There are a few things I'd like to address before we move on to Chapter Four of my fanfiction.
Again, thanks so much for all of the reviews! I've already reached two pages on my story's reviews page and I haven't even gotten to the juicy parts yet! I'd also like to personally thank Nea Marika and asami-chan37 for your reviews; I can not personally respond to your reviews (unless I am missing a method of response), so I will thank you here! (If you want me to remove your name from this Author's Note for any reason, just let me know.)
Many different things happening in this chapter- just about a bit of everything. I hope you enjoy, thanks! Alert me to any strange mistakes or gaps you may catch!
(I also apologize that in this story, I do 'pick favorites' somewhat and ignore characters like Kallen and Rivalz. Because the Black Rebellion never happens in this universe, Kallen wouldn't make any impression on anyone other than she's a sickly gi rl in the Council. Rivalz doesn't really play much of a part mostly because this story is such a gi rl's story, and he's only there for the chess gambling plot device anyway.)
Chapter 4- "…Are you keeping a secret from us?"
Here he was again, standing in this airport.
The only difference was that this time, he was retrieving what this public building had taken from him. Lelouch stood at the gate from which his lover would hopefully exit from, staring into it with his expression an unreadable mix.
He wasn't actually quite sure what to feel. He was angry at Suzaku, for not telling him that he was secretly growing a baby within his body without his consent. He was sad, for having had to live for so long without him and hope to no one that his loved one was healthy and safe. He was happy, for he got to see him once again after a long wait. What did this all add up to? What emotion could possibly come out of this? Much like the primary colors, when mixed together, all one gets is mud.
So he waited there, an unsure expression smacked onto his face. Sayoko and Nunnally insisted that they wait a safe distance away from the two while they reunited. He sincerely hoped his confusion hadn't been that terrifying by sheer aura alone.
Suzaku stepped out of that exit, the fourth to be released from this airport's grasp. Lelouch struggled to keep his posture as Suzaku so much as ran to him. The Britannian of the two stopped his tears from spilling out of his eyes with sheer will.
The running had barely taxed the Japanese boy, but he seemed to be out of breath as he stopped immediately in front of Lelouch, so turned off by the obvious opposing aura that he did not hug him upon impact.
Lelouch stared coldly up into Suzaku's grateful eyes as his lover wrapped his arms around him, against his will. He gripped Suzaku's shoulders painfully and bit his lip in his fraught attempt to hold back what he was feeling due to the grudge he wanted to withstand.
"I missed you. I missed you so much, Lelouch. You have no idea." Suzaku breathed into Lelouch's ear, but Lelouch pulled his eyes shut and pushed Suzaku away, leaving Suzaku extremely confused, so very unaware.
"I have no idea? What the hell did you do to me?" Lelouch said quietly, shaking in the anger he felt.
"Lelouch, I—"
"No, just stop! I don't want to hear you right now. What… Why did you…" Lelouch was slowly and painfully losing his ability to form coherent speech as he shut his eyes against the tears that threatened to fall once more.
"No, wait," Suzaku attempted to start again, his eyes showing confusion.
"Why did you slip me that thing, Suzaku?" Lelouch barely made out. He pulled his head up as to look into Suzaku's eyes again, one tear slowly making its way down Lelouch's cheek. "Why did you leave, even when you knew? Didn't you care?"
Suzaku was taken aback, and he wore his feelings on his sleeve for Lelouch to see. Guilt was swimming in his own eyes as Lelouch struggled to figure out why he was reacting this way. He'd almost promised himself beforehand that he would not overreact, but here he was, crying and complaining right to Suzaku's face. A tiny curl of a smile made its way onto Lelouch's face as he let his head back down and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm sorry, Suzaku, I'm just scared." He finally admitted, and pulled Suzaku into a hug.
Suzaku, thoroughly confused as to why Lelouch was snapping into multiple emotions so rapidly upon his arrival, had not said anything while he watched the feelings switch in and out of Lelouch's face. He mentally scratched his head. Though he willingly received the hug, he was still puzzled over what to feel himself. Confusion? Understanding? Guilt?
So he returned the embrace with all his effort.
When they released, Suzaku cupped Lelouch's cheeks with both hands, and stopped any threatening tears from escaping with his . "Let's try that again." He said, and Lelouch managed to let out a small laugh. "Lelouch, I love you so much, and I won't ever leave you again." He said, confidence seeping from his expression.
"Promise?" Lelouch said, pouting a bit, and Suzaku couldn't help but laugh at the child-like state his lover was now in.
"Yes, I promise with all of my heart. Now, shall we go home?" Suzaku said with a smile that Lelouch absent-mindedly returned as he nodded, and the two knitted their fingers together while they walked back to the company of Nunnally and Sayoko.
"How did you actually slip me that stuff, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked, a questioning glance sent Suzaku's way as he snapped out of the stupor he'd been reduced to.
"Remember when I took you to get that shot?" Suzaku told him with a nervous laugh, not bothering to answer his question. Lelouch unlatched their hands for just a moment so he could smack him on the side and mutter complaints to do with Suzaku's naivety before putting his hand back in place, a bit begrudgingly.
"I am still angry at you, you know." Lelouch muttered- Suzaku only laughed. "I'm serious, I'll get you back for this." Another laugh only proved to pi ss Lelouch off more, but it melted away upon Nunnally's appearance.
"Suzaku!" Nunnally almost squealed (to Lelouch's annoyance) and the two struck up a random conversation. Obviously having to do with the baby, knowing Nunnally, but Lelouch let it slide. Sayoko nodded as she led the group to their ride back to Ashford Academy, noticed that the couple still had their hands together as if bound in place, and smiled to herself. This was going to be an interesting story.
The sound of the bathroom door opening disturbed Suzaku from his peaceful morning shower.
"Lelouch?" He asked as he heard the noises of toiletries being unveiled for a morning routine.
"Yes?" Lelouch asked a bit too sweetly as he turned the faucet up at a full blast on hot. Suzaku winced as the shower's water ran cold momentarily, but let it go as a mistake.
"Couldn't you have waited until I finished my shower?" Suzaku stopped himself from pleading.
"Oh? But I couldn't have known how long you would have taken in there." Lelouch responded, the sickly sweet voice still unnerving to Suzaku's ears.
Lelouch smirked as he flushed the toilet. "Oops, my hand slipped." He feigned apology in an obvious manner as Suzaku yelped and jumped from the scalding shower's water. He held back giggles of victory and kept his expression blank as Suzaku pulled the shower curtain away just enough for his head to peek from behind; he had a frown on initially, but Lelouch melted that away with a strong, fake, 'I'm sorry' pout. He released a sigh instead.
"Your house has so many other bathrooms, Lelouch. Can't you go use a different one?" Suzaku complained through his sigh.
"I suppose." Lelouch said, sounding hurt as he collected his toothbrush and sulked out of the bathroom to the one just down the hall. Suzaku took this chance to step back into the shower and continue washing his hair. Unfortunately, it was not long before more buckets of burning water poured over his scalp. A yell of "Sorry!" was heard even through the bathroom door, followed by frivolous laughter.
Suzaku's eyebrow twitched in anger as he tried once more to finish rinsing the shampoo from his hair in an extremely fast manner. He'd barely completed his task before a jet of freezing cold water drowned him unexpectedly. Suzaku paid no attention to Sayoko's apologizing yell as he stomped from the bathroom in only his towel.
Lelouch was waiting for him, snickering as Suzaku paraded around the room with only a towel as he searched for clothing desperately. No one thinks logically when infuriated, of course. "Looking for that?" Lelouch asked sweetly as he pointed at the large dresser across from the bed he was sitting on at the moment.
Suzaku mumbled something incoherent as he grabbed his clothes from the drawer and shut himself in the bathroom to change. Lelouch couldn't hold in his mischievous laughter after the door was closed as he fell back into the bed with a smirk on his face.
His bubbling laughter was instantaneously shot down as Suzaku walked back into the room, now fully clothed. He melted his expression into fake apology once more. "Are you angry, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked in the most heartfelt, depressing way he could manage as an actor.
"No." Suzaku sighed as he walked over to their bed and crawled across its spread to tower over Lelouch. "Is this war going to go on for very long?" He asked, staring intently into Lelouch's eyes.
"You deserve it. Where did your morality go when you decided to do this?" No more sarcastic voices from Lelouch, and Suzaku would have been happy about it would it not have been replaced with weightiness.
"Well, you said you wanted kids once or twice…" Suzaku pushed himself up and off Lelouch and gave him a sheepish, guilty look.
"So you took that seriously?" Lelouch asked, exasperated.
"Well, I took that as an invite…" Suzaku was bold enough to look Lelouch in the eye with confession glazed over his features.
"You are so clueless sometimes." Lelouch panned. Suzaku almost nodded in agreement.
"Well, if a couple wants to have kids, don't they generally try to get pregnant?" Suzaku tried to defend his weak point.
"Suzaku, generally a couple will wait until they've married before even trying for children." Lelouch felt as if he was appealing common sense to a monkey.
"I'll remember that next time." Lelouch snorted at Suzaku's optimistic response.
"There isn't a next time, idiot."
"Right."
Lelouch was now healthy enough to go back to school.
Though he was completely against the notion, since it would leave him with some explaining to do when he disappeared again for about five months without notice, Suzaku had, with his amazing unexplainable powers, convinced him otherwise. 'Damn him for being so cowardly as to seduce me into complying,' he often complained.
Suzaku merely smiled and took Lelouch's hand in his as they walked across the premises to school.
"They'll see us, Suzaku," Lelouch whispered anxiously and tugged at Suzaku's hold on him, but Suzaku only tightened his grip on his lover's hand, and Lelouch was left to sigh, grin, and bear it. Lelouch instinctively leaned into Suzaku's arm only slightly, but instantly pulled himself up and released Suzaku's hand as he realized that they were already in the hallways of Ashford Academy.
He looked around wildly; he was uncharacteristically curious about what the classmates surrounding him could possibly have thought as they watched the spectacle. "Don't worry about it, we're fine," Suzaku cooed, but Lelouch's heart sunk when he heard frantic whispers surrounding them as they stood still halfway from the Student Council room. Suzaku's eyes reflected a combination of anger and worry as he grabbed Lelouch's hand once more, and pulled them both to the Council room on swift feet.
They remained silent as they rushed through the mob of people until they finally burst through the doors of the room. "Sorry we're late, lots of people in the halls." Suzaku mumbled loudly as he shut the doors noisily, anger pulsing in his eyes.
"Suzaku, stop," Lelouch said quietly, looking to the floor, "They don't matter." 'They shouldn't matter,' he said internally. Suzaku looked at him with momentary irritation before closing his eyes and sighing.
The contents of the Council room were…confused, to say the least. Shirley had worry etched into her face, and though it was hard to grasp, so did Milly. Nina actually took the time to unglue her eyes from her computer screen and seemed to have a look of disbelief shot at the two of them. Rivalz was nowhere to be seen, but Kallen was back at school, her sickness having seemingly waned enough for her to return, much like Lelouch.
It seemed to be like a silent war, the Student Council versus Lelouch and Suzaku, as they looked at each other throughout an awkward silence. This silence was quickly destroyed by Milly as she jumped from her seat.
"Lelouuuch, I'm so glad you're back! You too, Suzaku." She said, giggling as she jumped on the both of them with a big hug. Shirley relaxed into a smile when she noticed that the two had yet to realize that they were still holding hands behind their backs. Suzaku broke the lock when he took both of their school bags to the corner of the club room. The room finally fell back into the normalcy it was previously in as they all greeted each other.
"You don't want to know how much work Milly has piled up for you, Lulu." Shirley said with a giggle, and Lelouch let a disgruntled image project onto his facial features.
"And here I was hoping she would take it easy on me after being so sick for so long," He complained with a sigh, "She should know how much of a procrastinator I am with these things." Milly put her pointer finger between his eyes, on the bridge of his nose, causing him to go cross-eyed and earn himself a temporary headache.
"You are going to do everything I tell you to do and like it, because you're the Vice President, Mister!" She said in a nagging tone, and flicked him in the forehead, a quiet yelp coming from his mouth as he swatted her hand away.
"Shall we go to class before we're late?" Suzaku suggested, looking at Lelouch only, who nodded in response. They both made their way out of the classroom to the class they shared together in the mornings.
"What's going on with them?" Kallen finally spoke up, and Shirley bit her lip as Milly looked her way.
"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out." She said, winking at Kallen before standing up from her seat on the table and striding out the door to her classes as well. Shirley felt her heart sink as she worried to herself. 'What is Milly going to do to them?' She asked herself.
"Shirley? Are you sick or something?" Kallen asked inno cently, and Shirley shook her head a bit before giving her a smile.
"No, I'm alright, just thinking." She said thoughtfully, and the last contents of the room spilled out for the school day.
This day had turned to hell for one Lelouch Lamperouge.
Worrying about his classmates finding out about him and Suzaku had ruled over his day and prevented him from sleeping as he usually had during his classes. He skillfully avoided crowds and painfully dodged Suzaku throughout the day when he didn't have classes with him.
Suzaku had effectively given him an irrational paranoia, just by holding his hand. He mentally kicked himself for letting it get to him so much, but he was afraid of what he or more importantly Suzaku may have to go through. Though it was strange coming from him, Lelouch did care about keeping his school persona intact and professional.
The whispers continued to swirl around his form as he walked through Ashford, trying to escape the voices and turning heads and simply get a breath of fresh air. The day was almost over; he could almost leave this place before it became an immediate issue, or worse yet Milly found out.
Finally reaching the outdoors, he leaned against the wall of the school building, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply to calm himself, but his rest time did not last.
"So we heard you were in a relationship." He heard a female voice say, and when he opened his eyes, he was faced with an army of female delinquents who seemed quite angry. His eyes widened briefly in fear before regaining their calm guise. When he did not respond, the leader clenched her fists at her sides.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Are we all not good enough? Did we force you out of the closet?!" Her volume increased with time as the other gi rls yelled out multiple curses and names. Lelouch shakily crossed his arms and remained silent, staring into the leader's eyes.
The gi rl finally lost her grip on her anger and pushed him harshly into the wall, earning herself a few cheers from the others. "Listen to me, you little fa ggot, I'd be careful if I were you; your disgusting boyfriend too." She said with a sneer and a hard slap to his face, and let him go as she turned around and pumped her posse with adrenaline.
As if to save the day, Suzaku came running. The gi rls all turned their heads and Lelouch tried to take it as a chance to get away, but she shoved him back into the rugged rock, making him yelp as his hands were painfully scratched on the concrete. He shut his eyes tightly, as if anticipating something worse, but Suzaku came before anything could be inflicted.
Lelouch's lover pried the gi rl's hands from his shoulders and yelled at the lot of females, but Lelouch could not make out what they were saying as he slid to the ground and hugged his bleeding hands. He watched as their feet shuffled away from the scene from his position at ground level and saw Suzaku's face fall down into his field of vision, but Lelouch's eyes were blank and teary.
"Lelouch?" Suzaku asked for him shakily, but Lelouch continued to quiver on the ground. Without warning, Suzaku grabbed his hands, causing Lelouch to yelp a bit from the contact with the multiple bleeding cuts etched into his skin.
Suzaku then pulled his arms around Lelouch's shaking figure, whispering sweet nothings into his temporarily deaf ears. Lelouch let his head rest on the other's shoulder, his eyes closed, cemented shut with tears he did not want to fall. "I'm sorry." Suzaku whispered.
"Sorry for what?" Lelouch finally responded. Suzaku pulled back from his hug and let his fingers brush over the red mark with potential to bruise on Lelouch's cheek with regret in his eyes.
"I wanted to hold your hand this morning. I'm sorry." He repeated as he held him close once more.
Unbeknownst to the two boys, Shirley was hiding behind a nearby tree as she watched the display without interruption. She bit her lip and clenched her fists in the extreme rage she felt against those gi rls. If they really cared about Lelouch, wouldn't they let him do what made him happy? That was what she had decided to do on her own time. Whatever those people were planning, it definitely was not good, and Shirley was extremely afraid of what the couple may have to endure in the future.
Lelouch and Suzaku had managed to muster up the energy to finish up the day at the Council room, despite the day's earlier endeavors. Shirley watched Lelouch carefully, duly noting that he had quite the paranoia surrounding him wherever he went. He looked over his shoulder as he walked into the Student Council room and had his eyes constantly searching the room's corners. Shirley guessed that he hadn't told Suzaku exactly what the gi rls had said to him, because Suzaku seemed quite a bit less anxious and aware when compared to his lover.
Though the two conveyed different internal feelings, both were definitely tired as they seemed to yawn and sag with fatigue. She could only guess what sorts of things the two had been keeping themselves up with the night before, to which she laughed out loud, earning her two confused looks from the couple.
To Shirley's left Milly sat on the corner of the table, striking up a random conversation with Nina before averting her eyes toward the two boys in her presence. Her grin made Shirley shudder when she imagined the matching cackle that should have erupted from her lips as she scooted over to Lelouch's side and ran a finger along his chin.
"Hey, Lelouch, are you keeping a secret from us?" She asked seductively, pushing Lelouch's face up to her stare, and Lelouch did not respond in the slightest; in fact, his expression exemplified annoyance as he sighed in her face.
"President, you should invest in keeping your nose out of other people's lives." He said, an aloof look gazing into her crystalline eyes, a smile playing on his lips.
"Oh ho, the Vice President's getting snappy? Don't come to me for advice when the whole school is nipping at your feet when word gets out!" Shirley could see that both Lelouch and Suzaku were desperately trying to keep the shock and curiosity out of their faces. She, of course, knew that Milly was making a wild guess, so as to lure information out of Lelouch, to perhaps find out about their possible shenanigans.
"So was I right?" Milly asked over her shoulder, grinning evilly with a glint in her eye. Shirley gulped and shut her widening eyes, hoping to save them.
"I don't know what you're implying, President." Lelouch said with a casual smile. Suzaku was not quite so good at hiding the truth, and therefore kept his attention averted to the wall and his mouth shut.
Milly pointed rudely at the both of them, and loudly exclaimed, "The two of you are so going out with each other!"
Lelouch relaxed a bit after the initial fear. "And if we are?" He asked smoothly. Shirley was very confused. Weren't they trying to keep it a secret? 'I guess,' she pondered, 'they think it inevitable that Milly will find out sooner or later, and better to learn by them than anyone else.'
Milly all but shrieked in excitement. "Now I finally have some dirt on you! After all of these years, I've finally found something to hit the tabloids of Ashford Academy! You won't see the light of day when I'm through with you." She said with great enthusiasm, darkening up as she threatened him with her powers over the social universe. Lelouch sighed while Suzaku seemed to shrink into the farthest corner of the room that he could manage.
Lelouch massaged his forehead with his hand. "Keeping secrets from you people is like trying to hide an elephant. What ever shall we do now, Suzaku?"
Suzaku, having been brought into the spotlight, snapped his head up, a slight blush tinting his cheeks as he struggled for words. "Uhm… we could… not bother hiding anymore?" He said with a big grin and confidence flowing back into his veins, and before Lelouch could stop him, Suzaku pulled him into a deep lip-lock, in the middle of the Student Council room, in front of Milly Ashford.
Shirley averted her gaze and blushed at the floor. Milly began to cackle and reached for her camera. Suzaku was so lost in the kiss that he didn't even notice, but Lelouch sensed the notion and broke them apart before any shots could be taken. "S-Suzaku! Geez, that was uncalled for!" Lelouch stuttered with a deep red blush and joined Shirley in their staring contest with the wooden flooring. Suzaku laughed and leaned on the table.
This was going to be one wild ride, alright.
"This is breaking news to the Ashford Academy as of yesterday afternoon! Apparently, the great Lelouch Lamperouge has a big secret—he's gay, and dating our very own Suzaku Kururugi! Personal confirmation on the matter has been conducted by—"
Lelouch promptly averted his attention from the school's television stream and looked straight into Suzaku's nervous eyes. "The day after and she has a whole report on the two of us." He said with annoyance as they walked through the hallways with multiple gaping faces following them with their eyes.
"But we don't have to hide it anymore—that's a big plus." Suzaku said while slipping his fingers around Lelouch's arm and eventually sliding downward into his hand. Lelouch sighed, but complied. He was still nervous about what the gi rls had said to him.
"We shouldn't be so open in public though…" Lelouch said with his previous doubt riddling his face, but Suzaku looked down into his now nervous eyes and lost his smile.
"So I'm not allowed to kiss you here? Shame…" He said with a hint of satire in his tone, and Lelouch smacked him over the shoulder as the sound of their new unofficial fan club members squealed from all corners of the room. Obviously, the slap had no affect on the slightly taller of the two due to their opposing statures in physical fitness, which left Lelouch to sigh and return to his former position leaning into their arms.
They entered the Council room locked together, which earned them a raised eyebrow from Milly and a giggle from Shirley, while Rivalz did not seem to even notice their presence, as did Nina.
"Oh ho, the new couple is being open about their relationship?" She asked with a snicker embedded in her voice, to which Lelouch responded to by removing his hand from Suzaku's and striding across the room to put down his bag and greet the Club.
"Why bother hiding when everyone knows?" Suzaku questioned her while Lelouch returned and sat beside him.
Upon their sitting on the table, Rivalz raised his head with a look of aggravation on his face. "Hey, I'm trying to actually do club activities here!" Shirley nearly spat at him.
"We all know you're doing your lab write-ups, Rivalz, cut the act!" She said, nagging him with her finger wagging in his face as if punishing a little kid. He blushed only slightly before lowering his gaze back to his work, but his eyes caught the unusual closeness between Lelouch and Suzaku.
"Hey, what's goin' on with you two?" He asked with confusion written on his face. Shirley and Milly then proceeded to both smack him with whatever papers they had on hand.
"Geez, Rivalz, don't you watch the school news?" Shirley complained, and Milly grinned widely.
"Lelouch and Suzaku are the new lovey-dovey couple on campus!" Milly exclaimed loudly and lovingly while the boys sitting on the table changed their focus towards Rivalz.
Rivalz's expression must have gone through about five emotions before settling on pure shock. "Lelouch?! Suzaku?! What…?! G-gay?!" He said with disbelief, and ultimately freaked out before collapsing onto the table with a groan. "Geez, Lelouch and Suzaku, I shoulda known. Well, Lelouch I can understand…" He said while shaking his head, and when Suzaku and Lelouch caught each other's eyes as they turned to each other, they laughed heartily, and soon everyone on the council joined in. Except for a peculiar lack of Nina's weak chuckle that only Lelouch, being paranoid, noticed. Lelouch wondered about her momentarily, before snapping back into the casual air of the Student Council classroom.
Nina watched in shock as Lelouch and Suzaku sat by each other so closely. The way they hung off each other was so for bidden to her. What was Lelouch doing going out with an Eleven? Elevens were the bottom of society; surely he could have found a nice Britannian boy to pleasure him?
"I should get going to my hearing then; I've been in so much trouble with the teachers lately because of work cutting into my school time." Suzaku complained while rubbing the back of his neck, and Lelouch leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
Kissed him! How could he kiss that terrorist? Honorary Britannian or not, he must be an eyesore to the Britannian society, so why was Lelouch stooping so low? It infuriated and confused her.
"I'll see you later," Lelouch said with love in his voice, a sound all of the Student Council had yet to have heard come from the cold teenager's lips to anyone other than Nunnally. Suzaku nodded with a quick heartfelt smile and turned on his heel to walk to his appointed classroom.
The exchange of devotion set the rest of the Council jeering and laughing at Lelouch, to which he weakly defended himself from, but Nina was hiding her anger inside. She simply could not understand how an attractive Britannian boy like Lelouch could fall in love with such scum of society.
She shook her head as she devised a plan. She had to save Lelouch from the damnation he was going to endure should he keep this relationship up.
Muahaha, beware the crazy Nina monster! I tend to assume that along with being xenophobic, she could very well be a bit homophobic. I took a few risks in this chapter, but I guess I could argue that it is my own story? I like angst and fluff, so both moods weasel their ways into my story, if you didn't notice. Please do take the time to review!
Code Geass and all of its attributes (c) Sunrise/CLAMP/Bandai Entertainment/Goro Taniguchi.
