Chapter Text
Dripping water and laughing, Suzaku clutched Lelouch’s hand and led him to the central gazebo. His lips, his skin, his soul—everything tingled from Lelouch’s touch. From the reignited future stretching before them. Lips curling in a satisfied grin, Suzaku grandly announced, “Dinner awaits, my prince.”
Lelouch held his head high, his violet eyes glistening in the starlight and fairy-light, easily enough the most stunning creature in the garden. Even sopping wet. “I’m glad I can still be your prince, Suzaku.”
“Me too,” Suzaku managed around the lump in his throat—how did he get so lucky?—and he gently rubbed his thumb along his boyfriend’s hand. “I know it’s not official like we planned, a long time ago, but I am still your knight. Where it counts.”
“I know,” Lelouch said, though his normal confidence was lacking. He broke free from Suzaku’s hold, mechanically shrugging off his drenched red jacket to air dry over the gazebo railing, and sat at the table, gazing glassy-eyed at the elaborate dinner. Even the seafood dishes, made exactly to his liking, failed to earn a smile.
With a look of concern, also shucking his own outer layers, Suzaku sat opposite him. “Lelouch?”
Lelouch sighed, relenting and sharing his worries. “It’s not the same, calling you ‘my knight’—not when you’re her knight.”
“I understand. Let’s come up with another pet name then,” Suzaku said softly, reaching across the table for Lelouch’s hand again. He was already missing it.
Lelouch smiled at the suggestion, his shoulders sagging as he nodded agreement and squeezed Suzaku’s hand in return. “Very well. A reasonable solution.”
“See?” Suzaku chuckled, bringing Lelouch’s hand to his lips so he could drop light kisses on those pale knuckles. “I’m not always an idiot.”
“You’re always my idiot,” Lelouch breathed softly, his violet eyes shining with a new light now.
They both froze.
Then they both broke into loud peals of shared laughter.
“That’s one way to stumble into a new pet name,” Suzaku giggled, reluctantly letting go of Lelouch’s hand so they could both eat instead. The lamps around the gazebo blazed in the night, cutting through the surrounding shadows. Suzaku could barely take his eyes off the water still dripping from Lelouch’s hair, from his enticing bare arms and tight black undershirt, from the heartfelt smile finally gracing his regal face after so many months of hidden issues…
Lelouch cocked his head and began serving the both of them. “Wouldn’t it be classified as an old nickname?” he argued lightly, arranging the creamy shrimp just so on his plate. “After all, I’ve been calling you an idiot since we were ten.”
Suzaku shrugged, dropping his chin on the heel of his palm and gazing at his boyfriend with what he was sure was a dopey, lovesick expression; he didn’t even care. “I rather like the ‘my’ in front now,” he teased with a wink. “Sure, being your idiot isn’t as…uh…dignified…as being your knight, but…well…Lelouch, I’ll always want to be ‘your’ anything.”
For a split second, Lelouch looked touched at the profound sentiment. Then, eyebrow quirking, he taunted right back, “Don’t be absurd, Suzaku. You never wanted to be my ex.”
Gasping, Suzaku melodramatically pointed his fork at Lelouch. “How dare you! It’s too soon to joke about that!”
Lelouch lowered his head, chastened at Suzaku’s shocked and playful outrage. “Sorry.”
“No,” Suzaku said, shaking his head, adopting a more serious demeanor. Lingering guilt at the entire recent mess churned in his stomach. “I’m sorry.”
“If you don’t stop apologizing, I’m going to throw my shrimp at you,” Lelouch threatened, deadpan.
“But—”
“Don’t make me waste good food, Suzaku,” Lelouch warned, sliding his index finger around the edge of his plate.
“Sorry,” Suzaku said on autopilot.
True to his word, Lelouch chucked a piece of shrimp at Suzaku’s forehead.
They both froze.
Then they both broke into loud peals of shared laughter.
“I barely felt that,” Suzaku giggled, tossing the ruined shrimp into the darkness beyond the gazebo. He wiped some creamy sauce off his face with a napkin. “But uh, nice aim?”
Snorting, Lelouch took another bite before responding, “Are you calling me weak?”
“It’s not a bad thing,” Suzaku hastened to reassure him, brain flashing with memories of their childhood. “Especially not if you’re my weakling.”
Lelouch visibly swallowed, and it obviously had nothing to do with dinner. “…Touché, my idiot.”
Suzaku’s heart raced at the gentle warmth gracing his boyfriend’s face. “Like the old days, huh?”
Lelouch huffed a sigh at the revamped childhood nicknames, though he couldn’t stop his lips from curving in a genuine smile. “I see what you mean. The ‘my’ in front changes the whole feel.” Then, emphatically setting down his silverware, he looked Suzaku straight in the eye. The air between them intensified. “And Suzaku? You might not technically be my knight, but you are…my sword, my strength, my equal, my idiot, my exercise nut, my best friend, my boyfriend, my dream, my exception to the rule, my constant, my only choice, my…my everything.” He sat tall, radiating purpose; and for all his bravado, his violet eyes glimmered with rare vulnerability in the soft gazebo lamplight. “And I might be your weakling, but you are my weakness.”
Suzaku’s jaw dropped the farthest it had all night, and it took him a long moment to find his voice after Lelouch’s thoughtful and emotional speech. “Lelouch…”
“We wouldn’t be here tonight if you weren’t,” Lelouch said softly, pushing the seafood around aimlessly on his plate. “I would’ve…”
Suzaku nodded, refocusing on dinner so he didn’t have to witness the pain on Lelouch’s face. At the very least, Lelouch would have moved on from Suzaku. He would’ve given up on Suzaku. He would’ve cut Suzaku out of his life. Hell, he might even have hurt Suzaku in retaliation. In the worst-case scenario, if Suzaku’s suspicions about Zero’s identity were indeed true, Lelouch would have already ordered Suzaku’s assassination. But he hadn’t. He hadn’t done any of those things, because Suzaku was his weakness…
Having said his piece, Lelouch took prim and proper bites. Allowing Suzaku time to process all the things said and unsaid between them.
Chewing on the tough thoughts, Suzaku mindlessly ate the rest of his dinner in contemplative silence. He couldn’t taste a single thing, but by the end, he’d come to the same conclusion as every previous time he’d wrestled with his doubts: He was devoted to Lelouch, no matter what. And Suzaku was going to keep proving his commitment. Scraping his plate clean, Suzaku finally prompted with forced indifference, “Tell me what you’ve been up to these past few months. I know I missed a lot.”
Lelouch looked ready to sacrifice his last piece of shrimp if Suzaku apologized again.
“I’m not saying ‘sorry’!” Suzaku whined, holding up his hands in loose surrender. “I just want to know about your life, Lelouch. You know what I’ve been up to lately!”
Rolling his eyes, Lelouch took the time to finish eating before sharing, “I’ve been pursuing my own interests without you.”
“Yeah, like what?” Suzaku prodded, reminding himself that he’d already vowed to accept all of Lelouch’s interests, whatever they may or may not be.
Shooting Suzaku an indecipherable look, Lelouch inhaled slowly. “That information will also need to be earned, My Suzaku.”
Returning the intense stare, his face heating, Suzaku nodded. At least Lelouch wasn’t outright lying to him. They really were moving forward into a better and stronger relationship. Sliding to his feet, Suzaku walked around the table, bowed, and gallantly offered his arm, “Walk with me again, my prince? My weakling, my slowpoke, my genius, my Brit bastard, my best friend, my boyfriend, my reason, my heart, my true choice, my strength, my weakness, my contradiction, my everything? My Lelouch?”
Taking Suzaku’s arm, Lelouch choked out, “It’s not as meaningful when you copy my style.” But the bright blush on his face and the roaring approval in his eyes indicated otherwise.
“I learn from the best,” Suzaku shot back with another wink, tugging Lelouch back into the depths of the rooftop gardens; he grabbed both their still-damp outer layers on the way with his free hand, more focused on the person who made his heart beat with meaning. Suzaku scarcely noticed the beautiful flowers this time around either, his blood rushing with excitement at the feeling of Lelouch’s naked arms wrapped so tightly around his own, of Lelouch’s strong presence at his side where he belonged, of their very steps in sync as they walked the same path together…
Lelouch chuckled deeply again as they meandered along the fairy-lit cobblestone pathways, leaving the gazebo and its mess behind. “You’re incorrigible.”
“…I don’t know what that means,” Suzaku admitted, pressing a kiss to Lelouch’s temple. “But I bet you’re insulting me.”
Lelouch came to a stop, and the concentrated look he gave Suzaku under the full moon made the hairs on the back of Suzaku’s neck prickle. Instead of answering, Lelouch drew Suzaku into another fiery kiss.
That, Suzaku tasted.