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Title: Triangular

Author: DnKS-giRLs

Rating: PG-13

Characters/Pairings: Schneizel-Suzaku-Lelouch

Disclaimers: As per usual, we have no claim over the characters mentioned in this story, and we doubt that fact would ever change…

Warning: This is the fifth chapter already so we believe you already know what you will find in this fic. Proceed at your own risk.

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Chapter 5 – Family

No matter how many times Suzaku had visited Lelouch's family house, he was always awed by the sheer size of the said building. Not only the size, but the architecture also never failed to amaze him. The high gate, the long driveway, the vaulted ceiling, the grand French windows, all those things were summed up in a stature that was Lelouch's house.

No, not house, but a mansion.

"Suzaku," Lelouch called him from the white terrace. "Why are you still standing there? Come here."

He rearranged his backpack on his shoulders and walked to where his friend was standing. It was a nice Saturday, and like he had promised, there he was standing on the front porch of his friend's house. He intended to spend his weekend there, like what he had done so many times before. But he could tell that something felt different. For once, Lelouch was not that excited on the idea of them spending weekend together in his house.

Suzaku knew that he was not that much of a sharp person like Lelouch, but he could put two and two together. Lelouch became like that just after they met his brother Schneizel. And though he could not understand why the coming back of a brother whom he loved so much could make Lelouch seem so crestfallen, he knew that whatever thing that was disturbing his friend must be connected with his brother.

The door was opened then, disrupting him from his thoughts. Behind those double doors, a woman with short black hair was seen. Once her gaze caught the sight of the two of them standing on the terrace, she opened the door wide and moved aside to give them way. With a deep bow, she welcomed them.

"Welcome home, Young Master Lelouch, Master Suzaku," she said to them before straightening herself up. "Shall I take that Master Suzaku is going to spend the night here?"

"Good morning, Sayoko," Lelouch said and Suzaku greeted her with his nod, smiling at her while they were entering the house. "Yes, as a matter of fact, Suzaku will spend the weekend here. Could you please take our belongings to my room?"

"As you wish, Young Master," the maid, Sayoko, said. At her words, two menservants came to the view. And Suzaku could only stare in wonder as they took his and Lelouch's backpacks. He still could not comprehend the amount of maids and menservants Lelouch's family had in possession.

Back to his friend, he then saw that Lelouch already discarded his black overcoat-which was instantly taken care of by yet another manservant-and at the time was speaking with Sayoko.

"Is Mother at home?" he asked casually.

"Madam is currently attending a charity event with some of her friends," Sayoko said before she turned her head to his direction. "Master Suzaku, would you like to take your coat off?"

"Ah… yes, okay," he said as he slipped his coat off and gave it to a waiting manservant. Turning his face to Lelouch, he asked his friend, "And Uncle Charles…?"

"My father is having business in Vienna," Lelouch answered.

Hearing that, he felt a bit relieved. Charles vi Britannia, Lelouch's stepfather, was a great man. But he always felt a bit scared in his presence. Part of the reason was because Charles vi Britannia was a legendary general in The Empire's Army. That man whom he fondly called as Uncle Charles seemed to take a liking at him, and had so much hope in him. He respected his Uncle Charles greatly like he was his second father, and he did not want to disappoint him. Perhaps that was why he always felt under pressure when he dealt with him.

"By the way, where are Rolo and Nunnally?" Lelouch said as his eyes skimmed his surroundings. "I have not seen them yet."

"Young Master Rolo and Miss Nunnally are at the stables watching Young Master Schneizel practicing horseback riding," Sayoko said.

Suzaku could saw how Lelouch stiffen a little at the mention of his brother.

"I believe that Schneizel onii-sama has been back, then?" he asked softly.

"He was back yesterday from Ashford," Sayoko calmly said.

For a while Lelouch said nothing. He just stood there as if deep in thought before he gave his brilliant smile to Sayoko.

"I will see them at the stables then, Sayoko," he said. "Thank you for your kind assistance. You may go now."

With one last deep bow, Sayoko left them. After her departure, Suzaku stared openly at Lelouch. He knew that his friend was thinking hard since he did not even realize the intense gaze he threw at him.

Just what could Lelouch be thinking of, he thought. Schneizel, his brother? Yet why? Why did he seem so disturbed with Schneizel? Why did he seem to be so focused on Schneizel? After their professor's appearance, Lelouch always looked like his entire being was directed solely on that brother of his. Maybe it was okay, after all, Schneizel was Lelouch's brother. And he could see why Lelouch could adore his brother Schneizel so much.

He personally thought that Schneizel was a really great man, even if he only met him a few days ago. He was a perfect someone to look up to, a perfect brother to depend on, and a perfect example to follow. But somehow, seeing Lelouch's attitude toward his brother distressed him, and he did not even know why. He could say that it was only because he did not like seeing Lelouch look so tormented. In any case, he knew that Lelouch had not really forgiven his brother for leaving him a few years back. But he knew that he also had a selfish reason as to why he did not like how Lelouch acted lately. He remembered how he resented Schneizel for taking Lelouch away from him twelve years ago when their parents got married. He remembered how he resented Schneizel for succeeding in being Lelouch's real brother when he did not. He remembered how he resented Schneizel for robbing him the one most precious person to him.

True, he liked Schneizel. And he also liked Lelouch, greatly. But he did not want them to exclude him. He wanted to be in their circle. He did not want to give up the close relationship he had with Lelouch, but he also did not want to reject the friendship that he could form with such a great man like Schneizel vi Britannia.

Suzaku knew he sounded selfish and bitter but that was what he really had in his mind.

"Lelouch?" he called him cautiously. Yet after he said that name he was confused at what he should say to his friend.

"Yes?" Lelouch said, turning his face to meet his. "What is it?"

"Um… nothing, just…" he said. "What are we going to do now?"

Lelouch stared at him with an unreadable expression before he granted him his smile. He knew that smile. It was the kind of smile that Lelouch always used whenever he was troubled yet he did not want other people know how troubled he was.

"We are going to the stables, of course," his friend said casually. He then saw Lelouch turning his back and start walking away from him. "We need to announce our arrival to Nunnally and Rolo… and to Schneizel onii-sama also…"

The way Lelouch mentioned his brother like he was merely an addition made him wonder. Yet he knew he could never get the answer of his wondering by merely standing there, so he followed Lelouch to the stables, musing along the way.

Lelouch's family, the vi Britannia's, was a filthy rich one, Suzaku assumed. He knew that by judging from the sheer size of Lelouch's family mansion and the assets the family had in their hands. Not every family could posses so many acres of land that they could have their personal stables and not many families could posses so many exceptional horses like the vi Britannia's. He knew that their horses were exceptional; Lelouch himself had taken it into his own hands to teach him the fine arts of equestrianism. And so, he was familiar with the stables that he could follow his friend easily through the many corridors to the open field located at the secluded backyard of the mansion.

Outside, they were greeted by the mixture of many sounds. The horses' foot made a melodious thundering sound, accompanied by their neighing and the sound of chattering. Amidst those sounds, Suzaku could hear the sounds of happy laughter and clasping hands. And there, sitting side by side on the porch, he could see Lelouch's younger siblings, Nunnally and Rolo, cheering amiably at someone.

"Go, Schneizel onii-sama!" shouted a twelve year old boy with chestnut hair and sparkling amethyst eyes whom he knew as Rolo, Lelouch's younger brother. At the moment, the boy had one of his hands wave at someone while his other hand was linked to that of his twin sister, Nunnally vi Britannia. The girl was silently sitting with her face turned a bit to the side, displaying the happy smile she possessed as her twin explained the situation to her.

"Schneizel onii-sama has just made Dante jump over the fern fence," Rolo said to Nunnally, so enthusiastic was he in his chatter that he did not realize that Lelouch and Suzaku were approaching them. "It was so amazing, Nunnally. Onii-sama rode Dante so gracefully you would think it was a painting when Dante trotted swiftly like a white shadow and onii-sama sitting so proudly on his back. Now he is coming here, I think he has already finished today's practice."

Suzaku smiled seeing the scene. Nunnally lost her eyesight due to some traffic accident she experienced when she was little, so Rolo took it onto his shoulders to be her eyes. The bonding between those siblings was something to be envied.

"I see you are still being excellent eyes for Nunnally, Rolo," Lelouch said once they were close enough to the twin as his greeting. His words made the two of them realize their presence. Clear amethyst eyes, so very similar to Lelouch' own eyes, regarded them before a joyful remark was uttered.

"Lelouch onii-sama!" Rolo exclaimed. "And Suzaku nii-chan too. Nunnally, Lelouch onii-sama is back and he brings Suzaku nii-chan along."

"Hello, Rolo," Lelouch said, ruffling the boy's hair. Afterward he knelt beside his sister and greeted her. "I'm home, Nunnally."

"Lelouch onii-sama, welcome home," Nunnally said with a happy smile. "And I'm happy that you come along too, Suzaku nii-chan."

"Say, say, Suzaku nii-chan," Rolo said to Suzaku. "Are you going to spend your weekend here?"

Suzaku laughed gleefully, "Yes, your brother here forced me to. He said you wanted to show me something. And he also said that Nunnally missed me. How can I say no to you all?"

"It has been so long since your last visit, Suzaku nii-chan," Nunnally said. "Even mother is worried about you. How are you?"

"Oh, he's fine," Lelouch answered casually with a smirk. "God loves stupid people and you know that Suzaku is one big idiot so you can rest assured, Nunnally."

"Oi, watch it there," Suzaku said with his eyes narrowed. "Or this so called big idiot would deem it necessary to show you what he got."

Lelouch smirked, "By a game of chess?"

He smirked wider than his friend. After all, he had learned how to smirk from the expert, "By telling our audiences your humiliating experience that I know will make you embarrassed for days to come."

"I do not have any humiliating experience!" Lelouch huffed.

"Really?" he said. "Then what about that certain time last month when you were mistaken for a girl and given a pamphlet about breast implant surgery to 'make your rack looks fuller'…?"

The redness he spotted on Lelouch's cheeks was enough to make him cackle impishly. Lelouch looked so cute when he was embarrassed. Even Rolo chuckled though a bit guiltily.

"That is…" Lelouch stuttered but someone beat him to finish that sentence.

"That is perfectly unnecessary for my brother is adorable already even without a 'full rack'."

The new voice apparently belonged to Schneizel. Suzaku saw his professor walk to their direction, still in his white outfit for riding. One of his hands was holding the reins of a magnificent white stallion and his other hand kept his hair from falling to his eyes. With elegant steps he approached them until he stopped a few meters from the porch they were gathering on.

"Schneizel onii-sama!" Lelouch indignantly yelped.

"What? It's true," Schneizel said with a smile. "Don't you all think that Lelouch is so adorable?"

There was a chorus of 'yes' emitted from Rolo and Nunnally. Suzaku smiled at that. He let his gaze wander to stare at Lelouch, who was still blushing, and said in all honesty, "Even more than adorable, actually."

"Suzaku!" Lelouch screamed at him in exasperation before he threw his arms to the air for dramatic effect. "What is it with you people? Do you find it pleasurable to embarrass me?"

"Ah, dear brother," Schneizel smirked. "That is surely a perfect example of one rhetoric question."

"You did ask for it yourself, Lelouch," he said to his friend before he stared at Schneizel and the white stallion. The horse, upon seeing him, seemed to recognize him. Suzaku watched as the beast gave some neighs and shook its head.

"Hello, Dante," Suzaku said to the horse. Dante was the horse Lelouch let him ride during the time he taught him horseback riding. That white stallion was a beautiful yet strong creature. "I see you haven't forgotten me though I haven't ridden you for quite a while."

Schneizel frowned at that and he glared at Lelouch, "You let him ride my horse? Lelouch, you let him ride my Dante?"

Suzaku blinked. The first thing that crossed his mind once he heard Schneizel's words was 'oh, shit'.

"I'm sorry, Professor," he said quickly. "It was I who insisted Lelouch on teaching me how to ride a horse. I didn't know that Dante is your horse and I deeply apologize for riding him without your permission."

"No, Suzaku, rest assured, it's not that, just…" Schneizel sighed and Suzaku suddenly realized that Lelouch looked a bit shamefaced. "Lelouch, we both know that Dante is the wildest and most difficult horse we have. If your friend wanted to learn equestrianism, it would have been more reasonable to give him one of the more docile mares."

"What?" he said to Lelouch with a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"He wanted to ride a strong horse," Lelouch mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Demian can do fine for him," Schneizel said with a tone of reproach. "He's a fine stallion and as meek as a lamb. Or even your Celianne, she is really the strongest mare I have ever come across. But Dante is a really dangerous choice."

"You said he was tame!" he said to Lelouch again.

"Oh, hush," Lelouch said. "That means I have strong belief in your ability. You managed to make him acquiesce to you, nonetheless."

Suzaku stared at Lelouch for some more time before he shook his head. His friend could be so frustrating at times. One time, Lelouch could do such act that he was sure his friend was going to kill him. Yet other times, Lelouch could do such sweet things that he really believed he would do anything in his ability to protect him from any harm.

He started to consider the possibility of his friend developing a multiple personality disorder.

"Though I still do not consent on my brother's decision," Schneizel said while staring intently at him. "I have to agree with him that you surely have an excellent ability if you managed to make Dante succumb to you. It seems I have to put more thought on you, Suzaku Kururugi."

"Suzaku nii-chan is great!" Rolo exclaimed happily. "Don't you think so, Nunnally?"

He saw Nunnally nod her head as her affirmation and he felt pride blossoming in his heart. His ability was recognized by his closest people and that was something that could make him proud. Yet one good look at Lelouch's direction made the feeling dim a bit. His friend was smiling, but he knew there was something off in that smile. Something that, he thought, he would not like to know what.

That smile persisted on Lelouch's face. Though Lelouch joined all their activities, though he laughed with them, though he behaved like how he usually did, Suzaku knew that something was bothering his friend. And it seemed he was not the only one noticing that.

"Is there something bothering Lelouch lately?" Schneizel asked him cautiously during their walk back to the mansion. Schneizel had previously asked him for a friendly sword sparring that ended up in him losing considerably to his professor. But he had no regret for Schneizel proved to be a good sparring partner and a worthy rival.

"I don't know," he answered with a sigh. "But I guess, yes, there has to be something bothering him."

Schneizel was also sighing. They both stared up front where Lelouch was walking with Rolo and Nunnally, chatting with them along the way.

There was something in the way Lelouch walk that always made him captivated in seeing him. Lelouch was a beauty and he did everything with grace. But that time, behind the graceful movements his friend showed to the world, he could see some hidden uneasiness there.

"Please take care of him," Schneizel said to him, staring into his eyes so intensely that he almost forgot to breathe under his gaze. "If it's you then he will be fine. I know how important he holds you in his heart."

He smiled, "I will try my best, Professor."

"Schneizel," Schneizel chided him gently.

He blinked, "I beg your pardon?"

"It's Schneizel," Schneizel smiled at him. "Now, my position is not that of your professor. I am merely Schneizel vi Britannia asking you to take care of my dear little brother. I will be very honored should you call me by my given name."

"Oh… I will remember that, then, Schneizel…" he let his sentence hang before added. "…-san."

A chuckle escaped Schneizel's lips at his half failing attempt.

"Is it so hard?" his chuckling professor asked.

"Not so hard that I cannot manage it," he answered. "But hard enough that I have to give it some more tries."

He smiled at his professor, already enjoying his close company. He felt glad that he could get along well with Schneizel. He always felt that Lelouch's family was somewhat like his second family and an addition of one charming older brother never hurt. For all his life, he had always been an only child with such great responsibility to uphold. Even with Lelouch, he had automatically assumed his role as his older brother seeing that he was the elder one between them. He might not want to admit it out loud but sometimes, he also had the need to be pampered, the need to have someone to lean on to, the need to have someone take care of him.

And he found it in Schneizel.

His good mood kept on all the way through the day until that very night when he lay on his stomach on Lelouch's bed. With a soft hum he scribbled some notes onto his report as Lelouch sat beside him to correct his works like usual. He would never get any better editor than Lelouch. He knew he would never get his current grade in his essays should there be no Lelouch to patiently see through his works and revise them to perfection.

"Here," Lelouch gave him some sheets of paper. "I didn't make much change. You are getting better at social studies, it seems."

"Oh, praise from the master of social studies himself," he said as he took the offered papers. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Lelouch said as he flopped down to the bed with a sigh. Suzaku saw his friend releasing a sigh as those clear amethyst eyes stared fixedly to the ceiling. There was such a troubled expression on Lelouch's face that he could not ignore. So, putting his homework aside, he rolled to his back and lay there beside his friend. Turning his face so he could see the outline of Lelouch's face perfectly, he addressed him.

"Lelouch," he said. "I know I'm not good at words but… you know you can tell me if something is bothering you."

Lelouch turned his face so their eyes met. So very close were their faces from each other that he could see clearly how distressed Lelouch was.

"I know," Lelouch said. "It's just that for this matter I don't know how to tell you. I don't even know how to put it into words."

"Is there anything that I can help?" he asked.

Lelouch just smiled without answering his question. Rather than answering, he changed the topic of their conversation.

"Suzaku," he said. "What do you think of my older brother?"

"Your older brother?" he said, a bit confused as to why Lelouch suddenly wanted to talk about Schneizel. "Well, how can I say it… he is… brotherly, I guess. He makes people want to follow him and lean on him because you somewhat know he will never abandon you. But… I guess he's also a bit mischievous and dangerous… somewhat like you…"

"Do you like him?" Lelouch asked with such seriousness in his voice.

He blinked, "Yes."

After he said that, Lelouch did not speak again. For a moment they were just staring at each other before Lelouch smiled.

"We need to get up early tomorrow," his friend said to him. "Let's get to sleep."

Kururugi Suzaku might not be a very bright person should he be compared to his friend, Lelouch vi Britannia. But he knew a broken voice when he heard it. He knew a concealed misery when he saw it. To hear that voice coming from Lelouch's lips and see such misery on Lelouch's face made something tighten unpleasantly in his chest.

He raised one of his hands and smoothed back some strands of hair that fell over Lelouch's closed eyes. His friend was instantly asleep after he declared his sentence. That day's event must have had tired him considerably, Suzaku thought. Lelouch was never someone with good stamina. Yet even in his tired state, he was still willing to help him with his homework. That was such a selfless person Lelouch could be to him.

Watching his friend's sleeping face, he felt the resolution in his heart to make everything alright for him. Though he did not know, and he doubted he would ever know, what was troubling Lelouch, he promised to himself he would do anything in his ability to at least make Lelouch feel better. He owed at least that much to his friend. And moreover, he had promised Schneizel that he would take care of Lelouch. He would never get back on his words.

"Please be fine," he whispered softly, careful not to wake his friend. "I will make everything alright for you so please be fine…"

Retracting his hand, he allowed himself to stare at Lelouch's sleeping face for a moment before he also closed his eyes and fell to a deep sleep.

- end chapter 5 –

(A/N: so that's chapter five. Hope you have a great reading. We made Suzaku older than Lelouch here, we know, while some might argue that it's supposed to be Lelouch who's older. But well, all for the plot. Lame excuse, we know. Reviews would really be appreciated. But should you want to throw some trash, it's okay too. We hope to see you in the next chapters ahead, believe us, there are still many chapters ahead.)