Pre-Comment: Cockblocking. The Art of Cockblocking.

Chapter Twenty-One is alive! IT'S ALIVE!

Chapter Twenty-One: No, You Can't Take Him Home

All things considered, CC was a hard person to irritate (for enough reasons that could fill several books). There wasn't a lot that could ruffle her feathers, and she had already closely examined herself to figure out all the things that could. A lot of those things often led back to Lelouch, so when the sweetly-chipper mood Suzaku had suddenly adopted these days began to irritate her, she had her suspicions.

"Did he bang you or something?" she asked bluntly one day at breakfast.

It was her natural sense of timing that chose the exact moment Lelouch took a drink of juice just so he could choke and splutter on it.

She was blessed, what could she say?

The guy coughed for a bit, clearing out his airways. He then proceeded to take a napkin to wipe his mouth and the table of the unfortunate drops of Minute Maid Pure Squeeze that were now-wasted in an act of utter heresy.

Lelouch then fixed her with the most deadpan look he could muster. "Excuse me?"

"He's always in a good mood lately," she explained. "Usually he's… well, at work."

And Suzaku had certainly been making a point to be home early enough to eat dinner with them. In fact, he had been making it a point to only keep the hours of a regular office drone at best. Though she had never seen it herself, Lelouch had once told her that he had cleared out the entire top floor of executive office suites for his personal use as an apartment.

Such was the whim of a CEO.

"And your only conclusion is that we must have slept together."

"It's a legitimate, valid conclusion," she defended. And then she gave him a Cheshire grin. "So did you?" she asked with a teasing lilt, like a girl who's ready to receive particularly juicy gossip.

Lelouch made a face indicating how he could not be more disgusted even though pink dusted high in his cheeks. "Of course not! Why are you even asking that? Anyway, you'll have to keep Anya company alone tonight. I'll be out at a bachelorette party for Kallen."

CC's eyebrows instantly shot up. "What? A what? Why would she invite you? You don't even have the right equipment. Isn't that a requirement for admission to these kinds of things? You're also technically her ex-husband; isn't that weird?"

The sigh and tired look told her that he had already exhausted this line of thought himself and decided that it wasn't worth the effort. "I don't know. Ask Milly. And we were only married for a week!" he added vehemently before picking up his empty dishes and loading them in the dishwasher. "Anyway, call me if anything happens, and make sure Anya eats something healthier than pizza!"

Huffing, CC folded her arms petulantly. "Pizza is a perfectly balanced meal!" she declared loudly. Lelouch could not have rolled his eyes harder. With a shake of his head he left her behind in the kitchen and she called out, "And no premarital sex allowed!"

All Lelouch did was groan loudly.

ooo

All things told, Suzaku was in an excellent mood. Even the childlike bickering of his R&D department and general bickering of his board of directors couldn't dampen his mood. And judging by the general commentary and hushed whispers of everyone around him, it was apparent to everyone he was in high spirits. He had powered through boring and otherwise bland meetings, spoke with a few contacts in China to lay a few foundations for expansion, and even made a dent in the backlog of proposals that had been piling up.

All before lunch.

As he entered his office Nina was by his desk with clipboard in hand waiting for him. He grinned at her and she returned the gesture with a nod.

"You've been in a good mood recently, Sir."

"I'm in a great mood, Nina. What's next on the agenda?" he asked, sitting down at his desk and spinning it around to look at the view from his window while his assistant rattled off the rest of the day to him. He leaned back in his chair and took in a deep breath. Since the date with Lelouch at the nearby festival and his sudden realization, Suzaku had been in an almost unbearably good mood. Giddy even. He had never hesitated to go after the things he wanted once the decision was made, and—as far as he was concerned—a decision had been made that night.

About halfway into discussing the rest of the day and a few different projects Nina would be in charge of organizing on his behalf, the doors to his office flew open, causing both occupants to glance up at the lime-green blur that marched in confidently and without invitation. Determined amber eyes locked onto Suzaku's and he tensed as she practically stormed her way up to the front of his desk, pushed aside errant folders of paper with one hand, letting even half a stack flutter to the ground, and perched herself atop his desk, leaning back over towards him on one hand.

His poor, stunned assistant finally came to her senses once CC completed her rampage and frowned. "Miss CC, you can't just come in here like that! And how did you even get past sec—"

"Shh!" CC hissed loudly, holding a finger up to Nina without breaking eye contact with Suzaku.

Suzaku sighed and waved his hand to dismiss his assistant—who didn't even get to finish her scolding. The girl gave Suzaku an 'Are you sure?' look before giving a slight bow and leaving the office, closing the doors behind her.

You didn't stop the storm that was CC, you just accepted.

"CC," he drawled, "To what do I owe this questionable plea—"

"Crisis! There is a crisis happening, and I need you to stop it."

Giving her a bland look, Suzaku clasped his hands together in a patient manner. In the brief few weeks he had spent living with CC, Suzaku had learned a few things about her. The first was that the girl had a special black hole in her stomach just for pizza. The second was that she reminded him an awful lot of this neighbourhood cat who would bite him all the time, even though he fed it constantly. The third was that anything that amounted to a 'crisis' for her was probably not a real crisis.

"Oh?"

CC's amber eyes narrowed angrily.

A fourth was that CC's greatest pleasure was directly opposite her greatest pet peeve: When other people purposely irritated her—as hard as it may be.

A slim, delicate hand reached for his collar and pulled him up out of his seat easily with shocking strength until he was almost nose to nose with the woman. Her amber eyes bored right into his and sent his heartbeat racing.

"Look here, Kururugi, if you think I make your life difficult now, you should see me when I'm actively trying." And with that, she let him go, practically dropping him back into his seat.

Appropriately ruffled and feeling threatened all the way into submission—though he would never admit it out loud—Suzaku simply smoothed his clothes down and cleared his throat, pretending that never happened. "What's the problem?" he asked, tactfully deciding to take her crisis seriously.

Sighing dramatically, CC swung her legs up and over to lie down on the length of his desk, knocking down more papers. (Suzaku silently lamented them as they fluttered to the ground.) Then she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face into her arms and mess of green hair. "It's terrible!" she bemoaned loudly, muffled by her arms. "Lelouch has been invited to Kallen's bachelorette party! And not only has he been invited, but he's also attending."

Suzaku raised an eyebrow curiously. "They used to be married, right? Isn't that… weird? And I always thought you needed different, uh, equipment to be able to go to those things? And why him and not you?"

CC lifted her head to give him a tear-filled look and exclaimed, "That's what I said!" And then she dropped her face back down into her arms again. "He got the invitation a week ago! I thought to myself, 'maybe it's just lost in the mail?' Or, or 'maybe it's just taking it's time?' But nothing! It's happening tonight and I haven't gotten anything! The worst part is that I know Milly is planning it, and from what I hear that means it will be good."

With a sigh, he gave the girl lounging on his desk an exasperated look, even though she probably couldn't see it. (It was the thought that counted in his opinion.) So basically CC was upset because Milly didn't invite…

Wait.

"Did you say Milly? As in Milly Ashford?"

"Yes! I'm missing out aren't I!?" CC cried, lifting her head from her arms, looking truly upset. "After all we've been through! How could they just—"

CC's voice faded out into background noise as about a million and one different outcomes rolled through Suzaku's mind of what might transpire at that bachelorette party tonight, and what the implications of Lelouch attending might be.

None of them were good.

"—and it's really just so upsetting!" CC finished whining with a huff, folding her arms. She was on her back, staring up at the ceiling, although when that happened Suzaku hadn't been paying enough attention to notice.

Carefully, he reached over to the speaker system that connected him to his assistant and held down the button. "Nina, cancel the business dinner with what's-his-face tonight. Something important just came up."

ooo

From growing up with women of varying ages and eventually conning other women out a sizeable chunk of their bank accounts, Lelouch learned very quickly not to argue or otherwise piss off the females around him. They never forgave and they never forgot. Even if they said they did. And if it ever looked like they forgot it was only so they could lull you into a false sense of security so their revenge for whatever imagined slight you might have caused them was all the sweeter.

Or maybe it was just his sisters who were like that.

Either way, Lelouch didn't argue when they decided to do some 'pre-drinking' before the event was to actually start. In fact, by the time he got there, Kallen—lightweight that she is—was already wavering between her two drunken modes: Angry and Murderous.

Lelouch barely dodged the direct punch to his face the moment he stepped inside.

And by dodge he meant standing there stiff as a board in fear while Kallen aimed for the left Lelouch instead of the right one. Thankfully, Shirley had intervened and shepherded the drunk bride-to-be away before she could aim for the other Lelouch, because the one she hit had a hollow face.

While he was still recovering from the shock, arms slid around one of his and pulled it up against the well-endowed bust of none other than Milly Ashford, Channel Six news reporter. There was a light pink flush to her cheeks that still could've been makeup, and a mischievous sparkle in her eyes that Lelouch recognized only too well from all the time he spent with CC.

"Lelouch! So glad you could make it!" she announced. And then, as if magicked from nowhere, she held a shot of liquid in front of him smelling of incredibly strong alcohol. "Take a shot," she ordered. Sweetly.

Her eyes flickered dangerously.

Understanding a threat when he heard and saw one, Lelouch took the small glass cup and threw the liquid back.

The feeling of burning shot down his throat, followed by a rush of light-headedness, and Milly's cry of glee was the whistle of the train leaving the station of Sobriety and headed full speed for Blackout City: A Night You Will Not Remember.

And then, as if that metaphor wasn't enough—

"Choo! Choo! All aboard Plastered Express heading towards A Good Time!" she announced loudly. Several nearby girls, whom Lelouch did not recognize, raised their drinks in raucous agreement. Milly threw an arm around his neck and raised her own red plastic cup in the air, spilling it a little.

"Dear Lord and Whoever Else That Might Be Listening," he muttered quietly as Milly dragged him away to the kitchen, where the smell of alcohol intensified, "Please let me survive tonight."

ooo

"I'm almost ashamed that I didn't think of this first, Kururugi," CC said once they had settled into their hiding spot in the corner. Although, it was hard to say if she was more ashamed she didn't think of it first, or more impressed that Suzaku thought of it at all—let alone follow through. It was seriously stalker-level thinking that she didn't think even Lelouch was even capable of.

"Uh huh," Suzaku mumbled absent-mindedly, purposely and obviously scanning the crowd for, well, a crowd. He briefly checked his watch and looked back up to scanning the crowd again. "The invite said around this time," he muttered.

The guy could not look more suspicious with binoculars stuck to his face at this point.

Giving him a firm look, she swatted his arm, pulling his attention away and back to her. "You're going to get us kicked out if you keep being so creepy. Loosen up, have a drink~" she cooed, scooting right up next to him so she could lean on him.

The look Suzaku gave her when he glanced at her over his shoulder was such a firm 'No' and nowhere near the irritation, anger, or even within the scope of usual responses she got that CC scooted back a step and huffed, discouraged.

But only temporarily.

And then she was struck by the sudden urge to pinch him for snubbing her. So she did. Right on his ear.

"Ow!" he yelped, ducking his head away from her.

"Look here, Kururugi, you dragged me out here on some lame spying mission with you, and you're sticking out like a green sore thumb who is painfully new to the white van business." Suzaku opened his mouth to retort before snapping it shut to give her a rather bland, pointed look. One that she chose not to acknowledge.

With a sigh, Suzaku bowed his head for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts—or perhaps reigning in colourful words he'd like to say at this moment—before looking up at her and shrugging. "I just want to make sure he doesn't get into trouble. I know what parties with Milly Ashford—" Because it was only right that her name must always be followed by her last name. "—are like. They usually involve a lot of alcohol in a night you won't remember, ending up in a bathtub."

CC waved off his concern dismissively with a roll of her eyes. "Lulu can handle his alcohol."

Suzaku gave her another bland look that said, Don't you remember that first date with the wine?

"Most of the time," she amended with an innocent shrug.

Giving the crowd another nervous scan, he turned back to CC. "Should I be worried, though? Because I am. This is Milly Ashford. I went to high school with this woman as the student council president. I would never wish that upon anyone. Except maybe my greatest enemies," he added after some thought, thinking of a few particularly nasty business acquaintances. "And even then I would give them a heads up at the very least."

"Charming woman. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that you need to blend in and not draw attention to yourself. If any of the girls recognize you it will be game over."

What she didn't add was that CC would then abandon ship and leave him to his doom.

"And what if they recognize you?"

"The only person who would ever recognize me in that group is Kallen herself. And Kallen will be too drunk to even remember my name. So cool your jets."

Ah. There was the unmistakeable look of irritation that she was looking for. It let her know she was doing a good job. And right now that job was babysitting. CC loved babysitting—so long as it didn't actually include babies or children.

With a miserable sigh, Suzaku held his hand up to the approaching waitress and ordered a drink for them both. He tapped his foot impatiently, checked his watch again, and finally turned to CC again when the drinks arrived.

"So what's your deal? Who are you to Lelouch?"

CC smirked at him and raised a curious eyebrow. She had wondered when the question would come up. It was usually a complication neither of them wanted to deal with in their work, so CC often kept to the background. Women tended to get possessive easily. And now that Kururugi was on board it looked like he was getting that way too.

So naturally it was CC's job to allay those concerns like the good co-pilot she was.

"I am someone irreplaceably special to him."

Naturally.

Suzaku's jaw tightened, flexing, visibly and CC's grin grew wider. He reached for his drink and downed half of it in one go without breaking eye contact. The effect was a bit sociopathic, if she had to describe it as something. It was the withering sort of look a normal person might've cowed to.

CC cared not.

And so she merely sidled in closer to him with a sly grin, tracing a finger down his chest. She leaned in close until her lips were right at his ear, and whispered, "Don't worry, I prefer soldiers much, much more."

Suzaku shivered and jerked back to his senses once CC had slunk away. Giving himself a good shake, and looking like he was berating himself silently for getting caught up in her shenanigans. Suzaku sighed. He scanned the crowd once more, came up with nothing, and turned back to her again.

"So what is Lelouch like when he's had a lot to drink? I've only seen him drunk once and I'm not sure that counts because it was only half a bottle of wine."

CC hummed. "Welll…"

And as if on cue, she spotted a group of girls all surrounding one man walking in through the club entrance. There were two girls she didn't recognize on each of his arms, and about three others flanking him on both sides. He was wearing his favourite black shirt CC had bought for him, and those tight jeans that hugged his bottom like a second skin she got for free.

Lelouch looked like a man in his element, and CC was struck by a rush of nostalgia. There were subtle hints here and there of moves he used all the time—ones she's seen him use countless times before on numerous women. He oozed charm and charisma, and if there was one thing Lelouch knew how to do best, it was display himself as something women wanted. And by the way several club-goers immediately glanced his way, Lelouch was in his element.

CC waited until Lelouch finished whispering something in the girl on his left's ear, making her giggle and blush, before nodding in his direction, pointing him out to Suzaku—who promptly turned to look.

"He's like that."

And then the green-eyed beast started breathing fire.

Before mayhem and chaos could ensue by the bull charging at the annoying, red flag, CC latched onto the man's arm by slipping her own around his, even pressing it against her bust for good measure. Suzaku glanced back at her for only a few seconds (three to be exact, if you counted the one and a half he spared her bust) before looking back, but staying in his seat.

"I'm going to go get him."

"No, you're not."

"He's surrounded by women!"

"It's a bachelorette party, of course he is."

"What if he runs off with one of them?"

"He's engaged to you, remember?"

Suzaku opened his mouth to seemingly let the next queued up rebuttal spill out of his mouth, but nothing came out at that. His shoulders relaxed and Suzaku seemed to calm down once the words seemed to permeate his skull. He looked away of his own volition and reached for the remainder of his drink, downing the rest of it, and signalling for the nearby waitress to get him another.

Meanwhile, the stagette had transitioned their way to a large, reserved section. Kallen sat down in the middle and Lelouch sat down on one of the ends. While it looked like most of the girls were still sober enough to remember that it was Kallen's party, a few of them were clearly too inebriated and too focused on Lelouch to care anymore. And the lady-killer wasn't dissuading them one bit, flexing all his charms like a well-oiled machine despite not being used for months.

A round of drinks was ordered and they all chatted amongst themselves until a tray of shots appeared. CC's eyebrows rose at this. While Lelouch could hold enough alcohol, he couldn't hold a lot of it.

Well, she supposed, he would be okay for now.

When CC glanced back at her own company, she was slightly surprised to see Suzaku emptying another drink. And then she wondered how many he had to drink while she wasn't paying attention. The drink he had ordered for her was gone too—marked only by an empty glass.

"Slow down there, Soldier. We have a whole night ahead of us."

"Don't worry; I don't get drunk," he replied, sounding and looking surprisingly sober.

CC just stared at him, relatively unconvinced. When she glanced back at the stagette's table again she saw a few well-dressed men approaching them, met with cheers and whoops of glee, which could only mean one thing.

"Well good, because you'll want to be for what's going to happen next." Taking him by the chin, CC turned his head their way and watched as his green eyes widened.

ooo

First was the embarrassing game of Never Have I Ever, which Milly won; and then there was the chick flick drinking game, which Milly also won. The first game wasn't so bad, but the second nearly brought him to his knees. But he was pleasantly buzzed and the company was good so he didn't have a lot of complaints.

By the time they left the house Lelouch was certain he flirted with each and every girl there—including Kallen, who had punched him in the arm, though there was no strength in it. (It would probably still leave a bruise.) And he was sure he had learned all their names at one point, but there were only three that he would probably remember—and they were the ones he knew from the beginning. Milly had told everyone that Lelouch was engaged, and thus off the market, much to the disappointment of many of the girls there; it let him off the hook for a lot of things he would probably end up doing tonight.

Thank God Suzaku wouldn't be watching any of this.

As the number of drinks (and climbing) that he had consumed was evading him, losing count somewhere after the chick flick and before the limo ride here, Lelouch was only brought back when several of the girls started squealing. He blearily looked up at the three men approaching their table wearing cheap-looking suits. He frowned at them, wondering how suits like that could possibly be worth any value when they looked like you could tear them right—

The shredded remains of a cheap shirt smelling of cologne hit him in the face.

—Oh.

The girls on either side of him laughed as he pulled the shirt off his face with a grimace. Soon they all abandoned him to scoot closer to the middle, where the show was beginning to take place. He was mildly relieved to see that Kallen, drunk as she was, was as uncomfortable about this as he was. Judging by the wild cheering coming from her right, Milly was the one behind all this. Shirley's cheeks were flushed, but her eyes were bright and glued to the scene unfolding before her. All the other girls were in various states between the two.

Not wanting to watch men stripping, Lelouch moved towards the edge of their large, semi-circle booth and pointedly looked out at the rest of the club. People moved underneath the strobing lights to the loud music on the dance floor and he watched them, somewhat mesmerized. It wasn't his first time at a nightclub, but he certainly didn't frequent them. The girls he targeted were usually good girls who stayed in on the weekend. The ones who partied typically spent all their money at said party.

Finishing off the drink in hand made his thoughts turn back to trying to figure out how many he had for the night. As he downed the rest of it, the empty glass was taken away quickly and replaced with a full one. He looked up at the person holding the drink out to him with a smile and a 'thank you' that died in his throat as he stared up at one of the male strippers, now completely naked save a pair of tight underwear and a cheap-looking bowtie.

The strip show had ended in what seemed like the blink of an eye and the stagette had dispersed to the dance floor and other parts of the club, leaving only him and a few others at the table.

The man grinned at him and Lelouch blanched as the man sat down next to him and leaned close with a finger on his chin, whispering in his ear, "You are incredibly cute. There are so many things I would love to do to you. Can I take you home? I've got a big bed."

Sobriety hit him like the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Embarrassment hit him in a wave and, helped by the alcohol in his system, it spawned as an unfortunate red flush on his cheeks, which only encouraged the man with the wrong idea, making him grin lecherously. A hand landed on his knee and began to massage it gently, fingers dancing their way up slowly.

"I… um. Um."

Lelouch tried to scoot away, but an arm was quick to work its way around his shoulders, pulling him back, cutting off his escape. A feeling he could only describe as The Creeps shivered its way down his spine.

"I'm off work. We could leave now," the husky voice breathed into his ear.

"U-Um!" Lelouch stammered eloquently, placing a hand on the one that was getting dangerously close to his crotch to prevent it moving any further up. "I… I'm… I've got. I've got."

"You're so cute when you blush."

The hand on his thigh move up to cup Lelouch's face and turn it towards the stripper. Lelouch instinctively put a hand on his shoulder in an effort to push him away.

Oh no.

Lelouch recoiled away as much as possible from the impending doom, the alcohol in his system making him feel sluggish. He closed his eyes. He could feel the man's face in front of his and then…

…and then suddenly he couldn't.

When the arm suddenly moved away from him and the rest of the man's body heat suddenly left his personal space Lelouch opened his eyes and looking up into blazing green ones.

ooo

CC had been successful in holding him back from marching over there to immediately give the guy a black eye before dragging Lelouch home, but he only had so much more self-restraint left in him. When Lelouch jumped suddenly, looking flustered as all hell, Suzaku knew the guy must've just copped a feel and he rose to his feet.

Only to be pulled right back down.

He turned to CC frantically to plead his case. "The guy just copped a feel!" he hissed.

"Lulu can handle it, Mr Knight-In-Shining. He's been felt up before. By you, I might add."

Suzaku had the decency to wince guiltily at that.

He felt restless. He knew this would be a bad idea as soon as the words left his mouth, but he didn't think he would be able to stand sitting at home not knowing. To an extent, he knew what happened at bachelorette parties. The minutes of brief research he did at work today told him all he needed to know.

He wanted so badly to just take Lelouch home. His fiancé had already downed several drinks. And that guy was—

"That's it!" Suzaku declared emphatically, slamming the table slightly. "You cannot stop me this time."

CC looked past him and whistled. "He's going for home."

Before CC could voice any complaint, Suzaku shot out of his seat.

"I'll go get your card from the bar!" CC called after him, her voice nearly drowned out by the club music, and only faintly registering in the back of his mind.

He marched over to the stagette table, eyes glued to the man who was leaning into Lelouch, speaking right into his very red ear. Before he knew what was happening, he was pulling the stripper off Lelouch and up on his feet before his arm wound back to punch the man in the face, dropping him to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. In the next moment he was tugging on Lelouch, who wobbled to his feet and fell heavily against Suzaku, leaning on him for support. Suzaku wrapped an arm around Lelouch's waist firmly and gave the women of the remaining bachelorette party a curt nod, levelling a small, disapproving glare Milly's way. The woman merely giggled and gave him that all-knowing look of hers.

"Way to stake your claim, Kururugi!" she called after him.

The sound of cheering and hollering by the stagette followed him, which only served to make him feel better about his decision to stalk his fiancé tonight. As they left the hot club and were out into the cool open air, Suzaku walked down the street until they were a good distance away from the club and out of the way, on the corner under a street light. Pulling out his phone, he dialled Sayoko.

"Hello? It's me. Can you get us a ride?"

Sayoko murmured an affirmative response and Suzaku ended the call, slipping the phone back in his pocket.

Lelouch was still leaning on him heavily, making him shorter even though they were roughly the same height. Suddenly he shifted his head on Suzaku's shoulder to look up at him.

"Suzaku?"

At the sight of those glazed, violet eyes, Suzaku felt the tension he had been feeling all night slowly drain away. A feeling of warm affection grew in his chest that he didn't fight. "I'm here."

Lelouch's arms circled around him and he was suddenly no longer leaning against Suzaku, but hugging him, face buried into his shoulder. Suzaku wrapped his arms around him in return. He was shaking a bit and Suzaku thought to himself that he didn't punch that jerk hard enough.

Or enough times.

"I'm… I didn't… That guy… I'm sorry," he mumbled inaudibly.

Suzaku sighed. "It's not your fault."

It was Milly's.

Lelouch just tightened his hold.

Suzaku responded in kind.

"I'm still sorry."

"It's still not your fault."

Definitely still Milly's.

The tremors eventually subsided and they just stood there, in each other's arms. It was in this moment that Suzaku noticed for the first time how slim a build Lelouch had compared with his own. With it pressed against him it was hard not to. He also noticed for the first time how much he liked that Lelouch fit so easily against him. The smell of the other man was a blend of cologne, alcohol, and something uniquely Lelouch.

Just when he thought Lelouch had fallen asleep against him, his fiancé pulled away and stood up straight. His violet eyes were wide and his cheeks flushed from the alcohol. His lips were parted just slightly and Suzaku could smell the liquor on his breath. Those eyes just stared right into his until Suzaku felt his cheeks warm slightly.

"I love you," Lelouch said quietly.

And though it was basically a whisper, the words were deafeningly loud in Suzaku's ears.

Suzaku's throat went dry and he suddenly felt a little light-headed. He swallowed a few times to try and get moisture back and ended up breaking eye contact with those earnest, violet eyes, unable to hold that gaze. If he stared any longer he would want to do things that Lelouch wouldn't appreciate—things that were at least slightly illegal considering the amount of alcohol in the man's system. He didn't think he could forgive himself if he did something and Lelouch ended up resenting him for it.

But he wanted to.

Thankfully, the choice was taken out of his hands as he saw a familiar green head of hair approaching them, along with a set of headlights from a car stopping nearby. Clearing his throat, Suzaku nodded at CC coming their way before putting an arm around Lelouch and directing him to the car. Shortly after settling in with Lelouch in the backseat, CC slipped in next to them and then they were on their way. Lelouch leaned on his shoulder and almost immediately fell asleep.

"I thought you said he could handle alcohol," was the first thing Suzaku said to her, feeling a bit miffed.

" 'Why thank you for getting a discount on our bar tab because you flirted shamelessly with a manager, CC,' " she said stiltedly in a falsetto. "You're welcome," she huffed. Amber eyes regarded the passed out person between them and then they slid up to match his gaze. "And he can."

Suzaku frowned at her. "I don't call this 'handling it' by any stretch."

CC rolled her eyes.

All in all, it was a quick ride back to the estate and Suzaku found himself torn between waking Lelouch up so he could walk on his own and just carrying him inside so he could continue sleeping. But he didn't find himself torn over it for very long as he lifted the comatose man up into his arms. He gave a nod to his driver as the man pulled away. As he turned towards his mansion, CC was already halfway down the short walk and Sayoko was already at the open mansion door, bowing slightly to him upon eye contact.

CC raised her hand in the air, holding a familiar, gold plastic card. "I'm getting pizza!" she called out loudly, waving his credit card around.

Suzaku glared at the back of her head and followed her in. His maid quietly greeted him with another bow and knowing smile at the sight of Lelouch cradled asleep in his arms.

"I think I'll follow Lelouch's lead and take an early night today, Sayoko," he told her, heading past her and up the stairs to the bedrooms. Lelouch's door was slightly ajar and he kicked it open so he could enter. It was one of the guest rooms that Sayoko had prepared, and even though Lelouch had been here for a while now it still looked plain—or rather impersonal. There was nothing in here that distinctly indicated that anyone was staying here for an extended period of time. It looked like Lelouch could pick up and leave at any time and the room wouldn't have any evidence of having roomed the man (and more-than-occasional CC).

The thought of it made Suzaku slightly uncomfortable.

Laying Lelouch down on the bed, he pulled the man's shoes off and started to wonder what to do about the rest of his clothes. His jeans, for one, didn't look like they would come off without some firm yanking. But as Lelouch started to stir, the decision was thankfully taken out of Suzaku's hands.

Bleary violet eyes opened and Lelouch sat straight up, almost zombie-like, staring at nothing for a moment before focusing on Suzaku.

"Oh. This is my room. How did I get here?"

Suzaku couldn't explain the feeling of hurt he felt just now, but brushed it aside. "Milly called me to come pick you up," he lied easily. And really, for all that the woman was responsible for she could give him that much.

"Oh. Okay." A pause. "Thanks."

"How was the bachelorette party?" he asked with a wry grin, sitting down at the side of the bed.

Lelouch just grimaced.

Chuckling, Suzaku tucked stray locks of dark hair behind Lelouch's ear, not even thinking about the intimacy of the gesture, or about how his hand naturally cupped Lelouch's face. "I see. Well, you should get dressed for bed; don't want your clothes to wrinkle," he said softly.

Lelouch hummed and closed his eyes, leaning against the hand on his cheek.

There was a moment where it looked like Lelouch was just enjoying the touch of his hand, but it was over when he drew in a sharp breath and sat up straighter to bring himself to wakefulness. He muttered something that wasn't quite clear before his hands flew up to the buttons on his shirt, undoing them one by one.

As inch after inch of skin was revealed, Suzaku couldn't help but stare. He had seen Lelouch practically naked before, but there was something about the man undressing in front of him that made it feel so much more different. When the last button was undone and Lelouch began clumsily undoing his belt, Suzaku's eyes were riveted to the motion of those hands as the belt came free of its buckle and the end of leather was pulled free.

The button on his slacks came undone and then—

A pair of hands covered his eyes suddenly, blocking his eyesight and causing his heart to beat rapidly in his ribcage in panic—or had it already been doing that?

"Well, aren't you a baaaad, baaaad boy?" CC murmured quietly into his ear.

Suzaku sighed. But at this point he wasn't sure if he was thankful for her interruption or incredibly upset about it. Either way, he didn't resist when she pulled him backwards, without removing her hands from his eyes. Together, she dragged him out of the room backwards, stumbling the whole way from his lack of sight.

It was only when he heard the door get kicked shut and CC let go that he could see again. He whirled around immediately and fixed her with a disapproving look, noting that she was wearing that pizza shirt of hers again.

CC merely smiled that sly grin of hers that made him feel like all his secrets were right there in front of her as plain as day. Tilting her head slightly and folding her arms, CC sighed herself, while giving him an amused look.

"So, I know you probably want to get in his pants~" she said teasingly, making Suzaku stiffen slightly, "But you'll have to wait until he's not sleepy and drunk." She wagged a finger at him, giving him a firm look, as if she were lecturing a small child.

Suzaku opened his mouth instinctively to retort, but ended up goldfishing a bit with nothing to say, so he simply closed his mouth.

CC's grin grew. "Good boy," she crooned. "You understand. Now off to bed with you," she shooed, turning him around and gave him a good shove in the direction of his room.

He stumbled a few steps, and he turned just in time to see her disappear back inside Lelouch's room, closing the door behind her with only the swish of her long, green hair following her in.

Running a hand through his hair, Suzaku shook his head and—grudgingly, obediently—went to bed.

Comment:

This one is for everyone who had to wait twenty-one chapters for it, and put up with me being a terrible person who cannot update to save the lives of everyone on the planet. But you've stuck with me for this long, and as the saying goes: YOU'RE IN TOO DEEP NOW.

Also, I love the reviews. They're great encouragement, and I like big numbers. I commend you for taking the time to leave something I can inflate my ego with and remind me that this still needs to be updated. You guys are all great people. Good people deserve gifts. Some of you took the bribing seriously. I am seriously flattered and will seriously [REDACTED], but will also accept a review. So.

Please R&R.

- Minute Maid

Beverage of Queens.