Chapter Two
Forgiven
Lelouch woke up in a bed that was not his, in a bedroom that he had never seen before. Odd as that was, the first thought that came to Lelouch was, "Where are my clothes?"
Yep, where were his clothes. Not "Where am I," or, "How did I get here?" He wanted to know where his clothes were.
Lelouch noticed a pile of freshly laundered clothes sitting in a chair with a note attached to them.
He attempted to read the note but the effort made him dizzy, so he just put the clothes on and went in search of the owner of them.
He walked slowly down the hallway leading to the room with a hand on the wall to steady himself.
As he reached the end of the hall, he heard a voice from right behind him say, "You're finally awake then?" Lelouch spun around in an attempt to find the source of the voice but the quick movement made him lightheaded and he began to topple backwards.
He prepared himself for his incoming impact with the floor, but he never fell that far. The person that had spoken must have caught him. Lelouch glanced up so he could thank the person that had caught him, but the words died in his throat as he stared into the man's deep green eyes. He stared into the emotion filled face he had never expected to see again, and all that he could say was, "Suzaku?"
***
Suzaku was just throwing the last load of laundry into the dryer when he heard the bedroom door open and close.
A sudden rush of fear gripped Suzaku as a stream of questions he had never thought would apply to Lelouch came to the forefront of his mind. What if he hates me? What if he doesn't accept my apology? Then, the worst one occurred to Suzaku and he asked himself, "What if he doesn't love me anymore?"
As much as he feared the answer to all of these questions, he found himself moving toward the door and stepping out into the hallway.
He found himself saying "You're finally awake then," even though he was numb with fear.
Lelouch spun around trying to find his voice and started to topple. Suzaku then found himself rushing forward to catch him before he hit the floor.
He also found himself captivated in his childhood friend's eyes. He could see the fear, wonder, confusion and joy swimming in those violet pools as his friend glanced up at him.
Lelouch reached up and stroked his cheek. "Suzaku," he asked, "Oh my god, Suzaku, is that really you?"
"Yeah," answered Suzaku feeling his voice waver a bit, "it's me Lulu." Lelouch stood and turned around so that he was facing Suzaku and stared into his eyes. Suzaku could see the question and the underlying pain it cause Lelouch in his friend's eyes. The one thing Lelouch needed to know. Why?
The thought that he had hurt Lelouch deeper than anything else could possibly have, made Suzaku's legs quit supporting his weight, and he crumpled to his knees.
"I'm sorry," sobbed Suzaku with tears streaming down his face, "I'm so sorry." "You must hate me," continued Suzaku, gaze locked on the floor before him.
Lelouch kneeled down in front of Suzaku and gave him a reassuring hug and whispered, "I could never hate you Suzaku." A wave of relief flowed over Suzaku as he hugged Lelouch back and sobbed into his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Suzaku sobbed again, not knowing what else to say. Lelouch pulled back slightly, wiping the tears from Suzaku's cheeks with his thumb as he whispered, "Don't be, I forgave you years ago. I can't hate someone I still love." Having said that, Lelouch leaned back in and gave Suzaku a long, deep kiss before pulling away slightly and saying, "Now you just need to forgive yourself."