Chapter 2

--

"I wonder what Lelouch is doing?"

"He probably chickened out."

"Or maybe he fainted!"

"Nah, it's more likely that he's too furious to come back."

"Guys, it's not nice to talk about my brother like that…"

"Aww, we're sorry, Nunnally…"

Lelouch cringed at the voices. All of the guesses were only partially correct, because here he was, one hand on the doorknob—he hadn't passed out (for long), his anger had long ago subsided, and his pride demanded that he return to the student council room in his costume. He took a deep breath and opened the door, for once glad that Nunnally was blind.

He was met by squeals and gasps as he swept into the room with his chin held high.

"Oh my God, Lelouch, you're gorgeous!"

The student was wearing a magnificent white bridal gown. The bodice was heavily embroidered with pearls and sparkling crystals, and the long, flowing skirt had multiple layers of satiny and gossamer fabric that reached the floor. He had long, lacy white gloves that reached the middle of his upper arms, and a veil of sheer fabric that tumbled gracefully over his shoulders and back. An intricate white gold tiara graced the top of his head, giving him the appearance of a princess bride awaiting her groom.

He blushed uncontrollably, but made sure to regard each of the council members with a haughty pout, allowing himself to slip into character to subdue his humiliation. "You may address me as Your Highness," he ordered. Then he glided over to his sister, who was seated by the table. She was dressed as a white king, and had a snowy beard and mustache as well as a crystal scepter. "Oh, my Father, do not allow this common riffraff to speak to me with such informality!" he cried, pressing one of her delicate hands between his own.

Nunnally giggled. "You heard my daughter—treat her like a princess!" she laughed, waving her scepter in the direction of the other students.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" replied Millay, kneeling gracefully with a hand pressed to her heart. The others all followed her lead, until Lelouch was the only person standing.

"It looks as if our subjects are hungry, Father. Let them eat cake!" the boy declared. As if on cue, Sayoko entered with the cake on a pushcart. It was a detailed replica of a chessboard, with playing pieces sculpted from marzipan and black-and-white icing piped in fantastic swirls on the sides. Millay leapt up and scurried over to the cake, helping Sayoko to lift the heavy confection onto the table. Everyone crowded around as Millay handed Lelouch the knife.

"Congratulations, for real," she said, smiling at her cousin, who shook his head with a long-suffering sigh before cutting off a piece of the cake.

--

Suzaku heard the sound of laughter from the brightly lit student council clubhouse. He readjusted the pack on his shoulders and gave a small, determined huff before striding up to the door.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. The superintendant had seemed like a very nice person, and though Suzaku would be the only full Japanese at the school, there were apparently a few half bloods. One of them was even on the student council, though he wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl.

He reached the door and rang the bell intently. A minute or two passed, and he was just about to ring again when a Japanese woman in a maid outfit opened the door.

"Hello, you must be Kururugi Suzaku-san," she said brightly, in softly accented Britannian. "My name is Sayoko, and I am the maid for this building."

"Very nice to meet you, Sayoko-san," responded the soldier, bowing politely. "I'm sorry for any trouble I've caused for you."

"Not at all, Kururugi-san. May I take your luggage?" she asked, and held out her hand. Suzaku shrugged out of the backpack and handed it to the maid, smiling and thanking her.

"Would it be all right if I met the student council?" he queried after Sayoko had shut the door.

"Of course. Please follow me," she answered, walking towards a marble staircase. Suzaku trailed after her, gazing around at the lavish decoration and expensive furnishings of the clubhouse. According to Lord Ashford, there were a couple of students who lived here full-time. He guessed they must be enormously wealthy to have their own building instead of living in the dorms.

They stopped outside a closed door that leaked joyous sounds of a party. Sayoko knocked loudly before opening the door and gesturing him inside. He complied, and blinked for a minute before his eyes adjusted. Seven students, dressed in black or white costumes that resembled chess pieces, looked over in surprise. One of the numerous girls, a curvy blonde who was wearing what Suzaku guessed to be a black queen outfit, slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned.

"Oh my God, I completely forgot!" she gasped, hurrying over to Suzaku. "I'm Millay Ashford, the superintendant's granddaughter. It totally slipped my mind that you were coming!"

Before Suzaku could reply, a blue-haired boy bounced over with a wide grin. "Hey, you're an Eleven! Sweet!"

"He's JAPANESE, dumbass!" shouted a pink-haired girl who had a few Asian characteristics. "I'm Kallen Kouzuki, or Kallen Stadtfeld, depending on who you're talking to," she added, saluting him lazily. "The dumbass is Rivalz, but don't worry, he means well." Rivalz rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"Ah, great, you've met three of us so far!" Millay bubbled happily. "Come here, Shirley, Nina." A tall redhead and a small, timid-looking girl stepped forward. "Shirley'll probably never shut up once you get to know her…" (The girl in question protested loudly.) "…Nina might talk if you know anything about science."

"Perhaps. My boss is the head of Military Research and Development, but I'm usually just a test subject," Suzaku told the mousy girl, who nodded and smiled slightly.

Millay was in her element. "All right, that's five!" she sang, and pulled Suzaku farther into the room. "Now you have to meet my cousins." She shoved the bemused soldier gently towards the last two people in the room.

--

Lelouch hadn't been this surprised in his entire life.

His fork was halfway to his mouth, cake still balanced precariously on the silver tines as he stared openly at the new arrival, who was now studying him with an air of confused recognition.

"L-Lelouch?" he stuttered, eyes widening in shock. "What…how…why?"

"Suzaku?" Nunnally asked as she pulled off her fake beard. "Is it really you?"

Lelouch watched as the soldier bent down before the blind girl. "Yes… it's me," said the curly-haired boy, grasping Nunnally's hand gently. She felt his hand, then smiled and brought it to her cheek.

"I'm so glad you're safe," she whispered. Suzaku's eyes warmed, but then he looked again at Lelouch, whose cake finally slid off the fork and landed back on the plate with a plop.

The slightly wet sound of the cake seemed to snap the boy out of his reverie, and he blushed fiercely. Pushing away the dessert, he stood abruptly.

"I hope you don't mind, Millay," Lelouch said calmly, "but I'm afraid I have to whisk away your guest for a moment." He grabbed Suzaku's arm, trying and failing to ignore the curious looks everyone was giving him. "I'll explain later," he told them, and he dragged the extremely confused soldier from the room briskly.

He led the way to the staircase, and then cursed under his breath when he realized how difficult it was to climb steps in a dress. Lelouch lifted the hem of the elaborate garment delicately, accidentally revealing the girlish slippers he had found with the outfit. He glanced at Suzaku, mortified, but the other boy's face was unreadable.

They reached Lelouch's room, and the student flipped the switch on for the second time. Thankfully, no surprise waited for him on the bed; however, one stood next to him, regarding his surroundings curiously.

Shutting the door, Lelouch turned to face Suzaku. "First things first—I'm not wearing the dress because I want to," he blurted out, face bright red.

The soldier chuckled. "But it looks so good on you! Are you a model now or something?"

"God, no!" Lelouch shuddered. "It's all Millay's fault. She's obsessed with dress-up and cosplay, especially cross-dressing. But this was—is—a special occasion." He looked at Suzaku for a reaction.

Amazingly, the other boy only nodded. "I've cross-dressed in the military," he said. "Just for laughs; there wasn't anything…you know, improper…going on," he continued, beginning to sport his own blush.

"Military, huh?" Lelouch mused. He had noticed the uniform almost immediately, and wasn't really surprised at the revelation. "So what are you doing here at Ashford?"

"I could ask you the same question," countered Suzaku, grinning.

"The Ashford's are family. Nunnally and I have been in hiding here. We've changed our last name to Lamperouge, and we're posing as commoners. So don't say anything in front of anyone—except Millay, she knows, obviously," explained Lelouch, walking over to the bed and sitting down before kicking off his slippers. "But back to you. How'd you decide on the military, and why Ashford?"

Suzaku shrugged and sat next to Lelouch. "Just how things turned out, I guess, as far as the army goes. But I'm attending Ashford by request of my superiors, who want me to get an education. I'm part of Research and Development, and they require at least basic schooling." He flopped back onto the bed. "Man, this is so surreal."

"Tell me about it," Lelouch murmured quietly, looking at Suzaku's face with a pang of nostalgia. "It's been seven years since we saw each other last. I was always such a brat to you…" he reminisced.

"That's not true," Suzaku frowned. "After the first few weeks, we got along just fine."

"Yeah, only because Nunnally made us," snorted Lelouch. He found himself still gazing at his friend, then blushed and looked away. "You look good," he told him. "I-I mean, healthy, you know?" Crap, did that actually just come out of my mouth? Lelouch asked himself furiously. Sure, Suzaku had grown up nicely, with broad shoulders and soft green eyes, but Lelouch wasn't the kind of person to just go ahead and say that.

"Thanks," replied the soldier obliviously. "I'd say you look beautiful, but I really don't want a black eye." Suzaku chuckled infuriatingly. "So what's the 'special occasion'?" he asked.

Lelouch jumped hastily on the change of topic. "Well, I won a chess tournament today…It's kind of a big deal, not like you'd know," he smirked. "I guess it'd be the mental equivalent of the National Kendo Tournament."

"Really?" Suzaku sat up, eyes round. "That's amazing! Congratulations!" He shook his head in wonder. "You're too smart, Lelouch. I'm almost jealous."

"No, don't say that," smiled the former prince. "I can't even run a lap without getting exhausted. We both have different strengths."

Suzaku started to respond, but suddenly something started banging on the door.

"Lelouch, open the door! It's Millay!" a voice called from the other side.

"Coming," Lelouch replied, standing up and slipping the shoes back on before hurrying over to turn the knob, letting his cousin flounce happily into the room.

"I'm so, so glad you guys know one another!" she bubbled. "Lelouch, as the vice-president, would you approve of letting Suzaku onto the Student Council?"

Lelouch heard his friend sputter in shock behind him. He turned around to regard the soldier. "If Suzaku wants to, I don't see why not," he said with one hand on his hip. "What say you?"

"Uh…will I have to cross-dress?" the boy asked with a complex look of confusion on his face.

Millay laughed loudly. "Only sometimes," she promised with a wink. "So what do you say? You'll have to join a club anyway eventually; it's the policy here."

A broad grin split Suzaku's face. "I'd love to join…I'm so happy to feel accepted here. To be honest, I thought I was going to get a lot of discrimination, but if everyone's as nice as you guys…"

Lelouch felt a pull of sympathy. These last seven years must have been like hell for him…no allies to rely on, no way to escape, and meeting racism at every corner… The former prince found himself wanting to hug the Japanese boy, but instead he just smiled and held out his hand.

"Then, let's get back to the party."

--

Clovis was painting when he got Schneizel's reply.

He was known for keeping odd hours, so his elderly assistant clearly hadn't batted an eyelash when she had found the Third Prince wide-awake and alone in the arboretum at midnight.

"Envoy from His Highness the Second Prince and Prime—"

"Schneizel! He's always so marvelously prompt, don't you think?" interjected Clovis, snatching the letter away from the woman unceremoniously. Before she could reply, he spoke again. "Of course he is. He takes everything so seriously. But that's why we love him, eh?" He winked and opened the envelope with a moderately clean palette knife, pulling out the short message. He scanned it briefly, then handed it back to the assistant. "Splendid! He'll be here noon…tomorrow, I suppose," he laughed, glancing at a clock. "Maria, be a dear and make sure his room's aired. And get the cooks to think of something suitable for Schneizel's tastes. Etcetera. You know the drill." Maria bowed and left.

Clovis turned back to his painting, pondering the landscape before shaking his head. No good. I was in a portrait mood tonight, anyway…Though I'll absolutely vomit if I have to paint another servant… He snapped his fingers. Schneizel's arrival merited a brotherly portrait. The Third Prince wondered how he hadn't thought of painting this before…after all, it was the reason he'd invited his older half-brother to Area 11 in the first place.

In any case, Clovis's fingers practically itched to paint Lelouch vi Britannia.