Hi, I finally got this chapter done! I'm sorry for the wait but life has been chaotic for me. On the bright side, this is a really long chapter ^^. I have no idea how, it just turned out that way. A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited,... In return, here's chapter 11!

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Code Geass in anyway.

Chapter 11 – A Change for the Better

After Lelouch had answered, Suzaku was momentarily stunned. He stared blankly at his companion for a few seconds before blinking rapidly to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

"Um...can you repeat that again?" The brunette asked, still not believing that Lelouch had accepted his request.

"I said, I. Will. Do. It." Lelouch replied and emphasized each word with irritation this time. He never liked giving in to anything.

"Really?"

"Yes, now quit asking that already! And stop staring at me like that!"

Suzaku cleared his throat a few times and looked away when he saw that Lelouch was getting very agitated.

"Sorry about that, I just couldn't believe that you'll agree to do it."

"Shut up! I'll change my mind if you keep saying it like it's a bad thing!"

"Ok, Ok, I'm sorry."

"Hmph!"

Lelouch turned away and looked out to the sea. Not long after, he turned back again when he felt Suzaku's tanned arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to the brunette's body. Woah! I didn't hear him move closer at all. Not knowing how to react, Lelouch just sat still while the latter continued holding him in a warm embrace.

"Thank you, Lelouch." Suzaku whispered into the raven's hair.

"I said that I will help you, but I still have things to make clear though."

"What? What's wrong?" Suzaku asked as he moved back immediately. Lelouch couldn't help but whine a little inwardly as he lost the comfortable warmth.

"Nothing's wrong, I just have a few conditions. First of all, I am not taking back the Zero mask."

"Why?"

"You've been Zero for years now. If I became Zero again, people will definitely notice the obvious change."

"Good point, I guess I can still remain as Zero but you'll have to be there with me."

"Agreed. Also, I'm not revealing myself to anyone under any conditions."

"Okay, you can disguise as a new recruit for the Black Knights or something."

As he looked at Lelouch, an idea suddenly popped into Suzaku's mind. It was an image of Lelouch cross-dressing in one of the Black Knights' female uniform. Intrigued by the idea, the continued to stare at the latter. Noticing this, Lelouch gave him a death glare as a warning.

"If you're even thinking about what I think you are, I'll make sure that you'll regret it for as long as you live."

Suzaku gulped and snapped out of his thoughts.

"Threat heard loud and clear, Lelouch. If it's what you want, you don't have to see anyone. Anything else, Your Majesty?"

Lelouch rolled his eyes but thought about the question seriously anyway.

"No, I think that's all, at least for now. Let's head back to the house, I need to tell C.C. about this."

"Sure thing, lead the way."

The two walked through the forest with Lelouch as the navigator. They reached the house in the matter of minutes, all the doors and windows of the place were widely opened. Suzaku walked into the room first, he was instantly knocked back by the overwhelming smell of cheese, ham and many other ingredients of a particular food.

"How MANY pizzas did C.C. buy?" He asked the raven with a look of complete astonishment on his face.

"See what I mean?"

"Yes, I'm sorry for doubting you before, Lelouch."

"Are you two just gonna stand there and talk? Come on in." C.C. interrupted them as she leaned against a wall close by. Lelouch glared darkly at her but didn't budge from his spot.

"If it wasn't for you, I'd be in there already."

"It's not my fault that you have something against the smell of pizza, even though it's such a nice aroma."

"How many did you buy anyway?" Suzaku asked out of curiosity.

"Let's see, I think it was about 20."

When she saw the look on the brunette's face, she explained in more details.

"What? It was a special offer and that was just enough for me to get another Cheese-kun."

"So how are you gonna eat all of them?"

"It's not that hard, I only have 2 left."

"Okay, can we stop talking about pizzas now? Since the scent had cleared up a bit already, let's go in." Leouch walked pass the other two and sat on the sofa. C.C. joined him shortly after.

"By the way, Lelouch, if you're uncomfortable with the smell in here, I suggest you don't go in your room."

The raven turned around and looked at her in disbelieve.

"You ate PIZZA in MY ROOM?"

"Well, on your bed to be exact."

"Oh God!" Lelouch yelled out and dashed into his room with surprisingly fast speed.

"You really love annoying him, don't you?" Suzaku asked as he sat on an armrest opposite C.C..

"Yes, it's second on my least of favorite things. Anyway, that's enough about me, you must've came here with a reason."

"Yeah, I came to ask Lelouch for advice about the war."

"So how did that go for you?"

Suzaku beamed and sighed happily.

"I managed to convince him to come back with me."

C.C. looked mildly impressed as she congratulated his accomplishment.

"Good job. I must say, that would be one of the hardest things to do. That boy is so stubborn."

"Have you two finished speaking behind my back?" A voice called out behind them. Lelouch glared as he walked over to join them.

"We didn't say much about you, Lelouch. How's your room?" Suzaku wondered when the latter sat down next to him. The raven continued to glare at the girl opposite them – who just shrugged and picked up another slice of pizza without saying a word.

"Thanks to that WITCH over there, it'll probably stink for another week! It's convenient that I'll be away from here for a few days at least."

"OK, so when are you planning to leave?"

"It's already quite dark outside and I still have things to prepare so we'll leave by tomorrow morning, is that fine with you?"

"Sure. C.C., are you coming, too?" Suzaku turned his attention to the girl on the other side of the room.

"Of course, I don't want to miss out on all the fun." C.C. smirked and finished off the last of the pizzas.

"We do need her to explain the reappearance of Shinkiro. She could say that she stole it to travel the world all these years and now that she's bored of it, she decided to give it back. Then she'll offer to assist Zero in the war." In just a few seconds, Lelouch had planned out perfect story .

"Alright, so we got the story straight. Let's see, so you'll be in the Lancelot with me tomorrow while C.C. will pilot Shinkiro."

"Yes, I need to get a disguise sorted out as well."

"I'll help."

Lelouch stood up and walked to his room with Suzaku following him. He looked through his closet while the latter sat on the bed.

"So what disguise are you planning? I know that cross-dressing is obivoulsy out of the question for you."

The raven shuddered at the idea and threw a shirt at the boy behind him as revenge for bringing up that subject.

"I'm just going to go with the one I used in Hawaii, with more appropriate clothes of course."

"Yeah, that one was pretty good. You got me fooled, until we bumped into each other that is. So are you going to use another name as well?"

"Just call me L.L. if anyone asks, which I doubt anyone will."

"Won't people grow suspicious about the similarity between you and C.C. if you just use your initials?"

"That's why I'll be avoiding contact with as many people as possible. Even if they suspected anything, I'll just say I'm her long lost cousin or something."

"Like anyone would actually believe that, it's like the oldest lie there is. Not to mention that the idea of you being related to C.C. is utterly impossible and ridiculous."

"Why?"

"You have nothing in common."

"I can always fake a different personality."

"You'll find it a complete waste of time and effort."

"True." Lelouch concluded the argument, much to Suzaku's surprise.

"Wait, that's it?"

"That's what?"

"You just let me won an argument. No wise cracks, no nothing?"

"Of course, there's no point in keeping up a pointless discussion like this."

"Now that was a surprise."

"What was a surprise? Oh, never mind, it doesn't matter. There's no need to stay in this stinking room any longer, let's get out of here." While carrying the disguise he picked out along with some other clothes, Lelouch walked out of the room as fast as he could with Suzaku tailing behind him.

"So where are you going to sleep in tonight?" The brunette asked as they sat in the living room again.

"I'm still deciding whether to leave tonight or tomorrow morning."

"If you leave tonight, you'll be able to get to my house without being seen."

"Don't you live in the Imperial Palace?"

"No, I chose to live alone in a house near there."

"Then it'll be best to leave tonight. Go find C.C. and tell her to get ready as well, I'm going to change."

"Ok."

The two split up and left to their jobs. While Lelouch was changing, Suzaku found C.C. in the kitchen –who had a bottle that looked like tomato sauce in her hand – and told her that they were about to leave. The girl shrugged nonchalantly and went to get Shinkro's key and some of her clothes. Minutes later, the two were sitting on the sofa, waiting for Lelouch. Said person walked into the room in his full disguise. Suzaku noticed that the attire did change in a few places.

"You didn't dye your hair like last time." The brunette pointed out.

"It's unnecessary since I won't be walking around that much. It's such a pain to wash the dye out afterwards."

"I see. So are you two ready?"

The other two immortals nodded and walked to the door where Suzaku was standing. The trio left the house and walked to their Knightmares. The boys parted with C.C. since Shinkiro was in the forest while Lancelot was out on the beach. When they got to the white Knightmare, Suzaku held out the rope which led to the cockpit for Lelouch to step on.

"Ladies' first." The brunette stood aside like a real gentleman would. The action only earned him a death glare.

"Geez, it's a joke, Lelouch."

"Very funny." Lelouch replied with unhidden sarcasm.

"Just get inside."

The violet-eyed boy sighed and got into the cockpit. When he was inside, Lelouch saw that the pilot's seat had occupied nearly all of the space in the hatch. There was not enough room for another passenger to stand or sit.

"Suzaku, what do we do now?" He turned around and asked the ascending brunette.

"Well, I definitely have to be the pilot since you have no experience in controlling the Lancelot. Shinkiro only have enough space for one person as well. And I don't think letting you sit outside either of these Knightmares is a good idea."

"Don't worry, both of us should be able to fit in here, in theory."

"I guess at least trying still beats doing nothing."

Suzaku got into the pilot's seat while Lelouch tried to find a place to lean against as the door closed and Lancelot prepared to take-off.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay back there? Oh and I forgot to mention, you can't lean against anything since the walls are lined with other controls." The brunette explained when he saw that the latter was still looking for a spot to settle into.

"Great, that was something you were supposed to tell me BEFORE we got in."

"Sorry, it just slipped from my mind at that moment. Let's just forget about that, come over here." Suzaku signaled the raven to move over to the pilot's seat. The act earned him a very puzzled look.

"Why?"

"We can share a seat. Don't worry, I can still control the Lancelot."

Lelouch sighed and walked over to the brunette, knowing that he'd just lost ANOTHER argument in the same day.

"So how are we suppose to sit together in just one seat?...Woah!" He received an answer to the question when Suzaku unexpectedly pulled him by the arm onto his lap.

"Wh-what are you doing?" The raven-haired boy demanded quite weakly as he felt the latter's strong arm around his waist.

"Relax, Lelouch. This is the only safe way I can think of so that we can share a seat."

Lelouch blushed furiously but made no attempt to move away as he sat on the brunette's legs.

"Hey, what's taking you two so long to take-off? Don't tell me you guys are making out in there." A voice suddenly came out from the speaker as an image appeared on the screen, making the boys jump. The image shown was Shinkiro's current pilot, C.C..

"No! We just had some trouble with the seating arrangements since SOMEBODY didn't tell me about everything in this cockpit. Suzaku, hurry up!" Lelouch shouted as he continuously glowered at the screen and Lancelot's pilot.

"Yes, yes." Suzaku pressed a few buttons in front of him and the Lancelot departed with Shinkiro following shortly after.

/

Pendragon, Britannia

After a long flight from the island, Shinkiro and Lancelot landed in the Imperial Palace's massive laboratory. Suzaku jumped out of his Knightmare and looked around the room.

"Coast's clear, Lelouch." He called out to the boy in the cockpit behind him.

"There's no need to make it sound like we'd just robbed a bank or something." Lelouch stated as he climbed down and walked to where the latter was, C.C. also regrouped with them after a few seconds. Suddenly, the automatic doors near them opened as Lloyd and Cecile walked in.

"Oh, Suzaku, you're back! It's quite late though. Is that...C.C. behind you? And who's this?" Cecile asked as she looked at the two people behind the brunette.

Oh, crap! Why did they have to come in right now? Suzaku gulped as he turned to look at the dark-haired immortal at the back of him. As expected, he was met with a death glare that sent chills down his spine.

"It's okay, I'm sure Lloyd and Cecile can keep this a secret." He whispered in an attempt to save himself.

Lelouch remained silent as he glanced back and forth between the two scientists. Finally, after a lot of consideration, he sighed in submission.

"I guess there's no helping it."

He shook his head slowly and removed his sunglasses and hat. Cecile gasped in complete bewilderment while Lloyd seemed very intrigued as they instantly recognized the person before them.

"Your-Your Majesty? But...how?" The blue-haired woman asked softly as if she was still wasn't sure how to react.

"It's a long story, one that have no importance whatsoever in the present. And don't call me that, I'm not the emperor anymore, it's L.L." Lelouch replied coldly.

"Yes, of course. My apologies, um...L.L."

"Ok, Ok, we all met each other, wonderful. Now, is that Rakshata's Shinkiro next to my Lancelot Albion over there?" Lloyd disrupted the talk as he practically danced on the spot in excitement.

"Yes, C.C.'s been...joy-riding it all these times."

"I see, now if you don't mind, I have a Knightmare to check out."

The glassed man walked away from the group and towards Lelouch's Knightmare.

"Lloyd, no! You should wait for Rakshata first. Um, it's really wonderful to see you two again, L.L. and C.C.. Please excuse me but I have to stop Lloyd before he takes Shinkiro apart. I'll see you later everyone." Cecile bowed to the trio and ran after Lloyd.

"Well, I guess we're done here, let's go." Suzaku put on the Zero mask that he left behind in the room earlier and walked out with Lelouch and C.C. behind him.

"You two go ahead, I'm going to pick up a late snack." C.C. declared as she looked at a Pizza Hut shop nearby.

"WHAT? It's 2:00 AM right now! Plus, how can you be hungry after all those pizzas before?" Lelouch frowned at her in disbelieve.

"I ate those hours ago and flying here made me hungry again."

"But how are you going to get to my house by yourself?" Suzaku asked the green-haired girl.

"Oh please, just give me the address and I'll be fine." C.C. rolled her eyes and handed Suzaku a piece of paper and a pen. The latter wrote his address and returned the paper to her.

"You planned this, didn't you?" Lelouch gave her a dark look as he waited in annoyance.

"What makee you think I would do that?"

"Why else would you be carrying paper and pen with you?"

"Maybe I like to take notes of things on the way here. OK, I'll see you boys later." The witch smirked and walked to the shop's direction.

"*sigh* Suzaku, we should get going."

The two walked in silence for a few more blocks and reached their destination.

"Nice house, it's cleaner than I expected." Lelouch said after he'd looked around the living room for a few seconds.

"I'll take that as a compliment. There's a couple of spare rooms opposite the master bedroom, you can take whichever you like and C.C. will take the other one." Suzaku pointed out the rooms after he removed his mask and cape.

"Ow!" The brunette suddenly yelled out in pain, surprising both of them. When they looked at the source of the problem, they saw Arthur the cat hovering above the ground with two of Suzaku's gloved fingers in his mouth.

"You still kept him after all these times?" Lelouch asked as he patted Arthur a few times which caused the cat to let go of his owner's fingers.

"I couldn't just let him live out on the streets after Zero Requiem." Suzaku watched as the raven picked the black feline up and scratched underneath its neck. The cat purred happily in response and licked the boy's hand. When his owner tried to mimic Lelouch's action, he received warning hisses instead.

"And he still doesn't like you?"

"Pretty much, and I forgot to feed him before I left today. I'm gonna get him some food before he thinks I'm breakfast again. You should start getting your things sorted out."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Lelouch put Arthur down and left with his things into one of the spare bedrooms while Suzaku went into the kitchen.

After preparing a full meal for Arthur, Suzaku left the kitchen and walked to the room the latter had chosen.

"Need any help?" He offered as he watched Lelouch stacked his clothes into the closet.

"No, I'm finished anyway." The boy answered and walked out of the room with Suzaku.

"Hey, Lelouch?"

"Yes?"

The two were back in the living room again when Lelouch heard his name called. He turned around to look at the brunette. Said boy was suddenly quiet with a solemn expression on his face as he gradually approached him.

"Can I ask you a question?" Suzaku asked as he stood opposite Lelouch.

"Sure, although normally you'd just asked."

The brunette knelt down out of nowhere. He was in the stance which everyone used when in front of a royalty or in a knighting ceremony.

"Will you allow me to be your knight once again?"

Lelouch frowned at the question as if Suzaku had lost his mind.

"Why would you want to become my knight? I'm not even the emperor anymore."

"It doesn't matter if you're the emperor or not, I want to be your knight – Lelouch's knight. I just want to be the one to stand by your side to protect you, and this time I promise to make things right between us."

Lelouch didn't answer for a few minutes, he could see that the latter was dead serious about this matter. I guess there's really no harm in this.

"Very well, but I'm not doing the official ceremonies or anything like that."

"That's fine with me." Suzaku looked up at Lelouch in anticipation.

"Alright, Suzaku Kururugi, will you accept the responsibilities of knighthood?"

"Yes."

"Will you pledge yourself to be my sword and shield?"

"Yes."

"Then, you are now my knight."

Suzaku smiled cheerfully as if that was all he'd ever wanted. Without standing up from his position, he took one of the raven's hands in his right hand and gently placed a kiss on it.

"Thank you so much, Lelouch." The brunette moved back to look at the latter lovingly.

The two continued to stay still in their spots without saying another word. Then, the stillness was broken by the sound of the front door opening as C.C. stepped into the house. She looked at the scene before her for a few seconds and then made a shocked face.

"Oh my God! Don't tell me I'd just missed Suzaku's proposal!" The witch called out with mock disappointment in her voice.

"WHAT? No!" Lelouch shouted and pulled back his hand while Suzaku stood up. The two red-faced boys watched as C.C. sat down on the couch near them.

"Are you sure? You don't have to keep it a secret from me."

"I told you, nothing along that line happened between Suzaku and I!"

"Oh, so what was that about?"

"I was knighting Suzaku as he requested."

"Interesting. Well, there's still quite some time until morning so we should all get some sleep. It wouldn't do any good if Lelouch fainted by mid day." C.C. stood up from her seat and walked towards a room.

"I'm not that weak!"

"Whatever you say, boy. Good night." The witch closed the door, ending the chat between them.

"That witch, why does she have to make such crazy statements? I'm gonna sleep for a while, dealing with her is always so exhausting. Good night, Suzaku."

"'night, and thanks again, Lelouch." The brunette called out as he watched the latter leaving the room.

"You're welcome." Lelouch smiled at him and closed the room's door.

Suzaku sighed contently and left to his room. For the first time in years, he was actually looking forward to the next day. Finally some things were going the right way for him.

A/N: Done! I hope the chapter was alright. I guess this chapter can be something like the calm before storm (or something like that). Ugh, I feel another writer's block coming, no! Hopefully I'll update again in the near future. See ya!