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Title: Triangular

Author: DnKS-giRLs

Rating: PG-13

Characters/Pairings: Schneizel-Suzaku-Lelouch

Disclaimers: Never ours… maybe that's something you should be thankful of…

Warning: Impossibly AU and thus we use that as our justification for the OOC moments ensued in this fic…

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Chapter 4 – Brothers

The soft clink of china was the only sound audible in the air. The silence was suppressing so much that Lelouch almost wanted to say something to end it. But he did not know what to say. Though he had played the scenario numerous times in his head, he was at loss as to what he should do once he really had the scene played out before him. He was currently having the afternoon tea that Schneizel proposed to him in class a mere day before. That time, when he heard his brother's proposal, he thought it could be a perfect time to inquire his brother regarding numerous things that had been nagging at his mind. Things that, coincidentally, all began with 'why'.

Chancing a glance around, he came to the view of his brother preparing the tea. The grace in his fingers remained as he poured the steaming liquid into two cups. He remembered that Schneizel used to play piano before he left their house. He wondered if his brother was still practicing the art.

"Sugar?" his brother asked him.

"Please," he nodded. "And…"

"And a little bit of milk," Schneizel finished for him with a smile. A cup of tea was then presented before him in the exact way he preferred it to be. "It seems your taste still has not changed. Don't worry, the tea is English Breakfast. I know you despise Darjeeling."

"I'm more used to green tea nowadays," he said with a fond smile on his face. Suzaku, with his amazing ability to influence him, had managed to put some habits into his daily life. The green tea was a refreshing change, he admitted that. But he never seemed to curse Suzaku enough for introducing him to the little treats called Pocky. Now he could never get his overnight paperwork done without munching on that sugar covered sticks.

"Green tea?" Schneizel asked him. He watched his brother sipped on his cup of tea before placing it back to the table. "Japanese green tea?"

There was something in the way Schneizel inquired him. He took a sip of his tea before answered.

"Yes."

"Ah," Schneizel said, crossing his legs on the knees and folding his hands there. "Am I correct to assume that your friend Suzaku is behind this?"

"Well, yes," he said. "Our dorm room is next to each other so I oftentimes visit him and he always gives me green tea. Given time, I got used to the taste. It's actually quite pleasant."

"He must be a really impressive person to be able to influence you," his brother smirked. "You seem very close to him. That in itself is a rare thing, that you allow someone getting so attached to you. That intrigues me, I would like to know better of this friend of yours. It seems Suzaku Kururugi is a nice boy."

He felt something clenching in his heart at his brother's tone of speech. Schneizel rarely showed his interest blatantly to any human being like that. Just why that Suzaku…

"Suzaku is… he's my friend," he said to Schneizel. "But he's a brute who always thinks with his muscle. He's an idiot who cannot distinguish between classic literature and random junk. He's someone so clumsy he would trip at nothing. He has no talent aside from punching, kicking, riding a Knightmare Frame…"

"He could ride a Knightmare Frame?" Schneizel said in curiosity. Lelouch cursed himself. He had forgotten that his brother had studied in the Military Academy until high school. It was at their father's insistence, given that their father, Charles vi Britannia, was a retired General of The Empire's Army. That fact made them all thought Schneizel would enter the Military Division in university yet his brother surprised them all when he chose Politics and Law as his majors.

"Yes…" he answered reluctantly.

"Has he gotten himself any license for a particular Knightmare Frame?" Schneizel asked him again with a growing interest in his eyes.

"He has the license for all the basic construction," he said, could not help but feel a bit prideful at his friend's accomplishment. "But in particular, he was given the trust to pilot The Seventh Generation Knightmare Frame, Lancelot."

He could see Schneizel smiled in approval. "Impressive, for someone so young."

Hearing that, Lelouch thought that it had to be some really cruel joke. Just before he heard from his friend's mouth how his brother looked 'cooler in person than in photographs'. And now he had Schneizel show his interest toward Suzaku unashamedly. It had to be one really cruel joke. His brother and his friend, both were people he cherished so much. It was just so…

"Lelouch?" his brother's voice questioned him.

He looked at Schneizel just in time to see how his brother raised his hand from his lap to touch his cheek. That warm palm was then cupping his cheek and he was assaulted in the heavy sense of nostalgia at how it reminded him of old days. His older brother in the past used to caress his cheek and he would smile under said treatment. Yet that time, he felt more like crying than laughing, though he could not really explain why.

"You don't look too well," Schneizel said. "Are you alright? Should I take you back to your room?"

"I'm fine," he said, assuring his brother though he was anything but. "Honestly, onii-sama, have no worry over me. It makes me uneasy should you begin to worry over me like the old days…"

The palm that was caressing his face stopped.

"You are still angry that I decided to study abroad four years ago," his brother said to him. It was not a question but a statement. He could sense something that resembled sadness in his brother's tone and that was almost enough to make him assure Schneizel that it was okay, that he was not angry at him anymore, that he was perfectly at ease at his sudden departure and arrival.

"I was angry at you," he admitted in low voice.

"Are you still now?" Schneizel asked.

"You think?" he said to his brother with an even glare.

He saw Schneizel sigh and he felt the hand was retracted from his cheek.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about my return," Schneizel said. "I wanted to make it a surprise."

"Your wish is fulfilled, then," he said. "I really got a big surprise when I saw you entering the classroom and becoming my professor when just a few moments prior I read your e-mail that spoke of nothing regarding that fact. You have talent for creating surprise, Schneizel onii-sama, yet another thing I have to applaud you for."

Schneizel smirked, "You are being sarcastic, Lelouch."

"Oh, you noticed?" was all he said to his smirking older brother.

A sigh that he saw escaping from his brother's lips was something like a victory token for him.

"You have grown," Schneizel said to him with a small smile. Lelouch observed that his brother still had that habit of tilting his head a little while smiling at him. That seemingly innocent act made the blonde locks of his hair fall like curtain over one of his eyes. And Lelouch could only hold his breath as he stared at the breathtaking view his brother was making. Those eyes staring attentively at him, that smile directed only to him, that hand just a moment ago caressing his cheek…

He turned his face to stop himself from staring. It was unfair, he thought, that after all those things that Schneizel had done, after all the feelings of betrayal, after all his bitterness, he still loved his brother to the point of madness.

He heard a sound of something scraped against the floor. From that he knew that Schneizel was standing from his chair. Some sounds of footsteps followed and when he raised back his face, he noticed that Schneizel had already walked to finally stand behind him. Thinking that his brother wanted him to follow his act, he was about to stand up as well. But a pair of arms embracing him from behind stopped his effort, making him remain seated on his chair with those arms enveloping him in a warm embrace.

The reaction he experienced once he felt Schneizel's arms embracing him was the combination of shock, happiness, bitterness, and mainly, confusion. He gulped, did not dare to even utter a word.

Amidst his mixed feelings, he could feel Schneizel kissed the top of his head.

"I did not lie when I wrote that I missed you," Schneizel said. "I cannot really beg your forgiveness for leaving you four years ago because I still think of it as the best thing to do. I needed to pursue my future and you cannot deny that should you be in my position, you would surely do the very same thing like I did back then. But I still love you, Lelouch, at least know that…"

"Onii-sama…" he said weakly as he made a pathetic attempt of trying to pry himself free of Schneizel's embrace. He hated it. He knew that he was losing. He could feel that stupid desire to hold his brother back, to tell him that it was okay, and to go back stupidly chasing after his shadow like how he used to do in the past.

What a pathetic thing, he thought, to be in love with someone like Schneizel vi Britannia. Maybe, he thought, he had done such dreadful crime in his past life so that now he was forced to live such bad karma. Maybe in his past life he had killed people or destroyed countries or committed such unpardonable sins. He just could not win against his brother, not in chess, not in physical ability, not in academic grade, not in argument, not in anything. But should he also lose to him in matter concerning a certain someone whom he had dared to call his best friend?

Suzaku, he thought bitterly. Should he also lose to his brother in the case of one Kururugi Suzaku?

He could feel a headache coming. He had skipped lunch and all those things he experienced during his talk with Schneizel did nothing to help him. Willing for the pain to pass, he squeezed his eyes shut. He hoped fervently that Schneizel would not notice a thing. But he forgot how observant his brother could be.

"Headache?" Schneizel asked him.

"A little…" he admitted. " It's nothing, it will pass soon."

The arms that were embracing him unwound themselves. Within seconds, he could see Schneizel kneeling before him. Their eyes were now at the same level and he could see worry in those eyes of his brother.

"Did you skip lunch again?" his brother asked him.

"I don't really like what you implied by 'again', onii-sama," he said.

"And I don't really like how you avoid answering my question, Lelouch," Schneizel countered him. "Our chess game can wait. I will walk you back to your dorm room now."

"Honestly, I'm fine," he said. "There is no need to rearrange your schedule, onii-sama, I can manage a game or two with you now."

"If I win against you in your current condition," Schneizel began in his most aristocratic tone of voice. "I will not feel any pride in myself. Do you hate me that much, Lelouch vi Britannia, that you should force such discreditable winning onto me like this?"

The harsh reprimand he found in his brother's voice made him lower his face in shame. It was a bad thing to do, he decided afterward, for the act made his head throb even more. In embarrassment, he realized he did not manage to hold back a choked gasp of pain. His hand suddenly found homage pressed against his temple. That time, he did not care if he was showing such pitiable weakness to Schneizel. He just wanted the pain to stop.

"That's it," he heard Schneizel say. "I'm taking you back to your room and you better not challenge your brother's words this time, Lelouch."

He was having a hard time to think of any witty remark so he could only mumble a soft "Yes, onii-sama."

In his masochistic way of thinking, Lelouch thought that maybe he did enjoy his headache, maybe he did enjoy having arguments with his brother, maybe he did enjoy being forced to do things he did not want to do. He knew that he was born to fight. He was to fight the headache, he was to fight his brother in their arguments, and he was to fight whoever forced him to do anything he did not want. Yet when he felt Schneizel's hand steadying his shoulders as his brother walked him back to his room, he accepted his headache, he accepted his loss in the argument he had with his brother, and he accepted, for once, that Schneizel could surely force him to do things, anything.

Or maybe, he thought as his eyes caught the sight of Suzaku standing not so far away from them, not anything.

He halted his step as he watched Suzaku and his brother followed suit. The boy seemed to be deep in thought as he conversed with another, a professor whom he remembered by the name Toudou. From the look of it, they looked to be too busy to notice his and his brother's presence. But he saw Suzaku suddenly turning his head and their eyes met.

The grin on Suzaku's face once he noticed his presence was contagious and he found himself smiling as well. He then saw Suzaku saying something to the professor before practically running to their direction.

"Lelouch," Suzaku said once he was in front of them. He seemed then to notice Schneizel and bowed low before him. "Professor Schneizel."

"Why do you have to bow?" Lelouch asked him with a frown.

"Oh… well…" Suzaku said with a sheepish laugh as he straightened up. "It's old habit. And I've just met Toudou-sensei, so it comes naturally. Anyway, good afternoon, Professor Schneizel, I have received the material you sent for my research and I greatly appreciate it."

"Good afternoon, Suzaku," Schneizel smiled at him. "It's good to know that those materials might be of some use for you. I have great hope in your research."

"Yes, Sir, I understand," Suzaku stood up straighter. "I assure you that I will not let your confidence down, Sir."

"Now why are you become so formal toward my brother?" Lelouch said irritably.

"Lelouch is right, Suzaku," Schneizel said. "You don't have to be so strict towards me. We are not currently in class. I will be much delighted should you regard me as your equal outside class."

"Uh… well…" Suzaku stuttered. "That would be my pleasure…"

"And now you are blushing!" Lelouch said in disbelief as he stared at the rosy tint spreading on Suzaku's cheeks. It was at the same time both endearing and infuriating. Endearing because it made him look so adorable in his eyes, and infuriating because he was blushing on account of his brother. And thinking of that matter only made his headache-which had settled down considerably after he left Schneizel's quarter-suddenly flared up to life again.

His winces of pain were being noticed by both his brother and his friend. He could feel Schneizel seizing his shoulders and hold him upright so that he would not fall. And he could see Suzaku's worried gaze examining him.

"Are you having headache again?" Suzaku said to him before his eyes looked up to Schneizel. "It has become so frequent lately."

"Indeed?" Schneizel asked and Lelouch could imagine that his brother's eyebrow surely rose up to his forehead.

"You skipped lunch again today, didn't you?" Suzaku asked him again with such a stern voice.

"Why are you two always so interested on my eating habit?" he said in annoyance. His headache had dulled so he straightened himself up. Schneizel still had his arm around his shoulder to steady him but he did not have to lean on him so heavily for support anymore.

"Because we worry over you, obviously, little brother," Schneizel said at him with a smile.

"My terrible fate has decreed me to be subjected not just to one brother but two, it seems," he sighed.

"Two always makes better than one," Suzaku said with a laugh. "Come on, why don't we walk back to my room? I will cook your favorite meal and you must eat."

"Honestly, Suzaku," he said. "I'd rather die of starvation than eat your cooking."

"My cooking is not that bad!" Suzaku yelled.

"Last time you cooked, you gave me what you dubbed as grilled sausages while in my opinion it resembled burnt entrails."

"Oh, shut up, you ate it nonetheless."

Hearing that, Lelouch opened his mouth to yell back but was stopped when he heard a soft chuckle emitted from his brother's mouth. Disbelieving his hearing a bit, he looked up to see that, yes, his brother, Schneizel vi Britannia was chuckling. He had one of his palms covering his mouth as small ripples of laughter shook his frame.

Schneizel seldom laughed. He smiled and he smirked but the sight of his laughing face was something that occurred once in a blue moon. It was a shame for Lelouch always thought that his brother looked so handsome whenever he laughed. Yet that afternoon, he saw his brother laughed so carelessly and he even managed to pat Suzaku's shoulder the way he always patted his.

"You are a fine young man," he said to Suzaku with his eyes sparkling with mirth. The smile he had on his face spelled mischief as he said, "And I heard that you are studying in the Military Division, are you not?"

Suzaku nodded, "Indeed, I am."

"Then let's do this our way, shall we?" Scneizel said with a smirk. "Suzaku Kururugi, please take this favor and answer me with your heart and mouth. I bestow the matter of my brother, Lelouch vi Britannia, onto your hands. I beckon you with my order, do you heed?"

Lelouch could see Suzaku snorting before he straightened his posture and said in a very clear voice, "Yes, Sire."

They both had a peculiar look in their eyes that made Lelouch think that they were sharing a private joke between them that he could not quite grasp. Yet, he did not have much time to mull over that matter. Schneizel, his dear brother, after hearing Suzaku's answer, nodded to kiss his forehead in front of the watching Suzaku. And Lelouch could feel his cheeks warming up at the thought that Suzaku saw that act of intimacy between him and his brother.

"I will see you around, then, little brother," Schneizel said to him before he bade his farewell to Suzaku. Afterward, he could only stare at his brother's retreating back. He was confused. But when he thought about what might be confusing him, he could not come up with a clear answer. He felt trapped and he could not even understand why.

He just knew that his heart had been being in turmoil ever since the time Schneizel vi Britannia entered his classroom that day.

"It must be nice to have a brother like Professor Schneizel," Suzaku said to him. His voice was so earnest that he found himself turning his face to look more closely at his friend's expression. "He really loves you."

"You think so?" he said.

"I know so," Suzaku said. "Because we are the same. We both love you. You are like our precious brother to cherish and protect. It's in our nature to love you."

He lowered his face as he heard those words coming from Suzaku's mouth.

"Stop saying embarrassing stuff, idiot," he whispered.

"What's so embarrassing in someone telling his friend that he loves him?" Suzaku said.

"Everything," he said softly.

Maybe, he thought, embarrassing was not the right word. It would be better if he had chosen the word painful to describe the feeling evoked in his heart when he heard Suzaku's words. Love, a simple word. Yet why, he thought, did the interpretations of that word could differ so much between them. Suzaku would never love him the way he loved him. And he could never love Suzaku like how the other loved him. So sincerely, so selflessly, Suzaku loved him without any ulterior motive, without any hidden desire, without any concealed profanity. He could not say the same for himself. He loved Suzaku, he needed Suzaku, he wanted Suzaku in a way he knew he had no right to.

And that, he thought, was just like what he did to Schneizel, his dear brother Schneizel, who loved him earnestly as brother. Yet he had to betray his brother with his love that was not as pure, never so pure, as how Schneizel loved him. Was it not enough with one, now he had to deceive two of his most precious people?

He was really one cruel person.

"Are you okay?" Suzaku asked him worriedly.

"I'm fine," he smiled to Suzaku in a way that he hoped would reveal none of his inner turmoil. "Let's go back."

Lelouch had immersed himself in Politics for so long he knew never to show his weakness in front of people. He knew he should keep his emotions to himself, never to let it show to the surface. He knew he should never let his personal feelings disrupt his logic. He knew he should keep neutral expression regardless of whatever thing should happen before him.

Yet he could not suppress a twitch as Suzaku, during their walk to their room, casually turned his face to his direction and announced with a very bright smile.

"You know, I think your brother is a really great man. I like him so much."

- end chapter 4 -

(A/N: nyahaha… chapter 4 is here. Oh yes we do love torturing those boys. Please do leave your reviews or whatever thing you want to give us. Hope you like this chapter and this story in general. Thank you for giving this fic a chance and we really hope to see you in the next chapter.)