Chapter Three: Ironic

"You like Suzaku." Lelouch wanted to deny it. Milly could tell by his face. Normally, it was calm and collected, but this time Milly could see his inner struggle clearly. The grin on her face disappeared. She sat down in front of Lelouch and waited, her worry clear.

Lelouch finally sighed and leaned his elbows on his knees. "I already know you know, so there's no point trying to deny it." He had been staring at the floor when he spoke, but now he looked up at Milly. "I do like him," he admitted after a moment hesitation.

Milly nodded, saying, "This explains why you denied Shirley when she asked you out. But why would you… well, wait for him?"

The hurt, defeated expression that passed his face nearly broke Milly's heart. "He'd been homophobic since I'd met him," Lelouch began, but Milly interrupted him.

"How about you tell me the story first," Milly said softly, resting her hand on his arm. "Tell me when you first knew you liked him."

Lelouch nodded, swallowing. By now, he'd normally close down and tell the person to mind their own business. Milly was different though; she was his oldest friend. Besides… he wanted to tell her.

"After Suzaku and I were friends, we'd do a lot to together. He loved to explore, so he'd invite me and Nunnally would come along to; she always loved to ride on Suzaku's back." For a moment, Milly smiled, but it faded quickly.

Lelouch continued. "This one 'adventure' we were doing would take days. Suzaku told me so, so we packed food and some equipment and then we headed out. The first day, we made a lot of progress, but I made it slower than normal. We had gone through three fields and were half way into a forest. I wasn't going to say I was exhausted, but Suzaku could tell. So he forced me to stop, set Nunnally carefully on the ground, and we set up camp. There was a nice fire and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We ate and told old campfire stories until we decided to go to bed. We had a tent up and Suzaku and I decided Nunnally should sleep between us. So we settled in, and said our good nights. I had put my arm around Nunnally and planned to close my eyes when I felt my hand brush Suzaku's. I knew it was his by how it felt; it was roughened from hard labor. But he couldn't tell it was my hand he was touching, so he assumed it was Nunnally's and held it." Lelouch frowned, pausing in his story.

"What is it?" Milly wondered, curious as to what had happened next.

"I couldn't find a logically explanation to why I didn't pull away. I knew Suzaku was homophobic, but I kept a hold on his hand until I was asleep." Lelouch swallowed again. "It finally dawned on me the next night why I didn't pull away. Nunnally had fallen asleep, but Suzaku and I weren't tired yet. We were all lying in a field without the tent; it was a hot summer's night, perfect for sleeping out under the stars. To allow Nunnally her rest, we moved away and Suzaku began to tell me a story about the stars. We were lying so close, much closer than what Suzaku normally allowed and I really enjoyed it for some reason. We accidentally fell asleep during the story. When I woke up early morning and I was cuddling up next to him, I finally realized I liked him."

At this point, Lelouch tried to shrug casually. "The feelings weren't going away, even when we were separated. I guess I kind of hoped his fear would go away."

At the end of his explanation, it was obvious Lelouch was embarrassed. But Milly, she found it to be a cute little tale. Milly smiled and she squeezed his arm.

"That was so cute, Lelouch," she giggled, but her giggle died quickly. "But don't be discouraged. There's always a chance you'll end up with him. If you try hard enough, that is." She smiled again. "Well, I've got to get going. I'm meeting up with Kallen before lunch is over."

"See you at gym then," Lelouch nodded, standing up. He was quick to leave the room, Milly noted, but it just made her smile and head off to find Kallen.

Lelouch headed straight for class, avoiding anyone he could. Talking was definitely something he wanted to avoid right now. Talking and Suzaku of course.

Milly secretly watched Lelouch run off for class, then turned to Kallen and grinned. "Well, my reasons for this festival have officially come to light."

"What do you mean?" Kallen wondered, looking at Lelouch as well. Milly whispered something into Kallen's ear. This something made Kallen's eyes widen and look at Milly in disbelief, but Milly just grinned and walked off for gym.

~~~~~*~~~~~#

The bell rang, signaling for everyone to head for their next class. Lelouch walked into the Boys' Changing Room and began to change into his gym clothes. Rivalz was looking over at Lelouch, concerned. Normally, the raven-haired boy skipped this class. What was wrong with Lelouch?

"Hey, Lelouch," Rivalz said, "what's up with you? Normally you skip this class."

Lelouch shrugged. "I can't skip anymore. The teachers are monitoring me more closely," he explained, pulling the shirt over his head.

"Do you realize what today is?" Rivalz asked.

Lelouch nodded, somber.

That's when Suzaku walked in. Quickly, Lelouch turned back to his locker, in hope of avoiding eye contact, but he tripped and fell forward right onto the wooden bench. He closed his eyes and cursed himself silently.

Suzaku helped Lelouch sit back up and wondered, "Are you all right?"

Lelouch nodded, lightly touching his bruising stomach. He grimaced. "The pain should fade soon. I'll be fine."

"Can I look?" Suzaku wondered. Numbly, Lelouch nodded and lifted up his shirt slightly. Suzaku leaned down to look at the stomach. Blushing, Lelouch leaned his head back against some of the lockers and tried not to think what he was imagining.

"So, am I all right, Sir Kururugi?" Lelouch wonder after several moments of Suzaku being quiet.

"Yeah, you're fine," Suzaku grinned. He stood up and began to strip off his school uniform. Lelouch suddenly flushed and looked away. He stood up quickly.

"I'll see you in gym, Suzaku," he said before hurrying out of the room. Suzaku gave him a weird look as he left the room.

Lelouch walked into the gym, mentally cursing himself and flinching with every step he took. He ignored the pain, hoping that today would be an easy day of gym.

It wasn't an easy day. As soon as the bell had rung and the entire class had gathered into the gym, the teacher took them outside to the running track. Lelouch tried not to groan and ended up glancing at Suzaku, who was grinning.

"Every one of you is going to be running this track all hour. I don't want to see any of you slacking off; at least stay at a slow jog." He blew his whistle. "Line up into three lines now!"

In the end, Lelouch found himself behind Suzaku in the second line. He sighed, closing his eyes, then took a deep breath. He could do this, completely focused. At least, he hoped so. So, crouching down, Lelouch got ready to run.

The teacher blew his whistle and the first line dashed. Lelouch tried not to watch Suzaku, but he found his eyes trailing after the chocolate brown-haired boy. He shook his head, and then heard the whistle. He didn't hesitate, taking off at a decent speed that wasn't too fast or too slow.

It wasn't long before he caught up to line 1. Lelouch spotted Suzaku suddenly and for some reason, focused solely on Suzaku. His legs burned from the exertion of his muscles, his sides were screaming in pain, and it seemed every breath he took ripped apart his lungs, yet he continued to run.

His vision suddenly flashed and he stumbled, but continued to run. Vaguely, he swore he heard someone shout his name. There was a flash of pain. And suddenly, he was looking at the ground… then nothing.

#

"Lelouch… Lelouch!" He blinked slowly and found himself staring at the sky. Lelouch groaned and tried to cover his eyes, but he found Milly Ashford leaned over him, her eyes worried. Then he noticed Rivalz, Shirley… and Suzaku. Lelouch closed his eyes again and groaned.

"What happened?" he mumbled, slowly opening his violet eyes.

Milly tsked and helped Lelouch sit up. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Lelouch. It's not good for you."

"You passed out right in the middle of the track, Lulu. You should be more careful!" Shirley scolded.

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Rivalz demanded.

Suzaku was the only one who asked, "Are you all right?"

Lelouch nodded to Suzaku and tried to stand. His legs collapsed out under him. Suzaku, out of reflex, caught Lelouch and helped hoist him up.

"Kururugi! Take Lamperouge to the nurse," the gym teacher barked, and then turned to his other students. The rest of Lelouch friends watched as he stumbled along with Suzaku.

Suzaku glanced at Lelouch as they walked, noticing Lelouch blank gaze. "So, why did you push yourself so hard?" he asked after a moment.

Lelouch jolted back into reality and looked at Suzaku carefully. "Maybe I wanted to be more active."

Suzaku laughed and looked back at Lelouch. The serious look on his face wiped the smile from Suzaku's face. "You're serious?"

After a moment, Lelouch nodded.

"Why do you want to?"

Lelouch shrugged.

"And why aren't you talking to me directly?"

Lelouch sighed and shrugged again. "I'm not in a talkative mood." After a moment, he added quickly, "It hurts to talk."

Suzaku nodded in understanding. The two walked and limped in silence until they arrived to the nurse's office. She bustled around, clucking like a mother hen over Lelouch. Suzaku stayed out of the nurse's way, quietly observing.

She clicked her tongue and gave Lelouch a long look. "Lelouch, you cannot push yourself so hard. So far, your muscles are going to be screaming in pain for the next several days, your throat is going to be raw, and you'll be lucky to be able to breathe properly. No one, especially someone as unfit as you, should never, ever run until you pass out!" She looked over at Suzaku. "Are you going to watch over him?"

Suzaku blinked, surprised, but he nodded.

The nurse nodded and smiled at Suzaku. "Well, I'm glad there are some people in this academy who don't mind spending time together, even though you're of different races."

Suzaku grinned. Lelouch grimaced and tried to sit up. The nurse pushed him back down and turned to Suzaku. "I want him on bed rest for today and if he still isn't able to move on his own, he should be tomorrow too. There will be some medicine he needs to take for the pain in the muscles and his throat should be solved with a syrup of mine."

"All right, can you give me the times I should give him the medicine?"

The nurse nodded and began to collect the medicine. For several minutes, her and Suzaku talked quietly over by her counter, Suzaku observing a bottle of very large pills and nodding occasionally.

Finally, Suzaku came over to Lelouch and helped him sit up.

"I'll carry him back to his room," Suzaku said, already knowing Lelouch wouldn't want to use a wheelchair.

The nurse nodded her agreement, handing a bag to Suzaku. She looked over at Lelouch. "You need to be more careful, understand?"

Lelouch nodded, though concentration was trying to get onto his feet. Suzaku ended up putting Lelouch's arm over his shoulders again. They walked back to his room silently, where Suzaku helped Lelouch in bed.

"Thanks… Suzaku," Lelouch murmured as his eyes began to close. Suzaku sat on the edge of Lelouch's bed.

"Take some medicine first," Suzaku urged, holding out a pill and glass of water for Lelouch. After a moment, he nodded, sitting up slightly. After the pill and water was down, Suzaku gave Lelouch some of the syrup, and finally allowed the boy to rest.

#

Lelouch woke up late in the afternoon. He yawned widely and sat up. His muscle screamed for him to lay back down, but he had to go pee. Really bad. So he struggled out of bed.

Once he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and was fully sitting up, he sat there for a moment, with his eyes closed from the pain. But not too long, he pushed himself up again and began to stumble to the main bathroom.

He didn't think to knock on the door. He was sure he was alone. So why, when he opened the door, was Suzaku in the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist? Lelouch's cheeks tinged to a light pink and he quickly stammered an apology as he started to close the door.

"I'll be gone in a moment Lelouch. Do you need to use the bathroom?"

"Yeah," Lelouch murmured. He leaned against the wall, the image of Suzaku's body in his mind. This didn't help Lelouch at all. He just wanted to forget about his unrequited love to the Japanese boy, but it seemed every time he was close to it, something seemed to snare him back. It was so infuriating.

Suddenly the door opened and out walked Suzaku. Lelouch started to straighten up, but instead, his leg muscles decided to give out. Lelouch collapsed to the floor with a grunt.

In an instant, Suzaku was beside Lelouch and helped him to his feet. Lelouch tried to ignore the fact every time Suzaku moved Lelouch could feel the muscles of his arm and chest. It didn't help that Suzaku wasn't dressed yet or that his skin was still slightly wet.

"Are you going to be able to get out of the bathroom yourself?" Suzaku wondered as he helped lower Lelouch onto the closed toilet lid. Lelouch nodded, jolting into reality.

"Yeah, I think. I'll call if I can't." Suzaku nodded and left the bathroom.

After Lelouch was finished using the bathroom, he struggled back into his bottoms and shakily stood up. He managed to wash his hands and started back to his room at a slow pace. Suzaku walked out of the spare room as Lelouch began to pass.

"Do you need help?" Suzaku wondered, only his green eyes expressing how concerned he really was. Lelouch didn't want to rely on Suzaku; he could take care of himself! But, as he looked at Suzaku's eyes, then face, he couldn't help but sigh and nod once. Suzaku's relief was clear as he put one of Lelouch's arms over his shoulder and then Suzaku wrapped his own arm around Lelouch's waist.

"Thanks, for helping," Lelouch said after a moment.

Suzaku grinned. "I don't mind. I do like you aren't arguing against any of my help. Normally, you hate any form of help…" Suzaku trailed off, but grinned again at Lelouch. "It just shows how much I don't know about you in seven years."

Lelouch couldn't help, but smile. Suzaku had no idea. Lelouch said, "At least with you moving in with Nunnally, Rolo, and I, we'll get close again."

Suzaku nodded his agreement and opened Lelouch's bedroom door. After Suzaku helped him sit on his bed, Lelouch asked him to grab his pajamas, which were neatly folded on top of a dark oak dresser. Suzaku handed them to Lelouch, along with some more pills ("You need to take them every two hours," Suzaku said). Lelouch had to take the pills before Suzaku would leave the room. Lelouch eased out of his bottoms with surprising ease, then stripped off his shirt with more difficulty.

Once he was redressed, he fell back on his bed with a groan and began to close his eyes. Nunnally and Rolo wouldn't be home for another two hours. He could sleep for a while longer…

But his mind trailed to Shirley. He knew how she felt; her feelings for him were unrequited just as his liking for Suzaku was. He felt terrible for not being able to return the feelings, but he didn't want to hurt her by pretending he liked her. If only he could get his mind to unattach itself from his feelings, life would be better. Life was ironic like that. Sometimes, such as this situation, it could be a bitch as well.

Lelouch only sighed and forced his mind clear. Before he had a chance to fall asleep himself, his medicine took over and succumbed him to unconsciousness.

~A/N~

Thanks so much for all the reviews! It helps so much with my motivation for the story. So, I know a lot about those who don't review, but add my story to their alerts or favorites. You should review also! It's just an amazing thing to do.

Anyway, thanks for reading this next chappie too! I hoped you enjoyed.

So... until next time...

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