Dress You Up (A Code Geass fic)
Disc.: I do not own Code Geass or its' characters- just this story plot and the events herein.
A/N: I apologize for the very long wait on this chapter, but other stories besides this one take up my time. That being said, you may have noticed that I was nice enough to bring Clovis into the story, that's because I adore him! He's such a spaz, but he dearly loves Lelouch in the anime and even in the manga so I thought it'd be good to have him in the story. As for who I'll pair him up with, that remains to be seen, but for now enjoy the rest of the chapter!
Ch.12- Everything Has Changed
Clovis watched the bridges and buildings fly by as he sat in the back seat of the limo, a smile taking over his face. After 6 months in Austria, he was finally back home and he couldn't wait to see his brothers and sisters again. He was also hoping to see what all had changed in the time he was away, from what Schneizel had told him Euphemia was now Empress of Brittania and Lelouch had found himself a boyfriend that loved him very much.
But words were no more than just that, words. He had to see for himself if any of this was indeed true. Besides, if it was indeed correct what he'd heard from his dear older brother, then he'd have to congratulate his sweet baby brother on finally finding love that will hopefully last this time around.
Gino couldn't help but glance at Clovis in the rearview mirror, it seemed he was thinking of something fond, if the smile on his face was any sort of giveaway. For as long as he'd know the Prince, Clovis was always seen as odd or even eccentric…he hardly ever showed any sort of smile beyond one of maliciousness or sadism. But to see him actually smile happily was something he'd only ever seen him use around his siblings, or at least those that he cared about within his family.
As the limo went across the Arclight Bridge, Gino couldn't help but smile himself as he patted his jacket pocket at the red light they were sitting at. In it was a small black velvet box, and inside was his surprise for his dear Suzaku, as well as the question attached to said surprise.
The ride to the Brittanian Castle never seemed so far off, but it was well worth the journey for what Gino had planned for him and Suzaku.
(Brittanian Palace)
Lelouch was sitting with Kanon in the garden, neither saying a word about what had happened. This made things very awkward between them, the subject being extremely touchy. The last thing that Lelouch wanted to do was remind Kanon of the whole mess that had occurred between him and his brother Kusaka, especially since it was likely that his lover would start crying again. The Brittanian Prince hated making his lover cry, so he chose to keep quiet about the whole thing. The silence was nerve wracking on both of them, Kanon felt as though Lelouch was still angry with him for allowing what had happened between him and his twin, even worse for letting himself enjoy it despite how wrong and disgusting it was.
"Lelouch?" Kanon said quietly, trying very hard not to upset his lover and make him angry.
"…"
"I don't know how many times I can say I'm sorry before you accept my apology, but I'll do it as many times as it takes until you tell me why you're so angry at me, my love."
Lelouch looked at his lover confusedly, he thought that he was still angry at him over what had happened between him and Kusaka?
"Kanon, I'm not angry at you, I promise."
"Y-you're not?"
"No, I'm angry at your brother for doing those things to you! How could he be so cruel to his own brother?! The fact that he even touched you like he did makes me want to find him and kill him for hurting you in any way at all!"
Kanon was relieved, Lelouch wasn't angry with him. Now he could finally let his troubled heart rest, and started crying. As the sobs wracked his body and caused him to start shuddering, Lelouch looked over to his boyfriend and pulled him into his arms to comfort him. It seemed to work, because Kanon had finally let all of the pent up pain and anguish free so that it could vanish forever as he kept sobbing into Lelouch's embrace. After roughly 20 minutes, the two lovers were smiling at each other once more and sharing sad yet passionate kisses, they were slow and gentle which was exactly what they needed right now.
As they were about to share another kiss, Euphemia rushed into the garden and stopped in front of Lelouch, panting from having had to run around the Castle to find her brother.
"Lelouch, you're never gonna believe who's here!"
"Who, Euphie?"
The Empress looked at her brother, excitement sparkling brightly in her lavender irises as she smiled happily at the two.
"It's Clovis, he's back from his trip to Austria! He said he wants to see you, Lelouch…he also said to bring your boyfriend to greet him!"
Lelouch felt his jaw drop slightly, could that really be true?
"Really? Clovis is here?!"
Kanon was confused, who was this Clovis person and why did Lelouch look so excited at hearing that he'd come back?
"Well come on, you two! We don't wanna be late!"
Euphemia said as she ran off to see Clovis, Lelouch getting up and helping Kanon to his feet. He then grabbed his lover's wrist and gently pulled him along, the atmosphere between them both confused and excited.
"Lelouch, who's Clovis?"
"You'll meet him soon enough, and then you'll know why I'm excited to see him."
(Brittania Palace Foyer)
Clovis allowed his bags to be taken up to his room by Gino, it seemed that the only changes that Euphemia had made to the Palace while he was gone was that she'd added a few more gardens and even a jousting arena. As she ran up to him and hugged him, Clovis couldn't help the smile that came onto his face. Even after all this time she was still the same old Euphie, and that was something he was really grateful for.
Upon hearing the familiar footsteps of his baby brother, Clovis released his hold on his sister and strode over to Lelouch, where he proceeded to pick him up in his arms and hugged him until he was blue in the face and gasping for air.
"Lelouch, it's so good to see you! I missed you and our family, baby brother."
"Yeah yeah, I missed you too ya big ol' pussycat."
Kanon watched this whole banter between the two Princes, but he was still confused as to who exactly this other blonde man was. He was attractive, Kanon had to admit to himself. He was around his height, maybe a few inches taller than him with long and wavy blonde hair that was held back by a bright blue ribbon. His skin was a pale cream and his eyes were a very light lavender, they were much lighter than his lover's own violet orbs. As he kept watching them, the tall blonde looked at him and smiled, extending a gloved hand out towards him.
"Hello, young one. I am Clovis Di Brittania, Lelouch's big brother…it's an honor to meet you."
Kanon extended his own hand and shook Clovis' gloved one, his mind absorbing the information. He vaguely remembered that Lelouch had mentioned having a few brothers and sisters, if this guy was his lover's brother, then that meant that he was Schneizel's brother as well.
"Same to you, Prince Clovis. I am Kanon Jameison Maldini, the second Prince of the Maldini Clan and Lelouch's lover."
Clovis went wide eyed at the other Prince's answer, this was the one that Euphie had told him captured Lelouch's heart?
"So you're the one that Euphie told me about, I'm so happy Lelouch finally has a lover that will stay with him this time…unlike all the others, who I shall not name at this time."
Lelouch rolled his eyes at his 28 year old brother's somewhat childish behavior, but he meant no harm in the action. Deep down, he knew that Clovis cared about his wellbeing very much…he just didn't really approve of Lelouch's previous boyfriends, all 4 of them.
Before anyone could say anything else, Gino came down the stairs and spoke up in order to break up the tense awkwardness that had settled heavily over the whole room.
"Hey Lelouch, have you seen Suzaku around? I can't find him anywhere, I checked his room and the gardens and even the jousting arena…but he's nowhere to be found."
"Well, if I know Suzaku like I think I do, and I really do because he's my best friend…then he's most likely at his mother's grave, she's entombed here along with his father. Try checking the Brittanian Mausoleum, today is his mother's birthday and he's visiting her with lilies. They are her favorite flowers, after all."
"Ok, thanks Lelouch…anything I can do to not make him feel awkward when I drop by?"
"Yeah, how about you pick up some flowers? We have some in our garden, grab the pruning shears and cut a few down. When you're finished, come back here and I'll direct you to the Mausoleum."
"Sure thing, I'll be right back."
Clovis and the others watched Gino run off towards the garden, Euphemia running after him so she could lend a hand.
(25 minutes later)
Gino had been trying to find the garden that Lelouch had mentioned, but he realized only 20 or so minutes after he took off that he'd forgotten to ask which garden they were talking about, there were 4 different gardens on the estate grounds and if he searched every single one top to bottom then it would be dark by the time he found the right one.
"Damn, I can't believe I forgot to ask which garden he meant when he talked about the flowers…if I look through all of them, I'll never be finished until really late."
"I know (panting), that's why I'm (panting) here to help you, Gino." Euphemia said while breathing loudly and her hands on her knees, evidence that she'd run after him so he wouldn't get lost. Gino turned when he heard the out of breath voice of the Empress, a smile breaking out onto his face at her kind offer to help him.
"Thanks, Euphemia. Can you show me which garden has the flowers?"
Euphemia's breathing had evened out to normal by this point, and she pointed out towards the 3rd garden as they both stared outside.
"It's this one, the Garden De Marie. It has flowers from every part of the world, and even some that my sister Cornelia created through cross-polinization. I think I can help you find the perfect ones for Miss Carlotta Kururugi, and I'm sure Suzaku would be happy to see that you've come to visit his mother."
"Alright, thanks again Euphemia. Let's go get some flowers, for Miss Carlotta and for my sweet little birdy."
"Little birdy?"
"My nickname for Suzaku."
"Oh, ok. It makes sense, he is named after the phoenix king Suzaku."
"And that's part of what gives him his strength, aside from other things."
"You're right, now let's get going before it gets late!"
(2 hours later)
Gino and Euphemia came back to the Palace covered in leaves and grass, both of them beaming with pride. Gino held a small bouquet of a very beautiful and rare flower called a Juniper Moon Rose, its' petals were the same shape as a rose except they had the length of a lily, with spiraling stripes of orange and red against vibrant yellow and white tips. Upon seeing their accomplishment, Lelouch guided Gino to the Mausoleum and then returned to the Palace to catch up with Clovis.
(Brittanian Mausoleum)
Suzaku had been at his parents' grave since he'd gotten back to the Palace that morning, it still pained him to this day that his parents had died in such a horrific manner. Even more so when his father had told him that he was proud of him as he died in his arms on the battlefield, even after nearly 10 years it still made him depressed to the point of numbness all throughout his body.
His attention turned to his left when he heard the rustling of bushes, his eyes widening when he saw Gino standing roughly 20 feet from him with the most exquisitely beautiful flowers he'd ever laid eyes on. His blonde lover then started walking towards him with the bouquet, the man stopping when he was next to him and stood there quietly looking over the jade/marble gravemarker.
"Gino, what are you doing here?"
"What does it look like I'm here for? I wanted to pay my respects to your parents as they sleep here."
"But how'd you know I was here?"
"Lelouch told me, it was his idea for me to come and see all three of you. Euphemia was the one who helped me get the flowers for your mom and dad, she said that you'd like that very much."
Suzaku blushed and smiled sadly, he couldn't believe that Gino had come all the way here for that. It warmed his heart and made him so happy that he started crying, the blonde looking up at his lover from his kneeling position at hearing the younger start tearing up. Gino stood up and embraced Suzaku as he let him cry, his hands gently running up and down his back as he whispered soothing words into his ear.
"It's alright, Suzaku. Everything's gonna be alright, I promise you…if you need to, keep crying until your eyes dry out, and I'll still be here holding you the whole time."
Suzaku nodded as he let the tears come unhaltingly, forever grateful that Gino was here to hold him and make him feel safe as he let his sadness cover him completely. After another half hour of crying, Gino cupped his lover's face in his hands, his thumbs wiping the few stray tears still falling from his deep olive irises away as he smiled at him. Suzaku in turn smiled back, the lovers letting their foreheads touch and their eyes slid closed. After a few more minutes, Gino pressed his lips to Suzaku's in a gentle and reassuring kiss, the younger not even hesitating as he felt the blonde's tongue slide across his bottom lip and afforded him entry into the other's inviting mouth.
Soon enough, oxygen decided to kill the mood and they broke apart. Gino smiled down at his younger lover, his hands grasping Suzaku's gently as he held his gaze. Suzaku smiled back, before he noticed that Gino seemed nervous, almost like he was trying to ask him something and not run away if his answer was rejected.
"Hey, what's got you so nervous? You look like you're ready to run away and hide, much like Lelouch did when his father would beat him as a kid and I had to go find him. He always hid inside a tree that was so far away that the only way to get to it was to go around the whole estate and climb up a really steep hill, so why do you look like that right now?"
"Because, what I'm about to ask you isn't exactly easy to get out…also, I don't want things to be too awkward, because I'm asking you in front of your parents."
"Alright, what is it that you want to ask me?"
Gino looked down at his lover, a smile gracing his features in the most heartwarming way, at least to Suzaku. He reached into his pocket as he got down on his knee and grasped Suzaku's hand firmly yet softly, the small black box making the younger slightly nervous as he pondered what could possibly be inside.
"Suzaku Kururugi, I know it's a little late to be asking you this but…will you marry me?" Gino said as he opened the small black box to reveal a platinum band with a fair sized diamond perched in the middle of the band, silver curling around the diamond and splaying outwards like the leaves around a rosebud. There were two sapphires next to the diamond, and Suzaku gasped softly at the beauty of the item.
He then smiled as fresh tears fell down his cheeks.
"Yes, Gino Weinberg! I will marry you, I don't care that you're a few years late…my answer is still yes!" Gino smiled widely as he placed the ring on his fiancé's finger, the two sharing a passionate kiss as the sun began setting. When they needed to breathe, the two broke apart and headed back towards the Palace.
Gino hoped that everyone else would be ready to help plan a wedding, because there was no way that he wasn't going to share this wonderful news with them.
T.B.C.- Wow, so much love and so many tears! How will Lelouch and the others react to this development? Read on to find out!