conturbatio: two.

[fleijas]

title: conturbatio, the beginning: departures
series: code geass: lelouch of the rebellion
rating: r
pairing: schneizel/suzaku
warnings: more confusion. butchering of cg timeline. s... ex... implied and otherwise.
notes: ultimately, this was supposed to be for eilidh! and then it kinda... got out of hand and was pretty much blown out of proportion, and i ended up showing her too early. 8( blegh w/e as long as she gets it and... somewhat likes it, i guess the timing doesn't matter?

( 01. a month away. schneizel: 18, suzaku: 19.)

He didn't want to let her go.

She was wearing such a sad look when she melted against him and finally put her arms around him, that body of hers going through changes again until she was flat and male - still, he didn't want her (him) to leave his arms.

And now that he is awake, staring at the wall on the other side of the room, it is a harrowing sense of loss that fills him.

("You're... actually ten years older than me.")

Tomorrow isn't going to be a good day.

--

A month later, banging her fist on the wall - effectively cracking and breaking it - Suzaku presses her forehead next to the hole against that same wall and wails.

Later, she finds a uniform different from Zero's, frowning at the one designed as a dress and eventually putting it on simply because she doesn't want to draw more attention than what's necessary to herself. It's tight over her chest and short enough to reveal more thigh than necessary, but she gets over it quickly and falls asleep in a corner of the library in the school.

She's quick to wake up in the morning - five thirty am sharp - and even quicker to tuck Zero's uniform away under her arm and begin exploring. She knows that she won't find Schneizel this early, so she makes sure to keep on until the first bell rings. After that, it's a matter of figuring out which class he's in and even then, it's actually quite simple.

He sticks out like a sore thumb, after all.

Schneizel looks - surprisingly depressed when she sees him. Suzaku knows exactly how to feel about that, and she looks at the ground and grits her teeth in order to keep from running to him and throwing her arms around his shoulders. He's in class and it wouldn't be proper. Every nerve ending on her body wants to touch him, hold him, comfort him - but, she knows that this isn't the time to go on and run to him. She has to wait until he's alone, at least, before she can grab him again.

However, she finds that harder than it should be: attention is quickly drawn to her, so she has no choice but to dismiss them and take cover somewhere while her... lover, goes to class. She's tempted to go out and walk around the capital for a little bit—

—which is actually a good idea, she finds. The uniform she's wearing is a great tell for what school she got it from so most of the people she passes leave her alone and it's not until she comes to a shop that sells little trinkets that she finds something to spend her time on besides the obvious window shopping. It's easy to walk in and run a finger over a particularly cute accessory and, eventually, she decides to buy it.

(It's so that, just in case she runs into another 'Suzaku', they'd be easy to tell apart even at a second glance.)

————————————————————————

It looks like something someone would hang on a kanzashi, truly. But, she finds a mirror and one of the assistants in the shop help her attach it to one of her bangs - showing her how to take it off in the process as well - and satisfied, Suzaku buys it. Whims aren't all that bad to follow sometimes.

————————————————————————

She makes it back just on time, too. Schneizel is an easy figure to make out outside, and while he's not alone and has generated quite the crowd, she has to do something now because she feels like she won't have another chance soon otherwise. Impatience isn't something that Suzaku is good at handling when it comes to this. Besides, him having that whip out is never a very good thing. He didn't need it when he was with her (she will always protect him, even if it costs her everything), but now that he is back in Britannia...

It's only natural that he would divert back to familiar ground, so Suzaku understands. It makes her heart ache for him.

Suzaku barely makes it in time to see Kanon actually glaring at Schneizel from his spot on the ground; she sees that hand raise, sees that whip ready, and her body reacts quicker than her brain does. Her heart lurches as she runs and slaps a hand over that sweet prince's wrist, squeezing it until he jerks back and his eyes widen, pseudo-blue flashing in surprised recognition.

'Haven't you done enough?' She wants to ask. Maybe he has, if those red marks on Kanon's face have anything to say about it. She wants to tell him to have some compassion... Compassion that Kanon didn't have for me, a nasty, nasty voice reminds her in the back of her mind. Her prince didn't have that compassion either when he ploughed on as if her feelings didn't matter to him - and she supposes that they really didn't.

None the less, Schneizel's hand flexes around the handle of the whip to get circulation going again, and Suzaku takes that as as much of a recognition as she's going to get from him in his shocked state.

"Now, come with me," she pleads quietly while she lightens her grip and starts tugging him away from Kanon, away from the crowd - away from everything that he's used to in Britannia and straight to the library (getting a somewhat shocked glance from someone else, not expecting to see the Second Prince in the library at this time today). The aisles are cleared with ease, but Schneizel doesn't come back down from his surprise until they're in a far corner.

Suzaku had wanted to take him further down, but he has her pressed against a bookcase quicker than she can react. But, when she's able to, she releases his wrist and wraps her arms around him, digging her face against his neck with a soft sigh.

His arms are enveloping her soon after - he doesn't look around to see if anyone's looking this time, which is perfectly fine with her - and she lets herself wiggle happily for the moment. "Schneizel," is her whisper as she presses as close as she can, fitting his front with hers and smoothing her hands across his back. "I can't..."

"You're here." Her head bobs against his shoulder and he continues, "You said that you were a man."

Chuckling weakly, Suzaku tilts her head back and kisses along Schneizel's jaw as she goes. "You saw me as a man - I'm not one right now, though," and she pushes her breasts tighter against his chest to prove it. "I can't believe that it was this easy to pull you away. I expected someone to intervene - should I stir up more trouble to tighten security around you?"

"Ah... no," he breathes out. "I would give them at least half an hour."

"Half an hour - you could be killed in less than a minute if the person who took you had enough skill and lacked a motive that would keep you alive," she scolds gently, shaking her head and puffing against his neck. She doesn't add that the 'person' she's talking about is her - because certainly she is capable, even if she wouldn't dare to hurt him in such a way - not wanting to make him think he's in danger, that everything was a lie, and that she had been pretending.

No. When she told him to lie back - that she would take the lead - and guided him inside of herself, she wasn't pretending. She did want him; that time, and all of the times after it - in the kitchen, on the couch, in the hall, on the bed, everywhere. She hadn't been pretending.

His head turns to the side just in time to catch her lips in a kiss. "That wouldn't happen," he reassures naively, glad to just have her in his sights again, before cupping the back of her neck and the curve of her hip. Even remembering where they are isn't doing much to make him remove his hands from her body.

Taking a moment to relish the contact, Suzaku feels her exhausted lover press his forehead against her shoulder. He leans against her and she can't help the warmth that floods her gut.

"And... why's that?"

Feeling fingers slide up his back to start carding through his hair and make him let out another breath, halting the answer that he gives to her a few moments later, "You wouldn't let something like that happen if you could help it."

The way that he says it is what makes her curl her fingers and wrap her arms around his neck.

"How long has it been?"

"A month."

A month too long, it seems.

( 02. euterpe. schneizel: 21, suzaku: 22.)

Tugging Zero's cape up around her bare shoulders, Suzaku glances down at herself to take in the damage that had been done: bruises and scrapes, probably broken knuckles, a gash in between her legs around the area of right inner thigh, a cut on her cheek and high under her bangs that both sting when she frowns...

Schneizel isn't going to be happy with her. It's enough that she protected him without fail - if he wants to be angry with her, then suit himself. But, she needs to get some clothes on real soon, before he comes back in and sees her like this—

(At least Schneizel is safe.)

Wincing, Suzaku slides away from her seat on the bed - taking careful note of the dirt and blood on the sheets, all courtesy of her - getting to her feet and (limping) scurrying to the bathroom with a first aid kit in hand. She leaves the bathroom door open when she enters, going straight for the shower after tossing the kit in the sink, not bothering with much in way of caring about cold or warm water; she hits them both, pulls the top, and gets in, immediately sitting down when the water hits her.

'Tired' is a perfectly acceptable adjective to describe how she is feeling at the moment, and pained is another as the water rolls over her skin. It's a refreshing sort of pain, so she grits her teeth, pulls her knees up to her chest, and quickly gets over it.

She doesn't want Schneizel to see her like this; and, she knows that Schneizel won't be back for another hour at the least. Taking her time to clean her wounds is top priority.

(The cuts on her face are from when the sword slashed across her skin and the handle slammed under the crown of her head. She's out of practice and she hates it.)

Granted, she should not have been so careless; not using the Geass she's under at the time had been a stupid, naive mistake. Using it would have cut down the wounds is what she admits to herself as she runs soapy fingers against the damaged areas.

(The bruises are around the scrapes that are from when she kept banging into things and hiding trying to get away before someone saw her and dubbed her a suspicious person.)

Again, it had been her carelessness that got her. She had known better, but protecting Schneizel is key in her mind. If Schneizel isn't safe, then it doesn't matter what she has to do to herself. The assassin had buddies with him, and strength comes in numbers.

Her knuckles are not broken as she discovers, breathing out a sigh as she rubs the blood and dirt away. It's going to sting as she knows, though the pain is a welcome sensation in the back of her mind.

It's the gash that she's worried about; she's just thankful that it isn't infected when she looks and gauges the seriousness of the injury. It'll take a little while to heal, but it's nothing that will scar. Thank goodness for that, Suzaku thinks as she rubs over that too, twitching at the pain along the way.

(The gash came from when they swung blindly in their desperation, landing a clean hit - but, Suzaku is not so easily deterred.)

The blood is gone soon enough, her skin pinked from the scrubbing she did after cleaning the wounds with water, and so she turns off the shower and starts for the first aid kit that she had dragged with her inside the bathroom.

And, it is then that she sees Schneizel coming into the room.

She reflexively raises a hand to greet Schneizel, remembering too late that she's injured and that Schneizel will ask questions if she doesn't hurry and cover herself. Her wounds have stopped bleeding, but her body is on the verge of bruising, and -

Schneizel looks right at her with the beginnings of a smile before he really looks at her, eyes blinking as his confusion grows. "You..." He starts, moving to walk towards the bathroom and right to her. "Suzaku, what-"

The door slams right in his face, the click of the lock audible in the silence.

He lays a hand on the door as he listens to Suzaku shuffle behind the door, hearing something rip, hearing something else tear - and then a hiss that he knows is one of pain. "Suzaku," he tries again, a hand moving to the knob so that he can fiddle with it and at least be able to say that he tried to open it. The lock is on the inside, so any hopes of unlocking are out of his mind. "Would you please unlock this door?"

"I'll be out in a minute, Schneizel," and she pauses, working on the last plaster to put over her cheek. "I... need something to wear. I set a slip out when I came in earlier... I guess I forgot to get it in my rush to shower. Is it on the bed?"

Glancing at the bed, he resolutely strides over to it and picks it up - white, easy to put on, easy to take o- okay, he can't think about it - before moving back to the bathroom door. "I have it here... open the door."

"Only if you promise not to come in," Suzaku says, pressing a hand against the lock. "Just give me my dress, let me put it on, and I'll be out after I put it on."

"I... don't know if I can promise that, Suzaku."

Quietly, she unlocks the door and gropes for the dress. "Then just quickly hand it over-"

He does hand it over. Quickly. And then his brain decides that it wants to assess the damage, his hand grabbing the door by the end and pushing it open as soon as Suzaku lets it go. He already knows that he doesn't move fast enough, but he still hopes when he goes in to see Suzaku shoving that dress over her head with a loud yelp.

Concerned, Schneizel helps her tug it down the rest of the way, mindful of her body seeing as he doesn't know where exactly she's hurt. He looks her over, seeing red over her neck and the top of her left breast, and plaster over her cheek. He wants to know where else she's hurt, but he doubts that she'll tell him.

"You shouldn't be up," he tells her quickly, putting a cautious arm around her waist so as to discourage any attempts to get away from him. "When you lay down, you can tell me what happened...?"

Her lips quirk upwards as she attempts to give her boyfriend a smile, putting a hand over Schneizel's and pressing her fingers into the empty spaces. It's as much of an affirmation as he is going to get, but his lips stay thin and pursed in his confusion and frustration as he tries to rack his brain and figure out what the hell happened to her. Schneizel imagines that if it happened in the palace, then he will hear about it soon from everyone around the palace.

Suzaku is easy enough to maneuver to the bed before he asks her if her back was hurt - she tells him no and lays herself down, entirely conscious of the fact that she isn't wearing any underwear. A situation like this could end up going a variety of ways, most of which lead to her cuddling the fuck out of him to reassure him that she is not going anywhere any time soon. Her sweetheart of a prince crawls in next to her, seeming to have an internal debate with himself on what he should do.

She helps him decide by pulling him down to lay next to her. He does easily, his eyes shining with worry when he shifts and skims his fingers over Suzaku's hip as if that will persuade the answers out of her.

A moment later she's shifting herself onto her side, rubbing her thighs together - feeling a familiar burn on that side and around the area of her inner thigh where it tingles - before wiggling upwards to watch Schneizel's expression carefully. "I'm capable of protecting myself, you know. I was... careless today and didn't take the appropriate measures to protect myself efficiently. If you're willing to wait, I'm sure you'll hear about the group of unconscious men laying on the ground a few hallways over tomorrow," Suzaku tells him, reaching up to brush her fingers against his chin.

"They hurt you."

That is the obvious conclusion that Schneizel comes to, watching Suzaku start to inch her face closer to his own and hearing her murmur, "Rightful punishment for walking around at a bad time."

"Assassins."

"You'll find out tomorrow, I'm sure," she tells him again, slowly, cupping his face and leaving kisses across his brow.

"That's not something that I'll be willing to look past, Suzaku." Because it shows that he cannot protect the person that he loves so much. It's not right and quite frankly - if he is being honest with himself - his pride is taking a bit of a blow.

Her head gives a subtle shake and her eyes close as she presses a kiss against his lips, whispering, "No. You'll look passed it. You're fair, and kind." So very, very kind to take her in and give her another identity.

(Because, the maids can whisper as much as they wish, but only Schneizel needs to know that Suzaku is Suzaku.)

Somber, Schneizel looks her straight in the eye when he sees that Suzaku has opened hers again and tells her, "I'm afraid that I cannot be fair in this situation, Suzaku. If I don't do something, then I truly will be failing to protect you."

Chuckling, Suzaku knees Schneizel against his thigh gently and pushes herself up. "Then I'll just have to show you that I'm alright. You'll have no choice but to forgive them if I'm alright, right? It's not your failure; it's my choice." It had been her choice to walk out of the room and roam because she had been bored. "My bad choices do not reflect on you, and my behavior is my own. You are my... keeper, but you are not responsible for my actions."

But, there is one thing that she hasn't the mind to think about at the moment, and it makes Schneizel's lips turn down as he speaks, on the verge of being righteously angry, "We are lovers -"

"And that gives you the right to give out any punishment that you feel will be just?"

Actually, "Yes." It makes Suzaku frown bear down on him, her lips pulled into a pout that he has to avoid looking at.

"You can't protect me from things that are out of your control, Schneizel - and certainly not from my own recklessness. Now, hush. I'm going prove that I am just fine and that there is no need to punish anyone."

Curiously watching her, he lets the other undress him - slowly, meticulously, four pieces of clothing find themselves on the floor as calloused fingertips brush against his skin. Telling him to forgive them, telling him to forgive himself- none of it is really enough compared to the weight settling on top of him and the kisses he happens to be returning. He's still agitated, but if she wants to prove herself then so be it.

Fabric brushes against him irritably, but he finds that easy to remedy if only Suzaku would cooperate with him. Suzaku's ministrations do not stop when he attempts to dislodge her so that he can remove her dress, and her arms do not move when he needs them to so that he can actually get to the dress.

A frown quickly returns to his face, but when Schneizel opens his mouth to ask her to do away with the unnecessary (sole) piece of clothing - Suzaku takes quick advantage of it and licks into his mouth with a single-minded determination.

Eventually, 'bearing down on him' becomes 'enveloping him' and he's able to almost let himself forget why Suzaku is asserting herself in the first place.

Almost.

She flinches just as she's lowering herself over him and he's closing his eyes. That dress is still in his way and it's disconcerting that he can't pinpoint where the pain is coming from right now, so he places his hands over her thighs and slowly pushes it up so as not to alarm her or give away that he's trying to check for more wounds.

Suzaku lets him, setting her hands over his and just staying in that position on top of him; it's more to push the burning to the back of her mind than it is to tease him, but it works well enough for both. He squirms, and she pays more attention to that squirming than her pain, and almost everything is fine - until those hands on top of her thighs are actually touching the skin on top of her thighs. And then they're touching her hips. And stomach. And then her-

She concedes this time and peels her clothes off, tossing it to the side and huffing as Schneizel presses over the bandaged area around her thigh. Her eyes land on him, only half-understanding that he wants to gauge the damage some more - but, she doesn't plan on letting him do that, regardless of how he may feel.

Reiterating the fact that she cannot be protected by him - a prince, a very charismatic prince - is almost calling him incompetent. Which he most definitely isn't, especially not to her; Suzaku, by all rights, should not exist as she is now, but she does because she has a new identity that he has given her.

Still - it doesn't hurt to admit to herself that she kind of likes Schneizel's protectiveness; she even feels - honored to be cared about. It does make her remember that he's rather scary when he cares about someone, and in that moment she feels a little bad for the assassins; no matter, because she would at least try to help a little bit. She's no longer a Knight of Round's member, so she couldn't decide their individual fates.

At a time like this, Suzaku does wish for that position back.

But, only at a time like this, and even that is a bit of an exaggeration because she's perched on top of Schneizel with him inside of her. Definitely not a time like this. Thank goodness for Schneizel not having the ability to read minds. Speaking of him being inside of her -

She shifts and his hand jerks up to grab her hip for leverage, making her laugh quietly; it's hard not to be amused by his sudden alertness. There is another thing that is hard, but that is something she can take care of so she does; leans over and places her hands over his chest and finally moves for the both of them.

It's slow and languid and Schneizel is thankful that she isn't trying to get him off as fast as she can - not that he particularly minds, but Suzaku is injured and he doesn't want her to hurt herself even more.

It's nothing that she plans on doing; she rises slower than she lets herself come back down, sucking in a breath whenever she feels Schneizel move with her, one of his hands clutching her hip while the other covers one of hers over his chest. For a moment, Suzaku wonders what in the world she did to deserve him like this: warm, unguarded, concerned, and gentle, and - just for that moment - she admits to herself that maybe --

(I think I might be in love with you.)

She does not admit it to him. It's dangerous, it might change something, it might change him, and she is not here to change anything. Suzaku had decided on her reason for staying a long time ago, and she isn't going to risk it by telling Schneizel something wholly unnecessary. He doesn't need to know. It doesn't matter how much it hurts her.

Like right now - her slowness is mostly due to his hand on her hip, because she doesn't really mind the burning sensations from the wound getting most of the pressure when slides up and meets him halfway when she comes back down.

She is able to keep that same pace up for a while; it's around the time that she really can't take such a slow going that she squeezes her thighs around him and pulls almost completely off of him before coming back down - hard. That is the time that Suzaku supposes that Schneizel has decided that he really isn't content with letting her have control; of course, she doesn't let him up when he tries to push and ends up with Suzaku's hands sliding to his shoulders while she comes down to press kisses across his chin.

And, with that, he manages to get high enough to half sit up and wrap his arms around her - honestly, such a stubborn woman.

"Slow," he murmurs, breathing out and thrusting up. Suzaku squeezes his shoulders then, accepting that and letting him control their tempo. She should have expected that he would want shhh and slow; she aches for him and he wants her to move like a slug.

This teasing does feel good, but -

But, when she focuses on Schneizel's face, on the snap of his hips when Suzaku accidentally (truly, this time) brings herself down on a particular thrust, on the feel of him inside of her - it makes up for the pace. Suzaku has always been good at letting people order her (him) around; in fact, she prefers to take orders. Schneizel's arms around her do not give her much choice anyway, so she sighs and presses a kiss to his lips.

"Slow," she agrees, grinding down and watching Schneizel's mouth fall open. She can still feel the burn, can still feel the pain hot and fresh in her mind - but he is far more important in the grand scheme of things.

(So when he inevitably can't keep it up himself, she's kissing him and surrendering herself to his more erratic, off kilter thrusts.)

In the end, Suzaku is soothing her hands through his hair as he winds down. It really isn't about anything other than keeping Schneizel happy and sated, so she says nothing when he pulls back and stares at her. The look is almost funny, but she asks, "What is it?"

She is pressed against the bed, him slipping but moving close and in again and making her sigh. Her hands slip from his hair and her fingers venture down his neck and shoulders, eyes openly admiring him as he takes one of her hands from his shoulder and brings it to his lips. There is the flutter of a kiss across her skin, making her smile a bit and squeeze his fingers with hers.

He doesn't answer her question, instead choosing to use his free hand to-

Oh.

Suzaku's toes curl over the sheets and she tries to press her body down more to get more of the pressure that's being rubbed against her clit. Part of her is ashamed that she let the pain rule over the enjoyment, and she only remembers it briefly when her thighs tense over Schneizel's waist. He does good, this time, to distract her from that, his free hand on her hip and angling her up while he moves his hips down; and, they're at it again.

She ends up clutching the sheets and turning her face away, too lost in feeling to do more than twist her body away before twisting the other way, and she does close her eyes now - squeezes them shut and ends up making her body flutter around Schneizel's cock. He falters for a moment in pleasant intrigue as he leans over Suzaku, moving his hands to either side of her and just touching while she writhes beneath him. Suzaku knows that he'd encourage that in their later endeavors, but she's more into the fact that the man above her is really hard again and letting her control the pace again.

She isn't stopped this time when she goes straight for what she wants, moaning and easing open for Schneizel when he moves to kiss her. It just feels good and she doesn't stop to think that the knot that she didn't notice in her stomach is winding tighter and tighter until it overrides everything else, and- and -

And, maybe Suzaku's panting into Schneizel's mouth is starting to waver into something less than his name and more of noises that she would be embarrassed to release otherwise. The man in Suzaku shrivels up and his pride sobs pathetically in the corner, but god be damned if she cares one bit when her sweet prince gently nudges her off the edge. It's probably not so much an edge because she doesn't feel like she's being pushed into an endless void of oh god when will I hit the bottom, as much as it is just plain, blissful nothingness where she's only vaguely aware of the fact that Schneizel is meeting her halfway once more.

Suzaku barely manages to wrap her arms around his neck and lick a warm, long swath up Schneizel's neck, all the way to his jaw, passed it, and just barely touching below his ear. She earns the warm shudder that she receives from him and places a wet kiss against the shell of his ear before she feels him slump heavily against her, spent and breathing like she had just made him jog around the palace with her. That isn't too bad a thought though, so she entertains it for a few seconds more before squeezing around Schneizel and cracking a smile when he sighs.

For now, for tonight (at least - and tomorrow night and morning, and all of the days and nights after with luck), it's just them and what they have here. The world, Schneizel's siblings, and his business can wait until he walks away from Suzaku once again.

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Her arms and legs are wrapped around him like a vice when she wakes up. He's sleeping peacefully, just as he should be, and Suzaku slowly detaches from him to slip away for her morning routine. Thankfully enough he's not jostled to the point of waking, instead jostled just enough to make him do that cute thing with his hands that makes Suzaku smile.

If anything, she will have to keep him here until he forgets about what happened yesterday. Blood will wash; his inability to protect her, the world, and himself at the same time will never change. Regulating that is not Suzaku's job, but it's Schneizel and Schneizel is a strange exception. If she can take at least one of those worries away, it would help.

Dressing is a routine thing that happens in no time. Schneizel waking up in time to see her off is not routine; he's usually the first out the door.

(It's the only way she can sneak away without him frowning his disapproval.)

Which... is what he's doing right now. Sleepily. Grumpily, too - her poor Prince. "Where are you going at...," she watches him toss a glance elsewhere, probably looking for the time. Mercy is the first thing on Suzaku's mind when she slips back into bed - but over the blankets so that Schneizel doesn't get any ideas to keep her here, the devious man - and piles on top of Schneizel like a giddy buffoon.

"At...?" Suzaku murmurs, brushing her lips over Schneizel's with an amused smile. Adorably ruffled and not entirely immune, Schneizel's hands move to rub against her arms and latch there with the hope of keeping Suzaku there.

"At... whatever time it is right now." He's tired. "Is something wrong?" And then he kind of wakes up some more; she can tell because his eyes widen and then snap down to try and find the proofs of abuse from before. "Are you in pain?"

Oh dear. And here she had thought he would forget for a little while longer.

"It's still early in the morning, Schneizel. Go back to sleep," she says as she kisses his forehead and lets half of her weight rest against him. It's when she feels a hand snaking to her back that she responds to the other two questions, "There's nothing wrong and I'm not in as much pain now - I just... need some fresh air."

To his credit, he doesn't parrot her words back to her in affirmation. Instead, he frowns some more and leans up to take a proper kiss for himself, stroking along Suzaku's back and waiting for any sign of pain to show up. "Do you feel cramped in here?"

Suzaku resists the urge to curl up on top of him a bit because of the attention and smiles into Schneizel's kiss. "No. If you want to hear me complain, then - it's a little lonely in here," she confesses as she finally rests all of her weight on top of him, the contact making her sigh. "When you're not here, there's no point being in the room other than to stand guard inside."

Schneizel makes a quiet rumbling noise that comes from his chest, deeply content as he slides his hand down Suzaku's back and snakes both of his arms around her waist. The material of her clothes against his skin makes him want her nude again, but - that's the norm when they're alone with each other. If she isn't naked most of the time, then he's not completely satisfied.

Of course, he knows that she doesn't exactly approve of that thought, so he keeps it mostly to himself and slips one of his hands under her shirt instead. He bristles when it's pushed out by Suzaku's hand and glues his eyes to Suzaku's unimpressed facial expression.

"I would stay here with you if I could," and oh, would he ever, "but we both know that there is no way that I can." He could always take her with him everywhere he goes, but he is already well aware that Suzaku isn't fond of political games.

"Then give me something to do," she pauses to pull away from Schneizel, extracting her body from his and managing to slip away quickly before he can reattach, "that doesn't involve me on top of or below you."

That certainly gives his ideas, but he remembers that he has something to do today and just goes along with it for her sake.

Having woken up late, Schneizel gets to watch Suzaku stretch; her flexibility is something that always gives him a jolt straight to the nether regions, and he has enough time to enjoy the view of flexing muscles and tensing sinew before she's starting towards the window with the known intention of jumping out to go about the rest of her morning. He's quick to get up and throw his blankets to the side, barely having enough time to grab Suzaku's arm before she goes.

She jerks to a halt and gives Schneizel a bit of a look, frowning at the prince, confused. There's a moment where everything halts and Suzaku realizes that Schneizel is- still naked. And, god help her a blush lights her cheeks as she looks off to the side. It really doesn't matter how many times she sees him naked; it still makes her mind reel.

Schneizel notices that. And, he smiles, feelings sly when he moves to push Suzaku against a wall. He gives her a jolt, too, and presses close to keep her there.

"Perhaps you could find it in your heart," his pause is only to raise a hand and brush his fingers over Suzaku's cheek and damaged hairline with a tenderness that Suzaku will never get used to, "to come with me today. We could go around the palace, visit my siblings - I'll introduce you to them." He's a few years too late for this, but it doesn't surprise her. The prospect of Schneizel sharing is as ludicrous as it is hilarious.

Still, Suzaku glances up at him and sighs through her nose, nodding mutely. Whatever makes Schneizel happy.

(She's already met Cornelia, Euphemia, Clovis, Lelouch, Nunnally, and just about everyone - but, she can't remember if she had ever told Schneizel, so she keeps it to herself.)

- he also seems to be happy setting a hand on her hip and pressing her lower half against him, but that's a fact that she keeps to herself. As if, she lets him declothes her and work them both into a steady rhythm as he gives and returns every kiss that the two of them want.

(Later on, as she's standing outside a room speaking with Kanon and Princess Cornelia, Suzaku does hear him issue an order that she had wished for and begged him not to.)

( 03. free running. schneizel: 27, suzaku: 28.)

Tapping the little mechanism against the bathroom sink on the Avalon, Suzaku chews her lip a bit. Her eyes dart from the sink to the mirror as she tries to figure out what to do about... this.

The first thing that she does is break the little thing between her fingers to the point where it's unrecognizable. She tosses it into the trash and silently hopes that Schneizel doesn't notice it; there's enough that happens this year without him having to worry about this, too.

The second thing that she does is place her hands over her stomach and glare at it half-heartedly. This will cause trouble if Schneizel finds out, so she sighs, clenches her fists, and walks towards the door to walk out; the minute the door is actually open, however, Kanon is there with a smile and a white flower that makes her nearly jump out of her skin and blink at him, bewildered.

"Ah," she fishes for words, unsure of what to say to the man in front of her. "Did Schneizel ask you to come and get me-?"

"Of course." And, he watches her eyes flit between the flower and his face before he holds it out to her, her hand moving from her stomach to unfold and accept it in hand. "He would like you to come to the Control Room as soon as possible."

Adjusting the hem of her shirt, she pulls it down and clutches the flower to her chest, feeling a little better with the cute flower in her hand. She feels positively charmed, as usual, but... what is she going to tell Schneizel, if she tells him at all really? Her toes clench a little in their flats before she smiles nervously and nods, letting herself follow Kanon when he moves to lead her through the Avalon and straight to Schneizel issuing orders to his subordinates there.

Her stomach flutters with the impending butterflies of nervousness, both of her hands closing around the stem of the flower in her hand as Schneizel turns his head head to look at her, the smile on his lips growing while his eyes brighten. Suzaku's heart is warm - love is all that she can feel right now, overruling the nervousness, especially when she sees one of his arms open to receive her by his side. Moving forward is no hard task, her feet carrying her there quicker than her mind can catch up with her.

The first thing he asks is something that she expects, "Was everything alright? You rushed out of here quickly after you saw Lloyd." It's easy enough to smile and nod, eyes to the floor as she clutches the flower. "I see." His arm curls around her waist, keeping her close as Kanon flocks to his other side and people around them go about their work. "How are you feeling, then?"

Nauseated. Pregnant. My breasts feel heavy. "Just fine, thank you. Don't worry so much," she says easily, breezing through his concern like the wind. "Now, is there something that you needed me for-?" Other than an interrogation in which he tries to stare her into submission.

(It stopped working when he was twenty-two.)

His eyes narrow a bit, but he seems to accept that answer - partially, if the way he retracts his arm can be judged like so. Her stomach flops uselessly, her body lamenting the loss of a secure enough hold to keep itself up. Immediately she is bombarded with the need to sit down, eyes scanning the room for an available seat.

"I was wondering if you would join me for dinner tonight..." are his words as Suzaku moves away from him to the nearest available seat, the mention of food making her nausea kick up again. Concerned, he tails after her like a duckling and takes the seat next to her when she sits down. "Are you sure you're alright? Should I call for a doctor?"

"No, no, I just saw Lloyd, so I'll be fine," she grits, feeling hands encase one of hers and - slightly calming her. Not enough to make the nausea completely disappear, however. "I'd love to join you for dinner tonight. When do you want me to be ready?"

Another hand sets itself gently on the small of her back, probably wanting to comfort her more - more than likely a bit more hands-on - but withholding from doing so because they're in public. "At six. We'll turn in early for the night and," he stops because she looks at him sharply before he returns the look, "you will rest." The I'll help is probably imagined.

Agreeing with him is ten times easier than continuing on, so she nods and squeezes his hand before taking hers away. She takes a few deep breaths, looks to Kanon - who peers at her curiously, smile concerned, wanting to know what's wrong as well - and is quick getting to her feet and away from Schneizel's hands. He sets a hand on her elbow though and stops her from going too far, guiding her back down in the seat.

"What?" Suzaku questions, feeling her irritation spark up, but staying patient for him.

"Stay," he orders simply, squeezing her elbow gently and moving away with the sort of reluctance that makes Suzaku wonder about him these days. Does he not want her to go and get ready for dinner?

...not that she is going to complain, of course. Suzaku doesn't really want to wear a dress.

And, she ends up not having to. It is simple, informal, and blissfully non-stressful, just the way that she likes it, with Schneizel doing most of the talking - just the way that Suzaku likes it. Talking is something that she seems to do a lot with him, communication high on his list of 'to-do' with her since the incident that night in his room. He has learned nearly every way that she manages to brush off concern; him learning that an ironclad determination is needed to get to the root of things has been something he has practiced for the last nine years.

By the time that they are done, it's time to immediately hit the hay. Or, in this case: Schneizel's bed, which is more comforting and soft that it had been last night, which slightly disconcerts Suzaku as she kicks her flats off and lays on her side to watch Schneizel. It must be the pregnancy.

Speaking of... her sweet prince slides his layers off with ease and, once his shirt is gone, he slips in next to her and lets her tug the blankets over them. What momentarily confuses him, she knows, is the way that she immediately gets close to him, presses her lips to his skin once in a kiss, and... closes her eyes. Oh no, there will be nothing but cuddling tonight; the last time this had happened had been five weeks before, and -

- and that is probably the day that Suzaku- oh, the man in her cringes. It's a little childish to hold on to those thoughts, to her male self, but Suzaku will cling to what is left of her manly vestiges for dear life if it's the last thing that she does.

One of Schneizel's hands slides over her clothed arm a few times in soothing motions that make Suzaku realize just how tired she really is, before taking its sliding over her arm and to her back. The touching is nice, but just as she moves closer he seems to take that as initiative and slips his hand over the small of her back and under her shirt.

That makes her eyes snap open in alarm - because babybabybaby - her body recoiling in alarm. It forces Schneizel to grab her, so confused and concerned that it shows on his face as he whispers her name to get her attention because she is so out of it. A blush heats her face and she can't help looking away from his gaze, not wanting to give anything away. Eventually she feels him tug her against him and just hold her, knowing that holding her has always been the quickest way to calm her down.

"Suzaku, what's wrong?" He questions her, the rubbing on her back that he's doing now merely for comfort rather than pleasure. Suzaku feels herself give in to the up and down motions of Schneizel's hand.

(He can tell when she's lying now, better than he could before. Suzaku honestly isn't as surprised as she had thought she would be being called out by a disgruntled prince.

"Don't you trust me anymore?")

It isn't that she doesn't trust him - it's that she can't, not if she wants to stay by him for as long as she can. She almost took the Lancelot once in fear of something happening; asking Kanon to restrain her hadn't been enough. Kanon had thought it was funny at the time, but upon locking her in that room, his laughter had dulled. Princess Euphemia had died that day.

The matter of pregnancy is...

Impossible. Her face heats up just thinking about it.

"Do you..." Trailing off for a moment, her eyes dart up to look at his chin before he catches the drift and pull back a bit to look at her. And then she starts again, "Do you... what do you think of children?"

Raising an eyebrow, Schneizel answers a question with a question easily, "Is this relevant to what's wrong with you?" When Suzaku flinches and tries to pull away from him, he regrets the words and shakes his head a bit. "They're... cute. Why do you ask?"

Just cute? That isn't enough for Suzaku so she wrinkles her nose and huffs at Schneizel, turning on her other side and curling in on herself. "It's nothing... forget I asked," she murmurs, a hand setting over her stomach and rubbing gently. At least he would think that their baby is cute - after he gets done staring at the poor thing, of course.

"Suzaku," he sighs, placing a hand near hers and smoothing it along her side.

He doesn't manage to get it out of her, Suzaku more adamant to keep it to herself than wanting to tell him what's wrong with her. His mind keeps telling him, though - it's been five weeks and now that they have time, she won't let him have her. That might be a problem all in itself, though. He'll try again in the morning.

(In the morning when Suzaku wakes up before he does and ends up waking him up with the sound of her alarmed, confused crying, he does take her into his arms. It's in a different way than he had expected, but she lets him hold her so he supposes that's a blessing like no other.)