Kamia: My birthday is coming up and I live by myself. I wonder if this will be the year? Nah, let's just continue to procrastinate with fanfiction!

Chapter 11

Once Lelouch was done showing Milly the chemicals to use, he moved towards the door. "Well since that's everything, I'll be heading back now." Milly looked up and rushed to grip his arm. "W-wait...uh...do you have to go back right now?" He slowly turned to look down at her, her face was flushed and her eyes were staring up, glinting with hope. 'As much fun as it would be to mess with her, I'm not in the mood...' Lelouch offered a smile once more before clasping her wrist. "I still have my work to catch up on. What type of person would I be if I helped others but didn't complete my work?"

She looked down, slightly nodding. She then released his arm and took a step back. "Thank you for helping me Lelouch." "No problem; let me know if you have any more problems alright." He then exited her room, heading down the hall. 'There is no way he could have gotten back into the room, guess I should check the break areas.' Lelouch slowly made his way down the hallway, trying his best to rid the cheeky grin he knew was prominent on his face. 'Best not to irk him more than he already is, but then again... that would be completely out of character.'

Finding the older male sitting at the empty table, he slowly walked up behind him. "Enjoying your coffee, since you had me spill the previous cup all over my office floor," he commented, pouring his own cup. Mixing in the cream and sugar, he turned to face him. "I'm almost done with work, I just need to file away the papers and we can leave. Did you want to go back to the room or are you ok staying here," he asked, passing him to walk down the hall to his office.

Hearing the question from behind him, Suzaku turned to notice his young roommate had made his own way into the room without being noticed. Raising an eyebrow at the other's expression, the detective tried to play it off as him not caring. "Whatever you choose to do. Go ahead and finish your work, I'll just explore around the campus for a bit. When you are done, go ahead and text me and I will meet you in the car." he decided. After a few more minutes of small talk, the two parted ways.

After being left alone, the older man took the last few sips of his coffee before throwing away the empty cup. Taking a glance around the room to make sure he hadn't left anything behind on the table, the detective made his way out and down the hall to the exit. After leaving the private sector of the building, the brunette took in careful strides around the building in mild curiosity. A part of him appreciated the construction of the old architecture. In the past he had played around with the thought of going to school and becoming a contractor or designer of some type, but with no real skill, the young man had given up and chosen his other main interest to study up on.

After forty-five minutes of walking around the campus, Suzaku had grown weary of his tour and began to trek back to where the parking lot was located. Making his way to the impala, green eyes took another glance back to where he knew his friend had been studying. "Wonder how the kid's project is going?" he questioned before getting inside the car and turning on the radio.

After having finished up his project, Lelouch took down the recordings and stored them away to be turned in during the next conference. That was still a couple of days away but he was rather used to finishing way before the deadline. It would give him time to work on...other projects. Glancing at the beaker filled with acid, it had pretty much finished dissolving the latest evidence for the crimes committed. However, with his roommate on break there was no way to sneak away for the time being. 'Well I guess that's it for that.'

Leaving his office, Lelouch made sure the lock clicked behind him before continuing down the hallway. Making his way out of the science building was relatively easy, he knew which routes to take and how quiet to be when he didn't want others to know he was leaving, and in this instance so a familiar blonde wouldn't chase him down. Once he was a good distance from the building, he slowed his walking pace, not particularly in a hurry to go anywhere. The older male hadn't called him so he assumed Suzaku was doing fine on his own.

Pulling out his phone, he shot a quick text message to the older male asking where he was. Lelouch continued down his leisure path before ending up at the union where they had selections of foods, drinks and games to play. Purchasing a tea, he was about to make his way out when a burgundy glint caught his eye. A young girl had dropped her things and was scrambling to pick them up while the crowd moved around her. Lelouch's purple eyes were glued to the hair color, it reminded him of his sisters hair after it had been dyed in her own blood, and the way it would hang over his face at night when she would sneak into his room.

Clenching his fists, he moved up behind the girl and picked up a stack of folders. "Here." The younger student looked up at him in appreciation, taking her items as she stood.

"Thank you for your help, uh...?"

"Lelouch… No problem, try to be careful next time." Glancing down at the papers, he noticed the familiar biology papers. It didn't take long for a conversation to start after the brief introductions were made. Kallen Stadtfeld followed alongside Lelouch out of the union doors. They were both standing not too far from the visitors parking when they decided to part ways. "I hope to see you around again," called Kallen before turning and heading off in the direction of the science building. Zero simply waved, allowing a familiar smile to form on his lips.

With the radio turned up to a station that wasn't as repetitive in the latest music, Suzaku reclined his chair to get more comfortable in the wait. He was used to being alone and didn't mind the songs playing as the detective allowed his mind to drift. He thought about the case. Each victim was not random, that he could be sure of. There was something connecting them all. They all met a certain criteria for this serial killer. The question was, what?

Hearing a familiar beat to the next playing song. Listening to the words allowed his mind to drift onto more current issues. How was this relationship with Lelouch going to work? Was there even a relationship going on between them or is this all just curiosity. A part of Suzaku didn't want to admit he felt uncertain at some point, but remembering those moments they shared. "His lips just feel... so right." he muttered while tapping his fingers

Hey

What do you want me to say?

Tell me

I already gave you everything you want

Now give me everything I need

I've got a soul for sale

A soul for sale

Oh

What do you want me to be?

Show me

Cause I wanna give you everything you want

Just give me everything I need

I've got a soul for sale

A soul for sale

Not noticing the knock on the glass at first, the detective turned down the music when he saw a flash of ember. Looking up he noticed his roommate impatiently waiting with a certain smug grin. Throwing the other his own toothy smile, he reached over to pull up the lock on the passenger door. "What kept ya?" he questioned as Lelouch made his way into the car.

The two made some idle chat before the older man shifted his car into reverse and began to make his way out of the school parking lot. With his destination in mind, he wondered how long it would take for his friend to realize this was not the street that would lead them anywhere near home.

Lelouch gazed out of the window as the car exited into the street. "I ran into some freshman on my way out and naturally being the good person I am, I lent her a hand and directed her to the area she needed to go," he commented, a hint of tease mixed with sarcasm in his voice. Finishing his drink, he crushed it and tossed the plastic into the bag that hung in the car. Glancing back out the window, his thoughts traveled back to the freshman he'd met.

The girl was rather skinny for a person around her age, probably barely hitting her 20's. What had really caught Lelouch's attention was that goddamn hair color. Rustic brown, the color of mud mixed with drainage water and blood. His sister's hair had smelled of iron because she would drink heavily on occasion neglecting personal hygiene on such days, probably from the damage she would do to her hair after dyeing it and the sweat that would linger. Just thinking of it made his stomach turn and his anger start to rise.

Releasing a sigh, Lelouch eased out the tension building in his shoulders. "So where are we going since we obviously aren't going home," he asked aloud, trying to distract himself from the thoughts boiling in his mind. He had to exact some sort of restraint; Lelouch knew he was already in the yellow zone when it came to the police. The past few events had barely gotten by unnoticed, and his blood thirst was only growing stronger.

Shifting his gaze over to the older male, thoughts still racing through his brain. Just how much did the police already know from all the details he'd fail to cover up? How much information did Suzaku know and how long before Lelouch would have to decide if he was going to be on the run from his friend or if he will have to dispose of him? Blinking at the thought, Lelouch's eyes narrowed before shifting back to the passing road, licking his lips in euphoria.

Suzaku gave a curious glance towards his young roommate. "Making new friends already? Just how many people do you know at that campus?" he joked before concentrating back on the road. It wasn't often that the cop got to hear about his friend's college life. Was he as popular as it seemed back in the lab, or were those just people he knew in that one building. Was the job tough? Were the teachers fair? Questions like this kept rising in the brunette's head almost causing him to miss the ramp to the freeway.

Giving a harsh turn, Suzaku quickly glanced behind him to see how close they were to grinding against the guardrail. He chuckled lightly at their luck before catching the furious look in his friend's eye. Taking a nervous gulp, green eyes trailed back to the road. After a few minutes, the silence was getting to him.

"Ok, ok... I know you might want to kill me right now, but keep in mind I'm still driving." he joked while giving the other a small grin. "Besides, if I wasn't around, than who would be paying for this?" he asked as the pulled off the expressway and into the parking lot to a restaurant on the frontage. The place might have been pricey, yet right now it didn't matter to the detective. This day was supposed to be for his "little brother", so who cared how much Vietnamese food cost.

Lelouch was about to open his mouth to respond to his friend's question when he felt himself being swung to side of the car when it made a harsh turn to a nearly missed ramp. Peeling himself off of the side window, he turned his glare onto the driver. He silently cursed Suzaku's driving skills, and felt ever urge to strangle the older man. However, he decided against it, knowing it would do more harm for the situation than good.

He slowly turned away when the other made a comment, offering him a small child-like smile. Lelouch's eyes scanned the familiar restaurant before turning to look back at the older male. "How kind of you to take me to my favorite restaurant after I've made such a close encounter to death, and the food will be even more enjoyable now that I know you are paying." Once the car was parked, he slid out of the car, planting his feet firmly on the ground.

"Oh sweet land, I will not take you for granted. Such a close encounter made me appreciate the fact that I walk to school almost every day." His voice was laced with teasing sarcasm before turning to face the other male. "You must be trying to start a new trend with your driving skills, especially for being such a skilled cop. You must be playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto like all of those fresh kids out there." He allowed a smirk to play on his face before walking into the restaurant.

Giving a nervous chuckle at the cynicism in Lelouch's remark, the detective choose to ignore it and admit the fact to himself that he might have deserved that. As the two entered the restaurant, the detective made his way over to the host counter. He gave the man in the formal suit and nametag reading Kosetsu Urabe his information to confirm the reservation he had placed almost a few hours ago.

After a few minutes of chatting with Kosetsu, another waitress with a nametag reading Nagisa Chiba came by to show the two roommates to the area marked for them. The building itself was very well lit with crystal chandlers everywhere. The oriental decorative suited the restaurant but was in no way too cheap or in any way giving off a general Chinese food vibe. There was a reason this place cost a pretty penny. As they reached their table, Nagisa and another food runner pulled the divider aside to let the two sit. "You know it cost extra to get us a table with some privacy." he jibed at the price. Knowing the other wouldn't get too finicky about his money, Suzaku encouraged the other to order as much as he wanted.

"I'm getting paid in a few days, so there's nothing to worry about." he thought, while enjoying the look of his younger friend reading full-heatedly at the menu before them. "Still picky and indecisive as ever." he smiled at the memories of the younger two buying ice cream and Lelouch always stealing his in the end.

Lelouch allowed his eyes to roam around the interior design. They had done some remodeling over the past few months that they hadn't been there. It gave a nice touch to it. His eyes met with one of the hostesses, which caused him to offer one of his smiles out of habit. A light blush washed over Kosetsu's cheeks as she quickly averted her eyes down. Lelouch took the moment to refocus his attention in front of him; didn't want to cause commotions or risk bringing up his blood thirst on the off chance she would be a trigger.

He followed Suzaku into the closed off area, taking note of the dividers that could separate them from prying eyes. Once they had been seated, the waitress excused herself to give them a few moments to decide. "Hmm, I don't remember this being an option when we used to come here some time back. For all I know, you are trying to get me alone, I should keep my guard up," he commented with a tease before lowering his gaze to the menu. It really had been a while, and with each passing entree description he began to anticipate the need for food more and more.

He only lifted his gaze back up at the comment about his pickiness, arching his eyebrow at the smile on the others face. "I'm sorry. It is rather difficult for me to pick something to eat right off the spot when it has been a rather long time since I've been here. Unlike you I'm sure. If I recall correctly, you always seem to go out after work with your partner. I wish I had that luxury, but alas my studies and job don't allow me to do that often," he responded with slight spite in his words at being ignored by his friend. Placing the menu down in front of him, Lelouch leaned forward, evil smirk on his face. "But I'm sure if I regret what I ordered, I could just eat from your plate. You wouldn't mind would you? After all we have shared saliva quite often these past few hours~"

Suzaku returned the challenge with a sideways glance, "Nothing fancy ever happened. Most of it was fast food or even donuts and coffee if we were lucky enough to get to the shop in time before beginning a stake out." he explained, slightly in the defense. "Unlike a person in school, I usually have zero free time between casework. Do you have any idea how much paperwork goes into the things we do down at the station?" Turning back to the menu he raised an eyebrow at the listing.

"So much spice in these things, don't you think?" the detective puzzled over what it was he really wanted. Green eyes looked back up at Lelouch's remark about swiping his chosen meal. Normally the older man would disapproved with sharing his food, but he did promise earlier today that this time was going to be dedicated for his childhood friend.

"Whatever you want, Lelouch, everything that is mine belongs to you as well, my Cottontail." he smiled with a twink in his eye while reaching for the closest hand that Lelouch was using to browse through the menu before them and laying a sweet kiss upon the others knuckles. Grinning at the look the other was throwing his way, Suzaku settled his gaze on the returning waitress.

"Yes I will go ahead and order two Gekkeikan sake's for me and my young prodigy, please?" he ordered before also ordering Charbroiled Beef with Vermicelli. After he was done, the green-eyed man gave a wink to Nagisa taking their order.

Lelouch's eyes scanned the menu at a lazy rhythm, listening to the remarks of his partner. "Oh I could only imagine the large amounts of paperwork. Heaven knows it must be a lot, nothing compared to the daily reports a 'certain college student' is required to write on the daily regarding changes in experiments, as well as keeping tally of equipment and making sure that everyone else is doing their appropriate tasks because that 'certain college student' was elected head of the biology department," he responded in a low and sarcastic manner.

Taking a few moments to completely look over the menu, he gave a soft shrug at the comment regarding spice. "I honestly don't mind the spice, what kind of person prefers a plain palette in their..." his comment slowly died down when the other made an all too familiar comment he had hoped had died when they were children. His gaze lifted from the menu when his hand was taken and softly kissed. Amethyst eyes hardened on the brunette male, slightly narrowing as his mouth opened to say something when Nagisa Chiba returned.

Pulling his hand back, he shifted himself slightly, watching the others teasing gestures as well as the wink towards the female; he released a soft sigh. Once his partner had finished ordering, he turned to Nagisa with a smile. "I'll go ahead and have the Wonton Soup with Eggnoodles and a side order of tofu spring rolls please." Proceeding to hand her the menu, his finger brushed against her small hand causing the waitress to blush. Lelouch played it off as not noticing and watched as Nagisa left their area, closing the dividers behind her.

Waiting a few moments, he then turned his attention back to Suzaku. "Last I checked, I asked you never to make remarks about that memory," he said in a low voice. There were only a few things in his life that bothered him, and this happened to be one of them. One Halloween when he was about nine, his mother insisted on dressing him as a white rabbit for some ridiculous event. He was against it but Marianne always had her way. To make matters worse, she'd sent him out like that to do trick or treating, and since he was rather feminine in his features prior to adolescence, Lelouch was constantly mistaken for a girl. He had gone to look for Suzaku, who was out with his older friends, and when he'd found them, the others had preceded to make fun of him for his costume. Lelouch had never felt so humiliated, having to deal with comments for a good while of his elementary to middle school years.

Suzaku held back the laughter trying to bubble out of him at Lelouch's request. "So sorry, but little bunnies are just too cute to ignore. Especially purple-eyed ones." he smirked before leaning closer. Having just reached his teenage years, Suzaku was always the type to rebel against whatever his parents wanted. When they were young, the thirteen year old had snuck out of his parents' party to meet up with other teens one Halloween night. That night was the first time he tried a cigarette, and if things had gone differently in his choices, he may have never continued them. It came as no surprise when his younger friend had joined. Suzaku remembered the more crude boys had teased Lelouch about his costume, but when the teenager had laid eyes on the slim bunny suit that fit one size too small on the other, he couldn't say anything. Being young, Suzaku had saw no real harm in a few choice words, but would never let any of the others lay a hand on his close friend.

"Remember when that dumbass punk, Something Tamaki, tried to mess with your ears? You kept pouting and telling him to 'Fuck off'." he laughed more to himself as his green eyes cast downwards in the memory. "I think that was the first time I heard you curse... didn't bother much about it until the guy kept tugging you back to him by grabbing that puff of fur on your shorts." he frowned at that thought before a spark came behind his eyes and he glanced back up to the annoyed college student in front of him. "What was it that he did that made you break his nose?"

Resting his chin upon his hand, Lelouch listened to the other reminisce of the memory. Of course to the other it was more of a pleasant memory than it was for himself. The dividers opened once again as the waitress placed the sake bottles with two cups on their table, as well as two glasses of water on their side. Once Nagisa had departed again, Lelouch returned his attention back to the other.

"His name was Shinichiro Tamaki, and cursing was something I heard quite often in my house so it was only natural for me to pick it up. However I chose to use it whenever I saw necessary, which in many cases was to deal with annoying individuals who felt the need to pick on me." Reaching out, he poured his first serving into the cup. He swirled the liquid around thinking back to that night. It had a lot more impact on how he turned out now.

He should have known better to stick around since Suzaku had been hanging around the older kids. Lelouch was still in elementary school and his feminine appearance only added to the teasing. Of course, the older kids were very hands on as well. Poking at him and grabbing the garments of his outfit causing him to slightly wince in pain as the material as well as their fingers would jab at hidden bruises below his clothes.

The final straw was when one of the kids pulled at him and held him in place by his shorts. "Aww, what's the matter? Are you gonna cry little baby bunny? Come on now, cry." Lelouch had been shaking; all he heard was his parents' voices in his head through the teases. 'Are you going to cry? I'll give you something to cry about!' In that moment, his vision had gone blank but his managed to turn himself out of the others grip and shoved his hand out, palm up, into Tamaki's nose. He felt the fragile bone break and blood gushing onto his hand.

Lelouch blinked rapidly, lifting his head to look over at the older male. He hadn't realized that he was lost in his memories, only hearing the question he had asked faintly. "Oh that? I only remember a vague question that if a sissy bunny boy like me enjoyed skipping around and eating carrots too." He took a drink from the cup, smirking as a drop ran from the corner of his mouth. "Course he was right about one thing, I do love myself a good carrot," he remarked, tongue snaking out to lick up the stray drop.

"Ah! Shinichiro Tamaki... I remember now." He nodded as the face of his former classmate had come back to him. The two were in the same middle school for a while, so it wasn't like they never crossed paths. "He had it out for me until his family moved away after that." he remarked. Thinking back, it was rather impressive for a nine year old to be able to pull off a snap as bloody as Lelouch did that night. He never did ask the boy where he had learned to do that. All he could see was the blood gushing out of Shinichiro's nose and onto Lelouch's pale fingers. The younger boy would not look away as it poured out while gasps and shrieks were heard from the older teens.

Suzaku remembered acting on impulse and quickly pulling Lelouch close and leading him further into the park where the group had gathered before anyone else could think of retaliating. He doubted now that the fifteen year olds would harm the smaller child, but any of the younger teens could. The two boys ran with hands clasped tightly, the blood between both palms made the older of the two feel more frantic to not loose hold. By the time the two stopped, they were already on the other side of the lake, hidden behind the tunnel of some jungle gym.

"We stayed there all night... even with your costume not covering you decently enough from the cold. Just because of some comment about carrots?" he didn't really believe that, knowing his former classmates tended to be less creative in their taunts. That was a long time ago, so it didn't really matter now. Taking a sip of his own sake, Suzaku grimaced at the heat given off by the bottle. He didn't drink the stuff often, so feeling a hot drink instead of an ice cold bottle was different. Not something he couldn't enjoy, though.

"I liked that jacket, by the way." he chuckled before noticing the other's confused glance. "The skeleton hoodie you wiped your bloody arms all over on the inside. Don't think that was enough warmth considering Marianne giving me funny looks when you caught a cold from 'spending the night at my house'."

As Nagisa came in to deliver their meals, the detective thanked the waitress before turning away to see his closest friend eye his food in a sort of joy he hasn't seen in a while. It was good to get out of the house every once in a while. "You know..." he began before thinking on how he should go about this. He was sure he made his feelings clear, but with Lelouch pulling back with uncertainties, Suzaku wasn't sure just yet on how he was going to convince the other that there was no lie between them. "If you could really go for it, I'm sure we can find a place for you to get your carrot." green eyes glanced away from the food on the table between them to keep hold on the purple eyes looking right back. Underneath the table he reached out with his left hand and placed it gently on the other's thigh. Without breaking contact, Suzaku tilted his head slightly to the side and gave a little smirk. "I'm sure, with it being your day, we can arrange for you to get whatever you want." he teased while rubbing softly through the jeans on the other's leg.

To be Continued

Special Thanks to my best friend Ayame for helping me with this.

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