Kamia: So... life sucks.

Chapter 15

With the steam finally settling from their copulation, Lelouch could feel his body cooling as he was coming down from his high. It almost seemed unreal for him to be laying there with his best friend, now lover. His voice was instilling a calmness he hadn't experienced in a long time; actually, he was unsure if he'd ever actually felt calm in his past. At least this calm was pure, not driven from sated blood lust or the ever-present icing numbness in his mind.

He couldn't help the smile that was forming on his lips, his face pressed against the other's chest to listen to the loud heartbeat. In normal instances it would instill desire for pain from his ever present other half, but for now everything was silent. Lelouch felt like he was his own person, almost as if Zero never actually existed. He could feel his own heartbeat race at that thought, would that be possible? Was that his potential cure?

Lifting his amethyst gaze to look up at the other, chewing on his bottom lip as he studied the detective's sated expression. Suzaku had his eyes closed, soft smile on his lips as he seemed to be drifting off to an exhausted slumber. "Suzaku...I..." His sentence was cut off by sudden banging coming from the front door. It was loud enough that it could be heard all the way to the bedroom, causing both males to jerk to attention. Lelouch sat upright, though he quickly gave a grunt of pain, nearly falling back onto the bed. "Ow, I nearly forgot..." The pain was resonating from his rear, slowly trailing upwards on his lower back.

Suzaku rested his hand on the other's shoulder, stilling him from moving any further as he sat up to go investigate. Though before he could reach the bedroom door, a voice boomed from the other side of the front door. "Suzaku! I know you're in there! I have been calling your cell and paging you!" Gino's voice could be heard loud enough, almost as if he was actually in the apartment. Both pair's of eyes widened, the detective going to look for his cell and pager while Lelouch busied with finding his clothing. He would worry about the clean up later. It was a little more difficult for him to walk than he'd originally anticipated but he would take a cool bath later on.

The banging on the front door continued with more ferocity as Lelouch limped his way out of the bedroom while Suzaku busied fixing himself up and throwing covers over the bed. The young male was fairly certain he seemed a bit disheveled but he could play that off as he had been sleeping. Noting there was nothing in need of hiding in the living, he moved the wine glasses to the counter just in case before arriving at the door. Giving a sigh, he unlocked it, pulling it open just as Gino's fist was coming down to pound on it once again. As a reflex, Lelouch's hand shot up to grip the others wrist in a harsh halt, catching the other detective off guard. "Oh Lelouch, it's you. Nice grip kid. Is Suzaku here?" The younger male gave a smile, releasing his hold on the other. "I think he was sleeping but he should be out in a bit."

Suzaku had felt nothing but bliss. There would be no uncertainty or secrets between him and his childhood friend from this point onward. What could there possibly be that could discourage this from continuing? The two were only four years apart and shared a majority of their childhood together. They may have spent some years separated, but at this point Suzaku was sure of the mutual connection they had. He held onto the other feeling a heavy cloud of uncertainty was blown away. Lelouch's heart pounded quickly between the two and he could feel his own match.

His curiosity at what the other might have said was quickly snapped away at the very abrupt banging coming from out of the room and down the hall at the front door to the shared apartment. He could hear his partner freeze in as the calm ceased and tension grow. Lelouch quickly dislodged himself from the detectives hold as the two tried to pick up any cloths that may have been within reach and clean up as much as possible. The college student limped his way back to his own room on the other side making the older man wince. "Shit, I didn't mean to hurt him!" his mind screamed as he rushed out to gather any cloths that were thrown about in the living room, before retreating back to his room again and slamming the door closed. Wiping Lelouch's cum off his chest, Suzaku quickly finished dressing all the while listening through his door.

He could hear his roommate had finished first and was letting Gino into the apartment. "Damn it, Gino! You're ruining date night." he wanted to scream. He really wanted to shout it out. But this wasn't just his secret to tell. It was Lelouch's, too. He knew how reserved about personal information the other could be, so it wouldn't be proper for the older man to spill those newly placed beans. "I'll leave it to Lelouch, if he wants to tell others. Especially a loudmouth like Gino." he muttered before combing back his bangs with his left hand. After managing to calm down a bit and gathering his breath, Suzaku opened the door to his room and walked out to where the two were still chatting near the kitchen.

"Hey, Weinberg, didn't your mom ever tell you not to bother her whenever she's off from work?" he jabbed while making his way into the kitchen to drink a cup of water. "I did call in this morning remember? Last I checked the clock hasn't even reached five." Gino ignored his partner's complaints, before reaching into the bag he had brought and pulling out the files stuffed inside.

"Look I tried to call several times, but at this point I think you got enough beauty sleep to kill the princess or however that story goes. Doesn't matter, though, you really need to look at this file!" Gino countered, before looking over to the youngest man standing in the apartment. "Hey kid, don't take this the wrong way, but can you go study or something? Confidential and all."

Suzaku put the glass back in the sink, before stopping Lelouch from leaving. "Wait a minute here! Lelouch doesn't have to go. Gino you know I'm off the clock and if it's more forensics on that piece of jacket we found on that girl than it can wait until the office tomorrow." He sighed in annoyance. This was definitely not what he promised what was going to happen tonight.

"Shut up and listen, Suzaku! We've found something on the Black Knight!" Gino argued, slamming the file onto the bar counter while stomping his foot down. He had spent all day picking up the slack for his partner, sure it was well deserved, but this is something that just came in and they needed to talk.

Lelouch was watching the interaction between the two older males, remaining fairly quiet till Gino had directed a comment to him. Eyebrow arched, wanting to say something but figured it would be best to play it light for now. Feeling Suzaku's hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving, the raven haired man merely gave a lazy shrug. "It's-" His sentence was cut off by Gino's outburst, making his blood run cold as the words processed. What were they talking about? Piece of clothing? More information? He'd disposed of everything from the last female he'd killed right? It was morphing into his brain in horror, realization exactly what they were talking about. Euphie. She was technically his last female, not the one he'd left in the subway. Euphemia was his unplanned kill, the one that hurt him the most out of everything he'd ever done up to now.

Lelouch did his best to keep a wave of dizziness from taking over, digging his nails into his palm before releasing a soft breath. "The Black Knight? You mean that serial killer that's been showing up on the news?" Amethyst eyes caught the grim look on Suzaku's face, he didn't need to confirm, the detective knew that the younger male was familiar with the small bits of information he would tell him from long days of clue hunting. If there was one thing Lelouch was good at over the years, it was how to mask his emotions. Head tilted to the side, he looked over at Gino. "The last thing I heard on the news about this person was that they'd kill some young man who worked at McDonalds. Unless I missed that news segment for that one."

He could see the two males glance at each other, not trying to affirm anything but their actions were incredibly obvious. "Can I also point out something? The walls in our apartment are 'paper thin' in a sense, if I were to sit in my room I could make out a bit of what you all might say. Also, it's going to get dark soon, I doubt being out at night with a serial killer going around eviscerating people is such a good idea." Lelouch caught the frown from Gino's face, deciding to play the trump card he was hoping he wouldn't have to use because it would only cause more issues for him. "Last time I was out alone I got involved in...something unsightly." Purple eyes caught the frown now forming on Suzaku's face, knowing it had worked.

The questioning look from Gino made Lelouch give a sigh, arm wrapping across his chest to pose a dejected look. "I had a run in with someone who wasn't so nice; it gave me a bit of a wake up call for how bad it is out there after dark." Shifting to the side, the younger male moved into the kitchen to fill a glass full of water. "I promise not to say anything, I know how confidential things work. The same concept applies for my school and what I do, so don't worry about me." Taking a pill from the usual bottle, he downed it before going to take a seat on the sofa with a book he had placed in the bookshelf nearby.

Gino's outburst caught the detective by surprise. Yes this case was very stressful on everyone in the task force, but did that really justify this little off duty visit? Weinberg seemed to think so, and that was really eating at Suzaku's brain. His partner was always trying to get him to go off duty and unwind in the past. Catching the dejected look from his roommate piled on the tension he felt crawling up from this situation. He wanted to reach out and pull Lelouch into a tight hold, but knew that would not be appreciated by anyone at this moment. As Lelouch admitted what happened to him the other night, the moment he was almost raped, made the feeling in the detective's gut clench. Lelouch should never be made to feel that uncomfortable in his skin. His frown turned into a grimace, before taking his eyes off the youngest man in the room.

"Listen, Lelouch has been through a lot and this is definitely not the time to be putting ghastly images when he's supposed to be taking it easy…" he combed his left hand through his hair, pulling his bangs out of his face in the process. Seeing his love argue his reasoning's for not wanting to leave was making the older man feel guilt at having this placed on them. From the look in Gino's eyes, he could tell the other felt that as well, but he was also twitching his nose up in that way that he does when he's made up his mind on something.

"I get that - I really do – but this is really important. I mean yeah the DNA we managed to pull from the girls nails was great and all, but this is beyond that!" Gino argued, as he looked through the file on top of the pile to place in Suzaku's empty hands. "You were gone all day and never answered your phone. Listen…" The other man looked over to where the college student was seated on the couch before pulling his partner into the kitchen. In a voice meant to be a whisper Gino pulled out a series of photos from another file he had brought with him. "We got another body."

"What?! Already?! The last one was bearly over three days ago!" Suzaku shouted as Gino tried to shush him. He looked over to where Lelouch sat with his book, fear crept into his mind at the thought of what could have happened the other night if Lelouch had crept off with someone else. Suzaku looked over the report on the newest body as his partner explained the state they found it in.

"You weren't there, so I had to do the whole crime scene thing by myself… Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind that, it's just what the forensics discovered on the body." Gino explained as the two detectives leaned on opposite counters of the kitchen. Suzaku read over each file; pieces of this puzzle were clicking together with each sentence.

"New DNA evidence… skin traces found on both of the recent bodies… The girl's fingernails and the guy's teeth…" Suzaku looked up from the files to see his partner giving him the same grave look. They both looked over to where Lelouch sat in the living room with his back to them. Suzaku didn't feel comfortable with the only logical conclusion to be made so far. "The killer has to be male… and he's seducing his victims to get them alone. It's the only way he can be getting away with this so far…"

Gino nodded in silence as he glanced at the tile on the ground. Both men felt exhausted by this news. "What do you know about the guy that attacked the kid last night?"

If there was something that partner of Suzaku's lacked, it was discretion. His tone was nowhere near low enough to be a whisper, but it was muffled enough to be unheard by the normal ear. Of course, that's where they were at a loss; Lelouch knew he was far from normal. With the book resting on his lap, he had his eyes closed, listening carefully to the words coming from both males. The dark haired man was sure to turn the pages of the book in a timely manner so they wouldn't catch on to him. He felt the skin on his neck stand at the mention of another body being discovered. Crap, he hadn't expected them to find that sexual fiend, Kewell, so early.

A soft breath left him in attempts to steady the racing anxiety coursing through him. Another turn of the page, his ears tuning in further to pick up mumbled words. New DNA? Female's fingernails? Male's teeth? It was as if ice water had been dumped onto Lelouch, body going rigid as his breath stopped. The loud pounding in his chest rang loud in his ears, digging his nails into his leg to keep from making any noise. At that moment, he could feel the darkness stirring inside, the Black Knight was awakening and it was hungry.

'Kill them! Kill them both!'

'No...they still don't know...'

'And how long before they do?'

'...I don't know...' At the sound of the question for his night attacker did his amethyst eyes open, bile rising and his hand quick to cover his mouth.

As much as he tried to suppress it, a pained groan left him, which only left him the option to stand up and head into the bathroom. Back resting against the closed door, he did his best to calm his fast beating heart before spitting into the sink. Turning on the cold water, Lelouch rinsed his mouth before splashing his face. Catching a glimpse of his reflection, he could see the dilation of his pupils almost as if the other was trying to claw its way to the surface.

'I say kill them!'

"No..." Turning away from the mirror, the college student did his best to gain his composure.

'If it weren't for your emotions we wouldn't make so many slips!'

'We just need to find a scapegoat...maybe multiples...'

The sound of knocking on the bathroom door broke his thoughts, eyes turning to the closed door. "Lelouch, everything all right in there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Taking soft breaths, he reached for the doorknob, opening it slightly so that way his head was visible. Suzaku stood there, a look of concern in his emerald gaze. "I think I am having a difficult time from earlier, I may need to take a shower."

The amethyst gaze lifted to see Gino staring at them, giving him a weak smile before looking back at Suzaku. "I feel something of yours 'leaking out' so I better get to cleaning," Lelouch whispered, his hand resting over his abdomen. "I will try not to be too loud for you two." With a soft wave, he closed the door, giving a sigh then proceeding to go shower.

Suzaku looked back to his partner, thinking about what to say before even attempting to explain what he knew. "Not much, just what Lelouch has been able to tell me on what happened. Seeing the damage myself, I can vouch the guy was being rough. I'm just glad he was able to get out of that situation before things got worse." Gino nodded before placing the files back into the folder. "Of course, I'm still taking him to the station in the morning to have his statement taken down."

Gino gave a curious glance back, "And why didn't you do that today?" Before the detective could come up with an excuse, they both looked into the living room to see Lelouch rush into the restroom and slam the door. Suzaku made his way around Gino to check on his roommate, giving a casual "I'll tell you later." over his shoulder before he paused at the sound of running water.

"Lelouch, everything alright in there?" he asked while lightly knocking on the door to get the younger man's attention. After a few brief words from Lelouch explaining his reasoning for wanting a shower, the older man felt a cringe of guiilt rush to him as he gave the most sincere apologetic smile he could. When Lelouch closed the door again, the detective turned back around to give Gino the attention he was sure the other would expect. Rolling his eyes at Gino's mocking smile, he walked back to the center of the living room to sit back in the lazy boy.

"Well?" Gino pressed as he took a seat at the bar stool closer to the kitchen. Suzaku combed his fingers through his loose bangs as he sighed in slight agitation. How was he supposed to explain today's events without giving too much away? He reclined the seat to the armchair before coming up with an answer.

"Lelouch wasn't feeling too well today, after all that had happened. I had only recently found out about it, so there wasn't much time to make it to the station." He watched to see the other contemplate his answer. It wasn't that far from the truth, so there shouldn't be too much to pry any holes in. His friend chose to drop the subject, before going back to the case at hand. The two talked about what they could without raising any voices to alert Lelouch. By the time they heard the water pressure turn off, a plan had been made. "I don't know if this is a good idea. We may be rushing things, considering the time." Suzaku reasoned before he noticed the look his friend was giving him. "Fine, we'll head to the station... I'll wait here until Lelouch finishes getting dressed and meet you there."

"Nonsense, we'll take my car. Save some gas and carpool. I don't mind waiting." Gino countered just as they heard the bathroom door open. "Hey kid! Feeling better?"

Lelouch wished his shower was in silence, the water was doing a splendid job of muffling the noises in the living room but it did nothing for the screaming voice in his head. 'If we don't do something those annoying people will put a stop to everything we are doing.' Lelouch chose to remain as silent as he could despite the growing intensity of Zero's harsh words. 'When things are getting tough, you are just going to keep quiet and retreat like a coward? Maybe there was no real need for me; you should have stayed that pathetic child who got beaten because all you know how to do is hide.'

"...Shut up."

'Oh so that got a reaction from you?'

"I'm thinking, jumping to conclusions won't get us anywhere."

'So we are just supposed to sit here and potentially get caught?'

"I never said that. I just know we are going to have to tread more carefully, which means stop clawing your way out when you feel like it. Otherwise I won't be able to get us out of this mess." At that it went quiet, allowing Lelouch to finish his shower in momentary peace. He needed all the concentration he could muster to be able to clean himself out, which was a whole new experience to him.

Shutting off the water, the male took his time to wipe himself down not really to eager to go out there and put up the facade; it was exhausting now that his energy had been drained physically. As he reached over to temporarily put his previous clothes to get to his room, Lelouch came to a pause, amethyst eyes moving to his reflection in the fogged mirror. Despite it being a day, the marks were still visible, a dark hue on his rather fair skin. 'Hmm, I should consider spending more time in the sun so things like this don't stand out so much.' For now though, they were going to be used to play on the sympathy card. With his rather battered look, and the fact that the other was dead, there was nothing stopping him from playing the full victim.

Running his hand over the marks, Lelouch couldn't help but smile. He'd led that man on pretty strongly, saying he'd wanted it rough, though he never expected the table to turn on him in the end. But he would spin it back in his favor, and then get to working on his scapegoat. Tying the towel around his slim waist, he opened up the bathroom door to let the steam out before exiting into the living room as well.

"Hey kid! Feeling better?" The brunette gave a smile to the male sitting on the stool, running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, nothing a nice warm shower can't solve." Lelouch could feel the two sets of eyes on him, Gino's gaze being rather surprised at the intensity of the marks that were hidden behind previous clothing, and Suzaku's gaze was of guilt mixed with anger, knowing full well that his newfound lover was not pleased with the fact that Lelouch had been marked by someone else.

"Not a flattering look I'm sure," the brunette spoke aloud, breaking the awkward silence that had formed, causing the other two male to finally blink and sort of avert their gaze. "I suppose I should get used to people looking, after all, Suzaku was going to take me to the station in the morning. It just feels...unreal..." His sentence trailed off, arms moving up as if to hug himself in a form of comfort. "It's terrible to be faced with a reality that not everyone is out there to be lawful." Lelouch wouldn't go as far as to display crocodile tears, he'd experienced that this morning at Suzaku's rather up close and personal search of him in the bathroom. "Though I am glad that I managed to get away, I know not everyone is as fortunate..." He gestured to the files that were resting on the kitchen counter before giving a sigh.

"I should go change, please excuse me." Lelouch gave a more tepid smile before heading to his room, making sure to lock the door behind him. He'd had plenty of experience with the sympathy card, seeing it thrown at him by his mother and his sister to excuse the things they'd done to him. Having taken their teachings, he modified them to play on people's emotions with ease. Running his hand over his face, he couldn't help but grin. "Their despair is delicious..." The young man took his time to pick clothes that were loose-fitting, his pace slow in dressing to let it fester while allowing his own wave of pleasure to pass.

As soon as Lelouch closed the door to his room, Suzaku felt a hard punch to his shoulder. Cursing at the sudden impact, he turned to see the furious look in Gino's eyes. "Jesus Christ, Suzaku! Why didn't you take him to the station as soon as you saw those! This is more serious than either of you seem to be taking it. Now stop with the nonchalant attitude and get your ass in gear. The kid looks like he's been through the ringer with those scratch marks and bruises!" his partner yelled. The older man knew the other was right to scold him, but he would never admit to that and pump up that air head's ego.

The two detectives quickly gathered whatever files were laying about, before Suzaku marched his way over to knock on Lelouch's door. "Hey, if you wouldn't mind tagging along. We're planning to go to the station right now and we might as well that that statement out of the way." He explained carefully before making his way to his own room to get his wallet and house keys. Taking his issued gun out of it's safe; he made sure the safety was on before holstering it. Ever since Lelouch had arrived to live with him, he had to invest in a place to make sure his glock was secured.

Pinning his badge to the clip on his belt, Suzaku made his way back to the main room to see Gino lounging on the couch while waiting on the two of them to finish up. As soon as Lelouch exited his room, Suzaku apologized about the sudden detour in their plans. Soon enough the three were making their way down to the parking garage to find Gino's truck in a handicap zone. "Really couldn't wait, could ya?" The elder man rolled his eyes at his co-worker's antics as they all climbed in.

To be Continued

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

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