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Title: Snapshots

Author: DnKS – giRLs

Rating: PG13

Pairing: SuzaLulu

Disclaimers: Not ours, still.

Warning: Snapshots should be synonymous with sap. And for this installment, please proceed with extra caution of Lelouch's tsundere-blushing-uke-bride demeanor.

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Instalment 4 – A Day on June

June, Britannia mainland, 2018 a.t.b.

For the rest of his life, Lelouch vi Britannia would remember that day, the third day of June, 2018 a.t.b. as a memorable day for him, not only because on that day he uttered his marriage vow but also because on that day, he suffered the worst anxiety attack he ever experienced.

His mother had told him that it was perfectly reasonable to get nervous on his wedding day. And Lelouch knew that whatever his mother said was surely the truth. But there was a major difference between mere nervousness and a downright panic attack. Considering from the fact that he almost could not breathe when he was about to walk the aisle to the altar, Lelouch doubted what he experienced was simply pre-wedding anxiety. Though he also suspected the corset also played a part on that.

Yet despite his anxieties, the day progressed nicely, or as nice as it could possibly be without any major incident. Sure, he nearly broke down in panic the moment he realized the shade of his bouquet did not really match the wreath on his head but his mother managed to calm him down and solved the problem with the aide of some ribbons. His anxiety did not end there. During the time he spoke up his vow, he almost, almost, added another 'ru' to Suzaku's family name. Thankfully, he avoided that. And though he was a good dancer, Lelouch was forced to admit he never danced in a flowing wedding dress and thus, he almost slipped during his wedding dance. He was forever grateful of Suzaku's reflex as his husband somehow managed to catch him before he fell and pressed him closer to his chest.

That, of course, prompted yet another blush to his cheeks.

The blush was another point that made him so very aware of his anxiety throughout the day. He hated to look like an air-headed maiden on his wedding day, but the damn blush just would not disappear. He got many teasing remarks due to that, and Suzaku's response to the teasing, by either kissing his cheek or hugging his waist, all along chuckling happily, was not helping at all. Though he was also forced to admit that he enjoyed the attention his Suzaku was giving him throughout the day, as if his newfound husband wanted to say 'mine, mine, forever ever mine' to all the world with his sweet and caring gestures.

Lelouch vi Britannia smiled as he recalled those somewhat embarrassing yet endearing events of his wedding. Yes, he was still a vi Britannia even after his wedding. Both his father and father-in-law had fought hard and tough about the whole last name issue. His father had refused to let him shed his last name to embrace Suzaku's one. And Kururugi Genbu had flatly refused to let Suzaku be named as a vi Britannia since from the contract he signed in the past, Lelouch was supposed to be the bride in the whole marriage ordeal. The fight between those two great nation leaders almost felt comical but thankfully, Marianne vi Britannia still possessed the bit of intelligence and rationality in her. It was his mother that ended the fight with the resolution that both Suzaku and he should keep their respective last name intact even after their marriage, and that managed to shut both his father and father-in-law up.

Truthfully, Lelouch himself was more than ready to change his last name into Kururugi, he was Suzaku's spouse now after all. And Suzaku too had said to him that he did not mind if he should change his name into vi Britannia, considering that Lelouch's family was of higher status than him, so it was reasonable should he take after his last name instead. It was just their fathers being too prideful to give up a fight. It was lucky for him that his mother was still very well capable of ending any stupid fight.

And speaking about his mother, Lelouch mused as he glanced clandestinely to the closed door of his sleeping quarter, she was supposed to come soon. And, like what seemed to happen incessantly that day, Lelouch felt really anxious over the prospect of his mother visiting him that night, because that night was after all…

…well…

…his wedding night.

Feeling the blush threatened to take over his whole face again, Lelouch coughed discreetly. Night had fallen for quite some time and once the sun set, Lelouch had been ushered from the wedding festivities to, like what his giggling attendants said to him, prepare himself for his husband's visit.

Lelouch vi Britannia might be a virgin, since of course he had to preserve his chastity for his marriage bed, but he had enough knowledge on what happened behind the closed bedroom doors at night. His knowledge did not lessen his anxieties, though. Rather, it only made it grow. And as his attendants prepared him and his room to receive Suzaku's visit, Lelouch could not keep his heart calm. It beat wildly until he almost thought everyone present surely heard it.

He clenched his robe on his lap, eyes never leaving the closed doors. At the moment he was alone, his attendants had left him to his privacy after they prepared his bath (scented with roses), made his bed (with scattered rose petals on the bed sheets), and helped him dress (into a lavender colored silk robe that suspiciously smelled like roses). As the custom dictated, his mother would come first for 'the talk' before he could receive Suzaku. And so, when Lelouch heard the knock on the door, he took a breath to calm himself down and said.

"Please do enter."

The doors opened and admitted the graceful form of Her Royal Highness Empress Marianne walking into the room. Her dress made a soft rustling sound as she seated herself beside her son on the bed. And the smile on her face was so bright that Lelouch felt his heart somewhat calmed down by that.

"My son," his mother said to him as she kissed his cheek tenderly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, mother," he said as his automatic response. His mother's eyebrow rose at that, a sure sign that she was not buying that, and Lelouch gulped as he corrected his words. "Maybe I'm a bit tired… and nervous…"

His mother chuckled at that. "It's normal to feel nervous on your wedding night. I remember how I felt during that fateful day I took your father's, His Majesty's, hands. I seem to recall I almost misspelled his name during the vow."

Lelouch head snapped up. "Eh?"

"Charles Leonard Albert Davis di Britannia," Marianne sighed forlornly. "And I almost said his name as Charles Leonard Davis Albert di Britannia."

Lelouch smiled as he recalled his own episode on the altar, "I almost added another 'ru' to Suzaku's family name."

"My poor Lelouch," Marianne said as she ruffled Lelouch's head tenderly. "It seems you somehow inherit my bad luck in this aspect."

The feeling of his mother's hand smoothing his hair somehow made Lelouch felt nostalgic. It forced him onto recalling his childhood days when his mother would ran her graceful fingers amidst his hair as she put him to sleep. He recalled the days long past when his mother's hands were the last thing he felt before he went to sleep and the first he felt when he woke up. He recalled the days long past when his mother's hands were always the ones calming him when he was afraid, the ones soothing his pain when he was hurt, the ones comforting him when he needed it.

He almost could not believe it when he thought that years had indeed passed and now, he could no longer afford to be pampered by his mother like a little child anymore. He had grown up, from a boy to a man, from a child to an adult. And that day marked the time when he left his family to start his own.

"I remember when I first have you in my arms, Lelouch," his mother wistfully said to him, letting him know that he was not the only one feeling nostalgic. "You were so little back then, but look at you now, already grown up to be a fine young man. Today I even saw you walking down to the altar to vow yourself to the man of your life. I almost could not believe it when I saw you in the church earlier, how you have grown, Lelouch. And I am pleased to say that you have grown magnificently. You are truly my pride."

Her Highness Empress Marianne stopped for a moment before she continued her speech.

"Today is your wedding day," she began carefully and from her tone, Lelouch somehow knew what would come next. He gulped. His anxiety suddenly flared back to life again. "And tonight is your wedding night."

He took a deep, calming breath. "I am aware of that, mother."

"The tradition decrees that on such night, I should give you some… talk before your dear husband visit you about what would happen during the aforementioned visitation," Marianne said, an amused smile played on her lips. "Though I fail to understand why I should abide said tradition, considering the fact that we do have quite some differences in our bodies. Maybe I should send for your father instead."

Lelouch gaped for a moment after hearing his mother's casually spoken words before an exasperated sigh of "Mother!" escaped his lips.

"Calm yourself down, Lelouch," Marianne said with a chuckle. "I still have enough common sense in me to know that it would be a very bad idea to give the task of explaining the nature of consummation of marriage onto Charles' hands."

Lelouch stared in hopeless resignation at his mother. "Honestly, mother, I would love to share your humor in any other time but please, not at the moment…"

"I only tried to lighten your moods," Marianne said. "It would not do if you are so tense in your wedding night."

"Sadly it failed," Lelouch said stiffly.

"Oh, Lelouch…" his mother sighed. "You should not be so overwrought. Your wedding night is something you should… appreciate, for lack of better word. And speaking about your wedding night, now here we come to the hard part. You see, sweetheart, this night, you will receive your husband and when he does see you, he would expect you to… be aware of several things."

"I know what is to happen, mother," Lelouch said. Then, looking at his mother's slightly frowning face, he amended. "I mean, technically I know," he said before he added, with a softer, nearly soundless voice. "I read books…"

The amused smile on Marianne's lips grew somewhat wider, and she even had to cover her lips when a chuckle was forced out of her.

"I do not know if I should feel grateful that my son is apparently so well-prepared for his wedding or if I should feel offended knowing that he researched homosexual sex activities in books."

Lelouch bit his lower lip. How his mother could smile amusedly like that was lost to him. But the realization that her mother could smile like that about the whole ordeal somehow made him calm down a bit. Maybe indeed, there was nothing to be anxious of, he mused, trying hard to convince himself. A wedding night was a normal occurrence, he tried to reason, every couple would consummate their relationship at a certain point. So it was no big deal that Suzaku and he would also… and he loved Suzaku, really, so he should be more than ready to give all of his own to him. After all, he had already vowed it, already taken Suzaku as his rightful spouse until death do them part. So…

A knock on the door was heard and any reassuring thought Lelouch had in him vanished into thin air, only to be replaced by the double amount of dread and anxiety. Staring at the door, his mother's somewhat joyful remark that it had to be Suzaku knocking was lost to his suddenly ringing ears. His mind went completely blank for some seconds under the extent of his nervousness and when he finally came back to his senses, he watched that his mother had fled to the door to open it.

Before he could tell his mother to wait—he needed some time to collect himself, after all—he saw how Her Royal Highness Empress Marianne opened the door. And behind the opened door, he could see Kururugi Suzaku, his recently wedded husband, standing with a bouquet of roses in his hands.

"Good evening, mother," Suzaku greeted her. "May I… be allowed to see Lelouch?"

"Good evening, Suzaku," Marianne replied as she ushered the young man inside. "Lelouch and I have been eagerly waiting for your arrival, to tell the truth. Lelouch, would you kindly greet your husband?"

Lelouch, still sat precariously on his bed, was torn between telling his mother that he did not exactly wait for Suzaku's arrival 'eagerly' like what she just said and telling Suzaku his greeting followed by a simple request if maybe he would be allowed some alone time to calm his heartbeat. But nothing escaped his lips. He was experiencing what people might dub as frozen stiff by apprehension literally. The tension was so much, but amidst all those, he still could feel a gentle touch landing on his shoulder, and a bouquet of roses landing on his lap.

Suzaku looked down at him, all gentle eyes and concerned smile, as he said. "Um… good evening, Your Highness…"

He lowered his face. "Good evening… Milord…"

"A note from your dear mother, if you please," Marianne commented, watching over the two. "Formality behind closed bedroom doors is way too overrated."

Lelouch had to smile at that and Suzaku had even chuckled. It almost felt ridiculous how they seemed so tense around each other. He had known Suzaku for years, had accepted to be his consort, had uttered his vow just that day. People would think it was past the time for being nervous.

He stared right into Suzaku's eyes and right then, it was not so hard to smile. "Thank you for the roses, they are lovely."

Suzaku smiled back. "I'm glad then."

From her position beside the doors, Her Royal Highness Empress Marianne smiled fondly at her son and son-in-law. Seeing that the two were somehow more relaxed at that moment, she dared to think that her presence was not needed anymore in the room. So she announced her retreat, bidding her two dearest sons good night. And as she closed the doors behind her, she could only pray that they both would find happiness in their marriage life.

With a slight frown, she also added in her heart a prayer so that Lelouch would not die of embarrassment in the middle of the act.

Watching the door closed, barring him from seeing the view of his mother, Lelouch then turned his gaze to the bouquet of roses on his lap. A soft rustling sound and the feel of weight settling on his side let him know that Suzaku was joining him on the bed, their bed. And certainly, it was not so strange that his heart began speeding up again.

"Nervous?" Suzaku asked.

He snorted. "You can say that…"

He saw, felt, Suzaku's hand finding his. Their fingers interlocked and he could see the ring he wore on his ring finger. He smiled. At least that time it was a real ring with real diamond and all. He still could not decide whether to be amused or annoyed whenever he recalled that certain episode of Suzaku proposing to him with a fake ring in front of the entire school.

"Something funny?" Suzaku inquired curiously. He looked up, stared right into Suzaku's eyes.

"I just remember that time when you proposed to me," he answered. "I bet Milly still has the copy of that recording. I bet she's selling copies to people and getting good fortune from it."

Suzaku chuckled. "That's really one day to remember, when I finally had you say yes to my proposal."

Lelouch also chuckled a little, a chuckle that soon died down when he felt Suzaku's fingers, the ones not currently entwined with his, tracing his jaw line before they landed on his lips. Suzaku's eyes were bright; they were shining a brilliant shade of green. Maybe it was due to the lighting of the room, Lelouch thought as he watched his husband's face coming closer to his own, but Suzaku's eyes really did seem so vibrant that night.

But surely, it was not because of the lighting that Suzaku's lips also felt somewhat softer as they kissed his briefly, gently, lovingly, afterward.

"My consort, His Highness Prince Lelouch vi Britannia," Suzaku said softly with a smile after he ended the kiss. "Guess I should get accustomed to associate those words with you, ne?"

"You should, since you will be with me until death do us part, remember?" he said. "We're… married now… after all..."

"Yeah…" Suzaku said somewhat absent-mindedly. Lelouch noticed how Suzaku had some creases on his forehead, as sign that he was thinking hard. Then he saw his Suzaku letting out a sigh and looked at him with half-amused, half-exasperated expression. "We are married and this is our wedding night."

He gulped. "Yes…"

"You know, this is somehow so funny, in a way," Suzaku said. "I mean… I know that you are my intended and trust me, it's been hard for me to keep myself from thinking… uh… inappropriate things about you. I love you, Lelouch, and sure… I want… to do… er… things… with you…"

He chuckled in the middle of Suzaku's jumbling sentence.

"Hey, don't laugh, you," Suzaku said good-naturedly. "I'm just saying that I really, really, looked forward to our wedding day, when you would finally be mine for real. But now… I guess all my energy has been spent on being anxious for the whole day I… am at loss on what to do now."

Lelouch smiled wistfully. It was somewhat nice to know that he was not the only one being victim to anxiety attack throughout the day. He grasped Suzaku's hand a bit tighter, trying to diminish all embarrassment from his voice, and looked up.

"I'm not quite sure I know what you should do since I never found myself in this kind of situation before," he said. "But… I guess I would very much like it… if you continue what you started earlier, Milord."

Suzaku's free hand cupped his cheek. "Does that mean I can kiss you again?"

"I highly think that yes, you can," he said boldly.

If he were to describe what feeling he felt that time when Suzaku cradled his face, kissed his lips, caressed his nape, Lelouch would describe it as a feeling of victory. He was feeling victorious at the realization that there was the man he loved, the man who apparently loved him back as much as he loved him, if not more. There was his husband, kissing him tenderly like he was the most lovable being on earth. Surely, he had the right to feel victorious, Lelouch thought as he felt Suzaku lowering his body to the bed. Surely, he had every right to feel victorious as Suzaku, his Suzaku, pampered him with kisses, as those lips whispered to his ears a simple yet so sweet word of love, as those brilliant emerald eyes, hovering above him, stared fixedly at him and him alone.

He raised his hand, watching how the silky sleeve of his robe slid to reveal his arm, and touched Suzaku's face, hovering close above his own. The bed sheets were soft and cool under his back, yet he could feel Suzaku, so warm, above him. And Suzaku's fingers, the ones that had previously cradled his face, were moving, tracing his neck, his bare skin, to the point where they could no longer venture for his robe was in the way.

Suzaku let his finger linger there. His eyes were serious but gentle when he asked. "Do you believe in me?"

He had to smile at that. "I doubt I would accept being your consort if I don't believe in you, Suzaku."

"Just want to make sure," Suzaku said with a faint chuckle. "I just don't want to cause you any discomfort… just relax, okay, I know what I have to do."

He frowned at that and Suzaku, for once, seemed quick in reading the situation for he hastily amended.

"I mean, technically I know," he said. Then after a moment consideration he added. "I… surf the net… for information…"

Hearing that, Lelouch almost laughed. He knew it was not quite proper for him to laugh, considering his very compromising position, considering what he was about to do, or rather, what was going to be done to him. But it was so hard and in the end he did not manage to stifle a chuckle.

"We are really hopeless," he said, still chuckling.

"Hm? What's that?" Suzaku inquired.

"No, nothing important," he answered. His chuckle had died down by then and on his lips, Lelouch knew he wore what his other siblings always described as his mischievous smirk. "Let's find out which holds the best information, the books, or the internet."

"Uh… wha…"

He did not let Suzaku finish his sentence because for once, it was him who pulled Suzaku's face closer to his, the one who initiated their kiss. Initiated was really a very proper adjective to describe the kiss, for it led to many things, oh, so many things. And Lelouch realized that his anxiety had disappeared, his nervousness forgotten, when Suzaku reached for the knot that tied his robe, when Suzaku pulled it loose, when Suzaku took it into his hand. He smiled, and he saw Suzaku smiled back at him. It was really a night to remember, he thought then, it was really their night, and he knew he would cherish that night for the rest of his life.

The piece of lavender silk that had once tied the robe of His Highness Prince Lelouch vi Britannia slipped from the hand of His Lordship Kururugi Suzaku. The soft material fluttered down with no noise until it reached the floor, where it lay contended, making a stark contrast with the ivory colored rug that covered the floor. Yet, of course, neither of the two who at that moment were occupying the large bed noticed any of this as they had another, more important, thing to focus their attention upon, namely each other.

- end -

(A/N: …could we ask if there has indeed been anyone dying of diabetes due to reading our Snapshots? Honestly, the installments just keep getting… more and more like some cheap paperback romance novels. And the worst thing is that we actually enjoyed writing them like that. Such impudence, we know. Yet… could we still ask to hear your comment on this story? We would be much obliged if you are willing to spare a bit of your time to write your comment down so we might know your thought. Thank you for reading and Happy Easter.)