Lilac eyes look up at Suzaku as they dance across Lelouch's face. He is pleased, Suzaku seems to make Nunnally happy, which undoubtedly makes Lelouch happy.

The brunet shifts from foot to foot as he looks from the Britannian siblings and back towards the pond. He wanted to swim some more. Nunnally was growing tired due to sheer enjoyment; and that made her over protective big brother bring a halt to the fun day outside.

"Hey Lelouch…" He trails off worrying his lip between his teeth, "are you tired, too?"

The cool air under the tree is rapidly cooling off his fair skin. He isn't worried about himself getting sun burnt, but he is definitely worried about Nunnally at this point. Suzaku had laughed at him when he had asked for sunscreen, saying he never uses it, and that only weaklings worried about sunburns.

But it did feel nice in the shade, and Lelouch can feel his eyelids become heavy before he gives in and just let them close. "I'd like to rest for a while... it's really nice in the shade."

Suzaku rolls his eyes and sits down in the grass between the siblings. He pulls his knees up under his chin, resting his head there as he watches his friend. The prince seems so calm; it's a side Suzaku hardly ever sees. Probably because he was too busy yelling at him.

The two Britannians are almost motionless. There are soft noises coming from Nunnally. Her breathing is shallow, and Suzaku assumes she's asleep now, so he turns his attention to her brother.

"This is really boring, Lelouch," he states deciding Britannians have some of the worst stamina. Maybe he should take Lelouch to his lessons with Tohdoh-sensei to improve on this.

"I remember when we used to lay out in the gardens back in the homeland," he says without opening his eyes. His voice is nostalgic, and even a bit sad, "and if we stayed out long enough, we would look at the stars too."

Suzaku's eyebrows knot together at the center of his forehead, "Why would you every want to do that? Wouldn't you rather explore the garden?"

Lelouch shrugs his shoulders his head falling to the side. He still won't open his eyes to look at the Japanese boy.

"I just liked being with my brothers and sisters."

"Oh," Suzaku breathes. He scoots closer to Lelouch, his knees hitting the soft grass as his torso falls forward. Hands fly out to break his fall, one falling on top of Lelouch's.

"Do you like being with me now?"

Finally, the violet eyes open as they stare down at his hand covered by the tanned one. It confuses him; is this how friends are suppose to act? Suzaku would be his first so he's not sure. Do you treat them differently than family? He remembers holding Euphy's hand once or twice, but it never felt this inice/i.

"I think so, we are friends after all, right?"

"Friends?" Suzaku repeats, his face growing warm, a blush, "yeah, you're right."

The boy scoots closer to his friend, mostly because he never did like staying still too long.

"So does this mean you trust me with Nunnally?"

Lelouch worries his bottom lip, almost biting hard enough to draw blood. The last time he ever trusted his sister with anyone she was shot at. After a long pause he finally speaks, his voice hesitant, "I think… I do."

Suzaku's stomach twists and knots in different directions as his body stiffens. Butterflies, or something like that; he seems remember Kaguya telling him about them once. Whatever they are, his face keeps growing hotter despite the cool shade.

"That makes me happy."

A smile spreads across Lelouch's face. It is an honest smile. His first since he came to Japan almost a year ago.

"I think I am happy too."

Suzaku moves even closer to the Britannian. He isn't sure what he heard, or what he's seeing. To him Lelouch and happy are two things that don't go together. He doesn't believe the sight in front of him.

"Really?"

"I think so, yeah."

"That's…" Suzaku trails off as his eyes fall to the Britannian's lips. They are slightly parted and emotionless, the smile sliding off them, but his face remaining bright. And his eyes, when Suzaku looks back up at them, are wide as if they consumed all the emotion off his face. They sparkle in the sun, almost as if they were dancing.

The brunet doesn't realize his face is mere inches from Lelouch's.

"Suzaku?" His voice cracks, nervousness settling in. The last time Suzaku was ithis/i close to him the two of them had gotten into another physical fight. It ended with Lelouch finally managing to scratch the tanned skin with his nails. Lelouch ended up walking away with not only a bruised face, but also a bruised ego when Suzaku accused him of fighting like a girl.

Suzaku's eyes lock back on Lelouch's lips as his name leaves them. A breathless "yeah?" ghosts over his lips as he closes the space off between them, their lips finally touching and both boys freeze for a moment.

A struggled gasp breaks over Suzaku's lips. Neither of them is sure what to do next. Olive eyes snap up to see wide (scared) violet eyes looking back at him. Suzaku may have seen it done once or twice; so he closes his eyes and begins to move his lips against Lelouch's. But when the prince doesn't respond he pulls back. Maybe he is doing this wrong. He sits back on his feet, his hand pressed against his lips as if he wanted to keep Lelouch's warmth there a little bit longer.

"I-I'm sorry." He manages to stutter out an apology.

Lelouch stares at him, his body pressed up against the trunk of the tree defensively. It isn't that it felt bad, but he had never done it before.

"It's okay. I mean, isn't that what you're supposed to do when you like someone?"

Suzaku places his hands in his lap and stares at them so he doesn't have to look at his friend.

"Uh, yeah."

Lelouch shrugs, "I don't know, that's what I always thought."

Despite knowing more than any ten year old boy should ever know, Lelouch seems relatively emotionally unfazed when compared with Suzaku. The topic of homosexuality wasn't one a prince should be bothered with. However, it was something Genbu all but cemented into his son's head as wrong.

"And you like me, right?"

Olive eyes snap up, "I—I," a wave confusion washes over his face cascading over his thoughts and dulling his eyes. It's true, he has learned to like Lelouch; but that doesn't make it right to kiss ianother boy/i. iBecause I like you, or just because I blike/b you. I shouldn't blike/b you, Lelouch. You're a boy, and what if father found out?! I—but maybe you're right. It's just because you're my friend./i Suzaku physically winces, his face scrunching up like a wrinkled piece of paper. Thinking really hurt, sometimes. He didn't understand how Lelouch could be so good at it.

"I do like you," he finally says at length, all the air in his lungs following the words out of his mouth.

Lelouch smiles at the warmly Japanese boy. He can't help it, all of a sudden all these positive emotions have flooded through his body. Maybe it isn't just seeing his sister happy- Suzaku makes him happy by himself.

"It's okay, then."

Suzaku can't seem to shake what he's done. To him it felt right, but he knows better. His father has told him more than once it is wrong. iBut I didn't mind doing it, and I do like you… but I can still hear my father nagging in the back of my head, shit, I hate thinking, so much/i.

"Even if you're a boy too, it's still okay?"

The prince shrugs and moves closer to Suzaku this time, "Kissing is a form of affection, Suzaku. You do it when you like someone."

Suzaku clenches his hands in his lap as he looks down at them. He doesn't want to look at Lelouch anymore now that he's close to him again.

"Right…"

The smile falls from his face, and with it all the happiness seems to rush out of his body as well. Lelouch doesn't understand. It made him feel so happy, so why is Suzaku acting so off.

"Is it because I'm Britannian?"

Suzaku's eyes snap up, shocked, and suddenly he feels really horrible when he sees the hurt play off his friends face. "What?! No- I really do like you, Lelouch."

"Then what is it?"

Suzaku looks away, behind Lelouch and to Nunnally. She's still sound asleep. For a brief moment he wonders what she would think if she knew her brother just kissed another boy.

"My father told me it was wrong for boys to kiss boys."

"Oh," Lelouch sighs but keeps his eyes on his friend, "well, I've never heard of that."

"But," Suzaku started looking back at Lelouch. His friend always had the answers to everything, so was his father wrong about this? "It didn't feel wrong, I don't understand," he reaches up, scratching his temple, "I'm confused."

"If it feels right what's the problem?"

Suzaku sighed. He felt defeated on the inside. He wanted to trust what Lelouch was saying to be right, but he couldn't shake what his father taught him, either.

"Boys should kiss girls."

"Have you ever kissed a girl?"

Olive eyes grow wide, "well, no, not yet."

"Then how do you know if it will feel any different?" Lelouch reaches out, his lanky fingers resting on Suzaku's shoulder, making the boy look up at him.

"If it feels right to you, then that's what matters, right?"

Suzaku stays silent for a moment. He worries his lip, trying to figure out who is the right one, this boy who he's hardly known for a year, or his father who he respected out of sheer fear.

"I guess you're right."

As he admits that Lelouch was in fact right, he can feel his heart begin to race. A soft bush crawls across his face. He bows his head, his shaggy brunet locks falling in his eyes as he watches the Britannian.

"Did you like it?"

Lelouch chuckles lightly, "I like liking you."

"I—I mean the kiss," the word feels so heavy as he forces it out of his mouth.

"We could do it again," Lelouch offers, a blush starting to creep across his face as well, "I mean, maybe it was an accident we liked it, right?"

Suzaku simply nods as he leans in, olive eyes trained on Lelouch's lips. It is an awkward kiss, drenched in an obvious innocence. Suzaku's hand placed awkwardly on Lelouch's shoulder as he pushes himself off his feet. Lelouch's lips pressed firmly against his friend's, their kissing is messy and out of sync.

But Lelouch was right.

Nothing had ever felt more iright/i to Suzaku than in that very moment in the cool shade of the tree that summer afternoon.