First of all, I wanted to give a big "thank you" to everyone who read/reviewed my story. I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter and I hope you will enjoy the others as well. Thank you to NobleButterfly2711 for being my beta.

Secondly, I have a little something to tell you about the story. It goes something like this "something that happens in the present"[told in First person point of view] vs. "something that happened in the passed" [told from third person point of view.]. I hope that makes sense to you all. Okay. That's it.

Now, on with the story.

Blue

Blue is nothingness materialized.

_____

Once upon a time…

…once upon a time, there was a young knight, living in a land far away. He had all the qualities one would expect from a warrior. He was exceptionally brave and noble, holding his head up high, without giving way to vanity. He measured his words, knew exactly what to say to brighten a fair lady's day, and knew the exact quantity of venom needed to leave a scar, but not to kill. He always put others' needs first, sometimes even forgetting he had any of his own, and, most importantly, he had an inner-strength so powerful, it flowed through him and out of him. It reached out to those around and wrapped them in warmth and security. One had to admit: our young knight had a bright future in stored for him.

There was only one flaw to be identified inside of him. You would probably say, is one flaw important to mention, when he had so many qualities presented before us? Maybe not. Maybe, if our young knight had been vain, he would have been forgiven. After all, when you have so many achievements and so much knowledge, you are allowed to be vain. Maybe if he had been selfish, he would have been forgiven. After all, human beings are selfish creatures, it is an instinct encoded into our very being and all of us have the right to act upon it. Maybe if he had been greedy, weak, dishonest, maybe even disobedient, he would have been forgiven. However, out young knight was none of these things and the one flaw he had was unacceptable to those around him.

He was incapable of giving himself to anyone. Maybe he simply did not posses enough power to love someone so completely, to trust them enough, to give himself to them in any way possible and most certainly, he lacked the loyalty those around asked of him. It was his tragedy.

However, he had tried to change this. No luck. The young princesses, duchesses, countesses with their flirtatious smiles and their shining eyes were beautiful, but much too bright and warm for him. In trying to protect them, he either ended up with burn marks upon his hands, or he somehow, without even trying, made them lose their distinctive shine and warmth. Tragic. When it came to the princes, the noble young politicians, he often found himself burning with rage because of their ideas and ideals and because of their truths and because of their lies. Sometimes, because of their lack of these things.

Maybe he should have given up long ago, because if those were the type of people he had to care for and protect, then…

Because he had no master and because he belonged to no one, those around him simply assumed he was lacked the emotions which were so natural for others. He started thinking the same thing, after a while. However, the assumptions were wrong. Our young knight didn't lack the ability to feel love, loyalty and the need to protect… he just could not find someone worthy of him.

***

Kallen had the longest, most perfect legs God could give to a woman. And that wasn't all. She also had a bust that could put lingerie models to shame, the type of bottom that looked good in anything and a face straight out of a painting. Lips, cheekbones, nose and eyelashes, they were all drawn with a sure hand, that knew the exact result it was looking for and didn't settle with anything else. The colors used to fill the white were all strong and powerful. Azure blue and fiery red, she could very well be considered a walking, talking, breathing fantasy, especially when she was showing off by wearing those miniature clothes of hers.

All in all, Kallen was a knockout. One hell of a woman that any man would fight for.

Suzaku had stopped seeing her as a woman when she had started to beat him at drinking competitions. That and the fact that she could throw one mean punch when angered. It convinced him that his long time friend was nothing more than a devil, straight out of Lucifer's army, disguised as a woman. Nothing, not even her low cut, see-through blouses could ever make him believe otherwise. And then, out of nowhere, came a slap on the back of his head just to strengthen the idea.

"Suzaku Kururugi, have you listened to a word I've said?"

Moments like these, when Karen's blue eyes were filled with burning anger capable of destroying cities, occurred often. They made Suzaku wondered if maybe all devils had red hair and blue eyes and how they could possibly hide their tail and horns in such a revealing outfit. The questions usually died before they reached his lips and his curiosity along with them. Then, he was left in front of her, looking at her with a tender affection and slight exasperation. The type of look one would give his younger and wild, but very dear sibling.

"Yes, yes, a very nice speech, Kallen. However, I never would have expected to visit you and find you very much…in love".

Suzaku had just moved into town a few weeks back. He just woke up one day, feeling bored of the city he was in, of its people and of the job he had there. So he packed his bags, bought a train ticket, said his goodbyes, and turned his back on it, simply leaving. It was a common practice when it came to him. Not staying in one place for long, that is. Long enough to know it, to discover it and its inhabitants. Long enough to make room for himself in the community without actually being part of it. Long enough to find someone to sleep with at night but not to make someone fall for him. That was how he dealt with things. If, for some ever reason, he felt the need to leave before all of these demands were met, he would. There was nothing to stop him, he made sure of that. It was sad, maybe.

He also liked his life as it was. That was even sadder.

How he ended up here, with Kallen, was relatively simple. Kallen was a very dear friend of his, and he cared for her a whole lot. It was different from anything else, because he cared for Kallen as a person, not for her as a woman nor a potential seductress. To him, she was a dear friend first of all, and that was it.

Back to the present, Suzaku was sitting at a bar, with a glass of…something in front of him. Behind the counter, one could find Kallen, dressed in her very revealing red uniform. She had started working here a while ago, because being a photographer didn't bring her a lot of money. Here, something had happened. If it had been a good or a bad thing, Kallen wasn't quite sure herself.

Here, she met C.C. She didn't quitemeet her yet. Not really. She spoke to her every time the singer wanted something to drink, but that was it. She admired her once every week, when the green-haired woman came to sing at their bar. However, that was about the whole relationship she had with her.

Currently, she was angry because Suzaku was not listening to her.

"As interesting as it is to stay here and listen to you, Kallen, I need to leave. I have to be somewhere."

"Of course you have to be somewhere." Kallen said, rolling her eyes. She was exasperated. Every time she wanted to talk to Suzaku, he had something to do. He couldn't be that busy.

"I promise I'll come tomorrow to talk to you. I'll have enough time to talk to you then."

Kallen wanted to slap him again, but he was out before she had the chance to really get him.

***

Suzaku didn't mean to leave Kallen alone when she needed him; it was just that he had to be somewhere. Somewhere important with someone important. That was why he was trying desperately to catch a cab, because he was already late and he needed to get there fast. Important someones are not to be left waiting in tiny coffee shops filled with smoke and random people. Generally, important someones are not to be taken to tiny coffee shops filled with smoke and random people. They should be taken to expensive hotels and restaurants, where they should be treated like royalty and be served on hand and foot. However, those expensive hotels and restaurants lacked something the tiny, smoke filled cafés didn't: privacy. No one bothered you if you hid behind grayish-blue clouds there, so it was the ideal place for them.

That was why, when he found the violet eyes in a sea of smoke, coffee and sickly-sweet perfume, he rushed over and took his place near Lelouch. The young man looked at him and smiled, all the while talking to someone –someone important, most likely- over the phone. Suzaku returned the smile and lifted the cup of coffee set in front of him to his lips.

This was a routine of theirs, it seemed. They would meet at this little café. Lelouch would always be there, always talking over the phone when Suzaku came in, always having a cigarette lit up, but not smoking it and always having a coffee pre-ordered for Suzaku. No sugar, but with milk. Suzaku would wait for Lelouch to finish his call, during which he not only looked at him, but really looked at him. He studied him and analyzed him, making sure his image was properly burned down on the inside of his retinas. The long, piano-singer type fingers, soft and well cared for. The aristocratic line of his cheekbones. The proud line of his chin. The voluptuous lips.

There were also the little things Lelouch did, the details that Suzaku liked to take note of. How he needed to play with something, to keep his fingers busy at all times. How he bit his lips when he was nervous. How he never let his guard down, not even when he was in bed. How he always had his wedding ring on in public, but usually slipped it off along with his clothes. Maybe Suzaku should just learn how to stop analyzing Lelouch the way he did, even if his curiosity didn't let him do so.

Lelouch was still talking over the phone.

Suzaku thought that he should feel insulted. Shouldn't he? Here he was, being more or less ignored. However, Suzaku had learned his lesson a few days ago. It seems that he had wrongly assumed if Lelouch was with him, Lelouch had to pay attention to him, not whom-ever-it-was-on-the-other-side-of-that-phone-call. That was why Suzaku took that damn cell phone, turned it off and set it in front of a stunned young man. Suzaku simply smiled at him, leaned over to kiss his neck and all in all, expected the other to give into him, but Suzaku was hit by an unpleasant surprise. Lelouch simply took his phone, got up and left without another word, leaving him there confused, before he even had the chance to say something to him.

Suzaku had met Lelouch a few weeks back. It was fair to say that Lelouch had been the first person he had met in this city. By circumstance, they had been forced to share a cab from the airport. It had been an interesting ride, to say the least - filled with awkward questions meant to fill up an even more awkward silence. It was when Lelouch wanted to get out of the car, wanting to leave and quite possibly forget all about the ride, that Suzaku found himself blurting out of nowhere, "Would you like to have lunch with me?" It was maybe an impulse that made him ask that and maybe a lapse in Lelouch's sanity to accept. Going out to lunch with a stranger when he had so many files and paper work excitingly waiting for him back at his office wasn't a brilliant idea. However, to both their surprises, they soon found themselves if front of each other, having lunch.

Them, having coffee. Oh, come on, it wasn't a big thing, right? And Lelouch looked like the type that overworked himself, so a break would do him some good. And after coffee, came the drinks. The first thing that came to Lelouch's mind was a big, fat "no" – but then again, he hadn't been out for drinks with someone in such a long time, if ever. And it was early, Shirley wouldn't worry about it. Then, he remembered blurry objects. Suzaku's green eyes. Suzaku's lips on his neck and his hands under his shirt and oh – How did I end up here? Of course, he also remembered being inexplicably light and surrounded in tight, wet heat and "Don't leave yet. Stay the night." He then remembered waking up and leaving as fast as he could, only to be back again a day later. And that is how Lelouch ended up here smiling gently to Suzaku after he finished his phone call.

All in all, it wasn't a bad situation. Of course, it was far from ideal. Still, one had to admit, Suzaku was nice. The whole …thing they had going was comfortable, but things could get much worse, you know. How you ask? Pretty easily. Shirley could find out. His mother and father could find out. It could get out to the press. He could, God forbid, fall in love with him.

And if he knew all the risks, why on earth was Lelouch here in the first place?

Because, up until now, everything in his life had been so sickeningly right, it made him want to shout. The right way to act. The right girlfriend. The proper way to talk and to deal with things. The right crowd, the right schools and right friends. It was all so safe and secure and boring and fake, and what the hell was he doing in such a place? There was nothing new or interesting or exciting or at least surprising because that would be wrong. There was no need for spontaneous actions or impulses in a world such as his, just as there was no room for ideals, beliefs or faith. Because those would certainly alter everyone's plans, wouldn't they?

Even so, Lelouch wasn't the one to play by the rules, nor follow the plan set out for him. If he had been such, he wouldn't have chosen to go with Suzaku in the first place, now would he?

Thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. ^^