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“I don’t see why I have to do everything.”
“Because you’re a perfectionist and a control freak and can’t stand people getting under your feet in the kitchen,” Milly counters. “Besides, if you must know, the real reason I banished you out here is because you’ve had a face like a slapped ass all night.”
“Pardon me for not being able to smile twenty-four-seven,” Lelouch snaps. “I wasn’t aware it was in the Vice-President job description.”
“Meow.” Milly grins. “Just admit you’re sulking because Suzaku isn’t here yet.”
“I’m not sulking.” Lelouch bangs down a tray of pumpkin-shaped cookies with more force than he’d intended. “He promised Nunnally he’d be here, that’s all. She’ll be disappointed.”
Milly leans out of the kitchen, squinting at the party in full swing. “Nunnally’s having a good time with her friends. I don’t think she’s even noticed that you aren’t there, never mind Suzaku.”
“So? He can’t just promise something and then–”
“Not deliver?” Milly grins, leaning against the doorframe. “You’re so transparent.”
Lelouch doesn’t respond to this. Instead he gestures to the platter of perfectly-iced cakes on the table. “If you’re going to hang around me, at least make yourself useful and take those out.”
Milly comes to inspect them, admiring the precision of his lettering on ‘Happy Halloween’ over orange, green and violet frosting. “You’ve got a bright future in cake decorating, if nothing else.”
“Just what I want out of life.”
Lelouch starts icing the pumpkin cookies, giving them all mean scowling expressions. He hears Milly click her tongue at him, choosing to ignore it. He’s perfectly aware that he’s in a bad mood and that it’s very obvious (even Shirley and Rivalz are giving him a wide berth tonight) and that he shouldn’t care that Suzaku is at work instead of a silly school Halloween party; but, after all, Suzaku had said he’d never been to a Halloween party before and that he was looking forward to it and would definitely come but now it’s getting later and later and he still isn’t here and all Lelouch has to show for it is a text from three hours ago that says Have to work tonight, sorry. Will try to get there asap! and nothing since. Suzaku has been at work a lot recently. Lelouch hasn’t seen him for days. He’s had other things to occupy him, of course - Halloween party planning and stoking the fires of rebellion against the Holy Britannia Empire - but still. He… he misses the idiot. A little.
“Lelouch,” Milly says behind him. Her voice is a little softer, more serious. Oh no.
“What?” he retorts.
“Look, I’m not trying to pry,” Milly goes on, lowering her voice. “I know you and Suzaku are…”
“What, dating?” Lelouch snorts. “Don't be ridiculous.”
“Dating is definitely not the word I’d use,” Milly agrees. “But there’s… Something, right?”
“I don’t need a lecture,” Lelouch grumbles, icing an incredibly ugly pumpkin. She’s the only one who knows that he and Suzaku knew each other before he joined Ashford Academy and he doesn’t want to hear it. “Mind your own business.”
“I’m not lecturing. I just wanted to say… well, even if you’re annoyed with him, try to be nice. He’s juggling a lot right now. This is the first time he’s even been to a proper school. I’m sure this hasn’t been easy for him.”
“I know all that,” Lelouch says icily.
“I know you do,” Milly says. She finally picks up the platter. “Why don’t you start acting like it.”
Lelouch finally lifts his head to scowl at her but she’s already gone, flouncing away in her lacy witch outfit, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders. The party is in the main hall of the Student Council Building, just adjacent, and he can hear the thumping of the bass from Rivalz’s DJ stint through the wall. He’s glad to be in here, out of the way. It’s not just Suzaku’s absence. He’s just not really feeling this sort of thing tonight. He’s got too much on his mind, things that are far more important. Seems like an utter waste of his time, skill and talent to be standing here decorating pumpkin cookies, each growing more heinous-looking by the minute. Zero would definitely outsource this sort of menial work…
“There you are. Shirley said you were out here.”
Suzaku. His voice, sudden and clear above the distant music, makes Lelouch jolt, his hand slipping, giving his current cookie a crooked grin. He looks down at it in dismay.
“You made me mess up,” he says flatly.
“Oh, sorry,” Suzaku replies, not sounding particularly apologetic. “What are you doing?”
“Icing about a million cookies.” Lelouch puts the piping bag down, flexing his fingers. “I have a cramp, though. Guess I can take a break for a moment.” He turns towards Suzaku, who is standing in the doorway of the kitchen. “Nice of you to come.”
“Sorry, I had stuff to do at work. I only just got away. Actually, Lloyd wasn’t even going to let me but Cecile said I could go. She said it’s important for me to spend time with my friends.”
“Better late than never, I suppose,” Lelouch says archly. He looks Suzaku up and down. “Is that your costume?”
“Hm?” Suzaku looks down at himself, plucking at the rust-coloured military uniform of the Britannian Army. “Heh, I guess it could be.”
“A Britannian soldier,” Lelouch retorts, turning away again. He hates seeing him dressed like that. “How scary.”
“Rivalz warned me you were grumpy,” Suzaku says, coming across the kitchen. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing’s the matter. I’m not grumpy.” Lelouch flaps his hand at him. “Go away, I’m busy.”
“Go away? I just got here.”
“I mean go back to the party, stupid. All the others are out there. Besides, you promised Nunnally you’d come, remember?” Lelouch shrugs away as Suzaku tries to touch his shoulder. “Stop, you’ll make me mess it up again.”
Suzaku withdraws, sighing. “Fine,” he says, his voice cool. “Guess I’ll see you later.”
Lelouch already regrets being so frosty but he hasn’t got it in him to apologise. Instead he dips his head, concentrating harder on his task, but the pumpkin he’s icing now looks so goddamn miserable it ought to be taken outside and shot. He’s acutely aware of Suzaku moving away from him, drifting further and further out of his reach–
“Suzaku!” Milly is back, taking up the whole doorway in her frothy layers of glittery black tulle, stopping Suzaku in his tracks. “Glad you could make it!”
“Ah, yeah, sorry I’m late,” Suzaku says. “I got held up at work.”
“No matter, you’re here now! However…” Milly circles him. “I do like a man in uniform but that’s not a costume.”
“I know. I came straight here.”
“We have lots of stuff in the meeting room. Lelouch, take Suzaku up and help him find something.”
“I’m busy,” Lelouch says, not looking at her.
“Yeah, yeah.” Milly trots across the kitchen, looking over his shoulder. “No offence but you’re doing a terrible job. They all look so anguished - especially that one.”
“That one is Suzaku’s fault.”
“I’ll take over.” Milly pries the piping bag from his hand. “I’ll get them done in no time.” She bumps him with her hip, shunting him out of the way. “Go and help Suzaku - and be nice about it.”
“Is that an order, Miss President?” Lelouch says sourly.
Milly winks at him. “You have no choice but to obey.”
Somebody like Milly doesn’t need Geass to get things done. He concedes defeat, relinquishing dominion over the domain of pumpkin cookies, instead beckoning to Suzaku. “Come on, then. You can’t wear that all night.”
“I guess I don’t want to spill something on it,” Suzaku agrees, following him out of the kitchen. “What are you supposed to be, anyway?”
“A vampire, I guess,” Lelouch says with disinterest. “I just pulled the first thing from the cupboard.” He’s the first to admit that it’s not a particularly good costume: just a black cape with an upturned collar and a cheap scratchy cravat thrown on over his school shirt and pants.
“Oh,” Suzaku says. “It kinda looks like Zero.”
“Huh.” Lelouch doesn’t react either way to this. “I didn’t notice.”
“Same… you know.” Suzaku gestures with his hands, mimicking the shape of the collar. “Can’t think of the word.”
“Silhouette.”
“Yeah.”
Lelouch wants to say Since when are you an expert on Zero’s silhouette? but thinks better of it. It’s not as if the Black Knights aren’t all over the internet, on the news, in magazines. The only person in Area 11 who doesn’t know Zero’s, uh, silhouette is Nunnally.
The Student Council room is empty, although the table is still strewn with the debris of their last-minute party preparations. Lelouch gestures to the cupboard they keep the costumes in and goes to the table, beginning to distractedly chase up loose sheets and stack them neatly.
“I doubt there’s much choice left,” he says. “Rivalz took the pirate outfit.”
“I’m sure I’ll find something,” Suzaku says. “The Cat Festival stuff is still in here, right?”
“I think so,” Lelouch says in disinterest.
Well, if nothing else, he’s glad that Suzaku will at least be taking off his military uniform. He’d much prefer to look at him in that ridiculous blue cat onesie than anything that enthralls him to Britannia. He finishes tidying the table, stacking the receipts to file later, and goes to the mirror propped against the far wall. Milly “borrowed” this from the drama department so they could all get ready for the party here, although it had mostly been commandeered by Milly herself. Lelouch hadn’t really bothered to look himself over - but now he does, frowning. Maybe it does look a little like Zero. Slightly. Except Zero is definitely more… you know. There’s more flair. Drama. Better fabric, flourishes of gold. Certainly not cheap like this, thin and scratchy. Really it’s just the shape of the collar - the silhouette, if you will. Zero’s collar stands up more, curving outwards with elegance and style. This thing just has some cardboard inserts, standing limply, unsymmetrical. It’s short, too, barely gracing the backs of his knees. Clearly Suzaku has never seen Zero up close or he’d realise that there isn’t really much to compare.
“What’s your problem?”
Suzaku is directly behind him all of a sudden. He’s still dressed in his uniform, empty-handed. Lelouch scowls, pretending to be fluffing up his pathetic velcro-on cravat.
“I haven’t got a problem.”
“Yeah, sure.” Suzaku grabs him from behind before he can react, wrapping his arms tightly around him. “You’re mad at me for being late. I’m not stupid, Lelouch.”
“I’m not mad.” Lelouch squirms a bit in his grip, unable to get free. “Suzaku, let go.”
Suzaku doesn’t respond to this. Instead he puts his chin on Lelouch’s shoulder, closing his eyes, exhaling deeply. “I wanted to be here on time,” he says. “I wanted to come and help out with the preparations and get ready with you all. I know I promised. Work’s just been crazy at the moment. It’s not my fault.”
“So I’m the bad guy,” Lelouch says sourly.
“Yeah, you are.” Suzaku squeezes him. “Sorry for being late. You can say you’re sorry for being a dick about it any time.”
Lelouch sighs, conceding defeat for the second time that evening. It’s not his style to lose so graciously but he knows, deep down, that he’s being petty. Suzaku is rough, sometimes thoughtless, but he isn’t cruel; he would never hurt him on purpose.
“...Sorry,” Lelouch mutters. “I’ve just… missed you.”
Suzaku nuzzles against him. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Lelouch leans back against him, enjoying the feel of his solid warmth pressed up against him. It’s been about a week since they last had any time alone together. It feels longer. Suzaku presses his face to his neck, bending the flimsy collar aside.
“Aren’t I the vampire?” Lelouch huffs, enjoying the sensation of Suzaku sucking at his jugular.
“You can bite me if you want,” Suzaku replies, kissing him just below his ear. “Claim me as yours.”
“Mm.” Lelouch squirms again in his grasp. “I wouldn’t dare. Feels like you brought your wooden stake along.”
Suzaku goes a little bit pink in the mirror. “S-sorry.” He shifts his hips back a bit. “Better?”
“Yeah.” Lelouch turns his face towards him, his mouth coming close to his. “I suppose it’s a compliment, right?”
“Heh, I am a little pent up,” Suzaku admits, his green eyes gleaming.
“Saving yourself for me. I’m flattered.”
They kiss. Suzaku’s grip on him tightens, pressing him to his body, bending his neck to fully dominate his mouth. His hips come forward again, his hardness prominent through his uniform and Lelouch’s thin Halloween cape. Now he doesn’t seem embarrassed by it, grinding into the curve of his ass. Lelouch shivers in his grasp, arching against him, reaching up to tangle his fingers into Suzaku’s soft curls. The kiss aches, insatiable; they break and come together again and again, chasing the promise of more, of later. Suzaku’s broad hand roams over the sharp jut of Lelouch’s hip and downwards, slipping between his legs. Lelouch moans into the kiss, his knees buckling, as Suzaku roughly palms him, his fingers finding the shape of him through his pants. Lelouch ruts against him helplessly, pleasure blooming warm and low in his belly at Suzaku’s touch teasing him to fullness, their hips moving in perfect tandem. He knows they shouldn’t do this here, that they’re getting carried away, that conceivably just about anybody could walk in and see them - but admittedly there’s not much blood going to his brain right now and he doesn’t care. All that matters is this feeling that only Suzaku can give him. He’d never let anyone else touch him, never allow himself to be so vulnerable and undone in front of them. Suzaku is different. He trusts him completely.
Lelouch clings tighter to Suzaku’s hair, his back arching, gasping into the kiss as he teeters on the edge, so so so close. He can feel Suzaku’s powerful hips ramming against him from behind, his grip between his legs rubbing him just right. Belatedly, he realises that they’re both still fully-dressed. He fights to pull his mouth away, breathless and whining.
“S-Suzaku, wait, we’re…!”
“Mmm,” is Suzaku’s intelligent reply, mumbled into the crook of his neck, relentless. “Lelouch, you… feel s-so good…”
He squeezes extra-hard just as he says this, sending Lelouch over the edge with a low cry. Lelouch arches against him, rutting helplessly into his palm; dimly aware, through the roaring haze of delight, that Suzaku is still grinding against him, desperately chasing his own completion. His terrifying stamina means he always lasts quite a bit longer than Lelouch, who is panting in his arms, limp as a rag doll, his brain and body still sparking.
Suzaku tips him forward, making him brace his hands against the mirror; Lelouch holds himself up with shaky arms, gazing at himself all pink and sweaty, very unbecoming of a vampire or people’s revolutionary, as Suzaku presses up close, going with more force. He can already feel the patch between his legs getting cold and sticky, clinging to his thighs. He can still feel Suzaku’s hand, too. He hasn’t let go, holding him, possessive. He buries his flushed face against Lelouch’s neck, pressing into the crook of his jaw, gasping his name in broken bits. He could sink his teeth in and Lelouch would let him.
Suzaku doesn’t, of course; he likes to leave marks in other places, ones that only they know are there, hidden beneath clothes. …Clothes. The ones they’re still wearing. Lelouch hasn’t got it in him anymore to try to argue, to warn Suzaku that he’s about to ruin his precious Britannian Army uniform. It’s, ah, not exactly top of his priorities right now, listening to Suzaku groan beautifully in his ear. The Japanese boy ruts against him once, twice, more, shuddering as he peaks. Lelouch catches his breath, letting his arms drop, Suzaku holding him up.
“Mm,” Suzaku mumbles after a moment. “Th-that was…”
“Stupid?” Lelouch sighs.
“Yeah.” Suzaku nuzzles him again. “Couldn’t help it.”
“Stupid,” Lelouch says again, softer, affectionate. “We should get changed.”
“Yeah.” Suzaku finally lets go of him, drawing back. “Ugh, that was dumb…”
“Was that moment’s pleasure worth it?” Lelouch says archly. He lets his eyes fall on the wet spot at the front of Suzaku’s uniform pants, feeling a somewhat-smug sense of victory over Britannia. He knows it’s not much but he’ll take it.
“Yes,” Suzaku says very seriously. “But I’m still going to have to clean them.”
“I’ll wash them for you.” Lelouch pauses delicately. “…I’ll have to wash mine, anyway.”
“Yeah.” Suzaku smirks at him. “Definitely worth it, right?”
“Shut up,” Lelouch grumbles, turning away to unzip his wet pants. They usually both have far better control than this but, he supposes, it has been a while. He’s not touch-starved, exactly, but he’s definitely been Suzaku-starved. Luckily he’s had other things to preoccupy him, like trying to take down that wretched White Knightmare…
“Guess we can match,” Suzaku says, holding up the blue cat onesie and the black lycra leotard with purple stripes.
Lelouch looks at the cat costume with distaste but knows he doesn’t have much choice. “Guess so.”
They get changed, wiping themselves off and bundling up their wet pants, not looking at each other. Now that he’s sober, so to speak, Lelouch feels embarrassed by his lack of restraint, at how easily Suzaku unravels him. It’s a weakness he really needs to do something about…
They leave the meeting room without another word, going via Lelouch’s living quarters to drop off the laundry. That will be a job for tomorrow; Lelouch already knows that Suzaku will be following him back to his room tonight. He can tell by his body language, by how close he is to him as they walk side-by-side back down to the party, by the graze of his fingers at the small of his back.
“That cat costume is pretty tight, huh?” Suzaku mutters close to his ear just as they step into the party - like he’s been waiting all that time to say it, the utter bastard.
“It certainly doesn’t leave much to the imagination,” Lelouch agrees dryly. He pulls away from him. “We’re in public. Behave yourself.”
“Heh.” Suzaku gives a playful tug on his tail before letting him go. “No promises.”
“You must be hungry.” Lelouch, determined to distract him, changes the subject. “We made plenty this afternoon. Come on.”
He leads him towards the table at the far end of the room, laden with all kinds of goodies made by the Student Council and some of the catering clubs. The table, draped with a fine cobweb tablecloth, is aglow by the light of carved pumpkins and shimmering candelabras. Arched overhead are buoyant helium balloons, spelling out ‘Happy Halloween’ in bobbing orange and purple. It seems like the whole school is here, dressed to the nines and enjoying the food and the dancing.
“You guys really went all out,” Suzaku says, looking around. “It’s very impressive.”
“You know Milly won’t settle for anything less than an extravaganza.” Lelouch presses a metallic green paper plate into Suzaku’s hands and begins piling it up. “Try one of these… and these… Shirley almost ruined these cupcakes but we managed to salvage them… these are good… oh, and my damn cookies you distracted me from doing a half-decent job on…”
“This is a lot,” Suzaku says weakly.
“Shut up. You weren’t here to help make it. The least you can do is help to eat it.”
“Watch out, Suzaku,” Milly says, appearing between them. “He’s trying to fatten you up so he can eat you.”
Lelouch admittedly might find this joke a little more humorous if he isn’t likely to have some part or other of Suzaku’s body in his mouth later on tonight. He resists the urge to smash the nearest pumpkin pie into Milly’s face, feeling her grin on the back of his neck. “You see right through my evil plans, Ms President.”
“Always. I see you’re in matching costumes. How cute.”
Suzaku opens his mouth. Lelouch has absolutely no idea what he’s going to say but he heads him off regardless:
“We thought you’d appreciate the effort.”
“Your vampire costume was a bit pathetic,” Milly agrees. “Not that you’d have taken that from me, of course. At least he listens to you, Suzaku.”
“Sometimes,” Suzaku mumbles, going a bit pink. Lelouch kicks him in the shin, making him wince. “Ouch.”
Milly simply raises her eyebrows. “I think this kitty needs to be declawed,” she says, patting Suzaku on the shoulder. “I’m sure you can handle him, Suzaku.”
Suzaku’s smile is surprisingly icy. “I can handle him just fine.”
Milly laughs, waving them off as she leaves them to go join Shirley and Nina. Lelouch takes up a caramel apple muffin and stalks away to the nearest table to sulk over it. Suzaku doesn’t need much encouragement to gang up on him these days, it seems. He doesn’t speak to the Japanese boy as he slides in next to him, balancing his piled-up plate.
“In a huff again, Your Highness? Maybe I should go back to beating you up like I did when we were kids.”
“Oh, spare me.” Lelouch picks at his muffin. “How we ever ended up being friends is truly beyond me…”
“Because we were both anti-social little bastards no-one else wanted to be friends with,” Suzaku says cheerfully, digging into his mountain of candy-coated treats. “Kind of heart-warming, I guess. …Mmm, these cookies might be ugly but they taste amazing.”
Lelouch doesn’t answer this, gazing around the room at the carefree students of Ashford Academy, all enjoying themselves, laughing and dancing, glittering in sequinned capes and layers of tulle. He can see Shirley and Nina, now with Milly hanging between them; and Nunnally giggling with her friends from her class. Kallen is sitting quietly with her friends, pretending to be sickly, but she looks like she’s having a good time nonetheless. Rivalz is enjoying being the centre of attention as the DJ, revelling in his newfound popularity. It’s almost like there isn’t a war going on outside, like there isn’t unfairness and hatred, like the world isn’t full of terrible things that haunt your dreams no matter how many years go by. He looks at the jagged mouths of the pumpkins, carved into grimaces to scare away the restless souls of the dead.
“Hey, Suzaku,” Lelouch says over the pounding music, leaning close. “What scares you the most?”
“You when you’re in a bad mood,” Suzaku says through a mouthful of cookie.
“Haha.” Lelouch nudges him. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
“Suzaku.”
Suzaku shrugs. “I dunno. What kind of weird question is that?”
“Well, it is Halloween.” Lelouch knows he’s deflecting and isn’t likely to give him a straight answer. “It can be something silly, like spiders or–”
“Losing this,” Suzaku says abruptly. He doesn’t look at him. “Losing you and Nunnally again. …Being alone.” He stares hard at his half-eaten pumpkin cookie. “How about you?”
“I guess I’d have to say the same,” Lelouch admits. “I know how precious moments like this are, even if… I complain about them. They still matter to me.” He looks again at Nunnally, then finally turns back to Suzaku. “I’m glad you’re here, Suzaku.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Suzaku promises. He finds his hand under the table, lacing their fingers together, giving his palm a squeeze. “We’re not going to lose this. We’re not going to be alone ever again.”
“So confident,” Lelouch says. “I don’t know whether you’re determined or just stupid. …Probably both, if earlier events are anything to go by.”
“That was just a warm-up,” Suzaku says casually, picking up a glazed pumpkin-decorated donut. “I hope you’re prepared. It has been over a week, after all.”
“What a charmer.” Lelouch shoves the donut into his mouth to stop him from talking. He watches with detached malice as Suzaku struggles to bite into it. “Serves you right. How does it taste?”
Suzaku manages to take a big chunk out of the donut, holding the rest of it as he chews and swallows, tilting his head.
“It’s good,” he says eventually, inspecting the inside, which is plain and fluffy. “But I usually prefer my donuts stuffed full of cr–”
“Finish that disgusting comment and I’ll kill you myself,” Lelouch says frostily.
Suzaku simply grins. “Doesn’t matter.” He tugs at the ears of his cat onesie. “I have nine lives, right?” He snuggles close to Lelouch. “And I’ll come find you in every single one.”
“Now that is a scary thought,” Lelouch says. He smirks at Suzaku’s pout, reaching up to rub at his mussed curls. “Still, I suppose I can think of worse ways to spend nine lifetimes…”
They share the rest of the treats piled up on Suzaku’s plate, enjoying the ambience of the party, nestled close. Nunnally comes to join them and the other Student Council members soon follow, crowding in around the table.
Tomorrow, he knows, he’ll have to go back to thinking about the Black Knights and other important things; tomorrow, he knows, Suzaku will put his uniform on and go to work for the enemy. The treat wrappers will be thrown away, the balloons will deflate, the costumes will come off and everything will go back to normal. He knows he has to savour tonight, no matter how silly it all is.
Beneath the table, Suzaku is still holding his hand.