Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.
Warnings: May Contain Strong Language
AU since obviously, Lelouch is not a famous singer and The Black Knights, sure as hell aren't a rock band.
Homework's a killer, and a killjoy. On the plus side I finally have a computer again. I'm not going to ramble because I know you guys deserve a good long chapter for your patience.
Also the italics in this chapter is going to be an interview they're watching. Sorry, I just thought I'd clear that up now to avoid any possible confusion.
This chapter was beta'd by my sister, Nova Chaser. If you see any problems, you can take it up with her :P
Thanks so much for reading, let's get on with the show~
"I...uh..hold on. I'll call you back later alright?" Lelouch responded quickly.
"What did she say, Lelouch?" Kallen spoke lowly from his side.
"They what?...I know Rakshata, but we need to discuss this as a band first," Lelouch continued ignoring the looks his fellow band mates were giving him.
"What's there to discuss?" Xingke cried in shock. "Don't tell me you're going to decline." He placed the box he was carrying down, and frowned at their raven haired singer.
Lelouch placed a hand over the speaker of his phone and glared at Xingke. "Of course not," he hissed lowly. "I want to make sure it's actually Agent Orange though. Rakshata says they've asked to meet with us first. What do you guys think about that?"
"I say we do it," C.C. replied calmly. "Was it Lloyd that called her? He's their manager right?"
"I think so," Kallen answered shortly.
"I don't know. He didn't actually call. She received an e-mail a little while ago and thought she'd tell us. Personally I would've confirmed it first, but I guess she's our manager for a reason right? She says she's sure it's them, but I'm a bit harder to convince." Lelouch brought the phone back to his ear. "Hello? Rakshata, are you still there? Yeah, get a hold of them again and work something out. If they'd like to meet up first tell them we also think that would be a great idea," he sighed and brought a hand up to rub his temple. "You better be right about this. Alright...see you later. Take care." He closed his phone and slid it back into his pocket. "She says we need to keep practicing."
"She should tell us something we don't know," Kallen deadpanned. "Still, If
Agent Orange wants to perform with us I have absolutely no objections."
"Yeah. I still wonder why they didn't just tell her what they wanted over the e-mail though," Lelouch wondered out loud. He frowned when a sudden thought occurred to him. Maybe they wanted a favor from them. 'Perhaps they left it out so we wouldn't say no right away?' he thought curiously.
"They seem like cool guys in their interviews. I can't believe we're going to meet them!"
"That's not confirmed yet," Kallen quickly shot back, although her statement sounded weak to everyone's ears. They all rejoiced in the prospect, and reached once again for their abandoned instruments.
"I've gotta say the only thing I don't really like about them is the fact that they're huge fans of the Britannia royal family. God, I hate those guys," Xingke murmured.
'Good thing they don't know I'm one of them,' Lelouch inwardly groaned.
"Seriously. Aren't they like snobs or something?" C.C. laughed, and Xingke joined her in poking jokes at the snobby Brits. Lelouch and Kallen exchanged worried glances, and continued on towards the door.
"Just because all four of them were in the military or something."
"Yeah, but didn't Dorothy get kicked out of the band or something?" C.C. inquired, tilting her head to look at Xingke.
"You know, I also read that somewhere. I heard she was being a bitch. She was always picking fights with Guilford or something like that."
"I wonder who they replaced her with," Kallen cut in. "I hope someone who can keep up with her awesome guitar skills. Although I guess that's not a problem. Their newest songs sound pretty bad ass."
"We'll check out a video or something when we get back home," Lelouch replied and pulled open the backstage door of the auditorium. He blinked in surprise when his violet orbs met sympathetic green ones.
"I'm sorry," the small dark haired girl before him spoke sadly. "I accidentally let it slip that you were here, and then I saw my cousin walking in with instruments, so I followed him, and I saw him head here a-"
"It's okay," Lelouch interrupted her. He smiled down at her and reached out with his free hand to brush her bangs aside. "We had fun, but next time you want to hang out try calling me. I promise I'll answer."
She sighed and smiled at him lovingly. Lelouch almost felt bad for what he had planned for her.
Kaguya looked like she could rival Nunnally in the innocence department. Speaking of Nunnally...
Lelouch walked past Kaguya and reached into his pocket to pull out his cellphone. 'It's almost 6. I wonder if Sayoko's already sent me the e-mail. I want to know how Nunnally's doing.'
They all started heading down the corridor towards the parking lot.
"Oh, Zero-sama! Wait!" Kaguya hastily cried out.
Lelouch paused ahead of her and turned to face the small girls running towards him. Tianzi was really quiet. He hardly noticed her behind Kaguya. He then turned back towards his friends and motioned for them to go on ahead without him.
"We'll be waiting for you in the car," Kallen answered shortly and waved farewell to the small freshman girls before walking away with C.C. and Xingke.
"What's up?" Lelouch asked calmly as he waited for the girls to catch their breath.
"I-I'm sorry. I forgot to ask if you wanted to come over to my house on Sunday," Kaguya sighed and stood up straight again. She tilted her head up to get a better look at her idol. Lelouch quirked an eyebrow at the different ways her question could be interpreted causing Kaguya to turn red in embarrassment. "Ah-um that's not how I meant it. Umm...my family is having a bit of a get together, and I'd like it if you could come."
"I'd love to go," Lelouch replied smoothly making both girls squeal in delight.
"Thanks! Everyone will start showing up around 7 p.m.. If you want I can ask my cousin Suzaku if he can drive me to your house, and we ca-"
"No, that will not be necessary," Lelouch cut in sharply. "I promise I'll be there on time. Just text me your address later."
"Alright then, well I guess we'll see you later," both girls smiled and waved. Lelouch turned back in the direction his friends had left in, and proceeded to head out. When he reached them they were arguing about what they'd be having for dinner. C.C., being the stubborn woman that she was, refused to change her vote from pizza to something else.
"We will eat whatever Ohgi made and that's final!" Kallen yelled out in frustration, successfully ending the conversation. Aside from some playful banter , the rest of the ride home was uneventful.
"We're home!" Kallen cried out happily as soon as they stepped into their house. "And boy, you are not going to believe what happened today."
"What happened?" Ohgi replied calmly as he walked out of the kitchen. "Dinner's ready by the way."
"Rakshata called today. Apparently they want to meet with us," Kallen finished with a small smile on her face. She raised her hand to point at the giant framed poster that hung in their living room.
The poster was intricately designed. Only two people stood in the picture. The words "Agent Orange" stood out in large font underneath the two. The silver haired woman in the poster held a microphone in her hand. Everyone in the room could easily recognize her as Villeta Nu, the lead singer of Agent Orange. The man to her right was Jeremiah Gottwald, also known as Orange among their fans.
"Really?" Ohgi asked in bewilderment.
"I know. We were skeptical at first too," C.C. replied offhandedly and headed into the kitchen to see what there was to eat.
Lelouch left Xingke and Kallen in the living room, and went into his room to lay down. It felt like he only got to close his eyes for a few minutes before Kallen's small laptop was suddenly tossed onto him. He looked up to see both Kallen and C.C. standing before him.
"Thought you'd want to see how hot Dorothy's replacement is," C.C. said smiling from her spot by the foot of his bed. "I suppose it's something to look forward to," she murmured and walked out again.
"Hold on, Lelouch. I haven't seen it either," Kallen called out and walked over to his bed. She sat at his side, and retrieved her laptop from his lap.
"Did Xingke watch it already?"
"Yeah. He went into the kitchen and watched it with C.C.," Kallen replied easily and turned the video on. "Is this some sort of interview? I was expecting her to find a music video or something." They both turned to the screen, and watched the interview intently.
"Hello everyone," chirped the beautiful woman on the screen. "I'm Cecile Croomy and today I have a special treat for you guys. Here to answer some of our questions, is the manager of Agent Orange. Everyone please give a warm welcome to Lloyd Asplund," the violet haired woman cried joyfully and the audience dutifully gave a loud applause.
"Cecile-Chan," Lloyd whined. "Why don't you call me Lloyd-Senpai anymore?"
"Lloyd," Cecile sighed exasperatedly, "we're not in school anymore!"
"Bu-"
"Now stop complaining. You're here to answer questions remember?" A few people in the crowd laughed at the scene unfolding before them, and Cecile blushed brightly. "Ahem," she coughed and straightened herself out again. "Well then, back to the matter at hand. Lloyd, what's been going on with Agent Orange recently? I hear there's been trouble brewing in paradise."
"Trouble? What have you heard?" Lloyd asked curiously.
"Well, I've heard that Agent Orange has lost their guitarist," Cecile spoke calmly. "Did Dorothea Ernst really leave the band?"
"Oh yeah," Lloyd said casually. "Dorothy's been gone for awhile now."
"Really?" Cecile cried in shock, but quickly recovered. "And umm...how's the band going to continue?"
"Well, we've already found a replacement for her."
"That's great news!"
"They already had someone in mind, even before she left."
"So Dorothea leaving has been a problem for awhile now?" Cecile asked Lloyd curiously.
"Yes, well...she's never really been the cooperative type. She clashes a lot with the other members," Lloyd spoke calmly.
"I see. Who did she mainly have a problem with?"
"I think the band would be better suited to answer that. In fact why don't you call them up? They're backstage right now."
"What?" Cecile cried in shock. "Lloyd you should really tell me these things before we start the show!" she hissed lowly, but the microphone still caught her words. Lloyd just smiled brightly up at the violet haired woman. "Alright then, everyone please give a warm welcome to Agent Orange," she yelled happily as soon as she'd recovered from her initial shock.
The crowd cheered loudly, and Agent Orange appeared from the left side of the set. They strolled up regally to Lloyd, and sat on a couch beside the seat he was occupying.
"Wow, you guys look fant-"
Cecile's voice got cut off when Kallen skipped a little forward on the video. The camera was currently focused on Orange who seemed to be discussing something.
"Yes well, our new member came with us today. You can meet him if you'd like," Jeremiah smiled warmly at the show's host.
"Oh! I think we'd all like that wouldn't we everyone," Cecile spoke loudly and turned to face the crowd. Everyone gave loud yells.
Villeta laughed and swiftly spoke up, "You can come out now, Rai."
Lelouch who had turned his head to comment on Kallen's good timing, turned back to look at the screen incredulously. The name Villeta had mentioned held a special importance to him. He use to know a guitarist named Rai...
'Get a hold on yourself. Surely he's not the same-' Lelouch's thought process died when he caught sight of familiar light silver hair.
Agent Orange's new lead guitarist came out sporting an outfit similar to what the other members were wearing. His blue eyes shined brightly when the camera zoomed in to get a closer look at him. He smiled warmly at Cecile and took a seat beside Guilford on the couch.
Both Kallen and Lelouch stopped paying attention to the video at this point.
"Since when has Rai been in Agent Orange?" Kallen cried loudly. Clearly she was just as surprised as Lelouch.
"Apparently since six months ago," Lelouch murmured lowly and checked the date the video was posted. He frowned and let his eyes take in the man on the screen. Rai looked almost the same as when he'd last seen him.
"Oh damn, we're suppose to meet up with them," Kallen frowned. "You know Lelouch...we can just cancel this whole thing. It's not like everything's been set in stone yet."
After a brief pause, Lelouch turned to look at Kallen in shock. "Why would we need to cancel anything?" he asked, finally registering what his friend had said.
"It's going to be awkward."
"Why? Agent Orange is awesome, and you know we've always dreamed of performing with them."
"Seriously? Lelouch, he's an old flame of yours!"
"Yeah, old flame, Kallen. I'm sure Rai doesn't even remember me anymore," Lelouch spoke firmly although he knew that wouldn't be the case. The odds of this being a mere coincidence were scarce at best. Despite the situation being awkward, he couldn't allow himself to be carried off by old emotions. They've always dreamed of this, and nothing was going to change his mind.
Kallen snorted, and Lelouch shot a weak glare in her direction. "I'm sorry, Lulu, but we both know that's not the case. You know how in love with you he was. I doubt his feelings for you have changed much since back then."
"That was a long time ago. We were still new in China, and we hadn't even formed The Black Knights yet."
"You know we'll be working with him when Rakshata and Lloyd work everything out, right?" Kallen asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Lelouch frowned. Now he knew for sure that it really was Agent Orange that contacted them. He briefly wondered if Rai had anything to do with the sudden offer. "We'll be fine Kallen. I'm not sure what he thinks of me now. Especially since I-"
"Broke his heart?" Kallen interrupted.
Lelouch flinched and looked down. "Did I really?"
"He looked devastated the last time I saw him, which is why I told you this would be awkward," Kallen stopped and looked down at the paused video. "He really was a great guy though. Why did you break up with him, Lulu?"
"Well it's not like I didn't like him," Lelouch said seriously, and looked back at Kallen. "He was the first guy I dated after Suzaku, and I thought he was perfect...but I wasn't ready for a relationship yet."
"Are you ready for one now?" Kallen asked and stood from her spot on his bed. Lelouch frowned, but otherwise stayed silent. Kallen sighed. It really annoyed her to see that her friend was still hung over Suzaku. "Get some sleep, we'll talk later." With that she took her laptop, and walked out of his room.
'I really wish you could have been the one to help me get over Suzaku, Rai...' Lelouch silently mused, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Soon it was the day of Kaguya's party, and Lelouch couldn't stop thinking about Rai.
'I wonder how he joined Agent Orange...'
Lelouch threw on a casual dark outfit, and scanned over the text he'd received from Kaguya that morning. She had sent him her address, and he was looking over directions for how to get there. He still wasn't too familiar with the area.
He woke up late that day, so it wasn't long before he had to make his way over to her house. The sticky note he'd retrieved from the fridge door instructed him to take Kallen's car, because his hadn't been imported from China yet.
With a heavy sigh, he checked the time once more before he grabbed her car keys, and headed out. No one else was home except for him. Ohgi was out grocery shopping, and the others had already left to go bowling.
As soon as he arrived he spotted someone else also getting out of a nearby car. Upon further inspection he realized that the other person was none other than Suzaku.
'I knew he'd be here,' Lelouch inwardly cursed.
The green eyed brunette promptly shut the door of his car, and pressed the button on his keychain remote to lock it. Lelouch quickly noticed how well the other was dressed. It wasn't a fancy suit or anything like that, but compared to what Suzaku usually wore it might as well have been. As if feeling eyes on him, Suzaku looked up and spotted a curious dark haired male staring at him.
"Lelouch?" Suzaku asked bewildered. "What are you doing here?"
"He's my guest~" Kaguya chimed in gleefully from the direction of the front door. Lelouch looked up to see her smiling at him excitedly. "Please come in Zero-sama."
He did as he was told, and strolled up to her side. Suzaku made sure to stay closely behind.
"This is a pretty nice place you've got here Kaguya," Lelouch spoke lowly as he entered her home and turned to smile at the small dark haired girl now at his side. She tentatively reached to hook her arm in his, and looked up to see what he thought of it. Lelouch was looking away in thought, but seeing as he didn't object she smiled and firmly took hold of his arm.
The action didn't go unnoticed by Suzaku, and he glared angrily at his cousin. 'What the hell does Kaguya think she's doing?'
They walked around for awhile. Kaguya introduced him to anyone they happened to pass by.
"...and this is the study, Lelouch," Kaguya chirped happily, when they reached two large double doors.
"Hmm?" Lelouch said, snapping out of his thoughts. She opened one of the doors and they slipped inside. He looked at the various book covered shelves around the room, and traced the spines of some of the books nearby.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to get something to drink. Would you like something as well?" she asked curiously, knowing that if Suzaku wanted a drink he would have gone to get it already.
"Sure. I'll have what you're having."
Kaguya nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Lelouch and Suzaku alone.
"Lelouch," Suzaku spoke hesitantly, and Lelouch jumped a bit in surprise. He turned around to see Suzaku in the room with him. The door Kaguya left through was slightly open.
"Geez, you scared me, Suzaku," Lelouch hissed. He had been spacing out the whole time, and had forgotten Suzaku was with them.
"What's on your mind?"
"It's none of your business," Lelouch called back in annoyance. Now that Suzaku had interrupted his train of thought, he could really focus on his current situation.
"Lelouch," Suzaku tried again. 'Sorry won't fix this, but it's a start.'
"What is it Suzaku?" Lelouch turned completely to face the brunette. He studied Suzaku curiously.
"I'm sorry about everything, but...I'm glad I managed to help you guys out."
"What?"
"The other day...on the roof," Suzaku paused to glance into Lelouch's eyes. He couldn't quite distinguish the emotion swimming in his violet orbs. "You said I helped push you into creating your band."
Lelouch's eyes widened a bit. Had he really told him that?
"Your lack of faith in our skills did create an incentive for us..." Lulu trailed off monotonously.
Suzaku winced at his wording but smiled nonetheless. "I'm glad it worked out for you."
'He seems genuinely happy for us,' Lelouch silently mused. He frowned, however, when he noticed Suzaku was slightly closer to him than he'd last remembered.
"Your band sounds wonderful by the way, Lulu. I'm a big fan."
Lelouch frowned at the unwanted warm feeling blooming in the pit of his stomach. "Really now?"
Suzaku nodded, and looked away for a bit. "You know...I've never stopped missing you, Lulu." He walked closer, and the raven haired boy retreated further into the room.
"Suzaku," Lelouch whispered warningly.
"I love you, Lelouch," Suzaku announced sadly and quickly closed the distance between them. He crashed his lips against the other male's in a searing kiss, and wrapped his arms around the dark haired boy. Savoring the feeling of having the other boy near him again.
Lelouch's eyes widened at the sudden contact, and he glanced at the exit to estimate the distance between them and the door. He was surprised to find the young dark-haired girl standing there.
There at the door, stood a very shocked Kaguya. Her hands were curled around two cans of soda, and her mouth hung open. All the while only one thought was crossing through her mind.
'Suzaku's in love with Lelouch?'
Author's Note: I apologize if this chapter or the last one were boring. I've linked a picture of Rai to my profile, in case you guys don't know who he is. It should be in my favorite pairings section.
Regarding Agent Orange: I have something like Nightwish and Within Temptation in mind for what their style of music is. At first I thought maybe they'd be a punk rock band, but have you seen the way they dress? Clearly they're a symphonic metal band. What do you guys think?
Also if you guys think it's been a long while since I've updated, feel free to send me a message. Sometimes I forget how long it's really been.
Review if you have time~
Thank you for reading :D