AN: My thanks to: kalista jia, bubbleheadz, .VanillaRouge's Productions, primaaryet, Unadorned, monty shen, Eternal Solace, Kuroi Fushichou, BlackAngelBlood, heidi-mayer87, neogoki, navidson, -w- easy enough, AngelOfPastPresentAndFuture, kuroi78, piratepenguin666, DJay, L Lexuran, Starburstia, yukidaru, Believe Bridesmaid, GoGothGirl, YellowPolkaDot, nebulia, xxxCodeTsubasa, liankitty, Neko Raiga, 26, Vadraxia, EllipsisAddict, Mizushima13, The Akuma Tenshi, Azinine, Ween-E, and Dragonrider4000.

Oh, I suppose it's safe to tell you that, yes, I have a fair few OCs lined up for this fic. Because otherwise everybody would be old! It has been 50 years after all, and not everyone can be immortal. I need people of a variety of ages. (Take 'variety of ages' how you will, I don't necessarily just mean younger OCs).

I feel I should apologise for this chapter being late, even if it's only a couple of days later than I planned. Real Life got in the way. But I managed to get some work done this week. And I can say leaving you guys hanging over christmas was a good idea; I got a first on one of my exams. (I'm happy so I feel the need to share).

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass.

Unfortunately for Suzaku, Lelouch had been unable to give him any further details. This was because as soon as Lelouch had opened his mouth to say more, he'd realised just how many of their fellow passengers were awake, getting ready to disembark, and promptly closed it again. As the plane landed, and the rest of the passengers swarmed around, Suzaku sighed, knowing it would be a while before he was able to get further answers from the other.

They made their way through the airport, retrieving their luggage and managing to get a taxi to their hotel. They maintained their act whilst doing so, but in a more subdued manner than previously. The uncertainty in the upcoming future preyed on their mind, muting the air of competitiveness between them.

As they made their way into the hotel it seem that Suzaku had once again been made responsible for lugging their suitcases around, whilst Lelouch checked them in. Lelouch had in fact glanced mischievously at Suzaku, and then proceeded to chat flirtatiously with the man at the front desk. Suzaku knew that if he questioned Lelouch's motives he would claim he was doing it to be certain his female act was unquestioned by the hotel staff. However Suzaku was pretty certain that Lelouch true motive was to wind him up, and he was annoyed that it was working. He was supposed to be his fiancé after all.

The first thing Lelouch did as the door of their hotel room clicked shut, was to rip off his shoes, with an expression of distaste, and toss them angrily across the room. He then proceeded to march barefoot into the bathroom, complaining loudly about woman and their ridiculously uncomfortable footwear. The door locked behind him and Suzaku sprawled out on the bed, stifling a laugh as Lelouch's ranting continued. It seemed he was beginning to have second thoughts about his cover story. He'd have to get used to it, it would be a while before he could stop.

"Lulu?" he called as Lelouch paused for breath, careful not to address him by his real name in case anyone was listening and he'd raised his voice. "Is it ok if I call your sister now?"

"Sure," replied Lelouch, "it shouldn't be too late over there, and I'll be out in a moment."

Suzaku dug his phone out of his belongings, thinking himself into Zero mode as he listened to the phone ring, preparing himself for the conversation. You never knew who was listening in on phone calls, and he couldn't afford to give himself or Lelouch away.

The phone was answered and Suzaku spoke briefly with one of Nunally's attendants, informing them that he needed to speak with the empress about an important matter. The attendant put the phone down, and went to see if Nunally was available to speak with him.

As Suzaku waited, he watched Lelouch emerge from the bathroom, looking fairly content. He had removed his wig, make up and dress, and was wearing one of the hotel's complementary bathrobes. He had been unsurprised that Lelouch had chosen a fairly opulent hotel for his stay, probably preferring the greater privacy that accompanied it. Lelouch hung the dress up carefully, then perched on the end of the bed, his eyes on the phone in Suzaku's hand. Suzaku smiled at him, feeling more comfortable in Lelouch's presence now the disguise was temporarily gone.

He sat up as he heard a voice on the other end of the phone.

"Zero?" queried Nunally's soft voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Suzaku, in Zero's sharp tones, rather than his own softer ones. "I have an update on the task you sent me."

"Oh?" said Nunally, anxious to hear the news. She didn't speak further, wanting Suzaku to hurry up and tell her what he'd been doing.

"The person you sent me to find…" Suzaku paused, wanting Nunally to clearly understand he was referring to Lelouch before he finished his sentence. "Your niece Lucinda? I've found her. Would you like to speak with her?"

"You've found her?" queried Nunally, obviously slightly confused by Suzaku referring to a female, but willing to accept what he said for the moment. "Yes, I would like to speak to her."

Suzaku smiled at Lelouch and passed the phone over. Lelouch took the phone and stared at it blankly for a few moments, uncertain of what to say now the moment had arrived.

"Greetings, Your Majesty" he started, reluctantly slipping into his female voice once more.

"Lucinda?" started Nunally, uncertain of how to address her 'niece'.

"Please, Nunally-sama, call me Lulu" replied Lelouch. He was instantly put at ease by the sound of his sister's voice.

Suzaku relaxed as her saw the tension instantly fall from his companion's frame. Lelouch certainly didn't need his supervision for this phone call. He gestured to him that he was going to take a shower and left the room.

Lelouch lay back on the bed as he continued to talk to Nunally, first checking up on her wellbeing, something he continuously worried about, before moving on to discuss more serious issues.

"I won't be able to travel to Britannia for little while Nunally-sama." He said. "I have some business to take care of here in Japan first, but I'm sure I can get it done faster with Zero here to help me."

"That's ok Lulu-chan" said Nunally. Lelouch was sure she was using that honorific specifically to tease him. It hadn't taken long for her to revert to a sisterly manner while conserving with him, even if he was trying to remain formal. "I'm sure what you're doing is necessary, and I don't mind waiting if it's something important."

"Thank you. But I feel bad about not being there for you after you requested my help."

"Its ok-" started Nunally, before Lelouch interrupted her

"It's not." He insisted, feeling guilty about not being there in Britannia with her. "That's why I wanted to make a request."

"A request?"

"Well, since I don't know how long I'll be here in Japan, I thought I might as well tackle two problems at once. I was wondering if there was any chance you could send me some information somehow."

"Information?" queried Nunally, apparently not sure what Lelouch was asking for. Lelouch sighed, wondering how to phrase this so that any suspicious listeners wouldn't know what Nunally had requested his assistance with.

"I've been out of the country for a while, and I've only had limited access to news on the family. I feel that acquainting myself with the family as it presently stands would be a good first step, and I can start whilst I'm here, before tackling the real issue when I arrive. After all, I'll need to know who I'm talking to; I do not wish to accidentally offend someone." There, that was sufficiently ambiguous, but simple enough for Nunally to understand his request.

"Ah… I see" said Nunally. "Let me think…" she paused, considering how to get said information to Japan securely. "Ah I think I know. I can get someone to meet you. You're in Tokyo right?"

"Yes."

"I can send some information to someone in Japan securely enough. And I can get them to meet you or Zero… at Tokyo tower, at 4pm tomorrow?"

"I'm sure we can do that," replied Lelouch, hoping it wouldn't throw out his plans for the next day too much.

"I'm glad. I'm looking forward to seeing you again Lulu" said Nunally, "but I'll let you go now, I'm sure you're busy with whatever business it is that brought you to Japan."

"I'm looking forward to seeing you too Nunally-sama. I've missed you. I'll try to deal with this quickly so that I can see you sooner." replied Lelouch,

The two said their farewells, and Lelouch hung up, feeling happier than he had for a while. His two most important people had both found their way back into his life. He wondered who this contact was. Presumably they would be Japanese, and someone Nunally trusted. He wasn't worried about Nunally choosing someone he knew, he was quite interested to see if his disguise would hold up in front of such a person, before he made him self known at the palace.

In this relaxed state, Lelouch allowed his mind to wander. It chose to settle on the issue of Suzaku and his unnatural youth, rather than anything productive. He was highly curious to find out how Suzaku had managed it, since he knew his geass had not been capable of such an affect; it only worked on the subject's mind, not their body, the same as all other geass he'd come across. It was a question he wanted the answers to as much as Suzaku did, but he had no idea how to find them. At least he had some idea of where to start this search.

The second voice in his dream the night before had been much more informative. He didn't know who this person was, but he suspected, given the situation, that it might be one of the others who held a code. Perhaps they would be able to answer some of his questions. He had trawled through what had remained of his own father's research many years before, during his brief reign as emperor, but had been unable to find out as much as he'd liked.

He sighed despondently, but then sat up in alarm as the bathroom door opened again, and Suzaku re-entered the room. Seeing Suzaku standing there, clad solely in a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, and another draped across his dripping hair, Lelouch couldn't help but feel glad that Suzaku was ageless. It would be a shame to let such a perfect physique go to waste. He watched Suzaku move across the room; admiring the way his muscles moved under his skin as his raised his hands to rub his hair dry with the towel. Lelouch may not have had any to call his own, but that didn't mean he couldn't admire such strength in others.

"Good talk?" asked Suzaku brightly.

"Yes" said Lelouch, meeting Suzaku's eyes briefly, before the other knelt to root through his luggage looking for fresh clothes. "We're supposed to go meet someone tomorrow afternoon at the Tokyo tower to pick up some information."

Lelouch crawled forward, internally debating the issue of whether to remain in just what he was wearing, or whether to get dressed into another set of female clothes. He decided he'd had enough of that for the time being, and would stick with being comfortable. It was unlikely they'd be going out again for a while.

"Did she say who the contact was?" asked Suzaku, happily unaware of the fact that Lelouch was taking advantage of his averted eyes to look at him some more.

"No" said Lelouch absently, as something captured his attention. He reached out, to brush his fingers against a spot on Suzaku's back. "Suzaku?" he queried "this scar…. How did you get it?"

The scar in question looked occupied an area of Suzaku's right shoulder blade, swooping away from his spine and up towards his shoulder, in a sort of upside down lightning bolt. It was faint, the scar just slightly paler than the rest of Suzaku's skin, and Lelouch probably wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been so close or looking so intently.

"Hmm that? I've had it for ages." said Suzaku, tilting his head, trying to remember. "I'm not too sure. I think it might have been when we were on Kaminejima, although I don't remember getting injured. It could have been later. It's not very often I get a good look at my own back."

Lelouch allowed his finger to trace its way down the pale marking, before realising that perhaps he was overstepping personal space boundaries, and sat up. He couldn't quite place what it was about the mark that seemed familiar. Maybe if the mark were clearer…

He shifted back across the bed, averting his eyes politely as Suzaku dressed.

"I suppose you want to know my plans," he said eventually.

AN: well… I definitely raised more questions than I answered there. No one is to mention Harry Potter in relation to Suzaku's 'scar'… that was just the most apt description I could come up with without giving too much away. Although, given that my reviewers seem to a pretty intelligent bunch, I suspect someone can figure it out. I also dropped a big hint as to who the contact is.