Title: Just Like Magic!
Chapter Title: Meet Lloyd
Summary: A fairy tale gone wrong, in which Suzaku finds the wrong castle and Lelouch is a not-princess with some serious family issues. SuzaLulu.
Rating/Warning: M-Language, Mild Violence, Sexual Content
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, nor do I make monetary profit from this.
Commentary: Don't expect them all to be this fast, but maybe you'll get lucky. Also, THIS IS SELF-EDITED. BEWARE.
"It's your turn, you know," Lelouch commented as he slid into place behind Suzaku on Lancelot's back.
"My turn for what?" he gathered the reins as Lancelot started to move forward from habit.
"I shared my life story last night, now it's your turn."
It took a moment for Suzaku to collect his thoughts, "I was born the third son of a humble woodcutter," he began.
"I could swear I've read this somewhere," Lelouch mused.
"Alright then. My family died when I was seven."
"You blame yourself, don't you?"
"A farmer named Lloyd took me in. He taught me how to kill things. A few days ago, I decided to seize my destiny and got you instead."
"Good to know I'm loved."
"The end."
"Well that was interesting," Lelouch drawled.
Suzaku shrugged and increased the pace.
"Where are we going anyway?"
"My home village. We can re-supply and plan from there."
"Sounds good."
Just after dusk fell they reached a small farmhouse that, Suzaku told him, was on the outskirts of a medium-sized town.
Suzaku was getting Lancelot settled, Lelouch leaning awkwardly against a stable wall.
"You can go in to the main house, you know," Suzaku reminded him.
"It's your house, not mine." Which was a perfectly fine reason, as reasons went. It was, however, not the reason Lelouch was waiting for his host. The idea of meeting people, new people, terrified him. Suzaku wasn't terrifying because he'd taken him by surprise, and was his own age, and an idiot besides. Not threatening in the least.
There was no such guarantee for other people.
The door to the main house creaked open to the touch of Suzaku's hand. The interior was dim, but clean. A man sat a table near a window, bent over a sheet of parchment, scribbling down notes. He glanced up at the sound of the door opening.
"Well, Suzaku," he said, adjusting his optics, "I see you've found your princess after all."
Lelouch bristled, but Suzaku was already talking. "Hardly," Suzaku snapped, setting the saddle bag and Lelouch's sack down by the door. "This is Lelouch v-"
"Lamperouge," Lelouch cut in. "We met on the road and I informed him he was going to the wrong castle."
"He was?"
"There are two spellings of-"
"Ah, the spelling difference, of course, of course. Why didn't I think of that?" He hit himself lightly in the forehead with the palm of one ink-stained hand. "So, if you're not his princess, who are you?"
"Just a guide," Lelouch said stiffly, hoping Suzaku wouldn't wake up and start arguing. Idiot.
"Mm." He had clearly lost interest.
"Lelouch, Lloyd. Lloyd, Lelouch," Suzaku said mostly to himself.
"Cécile should be in the kitchen making dinner."
Suzaku nodded and lead the way, Lelouch following close behind.
The kitchen was similar to the first room in that it was very, very clean. Lelouch approved. Were he alive a few centuries later he would be pronounced OCD. He had initially attempted to keep the whole castle clean, but quickly learned to limit his manic ways to the areas where he spent most of his time. The stairs had not made the cut.
There was a woman at a sturdy looking table, cutting some form of vegetable.
She glanced up and smiled warmly, "Hello, Suzaku, it's good to see you. Who's your friend?"
"This is Lelouch v-Lamperouge. I met him on the road. He will guide me to the correct castle."
Well, Suzaku was a good parrot, if nothing else.
The woman, Cécile, nodded, "It's good to meet you, Lelouch. I'd shake your hand but mine are rather dirty at the moment."
Lelouch nodded and smiled, feeling quite tongue tied and blushing for some reason.
It was quiet, awkwardly quiet. "He's also not my one true love," Suzaku stated too loudly, hoping Lloyd would hear.
Cécile laughed, "I see you've spoken with Lloyd then. You should know better than to mind him by now. He's just… Lloyd."
"I heard that!" Lloyd yelled from the other room.
"I know you did! I did it on purpose!" She hollered back.
It got quiet again. "Do you want to show Lelouch where you'll be sleeping? You are staying the night, aren't you?"
"Yes, we're getting supplies and planning our trip to the real castle. We might be here a few days."
"Farm Wench! I need your help with these measurements! The project won't work unless they're right!"
She rolled her eyes and passed through the door to the front room.
"C'mon then." Suzaku didn't even look at him.
Lelouch kept his eyes proudly straight ahead, refusing to show just how out of sorts he was feeling. There were people, who got along, and acted like … a family. It was a concept he'd never encountered out of books.
Suzaku's room was at the back of the house and just as clean and Spartan as the rest. The only bed was small for one person.
"Er."
"You can have it, I don't mind the floor."
Lelouch supposed that he should be feeling guilty, but he didn't.
"What do you-"
Suzaku was cut off by the door being thrown open. Lloyd appeared, and Lelouch noticed for the first time that he was wearing some sort of white… robe. Well, the man was clearly... not right. Lelouch supposed he should be grateful, it could be much worse.
"Suzaaaku, I need your, ah, special abilities," he adjust his optics and smiled sadistically. "The results are absolutely integral to the success of this project."
Suzaku nodded grimly, apparently used to such treatment.
The minute he was gone, Lelouch collapsed on the bed, holding his head and trying not to start rocking back and forth. This was far too much social interaction.
He soon became restless. He got up and wandered to the kitchen, Cécile was there again, stirring a pot over a small woodstove. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, hands behind his back and shoulders tense.
The woman turned and smiled.
Lelouch blushed. "Is-is there anything I can do to help, Miss Cécile?"
She looked surprised, "Could you stir this? I should go help Lloyd or he'll write everything down wrong and we'll be held back another week. Again."
"What-what is it exactly that he does?"
She smiled again, she seemed to do that a lot. Lelouch decided it took a very calm, peaceful personality to deal with someone like Lloyd all the time. "It's probably best not to know."
He nodded and bit his lip, walking over to take the place before the stove.
Dinner was a novelty.
Cécile and Lloyd spent most of it bent over his "schematics" and arguing about things Lelouch had never heard of, while Suzaku occasionally chipped in an opinion, but more often an objection along the lines of, "No, I'm not doing that, you can't make me."
Lelouch was lost until Suzaku glanced over at him by accident, blinked once or twice, then snatched the sheet away from them and brandished it at the banished prince. "There! Tell them I can't do that without breaking something!"
He studied the drawing and frowned, "I don't think-I was definitely better off not knowing, but, ignoring that, you should shift the leg forward ten degrees and take out the L."
Lloyd looked flabbergasted, then beamed hugely. "Suzaku, I'm so proud of you. You've found me my one true love. I tell you, boy-"
"Lelouch."
"-if you decide you want to give up this adventuring business," he waved a fork, splattering gravy on the table, "I'd be happy to, ah, take you under my wing, as the saying goes."
"You mean you can finally replace me? Oh thank-"
"No, no. Suzaku, darling, you're integral. He'd be working on the planning phases with Farm Wench and myself."
"Damn," Suzaku stabbed a chunk of meat.
Lelouch considered the idea. There was no reason not to, slight mental scarring aside, "Alright, I may as-"
"No. You're helping me find my castle. You owe me, remember?" Suzaku stared at him seriously.
"I don't owe you! What did you do other than confuse my gender and-"
"And save you from-"
"Yeah, you did so much! Like making gay jokes at me as you made me cling to you on the back of your fucking pony."
Suzaku stood up and slammed his hands on the table, spattering it once again with gravy. "Leave Lancelot out of this!"
Not to be outdone, Lelouch stood up as well, "Oh, screw-"
"My, a lover's quarrel, how cute," Lloyd's drawl cut in.
Cécile hid a smile behind her hand as she shook with silent laughter.
As one, the two teens whirled on the Manic Farmer.
"We are not lovers!" Suzaku spat, finger pointed angrily.
"Like I would ever have sex with that idiot!" Lelouch spat as well, striking the same pose.
Lloyd pushed his optics up his nose and stood, "Well, Farm Wench, I think we should clear the table and leave the lovers to settle this. Don't you agree?"
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, stood and gathered some plates.
When they had left and the table was empty, Suzaku and Lelouch dropped to their respective benches.
"I hate prophecies," muttered Suzaku chin propped on his hand.
"I hate you," returned Lelouch mildly, hands on his crossed forearms, minding the gravy spills.
"Ugh, I'm sick of this," the brunet groaned, pushing away from the table. "I'm going for a walk, try to not piss anyone off enough that they kill you in my absence."
"Like I need you to protect me!"
"Could you actually fight anyone off with that sword of yours?" he taunted.
"Maybe a small child," Lelouch said with a wry grin.
Suzaku laughed despite himself, sitting down on the bench beside his companion. "A small child? You sure about that?"
"An unarmed small child. I was never good at fencing, Clovis could beat me."
"I could show you, if you wanted," Suzaku offered with an offhand shrug.
And just like that, Lelouch was an arrogant prick again. "I don't believe I'll be needing your instruction in anything anytime soon."
"It's a month-long trip, right? Who knows what's out there? If it comes to a fight, I don't want to be worrying about whether or not you can keep yourself alive."
Like you'd care. "I'm decent enough with the crossbow, thanks."
"Which is absolutely useless in mêlée. Look, it's just an offer, no need to get pissy."
"I'll consider it," he admitted grudgingly, "Maybe."
Suzaku grinned and stood, "Glad to hear it. If Lloyd asks, I'm out-"
"Walking, I know."
"Right. I don't suppose you'd want to-"
"No. I'm sleeping now. And you better have been sincere in that offer of giving me the bed."
"We could always share it, you know," Suzaku leered.
To his credit, Lelouch didn't blush, he did glower, "If I wake up to you crawling in beside me I'll-"
"Sissy slap me?"
He flinched, "I was going to say, I'd-"
"It's not an issue, you're not that pretty."
"You-"
"Night, love," Suzaku departed with a wave.
"Your pony sucks," Lelouch muttered to himself once he was sure Suzaku couldn't hear. He'd lost. Again.
A face appeared in the window just after midnight. Lelouch's eyes snapped open immediately, he didn't look at all surprised. Quietly, he slid out of the bed, stepped over Suzaku and stole out of the house, following the figure out of sight and hearing.
"Hello, CC."
The witch smiled, "It's been too long."
"You can hardly fault me for that as you're the one who decides the times of these little meetings of ours."
"All these years and you still haven't learned manners?" she laughed.
"As if you're one to talk. Is there a reason you called me out here or did you just want to disturb my sleep?"
"The same reason as ever, making sure you're well."
"As well as can be expected."
"Are you not glad to be out of your tower?" she twirled a strand of long green hair around her finger.
Lelouch shrugged stiffly, folding his arms across his chest and pointedly not answering the question, "I still haven't forgiven you."
CC rolled her amber eyes, "You know I have as much control over VV as he does over me."
"You could have told me the curse was a fake!" Lelouch snapped.
Something like amusement flared in her eyes, "That would be no fun."
"Ever out for your own gain I see."
"Like you can say differently," she scoffed.
Lelouch grinned despite himself.
She turned in the direction of the farm house, "You should go; he's awake and starting to worry."
"Who is?"
She laughed and began to walk away, "Your one true love, of course."
Lelouch cursed her under his breath, but loud enough to hear, as he began walking back.
He took pains not to let the door slam behind him when he entered. After running into multiple walls and inanimate objects he made it to the room he was currently sharing with Suzaku.
"Where were you?"
"I felt inspired to take a brief walk. I find it very pleasurable to not be confined."
"Nng," Suzaku nodded sleepily, rubbed at an eye and collapsed back onto the floor, sound asleep.
Lelouch smirked to himself as he crawled back into bed, one true love indeed.
A/N: Apart from the lack of length what do you guys thing? Feedback is much appreciated, as are reviews.
Also, do you guys like the chapters quick and more frequent or long and less frequent? I'm good either way.
Please review if you enjoyed it. (Or wish to complain.)