Special Thanks:EchizenRyomaLover, Yuzuki Inohara, Lazy Gaga, Lovegranted, luckless-is-me, Lelouch Vi Masters

Time

Part XXVII

5/13/2012 10:21 PM

Waking with a start, Lelouch went ram rod straight. It took several minutes to realize that Suzaku's hand was on his shoulder and that, well it was some form of morning. Lelouch glanced at the clock. It was 5:30—that was depressing. Suzaku had been sleeping around the clock, but Lelouch had been trying to get some semblance of a schedule up. It was simple, sleep when it was dark outside. Not that he was sticking to that schedule very well. The past week Suzaku had gotten—much, much worse.

" 'Louch?"

Lelouch turned over, looking at the diminishing appearance of his lifelong partner. "Yeah?" He said, trying not to sound like he'd just woken up, and was still very tired.

Suzaku gave a half smile, clearly happy Lelouch was awake. It hurt just a bit to realize that Suzaku had probably been awake for quite awhile. But the game was played like that between them. Lelouch's job had quickly become discerning when Suzaku needed something or was in pain but wasn't saying anything.

He sat up as he stretched, turning to the huddled boy under the covers. "What is it?"

"Well," Suzaku looked down sheepish for movement. When his eyes moved back to look at Lelouch, he gave a sheepish grin. "I'm really kind of—hungry."

That was improvement. Lelouch was a little surprised in all honesty. Suzaku had been throwing up whatever they could manage to shove down his throat for the past four days. The dry heaving was the worst, when he would look up at Lelouch and his eyes would just—beg for something to give. Because of the constant nausea it had come harder and harder to get Suzaku to even look at food. If it wasn't tea or saltine crackers Lelouch had to force Suzaku to eat.

Lelouch broke into his own smile before he leaned down, one hand going to pet those cinnamon curls. "What would you like to eat?"

It was comforting feel Suzaku reach up and to feel his companion nuzzle into Lelouch's embrace. An arm even went up to tug Lelouch to lay back with him. A chuckle vibrated though the embrace and mass of covers. "Breakfast?"

Lelouch couldn't stop the smile. "Alright."

From the bottom of the bed Charley rustled awake, raising her head to peer at both of them before giving a wide mouthed yawn, complete with stretched out tongue. She gazed at them for a few moments clearly unimpressed by the huddled bundle of intimacy before she threw herself back down to the covers, rolling off to the side and shifting to get comfortable.

Clearly unhappy to do so Suzaku let his grip on Lelouch slip so that the other could slide out of bed. It had become about the only place they spent any amount of time in quite a while. The kitchen had been visited every few hours but unfortunately the whole second story of the house, the living room and even Lelouch's office hadn't been breached for several days. Lelouch hated to think the state that those neglected rooms were in. When Lelouch did chance to pass through the living room it was usually to discard the mail into a growing pile on the coffee table and to try to find a shirt in one of the multiple laundry baskets he'd left in there.

He wasn't planning to clean any of it up either for—well until he had endless amounts of time to kill.

When he stood, Lelouch lifted his arms in another stretch. It felt like some sort of special occasion to have Suzaku smiling, awake and upbeat enough to want breakfast—even if it was 5:30 in the morning.

"Any requests?" Lelouch said as he moved to see if there were any clean clothes left in their closet. At least he did the laundry, Lelouch felt that needed credit. He never really got around to folding, but it was all usually cleaned and then dispensed in the other baskets of laundry sitting in their living room.

Suzaku slid the covers away from his shoulder so he could more easily lay back, folding his arms under his head. It was only a glimpse, but Lelouch could see that old, stronger boy in the action. Nest there was a flash of green eyes and a quick of smile.

"Waffles, and strawberries?"

Anything, Lelouch would do anything to see that bright smile again instead of the wince of pain or deep groan as Suzaku would lean back from another nauseating bout with the Geass killing him.

"I'll get started." Lelouch smiled.

It must have been a blessing straight from God, because they had fresh strawberries and waffle mix. They had milk and syrup and butter and everything that was needed for Lelouch to make the perfect breakfast. All thoughts of how early in the morning it was, or that his lover was slowly wilting before his eyes seemed to brush away out of his mind as he quickly got going.

But as Lelouch turned when he heard the creak of floor boards he almost dropped the spoon in his hand. "…Suzaku…" He almost jolted forward.

Suzaku stopped him, holding up his hand. His other hand was on the wall, not holding him up, but there just in case. He'd pulled on a shirt, probably for the first time in two days. The pajama pants looked lank on his fast diminishing form as he moved forward towards the table.

"Are you—sure you should…"

"I want to be in here." Suzaku explained. He hadn't cut Lelouch off he was just making sure that Lelouch understood. "I've missed the rest of the house."

Lelouch was treating Suzaku like a child. But the boy meant the world to him and preserving whatever they had left was all that Lelouch could help but do. He looked down before he could pull on a smile. He set the kitchen utensil back into the mixing bowl before moving to the kitchen table. Just as Suzaku slid into a chair, Lelouch wrapped his arms around him from behind. He let his cheek rest at the crown of Suzaku's head and settled into a sigh. It was a comfort when Suzaku reached up to clasp his hand.

"Just tell me, if you want to go back into the bedroom."

Out of the hall the dog came padding into the kitchen. Lelouch chuckled at her grumpy display of discontent at how early they had all decided to start their day. She slumped onto the floor next to Suzaku's chair and made herself comfortable before shutting her eyes again.

"I will." Suzaku assured.

"Come on," Suzaku tugged at Lelouch's arm.

Confused, Lelouch held back, the plate of waffles in his hands. He'd just finished with the waffle iron and had unplugged it, trying to take the plate to the table. That was until Suzaku had stopped him, pulling on a hoodie jacket and trying to hand Lelouch his own jacket.

"What are you-?" There was no way that Suzaku was doing what Lelouch thought he was trying to do.

"Let's eat outside." Suzaku was smiling while he spoke, and odd kind of spark in those deep green eyes.

With cock of his head, Lelouch wasn't sure he was hearing correctly. He looked at the window, just to make sure. It was still winter outside. There was a reason that they had twice the number of covers on their bed. Suzaku was spending most of his time in bed so Lelouch hadn't held back on piling on more blankets.

It was out of the question! Good day or not, it was still out of the question. Suzaku had been hurling up blood for the past four to five days. He was dying from the inside out! There was no way that Lelouch was letting him go outside in the freezing cold just because he wanted to. It was a ridiculous notion to even think that they could have breakfast on the back porch.

"Come on," Suzaku cooed. His smile was back, for the first time in days that smile Lelouch had taken for granted was back and it was beaming at him, as he pulled Lelouch closer. Those green eyes had a spark and for once there wasn't even a mile high pile of covers between them.

And he was melting. Lelouch realized the second he was taking a step forward. Just because Suzaku was hiding this depleting body under a jacket and sweat pants didn't mean that Lelouch had forgotten.

"No." He shook his head. "It's winter, Suzaku; there is no way you're going outside."

"Lelouch," Suzaku cooed again, he took a step closer, brushing to his hand across Lelouch's cheek as he slid a few black strands of hair behind Lelouch's ear. "Please, let's eat outside."

Lelouch set the plate of waffles down on the table. "No, Suzaku." He turned away from him to go to the cupboard.

"Lelouch," Suzaku caught the slender boys arm. Gentle but pulled him around to see him. "Please,"

With wide green eyes staring straight at him Lelouch didn't know what to do.

"I want to see the sunrise." Suzaku explained.

It was a hard swallow that followed the statement, followed by silence. Lelouch's own eyes went wide as he took in the words of his lover. It took him a moment to be able to even—"Alright." And then he surged forward, straight into Suzaku's arms.

After several minutes of the embrace Lelouch finally backed away, brushing at his face with his sleeve before picking up the plate of waffles. Suzaku smiled at him before taking the two extra plates and the small bowl of strawberries, he held his hand out for Lelouch to take at the doorway of the kitchen.

Without hesitation Lelouch took it and took the lead out to the back porch.

The room was dark, again. Lelouch was still even smiling from the pleasant day they had had. Suzaku had made them watch the sunrise and the sunset. He'd made Lelouch make him every kind of food he could think of and he had indulged in affection towards his prince at almost every minute. They had spent every moment talking about each other and their lives and just enjoyed each other's company. Lelouch just had one more thing—if this was to be the last hooray, there was one last thing he wanted…

He stepped out of the bathroom. About half an hour before Suzaku had gone to bed and Lelouch off to shower. Suzaku had gave him a tender kiss, probably knowing that he'd be asleep before Lelouch got out of the shower.

That wasn't going to last though. Another smile quirked as Lelouch crawled onto the bed. His hair was still somewhat damp, but it was clean and soft and he knew his body would never change, lithe smooth lines of pale skin and dazzling purple eyes. He slide the covers down , not bothering to slip under them only revealing Suzaku's hunched sleeping form. Lelouch took care as he slide closer to not rouse his partner. He leaned in, nuzzling at Suzaku neck first before he ran a hand down Suzaku side. At the hem of his t-shirt, Lelouch slid his hand up under the fabric, making skin on skin contact.

With a sharp breath Suzaku woke. "What? …Lu?" He rolled over onto his back, blinking to focus onto Lelouch's face.

Perfect, the word resounded in Lelouch's mind as he moved over the other man. He stayed up on his knees as he leaned into kiss at Suzaku's lips. "Hello, baby," His voice he kept soft, his tone even and caring.

When he didn't get a response Lelouch moved back up on his elbows. Suzaku was just blinking at him—laying there, hands still on the sheets, mouth closed and just—blinking. He swallowed (sending a shiver down Lelouch's spine to watch his Adam's apple bob up and back down) before finally opening his mouth. "What are you doing?"

Wasn't it obvious? Lelouch just smiled before he leaned back up on his knees. He gave a chuckle before his hand reached down to the knot in the towel at his waist. In an instance, he watched Suzaku's eyes drop right along with the towel.

This time when Lelouch went down to his elbows, he was very pleased to know that he had Suzaku's full attention.

"Lelouch," His voice sounded deliciously like it was trembling.

Lelouch moved down from his knees, straddling Suzaku's hips. He moved his hands up to Suzaku's neck, sliding one arm around before—

Suzaku was pushing him back. "Lelouch," He managed up onto his elbows to look at Lelouch. His hand came up to cup the side of Lelouch's face. "I'm sorry –I just… I can't." He shook his head slow.

Cocking en eyebrow he considered for a moment letting this go, before he rocked his hips against Suzaku's groin.

As expected, Suzaku swallowed again, raising his fist to his mouth, and just the barest flash of teeth as he bit down on his skin. It was absolutely exciting for the first time in a long while to see Suzaku strung out with pleasure.

"Seems alright to me," Lelouch went on with a cheeky smile.

It didn't take long though and Suzaku was composed again. "Just because I can still function—there's no way right now. I barely made it through the day and all we did was be lazy around the house."

Lelouch slid down from his elbows, sliding his nude skin across Suzaku's torso. "I know." He said. His hands moved back down to Suzaku's shirt, dipping under the fabric again to feel the smooth expanses up Suzaku's body. "But I want something to hold onto." He slid up even more, pressing his knees alongside Suzaku's thighs. "I'll do all the work for once." A chuckle escaped.

It hurt just a little when Suzaku didn't look at him, even turning his face to the covers. "It won't be anything like you remember."

Lelouch had quite possibly never seen Suzaku self conscious about his body (that damn flight suit was evidence enough) but now that it was—less that the Adonis that Lelouch had fallen in love with.. It was understandable, but still heart breaking. Suzaku no longer had the perfectly tan skin or the wonderful curve of muscle over every inch of him. He certainly wasn't the old man they both knew his insides had become. But his partner was Lelouch, the nineteen year old body of Lelouch. And Suzaku –was suffering through the process of death. That glow, that spark, that extra something that had always made him so attractive, had diminished, snuffed out in the fight to stay alive just a little longer (the fight to give Lelouch one last, perfect day).

Pulling one hand out from under the t-shirt Lelouch cupped Suzaku's face, holding him there so Lelouch could press a kiss to his cheek and start moving down. "I will have years to remember everything I want, but right now, I still have you."

It was comforting to see that Suzaku was at least flushed. Lelouch could feel the arousal but to actually see it darken along Suzaku's cheeks and down his neck. There was a certain satisfaction that always accompanied knowing Suzaku so well that even like this he could convince him to do anything for Lelouch.

The second Suzaku's arm came up to wind around Lelouch's shoulders, Lelouch quirked a smile. He'd almost forgotten the thrill of winning.

"Alright, Lelouch."

Lelouch started to press kisses along the other's throat. 'Then just lay back, love." Lelouch cooed. "Let me adore you."

Almost three thousand words—that is possibly the longest chapter thus far in Time's history. Also interesting turn of events, the story alerts on this jumped on the last chapter. I'm very grateful, don't get me wrong but—WTF? This shindig is almost over and you decide to jump on the bandwagon now? That's too funny!

~Reviews are Awesome!~