Chapter Text
Lelouch holds the phone close to his ear, the long sigh of silence hanging heavy before, finally, it begins to ring. He exhales, his fingers chilled against the hard case of the phone, looking out over the frozen landscape beyond. It’s almost midnight, the moonlight falling soft and silver over the snow.
The phone rings a few times, echoing in the quiet. A spike of anxiety surfaces in him, bobbing in his chest, wondering if this will be the time that Suzaku doesn’t answer. Each shrill reaches out into the space between them, tumbling into the abyss of miles and years and yearning. He finds his frozen fingers gripping the phone tight in unspoken prayer.
“Hey.”
The relief seeps through his body as the ringing stops and Suzaku answers, his voice soft, familiar, unchanged after all these years.
“Hey,” Lelouch says, feeling his shoulders sag beneath his fur-lined coat. “I thought you weren’t going to pick up.”
“I didn’t have my phone on me.” Suzaku gives a little snort. “You haven’t changed, huh? Can’t even take a piss in peace.”
“Oh, don’t be so vulgar,” Lelouch huffs, glad Suzaku can’t see his grin. He starts moving away from the tent, crisp snow crunching beneath his boots. “Where are you right now?”
“Just got out of a meeting with Nunnally and Cornelia. Business as usual.” Suzaku pauses. “How about you?”
“Somewhere north,” Lelouch says vaguely. “It’s cold as hell.”
“Find any fragments?”
“One, a few days back.” Lelouch exhales, his breath crystallising on the frozen air. “C.C. reckons she can sense another but it’s faint. Might take us a while to track down.”
“You’re camping again?” Suzaku asks.
“Yeah.” Lelouch grimaces at the tent set up beneath the trees. It’s glowing from within and he can see C.C.’s silhouette as she moves around inside, cooking over their portable stove.
“Heh.” Suzaku’s grin is obvious in his voice. “You always hated camping. How ironic.”
“It’s not so bad,” Lelouch says. “I guess I’m used to it now.”
“Doesn’t sound too bad to me,” Suzaku says. “Waking up to the sunrise, spending your days out in the fresh air–”
“You would say that, wouldn’t you?” Lelouch cuts in. “You haven’t changed, either.”
Suzaku gives a gentle laugh. “I guess not much.”
Lelouch cradles the phone against his chilled cheek. “It would be nice if you were here, though,” he says. “You could catch some fresh fish for us…”
“And we could grill it over the fire,” Suzaku finishes.
“I’d make us some tea,” Lelouch says, his heart aching. It takes so much not to say god, I wish you were here. He knows Suzaku is wishing it, too - that the distance between them could disappear, and the years and the promises and the pain. What he wouldn’t give to have Suzaku’s footsteps in the snow beside his own or to be in his arms by the fire, with cocoa and cuddles and not a care in the whole damn world.
“Yeah.” Suzaku sighs gently. “That sounds nice, Lelouch.”
C.C. pokes her head out of the tent. “Dinner’s ready,” she says. She raises her eyebrows at the phone. “Tell Suzaku I said hi.”
“Shut up,” Lelouch grumbles. “I’m coming now.”
“You guys run a tight ship,” Suzaku teases as C.C. ducks back inside.
“The food gets cold quickly in this temperature,” Lelouch laments, remembering dinners eaten at his leisure and indoor plumbing and a warm bed. “I have to go.”
“I know.” Suzaku pauses. “Will you visit soon?”
“I hope to. I can’t promise anything yet, not until we’ve found all fragments out here, but after that…”
“Maybe not this year, then. But next year. Nunnally misses you.” Suzaku’s voice drops. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too, Suzaku.” A breath, chimes in the distance, carrying on the wind. “Happy new year.”
"Happy new year, Lelouch."
Lelouch looks up towards the sky, at the tall black bodies of naked trees and the frosty moon peeking between their skeletal branches, the ruby pinpricks of blood-red berries nestled on thorns. The stars twinkle in the velvet night and he remembers another night, many years ago now, when it all lay ahead of them, Suzaku’s hand clasped around his own.