Lelouch's eyes fluttered open as the morning light came through the window. A small smile crept over his face as he inhaled the scent of the man next to him and he snuggled closer. He hadn't felt this content, this happy, for months. Euphemia had brought such brightness back into his life. Nunnally could see again. Nothing else mattered at the moment to him. Britannia didn't matter. Schneizel didn't matter. Japan didn't matter. The Black Knights didn't matter. He was overwhelmed with emotions. Overwhelmed with the fact that Suzaku was in his bed and he was warm and he smelled good and he felt good…
He carefully shifted his hips away from where they had been pressed against a muscular thigh. He knew he shouldn't. He knew it was risky, but Suzaku was a heavy sleeper… His fingers pressed underneath the loose t-shirt that Suzaku was wearing to feel the tight ab muscles and smooth skin. Suzaku didn't so much as stir as his fingers traced and caressed moving higher on the muscular torso. His other hand moved lower on his own body and rested on the front of his pants. He clenched his mouth shut to hold back any noises that might want to slip out. God having Suzaku in his bed, so vulnerable was hard. It was too hard to keep his hands from touching…
When his pinkie and ring finger dipped beneath an elastic waist band of the man next to him, he knew he had taken it too far. Suzaku groaned and made a small stretching motion. Lelouch froze and instantly put on his 'I'm asleep. Don't mind me' mask. Suzaku took a couple minutes to come back to the world and take in his surroundings. He was in Lelouch's room. In his bed. Lelouch's head was nuzzled up against his chest…and…thin elegant fingers were pressed inside the waist band of his pants…What!? Suzaku bolted to a sitting position and glanced down at Lelouch who was just waking up and scowling up at him.
"Geeze what's got you so worked up this morning?" Lelouch grumbled as he threw the hand that had been occupied with touching Suzaku over his face to hide the sunlight (maybe the slight blush as well)…His other hand was still a little occupied at the moment…
"Sorry" Suzaku said quickly. "Umm… I'm going to head back to my room and get ready for the day…" Suzaku practically ran from the room.
Lelouch stared at the door with a frown as it closed. He clicked his tongue with annoyance and glared up at the ceiling. Well fuck that didn't go quite as well as he had hoped… He did get himself into this mess though. He had no choice except to handle it at this point.
When Suzaku was free of the room and had walked a safe distance away, he leaned against the wall and took a couple of deep breaths. That could have ended up being thoroughly embarrassing for the both of them. He made a mental note to never sleep with Lelouch ever again.
"Oh Suzaku! You're up!" Euphemia said cheerfully.
Up? Was he up? He glanced down. Nope he was not. Thank god. "Hey Euhie…" he mumbled awkwardly.
"I was actually on my way to see Lelouch. Do you know if he's up yet?"
Suzaku glanced back the way he had come from. Was Lelouch up? Probably. If he said yes, that would mean that he had already been with Lelouch and it was early in the morning. He really didn't want to go into any weird explanations. "Maybe. I'm not sure…"
"Well let's go find out" she said cheerfully and grabbed his hand before he could protest.
Suzaku groaned internally. He did not want to see Lelouch right now and especially with Euphemia. She knocked softly on the bedroom door and called out. Lelouch's eyes shot towards the door in panic. This really was not the time for company… The door knob started to turn.
"No! Don't come in. I'm changing and I'll be out in a little bit" Lelouch called out quickly.
"Oh ok! Well when you're done come to Nunnally's room ok?" Euphemia called back.
"Yep. Got it" Lelouch responded in a calm and collected voice. Very at odds with how he felt at the moment.
Suzaku ended up hanging out with Gino and Anya in the kitchen waiting for the other three occupants of the house to make an appearance. He glanced at the kitchen entrance way a couple of times. He was slightly frustrated that the three friends hadn't made an appearance yet, but he wasn't about to go find them. There was a little bit of fear in him that Euphemia was going to replace him in their lives. Replace him in Lelouch's life. Lelouch didn't let people get close, but he had let Suzaku get close and it made him feel special. No one had ever treated him the way Lelouch did… and now there was Euphemia… and Lelouch looked at her like she was special… and he didn't like it even if that made him petty. He also didn't like Gino asking so many probing questions about Lelouch. He didn't like that at all…
Lelouch knew that he was wasting the Christmas break from classes. He knew that he should be strategizing and taking action against Britannia, but he just couldn't find the motivation to do it. He couldn't seem to tear himself away from the little bubble of happiness that had surrounded him. Nunnally could see and between her and Euphemia the house was filled with their effervescent personalities. Suzaku was still there albeit a little more sullen than usual, but Lelouch could deal with it. He could still pull those dazzling smiles from the tan brunette, so it was ok. The only real annoyance and it really wasn't that bad was that wherever Euphemia went, she was followed by Gino and Anya. He chose to ignore Gino for the most part. The tall handsome blonde with the strong jaw and strong arms and charming smile was really sometimes too much for Lelouch to process…too noisy…too in his space. Anya was pretty easy to ignore as well since she didn't say much.
He flopped down one night on his bed with a content sigh.
"Just a question. When are you going to stop playing house?" CC climbed on the bed and hovered over him on her hands and knees.
"Hmm…nice to see you too. It's been a while since you made an appearance" Lelouch commented dryly.
"Well one of us still had to work…and being in a house with Britannian knights is not my ideal environment. You have noticed it haven't you? The Black Knights are getting frustrated. Nothing has happened for weeks except for Rolo's little assignments."
"I know. Kallen has been bugging me and running interference…" Lelouch let out an annoyed sigh. "I just can't seem to find the will at the moment."
"Are you really going to throw everything you've worked for away just because your sister can see again? Also, I've heard some interesting news about your beloved sister…She is now more at risk than ever before you do realize that don't you?"
"Yeah…ok…Fine" Lelouch grumbled and pushed CC off of him.
She rolled on her side and watched him with glowing amber eyes. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going scheming. Are you coming with?" Lelouch responded in a bored tone and reached out his hand to her.
She let a little smile tilt on her lips and grabbed the outstretched hand.
Suzaku was talking with Euphemia and Nunnally on the couch when he got the call from Cecile. Gino and Anya had been hovering in another room when they also were notified. Zero and his Black Knights were on the move again. Suzaku growled as he grabbed his jacket to leave. It had been a Christmas miracle that Zero had seemed to disappear for weeks, but now he was back and apparently with a vengeance. He glanced one more time at the house as he left. Lelouch had gone off to town on an errand and Suzaku hoped he was ok and not caught up in the mayhem…
The snow started to dwindle off and it was just cold now. It seemed that the weather only ignited the Black Knights movements. There were multiple times where Suzaku had been cornered or forced to withdraw and he was frustrated. Being at home didn't help either. Euphemia was still her sweet lovable self, probing him with questions about his love life. Eventually she moved on to trying to steal kisses from time to time. She was an observant woman and she knew there were no other girls in his life that met the romantic criteria. Lelouch had started getting irritable when it was just the three of them. His claws would extend and Suzaku could see fangs from time to time. Euphemia was his princess, but he didn't like the fact that she was stealing Lelouch away from him. He didn't like that it appeared that Lelouch would rather not have him there with them. It bugged him and it hurt… Lelouch was his friend. His best friend. He didn't want to lose him. He didn't want to lose how close they were…
After another night of fighting the Black Knights he was tired, so tired, by the time he stumbled into the Lamperouge household. His home. He was tired of feeling isolated from the one person he was closest to. That is why he stumbled into Lelouch's bedroom that night and collapsed on the bed…an empty bed… Where was Lelouch? Why wasn't he here?
CC was the first one in his room that night and looked down at the sleeping form on the bed. Lelouch came in a moment later actually looking forward to showering. Of course only to get rid of the sweat on his body. Showers were still obnoxious, but it was needed after an obnoxious day. The green haired girl raised her eyebrow at him and gestured towards the bed. A little smirk playing at her lips. Lelouch stared at the bed with wonder and carefully brushed brunette curls off of a tan forehead.
"So what are you going to do with the sweaty stinky man in your bed?" she asked with amusement.
Lelouch pondered the question. "I'm going to go shower and then I'm going to make him shower. Then I'm going to make him come back to bed and we're going to sleep."
"You could just shower together you know?" CC's eyes twinkled with amusement and then chuckled when Lelouch glared at her. "Just try to not let your hands get so handsy this time…Don't want to scare him away again…Night."
"Night…" Lelouch took one last look at the man in the bed and then showered. Quickly. It was more of a step in and step out kind of exchange between him and the water. He came back out and stood next to the bed just letting his eyes roam over the prone body. He then nudged him until emerald green eyes looked at him dazedly. "You smell. Go shower and then come back to bed."
Suzaku's eyes snapped open and looked at Lelouch…who was standing next to the bed with nothing but a towel on. Still damp from the shower. Water droplets trailed down pale skin that was illuminated by the moonlight. He swallowed and looked away. It took him a moment to process the information and then he stood up and headed to the adjoining bathroom. By the time he came back out, Lelouch was reclining against his headboard fully dressed in pajamas and reading a book. His violet eyes trailed over Suzaku's towel clad body. With the light on, Suzaku could catch a weird look in them, but it was gone in a flash.
"Are you coming to bed?" Lelouch asked indifferently.
Suzaku blushed. A lot. "I don't have any pajamas here…"
Lelouch chuckled. "We're both guys. We have the same equipment. I don't mind if you sleep in just a towel."
Suzaku choked and sputtered. This apparently was a very bad idea. A very awkward idea…he really should just leave. He took a step towards the door ready to say his goodnights and flee.
"Wait. There are some clothes on the chair next to the bathroom" Lelouch said quickly. "Please don't leave…"
The way he said it made Suzaku's heart clench. Lelouch still wanted him to stay. He still cared. They could still be close… He grabbed the clothes. He put the shirt on first and then put the pants on next. Careful to keep the towel covering him until they were in place.
Lelouch's eyes never left him. Not that Suzaku would know because he was looking the other way. They didn't leave him as he walked over to the bed and climbed in. Lelouch realized after a moment that he had stopped breathing and took a deep breath to try and calm himself down, but it was hard. He set the book down and shut off the light. They laid in silence on their backs looking up at the ceiling.
"Suzaku. Thanks for staying" Lelouch said quietly and then wove his fingers together with Suzaku's fingers.
Suzaku felt the strong urge to pull away from the hand hold, but he didn't. "Anytime…Thanks for letting me stay" he responded just as quietly.
Suzaku had been feeling a little better as of late. At least in the relationship department not in the military one. Euphemia had stopped trying to steal kisses and had pulled away slightly which seemed to make things easier between him and Lelouch. It was nice that things seemed to be getting back to normal…well normalish…kind of… He still felt weird when it came to his best friend… like right now when Lelouch was standing next to Milly and Shirley on the stair landing and he was listening to the ridiculous Valentine's Day event.
To sum it up – Lelouch and Shirley were the Valentine Day sweethearts. They each had a heart shaped hat on their head. Shirley was blushing. Lelouch was trying to look nonchalant, but there was a little bit of scowl sneaking through. The person who stole their hat and delivered it to Milly would win a romantic Valentine's Day dinner for two. It also didn't matter if a girl stole Shirley's hat or a guy stole Lelouch's. Per Milly, everything is fair in love and war.
Back to the reason he felt weird – Gino was grinning like an idiot and winked at him. He would do anything he could to keep Lelouch's hat out of those large masculine hands. Euphemia had whispered in his ear asking him to help her get Lelouch's hat… for herself… How the hell could he say no to that!? His sweet cotton candy princess had asked him for a personal favor. Which was to deliver the blue heart shaped hat into her hands… so that she could go on a romantic dinner with his Lelouch! Uh. He meant his best friend. Just friends. Completely platonic best friends.
He glanced around and noticed that they weren't the only one's gunning for the coveted blue hat based on the whispers and hungry glances. Kallen looked absolutely deadly. It was kind of creepy. Not that he was too worried about her as her health seemed pretty frail and she wouldn't be too fast… speaking of someone who wasn't fast… Lelouch was horrible at anything athletic. This was going to be a chaotic nightmare…
Milly gave the Valentine sweethearts a head start. After 15 minutes she blew a whistle and all hell broke loose. Suzaku wasn't sure what was worse – a battle with the Black Knights or a skirmish with hormone filled teenagers. It really was a tossup. It was kind of interesting that no one had come across Lelouch yet, but he was always good at disappearing. Suzaku knew that well enough. He also knew Lelouch well enough to figure out where he was probably hiding… which he did because well he knew Lelouch…
He opened closet after closet in the farthest building away from the main event. He smiled fondly when his eyes landed on the crouched down figure of Lelouch in the corner of one. Lelouch and closets really did have a close bond after all. Lelouch looked up at him with relieved violet eyes and sighed.
"Are you here for my hat? To save me from the uncontrolled masses?" he asked snarkily.
"Why yes I am" Suzaku gave him a dazzling smile. The one that made Lelouch's heart go a pitter pattering in his chest.
"Thank god" Lelouch said letting out a deep breath and forcefully shoving it into Suzaku's hands. He stood up and dusted himself off. "Do not let anyone steal it from you."
"Of course." Suzaku trailed his fingers through the black hair to try and sooth the frustrated man.
Lelouch leaned into the touch…and he almost purred…but he didn't because he had pride and dignity. He was so thoroughly relieved that it was Suzaku that had found him. It was Suzaku that would be taking the hat to Milly. It would be Suzaku who he got to have a romantic dinner with…and no he was not going to squeal like a fan girl. Remember he had dignity.
Suzaku dashed off quickly to deliver the hat and Lelouch followed at a leisurely pace. He didn't have anything left to worry about. He was hatless after all. When he finally made it to the stairs Milly was announcing the victors… Some jockey looking dude had won Shirley's hat. He didn't remember the guy's name and really he didn't care. Milly then announced that Euphie Stewart had won his hat…and Lelouch felt his heart stop… Apparently he wouldn't be going to dinner with Suzaku because Suzaku had given his hat away…to Euphie. Suzaku had promised! He looked through the crowd for the dipshit in order to give him a piece of his mind, but he didn't spot him anywhere.
Suzaku conveniently stayed out of his sight the rest of the day and Lelouch was pissed. Stupid muscular meat head. Did he not understand anything!? Lelouch growled as he got dressed for his supposedly romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant…with his sister… Gwah. Dammit! What a lousy fucking Valentine's Day. He was so very irritated that his claws ripped through another tie. He chucked it down with the other three he had inadvertently destroyed and then he said fuck it. He would just not wear one.
"Wow. You look like you're ready to murder someone. Where's all the love on such a loving holiday?" CC asked only slightly mockingly from where she was perched on his bed eating a box of chocolates.
Lelouch growled and let out a little hiss.
"Woah. You need to calm down. Come here and sit." CC patted the spot next to her and Lelouch reluctantly sat and rested his face in his hands. "Good boy" she said soothingly and didn't even flinch when Lelouch glared at her with slit pupils. She slowly started to run her fingers through his hair as she used her other hand to continue eating.
It took a couple of minutes and deep breaths before Lelouch was able to fully reign in the sexually frustrated beast inside of himself.
"Suzaku bailed on you" CC said in a matter of fact tone.
"Suzaku bailed on me" Lelouch agreed and ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Well whatever. I have 15 minutes before I go pick up my date for our romantic dinner." He grimaced.
"Do try to enjoy yourself. You won't be able to spend forever with her after all. Eventually you'll have to pull the metaphorical trigger."
Lelouch made noise of agreement and stood up. "How do I look?" he asked sarcastically.
"Like you could knock a princess right off her feet."
Ok. So Lelouch had to chuckle at that one. Even if it was just a little chuckle. He knew he really should try to enjoy tonight. CC was right. It was getting ever closer to having to pluck the beautiful little flower that was his sister from the world and put her in the glass (metal/concrete/whatever) vase with the rest of the bouquet. However, even though he told himself to enjoy the night, he still felt a sour taste in the back of his mouth. He still had to put on the carefully crafted smile.
Euphemia was observant and she saw the slight bitterness in her older brother. "You don't want to be here with me?" she asked in a tone that wasn't asking. It was more like stating a fact as she took a sip of her water.
"Whatever makes you think that?" Lelouch answered in the form of a question and took a bite of his dinner.
"Because you look unhappy. You were expecting Suzaku weren't you?"
"Why would I expect Suzaku? Just because I willingly gave him the hat and he said he wouldn't let anyone take it from him? Well I guess you aren't just anybody though are you?"
"You're in love with him aren't you?" Euphemia asked and watched her brother's face closely as he choked on his water. Even in the dim candlelight she could see the tell tale signs of blushing. She was observant after all…
"I-" Lelouch cleared his throat. "Suzaku is my best friend. I am very fond of him."
Euphemia giggled. "You don't need to hide behind half truths with me Lelouch. I see the way you look at him."
"I am not quite sure what you mean. I look at him the same way as I look at you or Nunnally. As someone important" Lelouch continued indifferently.
"Hmm…there you are hiding again. It's not quite the same and you know it. On a side note, I think I finally figured out why I never found Suzaku's mystery girl because there was no girl… but there is you…" Euphemia trailed off suggestively waggling her eyebrows. She giggled again at her brother's lack of response and renewed focus on eating.
Ok. So dinner with Euphemia wasn't the worst. It was even kind of fun, but it wasn't with Suzaku. Which meant that it was mediocre at best. Lelouch walked down the hall of his house with a vengeance and determination. He knocked on the bedroom door and waited momentarily before opening it (pretty much the second he stopped knocking).
Suzaku had been lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling…shirtless. Now he was sitting on the bed…shirtless. Lelouch stomped into the bed and sat down. He then proceeded to place the little box he was carrying down.
Suzaku stared at him with wide startled eyes. "Wha-"
Lelouch cut him off. "Suzaku Kururugi you are a complete jack ass. You told me that you wouldn't let anyone steal the hat. Explain yourself."
Suzaku's eyes darted away from his and he chewed on his lower lip causing Lelouch's gaze to focus on his mouth. "I..uh…Euphie asked and I couldn't say no…" he replied lamely.
"Why not?" Lelouch said still all angrily like.
"Because she's my princess Lelouch. I'm honor bound to serve her as a member of the Britannian military…"
"Lame and not an acceptable answer. I'm disappointed in you." Lelouch reached out and whacked him upside the head.
"Ow! Fuck! What the hell Lelouch?" Suzaku stared at him with wide eyes and rubbed his head. Ok. So it didn't hurt that bad. Lelouch was pretty damn weak, but still he had never hit him before.
"I don't like being disappointed" Lelouch grumbled and then opened the box to reveal a piece of cheesecake. "I brought you dessert since you were the actual person to win the hat…" Lelouch trailed off and averted his gaze.
Suzaku stared at his best friend in amazement as the blush spread across the pale skin. "Really? Thanks Lelouch" he said happily.
Lelouch's violet eyes trailed back to him and focused on the dazzling Suzaku smile. "Anytime. Here's a fork…" Lelouch mumbled and handed over a fork. "I'm eating some too just to warn you."
"Of course!" Suzaku said with a mouthful of cheesecake. Lelouch let a little smile flit across his mouth as he took a much more elegant bite of the dessert. Maybe it didn't have to be a fucking lousy Valentine's Day after all.
