worth one story after eating it," she answered monotonously, but then she eyed him critically, or as critically as you can be with expressionless eyes, "I'll allow you to eat from the first Pizza. You look so thin." She stated rather insultingly. She managed that quite perfectly with her expressionless eyes.

Lelouch rolled his eyes, but he smiled nonetheless.

They spent the first half hour in silence, waiting for the Pizza. It was their routine, and they knew it was best not to divert away from it.

"Here you go," the waiter said cheerfully. Lelouch suspected that he expected a large tip. Lelouch held back a sigh. The gambling money he had won last time would be gone in an instant.

But it was worth it.

Though he would never admit it, he enjoyed C.C's company as much as her stories of his beloved sisters and brother. She wasn't oppressing, never questioned him, and knew that that he was more than an adult already.

"You should eat, you know, you are so thin, almost anorexic,"

Why do I have to remember him now? Lelouch wondered as he viciously took a large bite of the Pizza.

C.C blinked at him, and then smirked, "Who had managed to piss you off?" she asked casually.

"No one of importance," Lelouch answered quickly, maybe a little too quickly.

C.C's smirk widened, "So you don't deny that someone did piss you off?"

"I'm not going to acknowledge that with an answer," Lelouch finished his piece, and sat back as if he had finished.

C.C was not satisfied, "You have to eat four more pieces. Do not force me to blackmail you."

Lelouch grimaced, "Four more pieces? I will be sick! I will have nightmares!"

"No, you won't. Eat."

Lelouch sighed. This was going to be a long night.

-----------------------------

Suzaku frowned slightly, looking around. It was only six o'clock in the afternoon, and Lelouch had disappeared. Had he left the campus? So why was Rivalz here looking adoringly at their President?

The student council didn't seem to mind his absence, nor did anyone question the way Lelouch had left the classroom earlier today. Was he missing something?

Suzaku sighed. He should focus on his mission, instead of wondering about the missing youth. According to the intelligence that they had gathered, the second Prince of Britannia had been dead for the last five years, however, it was only last year that they had suspected that something was amiss. It was actually Kallen who had noticed the irregularity.

She had watched the funerals of Marianne, Charles Zi Britannia, and Lelouch Vi Britannia. All the deaths were unnatural, with a year apart, starting with Marianne's death, and finishing with Lelouch's death. It was still fresh in memory that the Britannian Empire was down with all the tragedy that struck year after year. In the Fourth year, people were actually waiting to hear that one of the Royal Family had met their demises as well, but that was avoided, although, Kallen had once voiced the opinion that tragedy did strike; Schneizel El Britannia became the 100th Emperor of the Britannian Empire.

No one was sure what had made Kallen watch the Funerals. Their ideals did not encourage sympathy for the Royal Family, even after their death. But her doubts brought them to the final conclusion that Lelouch Vi Britannia was alive.

It was all in the details, Suzaku remembered Kallen saying, and he quite agreed. The irregularities were subtle, but they were there. The casket showing Charles and Marianne's faces were exposed to the public, in order to have a last look at their Emperor and Empress. The public, however, didn't get to see Lelouch's face. Schneizel had said mournfully that the assassins had disfigured Lelouch's face, and he wanted the public to remember Lelouch as the beautiful prince he was. No one had disagreed with Schneizel's statement. No one had actually seen the young prince, but with the beauty of all his sisters and brothers displayed, who could disagree?

But then, during the transfer of the body, the casket had opened, allowing a reporter to capture a picture of the disfigured face. The photo was banned, but somehow, it found its way to the internet.

That's what made Kallen voice her misgivings, "Why would the casket open? And the reporter was so skilled that he got that photo? I seriously doubt it. And really, why would the assassin disfigure the face of the prince? Granted, he was the 99th Emperor of Britannia, but he hadn't done anything awful to warrant such treatment. He didn't even get the chance to rule as he was only twelve. I would say Schneizel is behind this, as he was the second in line to the throne, and the only one who would benefit from this. But then again, if he was behind this, why would he disfigure Lelouch's face? It serves no purpose. Anyway, does anyone know why Charles had shifted the power from Schneizel to Lelouch? Schneizel is his first born after all, and there's Cornelia between him and Lelouch."

The doubts made them investigate. They wanted to destroy the Britannian Empire from within, and if there was anything that would make conflict spring in the Empire, it would be blood feud. Betrayal of siblings was unforgivable.

So they had investigated, further uncommon coincidences uncovered. None of the Royal Family had seen the dead body, except for Schneizel. It was quickly explained that Lelouch was severely disfigured, and no one wanted to see him like that. Lelouch's beauty, it seemed, was unique, but that may never be known; there were no recent pictures of the young Prince, as he seemed the type to shy away from the cameras. The twins, Nunnally and Euphemia Li Britannia, had insisted that they wanted to see their brother, the maids whispered between themselves, but Schneizel wouldn't allow it, and it was understandable and natural at the time: who would show a disfigured corpse to eight-year-old children? Rollo Au Britannia, who was a ten-year-old boy back then, was harder to convince, but Cornelia La Britannia intervened before their oldest brother lost his temper. Even Cornelia didn't want to see Lelouch like that, not her beautiful little brother.

Therefore, it had caused them infinite grief when the face was revealed in the internet.

The murders had occurred within the Palace. The assassins of the three murders were caught, but were silenced before they could divulge any secrets. It was almost obvious that this was an inside job, but no one dared to investigate the Royal Family, the Law preferring to chase the pawns instead of their mastermind.

Again, Schneizel was the primary suspect. But even if he was behind all this, who would dare to go against the Emperor? But that was not his only defense; Schneizel was undeniably charismatic and kind to his own Empire, so why would any Britannian turn against him?

The most effective way to prove their theory was to dig the grave, but that was out of question. Not only was it unforgivable to disturb the dead, but the grave was, naturally, within the Royal graveyard, and access to that particular place was difficult if not impossible, let alone digging the grave without being discovered.

So that led them to the next option; observe Schneizel. Their theory depended on the fact that Schneizel wouldn't hide Lelouch, only to kill him later. Close observation of Schneizel was not easy; they were sure that Schneizel would make his visits to his brother with utmost secrecy, and under the cover of official meetings. However, it almost seemed deliberate how Schneizel wouldn't stay more than a week in the Palace every month, opting to wander through the World, in order to attend several meetings, check on the Britannian counties, and the Britannian troops that were engaged in war against terrorism through the world, along with the other major forces around the globe (Mainly the Chinese Federation, and the Euro Universe).

Schneizel's constant movement only managed to exhaust their resources, and so they decided to follow a new strategy. Lelouch Vi Britannia would be a 17-year-old teenager if he's alive. That meant he should be in one of the schools in the counties, within the countries that Schneizel visited frequently.

There were three schools that applied, and one of them was Ashford Academy in Japan, hence Suzaku was transferred to said academy. They would have depended on Kallen, but the fact remained that she was a girl, and wouldn't have access to the boys' dormitories as Suzaku would, of course, unless Kallen wanted her reputation to be effectively ruined. Her father wouldn't be happy to say the least.

All this brought him to his current predicament. Here he was, wondering where Lelouch Lamperouge had disappeared to, when he should be looking for Lelouch Vi Britannia. The irony was not lost on him.

-----------------------------

"Nunnally and Euphemia finished their dancing classes, which is why they are focusing on painting now. Rollo is always copying them so that he'd be next to them at all times. Euphemia is trying to dissuade him from that, saying he shouldn't follow them in the Sewing period. Back to painting, unfortunately, they are choosing Rollo's memory of you as a model, and the result was—interesting. Imagine yourself with wild long hair, purple eyes, a wide smile, and a red rose near your cheek."

Lelouch cringed slightly, "They are still novices," he said casually.

C.C took another bite of the Pizza. Looking at her eating so much made Lelouch's stomach churn. The fact that he had been forced to eat five slices pizza didn't help.

"Clovis is the one who is monitoring their progress, so you could always blame him," C.C took another piece, "You remember him, right?"

Who would forget a prince who insisted that frilly and flamboyant fashion was the way to go? "Of course, why would I forget my cousin? He's a remarkable artist, but no good at Chess."

C.C finished the last piece of Pizza. The Waiter was next to them in an instant.

"Would that be all, Miss?" Waiter asked, clearly torn between expectancy and dread.

Lelouch knew that could only mean that the employees were beginning to feel frustrated. Lelouch couldn't blame them; it was a weekday, nearing 11:30pm, and C.C still didn't show signs of being full. Lelouch knew that the employees were also bewildered at the fact that a girl who looked no older than 17 was eating such huge amounts, and still maintained such slim body. Some of them glanced at Lelouch with pity obvious in their eyes, and he was inclined to agree. He had lost count of how many orders C.C had asked for, but a quick calculation told him that she had eaten at least ten orders of large Pizzas. Maybe she doesn't eat when she's in the Palace?

To his horror, C.C was looking thoughtfully at the waiter, as if weighing her options.

A long pause—

"Yes, that would be all," C.C smiled slightly for effect.

"The bill, please," Lelouch added quite pleasantly.

"Right away, sir!" the waiter said enthusiastically.

Five minutes later, both of them were outside, and silently headed toward C.C's bike (Lelouch had seen it enough times to recognize it anywhere). The street was empty, gloomy despite the street lamps.

Suddenly, C.C did something that she had never done.

"Lelouch, you should stop worrying so much. Cornelia will never leave them alone with Schneizel. She doesn't trust him, not after your supposed death." She almost sounded human, expressing her 'concern'.

"Cornelia is alone against him, and his army," Lelouch said heavily. "She won't stand a chance."

"Cornelia has support—"

"I prefer to leave her out of this—"

"Lelouch, you have to get away, Schneizel's interest won't last that much longer," C.C nearly sounded frustrated. "It's been five years."

"His interest will never wane; I'm making sure of that." Lelouch didn't bother hiding his disgust.

"But this can't go for much longer, you—"

"I know."

Something in Lelouch's tone must have made her stop, because she only sighed heavily. "Be careful."

He opted to ignore the warning, "You are sure no one knows that you are here?"

C.C actually rolled her eyes. "Who do you think you are talking to?"

"Ah, I forgot," Lelouch smiled in amusement, "A witch,"

"Exactly,"

-----------------------------

Suzaku could now fully appreciate how terrible Milly could be when Lelouch was not around. The absence of her 'favorite' victim meant that her attention would be shifted elsewhere.

Apparently, embarrassing him was not enough, but now she's making him do all the paperwork? She's abusing her power!

"Don't whine, Suzy. Lelouch usually finishes it within 30 minutes," Milly said quite cheerfully, "Good night!"

Looking for a prince, he ended up being the dog of the Student Council.

Much later, with stiffness in his neck, Suzaku glanced at the clock, and blanched slightly. There was no curfew, really, but the idea of being caught by a grumpy teacher was not pleasant. It was almost midnight.

Suzaku stretched, and left the room, a handy flashlight in his hands. The club room was slightly far away from the dormitories, but Suzaku was confident that he would not be caught by anyone.

He had expected to catch someone though.

"Lelouch?"

The other teen didn't jump, but Suzaku could see that his back was as stiff as a board.

"What are you doing out here? Where were you?" Suzaku didn't like the way Lelouch looked. He was paler than usual, and he wasn't alert. Was he drunk? Suzaku sniffed, but all he could smell a strong whiff of cheese. Where was he?

"Later," Lelouch snapped.

Suzaku blinked, slightly stunned. He was certain that Lelouch was one of the few people he knew that didn't show many emotions, and irritation was a new one on the list. Surprise turned to concern as he watched Lelouch walk away. Suzaku hurried forward, and walked beside him, but Lelouch only ignored him.

The silence was not uncomfortable, but it was not companionable either. It was more as if they were not walking beside each other. Suzaku frowned slightly at his thoughts. Yes, Lelouch did have a very high wall around him, but he didn't come here to make friends. He was there to look for Lelouch Vi Britannia.

But he couldn't help it, really, Lelouch was a fascinating individual. Not only were his looks unique and attractive, but despite the aura of a great wall, Suzaku saw how people were drawn to the Prince of Ashford Academy.

He would make a great leader if he so desired, but if Shirley was to be believed, Lelouch didn't apply himself, because nothing would change. When asked what 'nothing' included, Shirley would only shrug, and say quietly, "It's just a feeling,"

Suzaku blinked again. They had stopped, and Lelouch had opened the door on the right, and entered his room. Lelouch pushed the door to close it, but not enough force was applied, so it stayed open. He must be tired, Suzaku thought almost fondly. He was about to close the door behind Lelouch when he saw the other boy take off his shoes, and proceeded to fall on the bed. Suzaku hesitated. He knew that the night was cold. Plus, there was the pale skin. Ok, he must admit, he was worried.

He pushed the door open, and stepped quietly in the dorm. He looked around, and was surprised to see that it was exceptionally clean. Even the shoes that Lelouch had just taken off were lined neatly next to the base of the bed. He looked at Lelouch, and noticed that he was actually sleeping quite soundly.

Suzaku sighed quietly. He knew it would be hopeless to look for extra covers in the dormitory, and he couldn't give his covers to Lelouch. Furthermore, he couldn't just pick Lelouch up, and tuck him in. He was sure it would be easy, but Lelouch would probably behead him.

So he headed toward the supply room in the ground floor, and it was ten minutes before he found them. Making his way quickly and quietly up the stairs to the fourth floor, he cursed softly under his breath; he had left Lelouch without covers for fifteen minutes.

He tried to control his breathing as he finally reached Lelouch's dormitory. Peering inside, he saw that Lelouch was not sleeping peacefully as he had thought. In fact, judging by the small groan that left Lelouch's mouth, he was having a nightmare.

It didn't take long for Suzaku to cross the room, and to place a hand on Lelouch's forehead. It always worked when he did that for Kaguya, his cousin, whenever she had a nightmare.

It seemed that Lelouch was not different from the rest of human kind, Suzaku thought in amusement as he watched Lelouch relaxing back, but he was yet again startled when Lelouch spoke.

"Get away from me . . . from them,"

For a moment, Suzaku thought that that Lelouch was addressing him, but the whisper was so full of hate, and Suzaku was sure he didn't warrant that yet. Also, his eyes were closed.

"You are safe, and so they are," Suzaku said softly in an attempt to calm him down, his hand moving to brush the inky bangs.

Lelouch smiled.

Suzaku blinked yet again, before grinning. He covered Lelouch with the blanket, and stayed another five minutes to make sure that no nightmares would disturb him again.

Finally satisfied, he got up and stretched. He stared at Lelouch for a second, before chuckling quietly.

"I don't think Lelouch Vi Britannia could be more beautiful than you," he whispered in amusement.

Maybe it was because he was so sleepy, but Suzaku was not disturbed by the idea.

Unknown to him, this was the most peaceful slumber Lelouch had in the last seven years.

T.B.C

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A/N: Wow. Did I just write 5000 words? Please reward me for such a long chapter?

I know nothing happened, but I'm establishing a plot and a relationship here, so I can't begin action any time soon.

Post Note: before any of you protest against the whole 'Zi, Vi, El, Au, Li Britannia' thing, I know I have changed Cornelia and Nunnally's middle names, and added Rollo to the Royal Family, but in this story Charles was married only once, to Marianne, but I didn't want to lose the 'Lelouch Vi Britannia' ring, but couldn't bear to change all of them to 'Vi', thus I have rearranged it a bit. Nunnally and Euphemia are twins thus they both are 'Li Britannia'.

Until next week.

La Luna Negra out.