Archive of Our Own

The world — which had grown into a much, much more peaceful and gentle one in the year since the assassination of the notorious Emperor Lelouch at the hands of Zero — was suddenly thrown into an absolute tizzy all at once on an unsuspecting Sunday afternoon.

A mysterious, feature-film-length video had suddenly cropped up all over the internet, posted anonymously and untraceably, and the mystery had viewers scrambling to load the thing up and clear their schedules to watch.

However, the mystery of it all ended up taking an unquestionable backseat to how utterly shocking the contents of the video were.

It was staggering, it was scandalous, it was near unbelieveable, and it was absolutely everything that made for excellent media coverage, because the two stars were Zero and Kururugi Suzaku, and the questionable content only began there.

It opened on Zero entering the room, cape clenched tightly around him, and heading into the living area. 

When he reached the table, he let the cape drop open, revealing a long, flowy, white skirt slitted high on both sides; a low-cut, cropped purple top with sheer sleeves ending in glittering chains attached to rings on every finger, with a large red jewel in the centre over the back of each pale hand; as well as all manner of other gold chains, pendants, and jewels; and shining black hair reaching almost to the floor. A woman?

Zero turned away and removed the helmet, setting it on the table and then letting the cloak fall to the floor as well. To many of the viewers' disappointment, the striking figure was no longer visible, only the traces of a silhouette through the large, white veil attached to Zero's headpiece.

Zero appeared to produce something however — from god knows where, in that revealing outfit — and then the familiar, deep voice of Zero was saying, "Suzaku."

A man after all? Was this the regular Zero? What could he possibly have been dressed like that for? And why would he have been…presumably ringing Kururugi Suzaku, the Japanese Traitor?

"Stop being busy," Zero demanded. "I just got back from an…interesting exploit. I think you'll want to come over."

Had Zero been feeding information to the Britannians?!

Zero laughed, and honestly there was a slightly maniacal edge to it. "Yes, it probably would be a trap if I was promising to tell you any information about it at all, but I'm not, I just really, really think you'll want to come over."

There was a pause, and Zero gave an exasperated sigh. "Check your messages, you idiot."

He hung up, and then held the phone up, turned away from himself, and (it looked like) took a picture of himself, before bringing it back down and leaning his hip against the table as he presumably sent it.

A few moments later he snorted. "Yeah, that's what I fucking thought," he muttered.

Was that…were Zero and Kururugi Suzaku…sleeping together?! Surely not, surely people would have known if Zero was… But what else? And Zero had taken a picture of himself. Fully. Without his mask on. Did Suzaku know his identity? Had he known all along?!

Zero took off his shoes and then bent to grab something from his cloak, sliding his mobile inside it in its place, and headed over toward the coffee table, stopping in front of it for a moment and then going over to sit down in a chair toward the other end of the table which was angled just slightly away, his face still hidden from the camera by the veil, turned a little further than profile. There was now a small bottle of lube innocuously sitting on the edge of the table near a tall pile of empty pizza boxes that seemed quite out of place with how tidy the rest of the living space was.

Well, there was no debating now what the intent was, was there? What else could it be? But really, the leader of the Black Knights, and the Japanese Traitor, Knight of Seven to Britannia?

Zero took his laptop from the side table next to him, and opened it on his lap, settling in for a boring, unedited wait of over an hour, which most people quickly skipped over.

Eventually, however, Suzaku (and yes, it was indeed that Suzaku after all, and any viewers who had been holding out hope it may simply be someone with the same name were sorely disappointed) entered, apparently knowing how to both get in unnoticed, and gain access to Zero's personal quarters.

Zero raised a bejewelled hand and beckoned imperiously over his head without looking back, shutting his laptop with his other hand and setting it aside.

Suzaku quickly crossed over to him and circled around in front of Zero's chair, bracing his hands on the armrests and slowly looking Zero over. "Where did you even get this stuff?"

Zero didn't respond, or perhaps only responded with some sort of facial expression, because after a moment, Suzaku leaned in and kissed him hard, one hand coming up to cup Zero's face.

It was brief though, because soon, Zero was pushing him back, but far from a rejection, Zero never let him more than five centimetres away, getting to his feet and pushing Suzaku back around the coffee table and down onto the middle of the couch on the other side, and then climbing into his lap and straddling him without hesitation.

From this new angle, part of Suzaku's face could be seen past Zero and his eyes were wide as he stared up at his lover, but Zero was quickly leaning in and kissing him again, one hand reaching out to cup the back of Suzaku's head, and the other sliding to rest over the juncture of his shoulder and neck as he rolled his hips.

They kissed fervently for a few minutes, Suzaku making quiet, desperate sounds into it and pulling Zero closer against him, but eventually he pulled back.

He looked Zero over again, hands running over Zero's bare waist, until his eyes finally turned back up to meet Zero's, looking awed and reverent. "Holy shit," he whispered, his hands sliding down to trace over Zero's thighs — completely bared through the high slits in his skirt — as he spoke, fingers idly playing with the coin-like pendants hanging from the string arcing over each of Zero's thighs on every pass over them. "You're so fucking beautiful—"

Zero put his hand over Suzaku's mouth. "Don't use my name. Zero."

Suzaku's face darkened and he pushed Zero's hand away. "Don't do this to me right now." His voice simmered with quiet fury as he spoke. "I will never forgive Zero for everything he has done. Don't make me—" He clenched his eyes shut. "You're not him right now. And for a little bit I just want to be with— I just want to fuck—"

Zero put his hand over his mouth again. "Suzaku. You call me Zero or you call me nothing at all. Your choice."

Suzaku still looked resentful, but he gave an angry sigh, and then a single, curt nod.

"Thank you, Suzaku," Zero said quietly, taking his hand away, and kissed him gently.

The fight seemed to drain out of Suzaku and he relaxed. "Why do you do this to me?" He murmured against Zero between kisses. "You should make me hate you by now."

"I'm sorry."

Suzaku's next kiss was almost violent, his fingers digging in, pressing white spots into Zero's thighs as he surged upward to meet his mouth again. "No you're not." It was bitter, but it didn't stop him from kissing Zero again.

Zero cradled Suzaku's face gently, like it was something fragile and precious as he pulled back a little. "I'm not sorry for the things I do," he whispered, giving him another kiss. "But I'm sorry it has to be that way."

"It doesn't!" Suzaku pleaded, eyes earnest. "If you'd just join me, we could change Britannia from the inside — there's nothing we couldn't do together!"

Zero gave a small shake of his head. "Don't be naïve. Britannia must be burnt to the ground, and Charles Zi Britannia and anybody else who steps up to take his place must be crushed without hesitation or mercy. That is the only way to rid this world of the rot."

Suzaku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's not talk about that sort of thing right now. Fine. We're both set on our paths. Let's just…enjoy what we can have, okay?"

"Mm yes, I think that's a good idea," Zero said, leaning in and leaning their foreheads together as he started grinding his hips again, sliding his hands down over Suzaku's chest to rest there possessively. "You have a beautiful man in your lap; it would be a shame to waste me."

"Humble too." But the corner of Suzaku's mouth was pulling up slightly, and his fingers were curling under the bands over Zero's thighs, running up the skin under them, following their trail inward, under the middle of Zero's skirt still over his lap.

"Modesty has never been a good look on me," Zero dismissed.

"I wish I couldn't agree—" Suzaku made a small, surprised noise, and his eyes widened. 

He opened his mouth again, but Zero quickly slapped a hand over it, only removing it once Suzaku had glared for a few seconds.

"I wasn't even going to say it!"

"Really?" Zero challenged.

"How do you know!" Suzaku sounded more exasperated than anything.

Zero leaned in close. "I know exactly how you tick, Kururugi Suzaku," he breathed against his lips.

"Fuck." It came out sounding more exhilarated than like a swear, though, and Suzaku's hands slid up further, and then around to his ass, hands obvious under the paper thin skirt and veil, Zero's long — and presumably fake — hair easily parting as he rose up slightly on his knees and arched his back, pushing his ass back into Suzaku's hands. "I— Y— Zero," Suzaku said, sounding almost lost.

"Mhm?"

Suzaku's hands slid back around his front, still under his skirt, for a moment and then right back over his ass. He made a few odd noises as if he was attempting to speak, but had quite forgotten how, until finally, "Thi— This is all you've been fucking wearing?"

"Yes." Zero sounded amused. "Problem?"

"In public?!"

Zero chuckled. "Oh it could have been much worse, Suzaku. You should have seen Kallen and C.C. Tits half out, barely a little scrap of cloth covering the important bits—"

"You mean like you?" Suzaku said incredulously.

Zero gave an amused huff. "Yes, but their skirts were more for decoration than anything, and were utterly useless. More so than these sleeves, if you follow me." He swept an arm out, drawing attention to the sheer, floaty, purple fabric, which indeed did absolutely nothing to hide his skin.

Suzaku's hands tightened on Zero's hips and his mouth drew into a firm line.

"Oh, are you jealous?" Zero prodded.

"Of course I'm jealous, and you know it!" Suzaku burst out. "How could I not be jealous! Those two dressed like that, probably all over you, when we both know they're both into you. When you've been with Kallen in the shower, when C.C. has kissed you."

Zero raised his hands placatingly. "It wasn't like that. I know you remember what I told you about Kallen and you're twisting it. And yes, I can't control how they feel about me, but I know they're attracted to me and have for a long time, and, Suzaku, if I wanted them, why would I not have taken them up on it by now?

"I can't say I don't care about them significantly — C.C. especially — unfortunately, since caring about anybody now is a curse and only weighs you down, but I'm not interested in them that way." Zero tilted his head. "Really, Suzaku," he said, a little patronisingly, "C.C. invaded my home, stole my bed, and likes to lounge around in her underwear constantly. Once I got sick of sleeping on the floor I found out she will roll on top of you and then say you're an asshole for complaining about being crushed to death all night. If I wanted to, I'd have done it, but there is nothing sexy to me about that witch. She's my…accomplice."

"She's still in love with you, and if you two are going to be tied up together forever—"

Zero put a hand over Suzaku's mouth again, but this time his shoulders slumped and his head bowed. "I think…she just wants very badly to be loved and cared for, to be known and loved. And I'm…not sure she knows the difference anymore. Between types of love. Maybe she does, maybe I'm supposing too much, but sometimes… Well. I saw too much, I think. And now I've said too much. She wouldn't like you knowing that."

He let his hand slip from Suzaku's mouth, and Suzaku brought a hand up to Zero's chin to tilt it back up a little and give him a kiss. "I know you think I'm stupid and reckless, but not enough to tell her you told me that if I ever got the opportunity."

"Thank you," Zero sighed out, sounding too weary for his years, and kissed Suzaku again. "You're not stupid." He leaned their foreheads together again.

Suzaku kissed him slow and deep.

"I fucking hate it when you're sweet. I hate it when you remind me how much you care about people," he murmured, finally pulling back. "It makes it so much harder to remember how much of a dick you are, all the horrible things you've done in the thin name of 'justice'." He slid his arms fully around Zero, pulling him close and tilting his head back to stare straight into his eyes. "Why are you such a dick?"

"Genetics."

Suzaku gave a small huff, and the corners of his mouth almost twitched up before he shook his head. "I hate you." His fingers dug in harshly at the back of Zero's shoulder and his hip, but rather than violent, it seemed almost desperate, clinging, possessive. "I hate you. I hate you." By the end it sounded more like a plea.

Zero brought a hand up to Suzaku's cheek. "I know, Suzaku," he said quietly. "You'd be right to."

For some reason, that made Suzaku's face crumple. "You're the worst thing that ever happened to me," he whispered, and then surged up to kiss him fiercely.

Zero kissed back every bit as violently, fisting his hands in Suzaku's hair and starting to roll his hips again.

"Oh— Fuck," Zero gasped a minute later, letting his head fall back a little — just short of being able to see any of his face — as Suzaku started to kiss down his throat, from the sound of it.

Zero yanked Suzaku's arms from their tight embrace around him, and put his hands on top of Suzaku's on his bare thighs before pushing them under his skirt over his ass again. "Are you— waiting for a formal invitation or what?" He demanded, his authoritative tone slightly undermined by the desperate gasps and little moans he kept making as Suzaku lavished attention on his neck and he ground against him. "Fuck me already."

Suzaku pulled him against him hard with his hands on his ass, grinding back up against him. "Lube."

Zero gestured distractedly. "End of the— oh— table."

Suzaku pushed Zero back against the coffee table in a blurred flutter of his veil, pinning him there with one hand, still half in Suzaku's lap, but his head and shoulders — which happened to be frustratingly blocked from view by the stack of pizza boxes — were pressed against the table. It looked uncomfortable at best, and many viewers suspected that was rather the point.

Zero gave an unflatteringly surprised squawk of, "Suzaku!" but Suzaku leaned over and snatched the lube with his free hand, and was quickly flicking it open, letting go of Zero to drip some of the lube on his fingers and spread it around, before closing it and dropping it to the couch beside him. 

Zero seemed to quickly recover from his surprise, however, and planted his feet to either side of Suzaku, scooting a little further into his lap and spreading his legs more, and Suzaku slipped his hand under the middle of Zero's skirt.

"You can— unh, yeah," Zero cut himself off, whatever he was going to say apparently now moot, and there was a small thunk, perhaps as he let his head fall completely against the table.

Zero's breaths quickly started to become laboured, hitching on every inhale, and his hand reached out to sprawl on the side of Suzaku's thigh, stroking — perhaps absentmindedly — up and down. "Must you really be so relentless?" He panted, and the end trailed off into a moan as his back arched.

Suzaku's lust-darkened eyes simply continued to trace him up and down, as if drinking in the sight of him greedily.

"This is— ahh— This is punishment, isn't it?" Zero asked, nails digging in against Suzaku's thigh and his toes curling against the cushions as a deep moan was wrenched out of him.

"Only in my fantasies."

"It, ah, f-feels pretty real Suzaku!" Zero's words were rushed and pitching up desperately at the end.

Suzaku gave him a solemn stare. "You and I both know this is no real punishment. It's only me walking further into hell."

One of Zero's hands disappeared behind the boxes and there was a muffled moan that sounded like it was bordering on a scream, and he hitched a leg up over Suzaku's shoulder, letting the other one fall wide, flat to the sofa cushions as he arched his back, grinding on Suzaku's fingers. "Oh god, oh god, oh god," he panted. And then, after a few moments, "Suzaku, I don't think it— matters how many times you— fuck me; if you've— already done it, then you're— already in hell by your standard." He let out a whimpering moan. "There's— only so far in you can walk. And we— both know you've done your— share of walking besides— fucking me."

"And that right there is the problem," Suzaku said, thrusting his fingers so harshly his entire arm jerked with it, making Zero let out a muffled groan. "That's the difference between you and me. You think there's some point of no return, and after that nothing you do matters because you're never going to be redeemable anyway. But being redeemable isn't the point, Zero," he spat. "We may be past a point of no return, but that doesn't mean you no longer have a moral obligation to do the right thing! That doesn't just let you off the hook for everything! Just because you've committed the same bad deed before doesn't mean you're any more excusable for choosing to do it again."

"Why am I such a— bad deed? Betraying Britannia's— trust by shacking up— with their enemy? You— hate them as much as I do."

Suzaku's hand froze and he suddenly looked truly incensed. "It's about betraying Princess Euphemia, you cold bastard!" It was just short of actually shouting. "I'm spitting on her fucking memory every time I give you the tiniest sliver of affection — you don't think I hate myself for that?! You already fucking trashed her memory to the entire world and set it on fire, and now I, one of the few fucking people left who actually fucking cares about her, am just disrespecting her too!"

"EUPHY WOULDN'T CARE!" Zero shouted, and it was a wonder nobody overheard. "She would be happy you'd moved the fuck on and found some tiny ray of happiness in this shit world! She would want to forgive!"

This only sparked a whole host of questions amongst viewers. Why did Zero talk about Princess Euphemia like he knew her? Like he was close to her?

Suzaku lunged forward, clearly intent on wrapping his hand around Zero's throat, and folding him practically in half in the process. "Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare use that name like you care about her! Not after what you fucking did!"

Did that imply that people thought Zero had cared about Princess Euphemia? Who was Zero? How could he have been close to Princess Euphemia and still be what he was?

Zero's body went as lax as possible in the cramped position. "You're right. Princess Euphemia."

This didn't seem to calm Suzaku down at all, however. "And don't you dare pretend to know shit about how she'd feel. You don't get to sit there and play make believe and try to absolve yourself to me!"

"I don't absolve myself of anything. I know what I did. I know there is no forgiveness for that and I don't seek it."

"And yet you're perfectly comfortable justifying this. Telling me to my face that she would be happy for her knight, her— her— to be with her fucking murderer. The man who destroyed her entire legacy, made her spill a river of blood that she never in a million years would have wanted, forced all of that blood onto her hands and then left her to die not knowing why. Why you betrayed her, why you killed her. I watched her die, Zero! And could do nothing! I had to lie to her in her final moments! Because of you. Don't you dare pretend to know what she would feel; I'll never believe you for a goddamn second, because you're a fucking liar. You lie about everything to everyone all the time, and if you wanted me to trust anything you say, then that's really too bad, because you did this to yourself!"

This all only caused more questions amongst the viewers. What had Suzaku been trying to say — had he really been more than her knight after all? There had always been rumours, but… And Zero…? How could Zero have made Princess Euphemia do what she did? Blackmail? Did he really do such a thing? It sounded like he was admitting as much. But why wouldn't she be expecting him to kill her as part of his plot? Why would Suzaku have to lie to her? Suzaku's story didn't make any sense, and yet Zero didn't contradict him.

One of Zero's hands had lifted slightly toward Suzaku, like he wanted to soothe but didn't know if he could touch. But then he dropped it again. "Of course you're right," he said, and suddenly, he sounded very Zero in a way he really hadn't all night, like he was stepping into that persona. "The littler pawns really aren't worth my time to spend figuring out how they tick. I'm not sure why I even tried to lie to you, since you apparently always see right through me. Are you gonna fuck me or are we done here?"

Suzaku stared at him closely for a long moment, eyes blazing, and then punched him in the face. 

But, to all of the viewers' surprise, rather than furious at his callousness — "You're lying right now, you fucking bastard! What aren't you telling me? There's something more about Princess Euphemia! There has to be, that's the only thing that makes sense, what the fuck aren't you telling me?!"

"Suzaku," Zero's voice dripped with condescension. "Are you telling me a little drop in the bucket like Princess Euphemia was worth any real effort? It was cut and dry, and it served my mission beautifully, just how I'd planned it."

Suzaku shook him. "Stop fucking lying to me!"

"Why would I even bother doing that at this point?" Zero sounded almost bored.

Suzaku leaned further over him, planting his hands on either side of Zero's head. "You only retreat into your untouchable villanous mastermind persona when you're lying like a motherfucker, so tell me what the fuck you're hiding from me," he demanded.

Zero pushed him back. "No." He blew out a heavy breath. "Goddammit Suzaku, what the fuck do you want from me? I'm not telling you no matter what you do or say; it would be so much easier if you'd just let me lie!"

"It would not be fucking easier!" Suzaku snapped back. "I have no interest in being played for a fool."

Zero sighed and reached up a hand to the back of Suzaku's head, pulling him back down and kissing him slowly, running a gentle hand through his hair, and though Suzaku initially resisted being pulled, he quickly gave, and his body relaxed again as Zero kissed him. 

"Yes," Zero admitted quietly. "That is, unfortunately, one of the things I love most about you."

Suzaku made a small, aborted noise in the back of his throat, and then his head bowed further and his words came out slightly muffled like he had buried his face against some part of Zero — his chest, his neck, maybe even his cheek. "Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why do I keep letting myself do this? You're…god, you're fucking terrible, why can't I let go of you?"

"History."

"Maybe," Suzaku allowed.

"Trauma bonding?" Zero offered alternately.

Suzaku pulled away. "Stop. Don't— Don't say things like that. You're terrible, but not to me — or at least, you've done terrible things to me, but it was just collateral, that wasn't your aim. I went into this with my eyes wide open, and you're not—" he cut himself off. "God, don't make me defend you."

Zero reached up to stroke the back of his fingers over Suzaku's cheek. "That wasn't my intention."

Suzaku leaned into the touch and shut his eyes, before letting out a heavy, weary sigh. "I fucking hate you," he whispered, and then leaned down, carefully cupping his face, and kissed him softly.

The kisses quickly deepened, but stayed gentle, and Zero slowly wrapped his legs around Suzaku, locking his ankles together behind his back as he stroked his hands over the muscles in Suzaku's shoulders and upper arms. Suzaku made a small, pleased noise, running his hand down the underside of Zero's bare thigh and over his ass — which, now that Suzaku had him bent in half with the back of his skirt trailing on the ground, it was indeed true that there did not appear to be anything at all covering it underneath; the only hint of an undergarment was the thin waistband high over his hip, and the straps, one plain and one with the glittering gold pendants hanging from it, on each side that were now digging into his thighs with added strain from where the thin cloth of his skirt was lewdly tented in the front. 

"Come here and let me fuck you," Suzaku murmured, shifting away, and reaching back to push himself up off of his knees and slide back onto the couch. 

One of Zero's hands reached over his head to clutch at the far end of the table as his legs tightened around Suzaku's waist, but, after grabbing the lube, Suzaku reached back and unwound them from around himself before pushing up Zero's left leg, ducking under it, pushing Zero off his lap, and getting to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Zero demanded.

Suzaku didn't respond, only lubed up his fingers again and got back to his knees beside Zero, flattening his free hand under his back in the space between the table and the sofa, and then mouthing a slow, hot kiss against Zero's bare abdomen as he slid his fingers back under his skirt.

He continued to kiss and lick and nip and suck over every centimetre of exposed skin as he fingered him, making Zero let out a littany of little noises.

"Suzaku," he gasped, like a prayer. "Suzaku, fuck. We don't— have time for more foreplay— ohhh. Not— here. We've already— wasted so much time— God, Suzaku just fuck me already."

Suzaku gave a little huff, but sat back and removed his fingers. "Fine."

He got back on the sofa between Zero's legs, and pulled at the middle panel of Zero's skirt in an attempt to actually get under it. "Did you really have to get one so long?"

"It's pretty."

"It's dramatic."

"That too. You say it like it's a bad thing."

Suzaku shook his head, finally succeeding in bunching up the skirt out of the way and dropped the pile of fabric in their laps before reaching under to unzip himself. "Of course to you it's not, showmanship is all you care about."

"What's the point in doing things without a little panache? Is that a crime?"

Suzaku reached for the lube again, and then pushed his slick hand back under the skirt. "The things you do with it are."

He pulled at Zero's hip with his free hand as he shifted forward a little, and Zero made a small sound, flexing his hips and wrapping his legs back around Suzaku.

Suzaku's eyes fell shut. "Fuck. You're perfect," he gasped, hand sliding up Zero's abdomen. "Always so perfect."

Both hands moved to grip Zero's hips tightly as he started to roll his own steadily.

"Yes," Zero panted out, starting to roll his own hips in sync with Suzaku's.

It wasn't long before Suzaku started to pick up the pace, moaning and murmuring a near constant stream of little half-coherent bits of praise. 

Zero clutched the edge of the table above his head with one hand and hitched one of his legs up over Suzaku's shoulder again, pulling him even closer with it and bracing his other foot against the sofa cushions, using the leverage to grind down even harder on Suzaku's cock. "Suzaku, Suzaku, yes," he chanted mindlessly.

Suzaku turned his head to mouth kisses over the side of Zero's knee and the inside of his thigh, one hand moving up to stroke up and down over the outside of his thigh, and the other toying with the strap covered in little tinkling gold pendants on Zero's other thigh again.

Zero's moans started to sound a lot more like whimpers, and suddenly the hand that had been white knuckled on Suzaku's thigh just above the knee disappeared and his noises became muffled.

Suzaku slowly slid his fingers along the strap, still toying with some of the pendants on the way, until his hand disappeared under Zero's skirt again.

Zero gave a sound almost like a sob, and then the vague outline of Suzaku's hand became visible under the small pile of fabric, moving up and down much too patiently to be any real relief.

"Oh god— oh—" 

Zero tried to hitch his hips up, and then impatiently reached down to either grab Suzaku's hand and direct it, or push it out of the way and do it himself, but before he got there, Suzaku finally gave him the relief he was looking for, speeding his hand to match the pace of his hips, and Zero momentarily went limp with a low, rough moan, his hand dropping over the edge of the table. 

"Yes— yes— yes— fuck," Zero groaned mindlessly.

He quickly went back to meeting Suzaku's thrusts with his own. 

"Suzaku," he sighed out after another few moments, and it came out quieter than anything else he'd said since they'd started fucking and sounding blissfully grateful, sounding more like a benediction than a name.

"Come back up here," Suzaku said, his voice rough, and leaned forward, grabbing for Zero's hand.

Zero dropped his leg from Suzaku's shoulder and folded his legs under themselves, gripping Suzaku's hand tightly and letting him yank him quickly upright, pulling his veil forward with his free hand to hide his face until he was fully upright and his face was out of view again. If Suzaku found anything strange about that, he didn't comment.

Once Zero got completely upright, however, he sort of just kept…tipping forward, letting out a small, unsteady sound as he wrapped his arms around Suzaku's shoulders and buried his face in his neck.

Suzaku's hand flew to hold Zero steady between the shoulder blades (completely unnecessarily, as Zero had quite obviously figured things out for himself, but it seemed to be an instinctive reaction). "Shit, sorry, I forgot. Dizzy?"

Zero made a small, noncommittal noise, and then, "I'm fine, my love," he sighed out against him, muffled, his fingers stroking idly through the hair at the nape of Suzaku's neck. 

Suzaku's face flickered through several different emotions before he pulled Zero tighter against him and ducked his face down to press a kiss to Zero's shoulder, closing his eyes as he did so. "You sure?" Suzaku's eyes fluttered back open, looking concerned. "Did you eat today?"

Zero gave a long-suffering sigh. "Suzaku, you know I'm much better suited to caretaking than being fussed over myself. I'm fine."

Suzaku's eyes went soft at that for some reason, and he craned his head to press deliberate, lingering kisses to Zero's cheek and jaw. And if ever there had been a way to say I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you without words, then many of the viewers thought this was it.

Zero pressed a kiss of his own to the side of Suzaku's neck — quiet but audible — and started to work his hips fluidly. 

"Suzaku, Suzaku, Suzaku," he murmured against him after a few moments.

Suzaku wrapped his arms securely around Zero's waist and pushed his hips back up against him, continuing to kiss anywhere he could reach.

After a few minutes, Zero pulled back and caught Suzaku's mouth again, kissing him slow and deep and lingering, one hand coming up to card softly through his hair as the other stroked over his bicep. Suzaku made a small, desperate sound into the kiss and brought his hands up to hold Zero's face, tilting his own face up more to press further into Zero's kisses.

Zero made a little high-pitched noise in the back of his throat and his hand clenched lightly in the back of Suzaku's hair, the rolls of his hips becoming more pronounced.

Suddenly Suzaku pivoted, turning and pushing Zero down on the sofa (making Zero let out a small surprised sound into the kiss as his veil once again fluttered up to cover his face on the descent with the speed of the action. The pizza boxes were just perfectly positioned to hide his face from this angle as well, and it was right about at this point that most of the viewers realised that Zero had entirely engineered this. For whatever purpose — his own amusement, blackmail, who knew really — this was not just some paranoid security footage in his quarters, but something Zero had intentionally recorded, and, ever the tactician, he had predicted all of Suzaku's actions and set everything up just so to ensure his identity stayed hidden. It was impressive really, except for the fact that it was vaguely terrifying). Suzaku readjusted himself to get fully on top of Zero and reached down — presumably to help push back into him, but they were pressed so close it was impossible to see — before kissing him deeply and starting to fuck him in earnest.

Zero's legs wrapped around him again, one hand raking down his back and the other fisting in his hair as his muffled moans started to build.

Suzaku pushed his hand between them and under Zero's skirt, starting to jerk him off again quickly, matching the pace of his hips as his own share of moans spilled past his lips into his lover's mouth.

Zero's toes curled and his nails dug in hard through Suzaku's shirt as he let out a loud groan, even muffled as it was — but then, suddenly it wasn't muffled any longer. 

"Suzaku— Ah— Suzaku, Suzaku!" He cried out between desperate gasps, as Suzaku kissed over his throat from the sound of it, and really, it still managed to be a mystery how they weren't overheard. Or, at least, the viewers had to assume they must not have been, because how would the Black Knights have squared their leader sleeping with a Knight of the Round, the Japanese Traitor no less?

Suzaku shifted as Zero's moans started to pitch higher, and there was a whisper too quiet to parse through the recording.

Zero made an aborted noise, his body locking up completely as a wet spot started to seep through his crumpled skirt. After a few moments, he made a small, helpless noise as he fell slack, his long, pale legs falling from around Suzaku, and Suzaku finally slid his hand out from under Zero's skirt to stroke up and down over his side, kissing him again. 

After a couple more minutes, his hand skated down the side of Zero's thigh, hitching it back up over his hip and running his hand up and down the underside as he continued to fuck him. 

"Oh god. You're so fucking gorgeous," he gasped.

"So I've— been told." Zero's attempted snark was undercut by his breathlessness and the slight desperate edge to his tone, the way his hand flexed against Suzaku's back — fingers alternately digging in to clutch desperately at him, and then relaxing partially.

Suzaku let out a low groan and kissed him again, his hips speeding faster as he gave a shuddering moan against Zero's lips. After a minute, his hips slowed and then finally came to a standstill, but they didn't stop kissing.

"Perfect," Suzaku whispered between kisses, echoing his earlier sentiment. "Always so perfect for me."

Zero gave a small, pleased, sated sigh and wrapped his arms around the back of Suzaku's neck, sliding one foot down the back of Suzaku's leg and tangling their legs together.

They continued kissing like that, wrapped up in the afterglow, for nearly fifteen minutes before there was an urgent knock on the door and they jolted apart.

"Do not come in," Zero ordered. "What do you want?"

Suzaku started to quietly pull away and get up, but Zero wrapped his legs back around him and pulled him close again with all four limbs like a koala. Suzaku sighed and slumped on top of him, and Zero idly pet over his hair as the Black Knight who'd interrupted them spoke.

"Lady Kaguya said there's new information about something going on with the Chinese Federation that she needs to tell you right away!"

"Give me ten minutes," Zero ordered, sounding much more collected and controlled than he appeared, still wrapped up in Suzaku.

"...Are you sure? Lady Kaguya sounded like it was very important—"

"Give me ten minutes." Zero's tone brooked absolutely no argument.

"Ah— Yes, Zero!"

Zero sighed, and then pulled at Suzaku's hair a bit, his other hand disappearing to presumably tip up his face or perhaps cup it as he kissed him again. "Could you go get me my uniform?" He murmured to Suzaku, finally dropping his legs from around him.

Suzaku made a small noise of assent, running his hand over Zero's bare waist again and giving him one last kiss before he finally pulled his hips back and reached down between them to presumably tuck himself away and zip his trousers back up as he pressed a kiss to the centre of Zero's chest, right on the small patch of bared skin between one of the pendants from one of his several elaborate necklaces and the plunging v neck of his top. "Be right back."

He shifted away off of Zero and got to his feet, heading off somewhere out of view.

Zero pulled his veil up over his face and sat up before slowly pushing himself to his feet, facing away from the camera, and then bent down, and as he straightened back up, kicked something away with a jingle. The underwear. It could hardly be termed as such, really, just a few thin bands, the hanging gold decorations, and a small triangle of white cloth that looked like it must have barely been able to cover the important bits, to put it the way Zero had so succinctly said about his female friends.

Zero removed his headpiece, letting his veil finally flutter to the floor, and set the bejewelled gold piece on the coffee table before carefully unsecuring the calf-length hair extensions, and letting those drop to the floor as well. He took out a couple relatively shorter ones in the front and dropped those on the pile as well, and then started working on all of the jewellery, setting it in a pile of jewels and gold on the coffee table before taking off his cropped shirt, pulling it over his head and then taking off all of the attached rings before finally being able to pull off the sleeves and drop the whole thing into the pile behind him. 

Then, oddly, he reached back without looking and tipped the pile of pizza boxes so they fell in disarray over the entire coffee table, before he shamelessly dropped his skirt as well, stepping out of it and leaving him completely nude as he walked toward the end table beside the sofa to grab a few tissues. He leaned to the side to wipe at the long, wet trail that had made its way down the inside of one leg, almost past his knee, before he moved to wipe at his front.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He complained a few moments later to himself — incredulous and slightly pissed off — as he impatiently wiped at the inside of his thigh again. "How much is there?"

Suzaku finally reappeared, with the suit Zero usually wore under his cape draped over his arm, the cravat, socks, underwear, gloves, and cravat pin sitting on top, and the boots in the other hand. "Sorry, I needed to wash up a bit first."

"Whatever, just give it to me." Zero held his hand out imperiously.

However, when Suzaku approached, Zero grabbed his wrist and pulled him in to give him a kiss as he took everything from his hands. But it was brief before he stepped away and quickly began getting dressed. "Did you have to come in me literally right before I have to play nice with your little cousin who is obsessed with fantasies of marrying Zero?"

Suzaku crossed his arms, mouth tense.

"Oh you don't get to be jealous, I've all but told her to fuck off in any way I can get away with without destroying that alliance, and, need I fucking remind you, that you used to be betrothed to her before Britannia took over and royally fucked Japan, so you have exactly no right."

Suzaku huffed and looked away. "Well you weren't complaining about it five minutes ago."

"Well I didn't know I was going to have to make nice with your little cousin and be Zero in front of the Black Knights right after getting fucked five fucking minutes ago." 

Zero bent down and shoved his boots on, and when he straightened up, he grabbed the pizza box hanging off of the corner of the table, opening it fully as he turned around so it completely blocked his face. "Ugh. When is C.C. going to stop leaving rotting food everywhere around my house?" He complained as he walked back toward the table where he had left his cape and helmet. "She's such a slob that I swear she does it on purpose to piss me off — like she's not already using my money to pig out." He turned away again, tossing the box onto the table in disgust and letting it fall shut, and then leaned down to pick up his cape from the floor, putting it back on with a flourish, reaching back to pick up his helmet, and heading back toward Suzaku.

Suzaku's eyes had narrowed during Zero's little performance — whether in suspicion, jealousy, or both it was hard to tell — but he said nothing.

Actually, no, scratch that. It was suspicion apparently, because as Zero crossed the room back toward him, Suzaku's eyes flicked to the place on the coffee table where the boxes had originally been stacked, then the far end of the sofa where they had been lying, and then directly into the camera. 

His eyes didn't seem to focus on it though, and they darted around a small, few centimetre area, clearly searching, and it was his bad luck that the camera must have been too cleverly hidden to see, even staring directly at it, but he had clearly correctly calculated the exact angle Zero had been hiding his face from.

Zero set his free hand on Suzaku's chest, and Suzaku's eyes flicked back over to his face.

"Thank you, Suzaku," Zero said solemnly. He gave him a quick kiss. "Even when we're against each other, you're still…the best friend I've ever had. The only person who knows me. Even— Even— Well. You're the only person I can't lie to. You always figure me out even when I wish you wouldn't. So thank you. There are so many people I wish I didn't have to lie to, sometimes wish I couldn't lie to, but you're the only one…" Zero's head bowed. "I think you and C.C. are my only real friends anymore, and the irony is that none of us are exactly on the same side, yet I still love you and I believe you both do the same. I don't think anything can change that at this point, but I…sometimes wish it could."

Suzaku's eyes narrowed further. "What does that mean. Why does that feel like a goodbye — what are you planning to do? Is this— Is this about that shit you said earlier about caring about people being a liability at this point? You can't just drop everybody!" Suzaku was starting to sound increasingly angry. "You're so full of bullshit; you'd never consider her a liability and just drop—"

Zero smacked his hand over Suzaku's mouth and stepped away slightly. "Because it is a goodbye." He conspicuously only answered the first part, and his voice was suddenly cold and clipped, a complete 180 from the emotion he'd allowed himself to bare just moments earlier. 

He waited a pointed moment before dropping his hand.

Suzaku grabbed his upper arms, looking like he wanted to shake him. "What are you planning to do, Zero?"

"I'm doing nothing, it's simply too much of a risk to keep seeing each other like this."

Suzaku turned instantly furious. "You think you can just make that decision for me? You've decided that the risk is suddenly too great? This whole time it would all go to shit for me the moment anyone found out about this!"

Zero laughed, and it was a short, ugly, cruel thing. "How arrogant. You always think everything I do is about you, don't you? Every time we do this, I edge closer to one of my Black Knights finding out, and if they do, I will instantly lose their trust and it's entirely uncertain whether anything I do will ever gain it back. I need to continue being Zero to destroy Britannia, I need control of forces of my own. One man alone cannot fight an army."

Suzaku's knuckles were white where he was gripping Zero's arms, and it must have hurt, but Zero didn't appear to have any sort of reaction to that any more than his tone showed any emotion other than coldness and mild scorn.

"Don't lie to me! You know I know you're lying!"

"Your self importance truly never stops. It's how you clawed your way to the top of the military, isn't it?"

"Stop it!"

"There's nothing to stop, Suzaku, except your egoist tantrum," Zero said, utterly unruffled.

"Fine!" Suzaku spat furiously. "Fine! You play the fucking villain if you want to. Hide whatever it is about Princess Euphemia and push me away, but don't be surprised when you get what you want and you're fucking miserable."

"Right now the only thing making me miserable is you," Zero said dryly.

Suzaku clenched his jaw hard for a few moments. "Why are you doing this to me?" He finally bit out. "Why did you do this to me?! When I fucking kill you for Princess Euphemia all I'm— all I'm going to be able to think about is…you. The way you feel against me, the way you care, just— how fucking in love with you I am. Why did you do this to me?" He turned his devastated face away. "I guess that will be my fucking punishment, since you've arranged it so that I can't face any real one."

"And there you go, still thinking it's about you. I wanted to survive and that was the only way to do it. You were collateral and I couldn't care less how you feel about the curse I put on you, as you've called it."

"Why won't you stop lying?!" Suzaku shook him, looking desperate. "I remember. You kept telling me I was going to die, I remember the fucking fear in your eyes — you were afraid for me, you weren't thinking about yourself or needing to destroy Britannia, you just wanted me to live." He gave a humourless laugh. "One of the few times you weren't thinking about yourself, and yet it still managed to be one of the most selfish things you've ever done. It's fucking destroying my life, and yet I can never be rid of it."

Once again, the viewers were left with more questions than answers. What exactly did Zero do? How was making sure he lived a continuing curse? How exactly did Zero make people do things?

"I don't care how you feel about it." Zero was utterly impassive. "I've already told you that it was a mere side effect of what I needed to save myself."

"You stupid bastard," Suzaku said deliberately, dropping Zero's arms and grabbing his chin, yanking him in closer and tilting his own face up slightly to stare into Zero's eyes with a fiery gaze. "If that was the truth, you would have just made me save you. You wouldn't have made me live. Are you ever going to stop lying, Zero? Or are you just going to go until everything collapses around you like a house of cards?"

Zero was unmoved. "You can keep deluding yourself as much as you like, but this conversation is clearly going nowhere," he said coolly. "Get out."

Suzaku let go of him with a look of utter contempt and disgust. "No, you just don't have anywhere left to hide, you little rat."

"Suzaku. Get out. Now." There was no anger in his tone, but the complete lack of emotion coupled with the authority was stunning. He sounded like he was giving orders to his troops.

Suzaku glared at him. "I can't. Not until you go first and make sure none of your Knights are lurking around. Did the emotions you're pretending not to have make you forget that?" He challenged. "I thought you were better than that, Zero, you're supposed to be such a brilliant mastermind, supposed to keep track of everything all the time — something must really be getting the better of you, huh?" 

Zero pushed him away harshly with a hand in the centre of his chest and put his helmet on. "I don't have time for your ridiculous fantasies," he dismissed. And then, in what was clearly an extremely petty move, though he said it with absolutely no inflection whatsoever, "I need to speak to my fiancée." 

And then he turned away and walked to the door without a glance back.

Suzaku lunged after him at the last moment and grabbed his wrist, yanking him back.

"No. You don't get to do that to me," he said, his voice slowly growing angrier as he spoke. "I'm not playing your stupid mind games. Don't you dare stand here and tell me to my face that you feel nothing for me when you're resorting to petty, deflective blows to get under my skin just to get back at me. You—"

Zero grabbed Suzaku by the throat and slammed him against the wall next to the door, and Suzaku seemed too surprised to do anything but let him.

"You listen to me, Kururugi Suzaku," Zero hissed. "I will do whatever I wish, and I will put an end to this if I very well feel like it. You want to hear how I feel about you? I think you're the worst type of fucking hypocrite there is." His hand tightened fractionally. "You call me a monster, and far be it from me to disagree or pretend I haven't done every single terrible thing on my bloody hands, but you," he hissed venomously, "you say it as if you aren't exactly the same. You speak of all the awful things I've done in the 'thin name of justice'. What about you, Suzaku? How many have you murdered for Britannia? How many of your own people? What of you first murder in the thin name of peace? How many have you slain just to be a good boy and climb in the Britannian's ranks in your naïve hope that someday you're going to fix everything. Like you won't already have been consumed by the rot by that point. Look at you, Suzaku. Look at you." He leaned his face closer, his voice finally lowering — though it wasn't any kinder for it. "You have sacrificed every single one of your cherished morals, my love." The pet name dripped from his lips like poison.

Suzaku looked no less angry. "I told you. I don't believe in a point of no return—"

"Did I say you could fucking talk?" Zero finally removed his hand from around Suzaku's throat and grabbed his chin, manually shutting his mouth and holding it there. "You wanted me not to pretend I don't feel things for you, didn't you? So let me make it crystal clear what I feel." He stepped closer to Suzaku, right up against him, their bodies brushing and his mask brushing Suzaku's nose, and it was entirely unclear whether it was meant to be intimidating or erotic, or quite possibly both. 

"You took everything from me." Zero's voice simmered with a deep anger. "You took C.C., you took my freedom, you used me to get that pretty fucking title from the emperor you wear so proudly now. And you let him take everything from me. You used me to make Britannia win the fucking war against Europia!" He was shouting now. "How do you think I feel about that?! Millions more people crushed in the fetid, tyrannical fist of Britannia because of me, my expertise. And in my lucid moments you did fucking nothing whilst I begged for the smallest morsel of your help. You say I have an emotionless act? I remember the way you stared at me every time I begged you for water, with nothing in your eyes."

Suzaku's eyes now had gone extremely wide.

Zero pushed Suzaku's head back until it smacked against the wall. "And then, when you were done using me, you took my entire life away. You took my entire reason for living. You let him take her from me!" Zero was starting to sound hysterical. "And then replaced her. Replaced her with that fake. And made me give him everything that should have been for her! I fucking HATE HIM! I want to kill him, but I still need him for my fucking plans to work, and now I have to keep pretending to love him—" Zero may have been nearing a breakdown now, from the sound of it "—but he stole her place, he's a faker and I will always fucking despise him, and I will always despise you and Charles Zi Britannia for taking her from me and putting me here like this! I— I haven't seen her in so long." Zero's voice broke, suddenly having dropped much quieter and turning devastated instead of angry. "I haven't heard her voice or held her hand. I miss her. I miss her." He sounded overcome with grief. 

He slumped forward, clutching at his chest with his free hand. "I miss her like I'd miss my own lungs. Everything, everything I do is for her. How could you let him take her from me? I thought you loved her too, how can you ever want her in that bastard's reach?! He doesn't care about her—" He sounded almost panicked now "—he despises her for being weak, he thinks she's less than. He doesn't know, he doesn't understand; that means nothing! Her smile means everything. I have to kill him. I'm going to kill him, and if you make me I won't hesitate to kill you too. I may have loved you, but I will never forgive you and I will always hate you just as much as I hate that faker for doing this to me."

Zero finally took his hand away from Suzaku's jaw, only to immediately smack it over his mouth when he opened it. "What did I tell you?! Don't you dare say my fucking name right now!" He was suddenly right back to hysterical.

Suzaku raised his hands in surrender, and Zero took his hand away again. "Fine, we've both done terrible things, and terrible things to each other, but at least she's not fucking dead."

"YOU DON'T THINK EUPHY'S DEATH HURT ME TOO?! You play like you can understand me more than anyone, but you're apparently fucking blind!"

"THEN WHY DID YOU FUCKING KILL HER?! WHY DID YOU DO WHAT YOU DID?!" 

"FUCK!" Zero hands came up to hold his head on either side of his helmet. "I TOLD YOU I CAN'T TELL YOU!"

"Why. Why?! How can you not tell me the most vital—"

"Because I fucking know you! And I know how you'll react! And it wouldn't be a good situation!"

"YOU DON'T THINK I'M ALREADY PISSED THE HELL OFF?! AND PLANNING TO KILL YOU FOR IT?"

"THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM! YOU WOULD BE RIGHT TO, JUST FUCKING WAIT UNTIL I DESTROY BRITANNIA FIRST!"

"Then what the hell is the problem?!"

"I can't—" Zero rather abruptly switched gears. "I'm fucking late. I need to go before somebody comes to get me and finds you. This is over."

"What?! Zero!"

"Goodbye, my love." His emotion was suddenly gone again, in the blink of an eye, like it had never been there in the first place. "I'm sure I'll see you eventually at the other end of your sword."

Zero was out the door before Suzaku could lift a finger to stop him.

Suzaku let out a heavy sigh and banged his head back against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose like he was trying to stave off an oncoming headache. "Fuck." 

He let himself slide down the wall and curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his shins and burying his face in his knees. He stayed like that until the video cut off a couple minutes later.

And the viewers were left with only mountains of confusion, and a deep sense of unwilling heartache.

It was only a few days before another video dropped, just as anonymous and untraceable as the first, but it appeared to be from the same source, and cropped up in all the same places in the same manner, and it was just as salacious and scandalous as the first. And, tellingly — though he had a different partner — this one also starred Kururugi Suzaku, the Japanese Traitor, the Knight of Zero, the defence and support to Lelouch the Demon: the greatest horror this world had ever known.

The other star was Lelouch Vi Britannia, the Demon himself.

Perhaps that explained a few things. It was less of a mystery why Suzaku would ever aid such a man if he was sleeping with him.

This video began with Lelouch walking into the room — presumably his own bedroom, from the lavish look of it — and beckoning over his shoulder imperiously without glancing back (in a manner disconcertingly reminiscent of Zero in the first video when Suzaku had first entered). "Come."

Suzaku followed him in, and Lelouch whirled around, stepping much too close much too fast (though Suzaku didn't so much as blink, let alone flinch), and shut the door firmly with a hand over Suzaku's shoulder.

"What have you brought me here for, Lelouch?"

Lelouch ran his free hand up Suzaku's waist. "What do you think?" He stepped even closer and tilted his face down slightly to rest their foreheads together. "There is…very little time left to enjoy life's few pleasures anymore."

Suzaku's eyes dropped to the floor and he turned his face away. "Lelouch…"

"Shh." Lelouch brought his hand up to turn Suzaku's face back toward him, but Suzaku's eyes stayed averted. "Don't think about that part. Think about the pleasure part."

Was this how it had worked in Lelouch's court? He did whatever he wanted to whomever, whenever he pleased? Many of the viewers wished it was more of a surprise, but it wasn't, not at all — in fact, it seemed very much like Lelouch the Demon to do such a thing. The only question was why Suzaku would stay by his side. Perhaps fear of being killed if he left?

Actually, that wasn't the only question. What had happened between Suzaku and Zero? Had they ever made up? Surely not or Lelouch would be jealous of having to share his plaything with anyone else — unless, of course, they still managed to keep it a secret. That would probably be more difficult though with Lelouch and Suzaku so close…

Suzaku's eyes flicked back up to meet Lelouch's. "You are, without a doubt, the worst person I've ever met," he deadpanned.

"Well that's just not true. You've met my father." 

Half of the viewers were aghast that this was the only response to such boldness (to essentially directly spitting in the emperor's face) and not some sort of violence. But Lelouch seemed to be entertaining him, at least for now.

Suzaku held his gaze steadily. "I know."

In a split second, Lelouch's face hardened into a terrifyingly cold mask as his body tensed. There it was.

Suzaku merely smiled at him.

Lelouch's body relaxed and he shot him a glare before looking away. "Don't. Tease me like that."

…What? How— How could Lelouch the Demon, who kept people in fear that he may kill them and their entire family if they so much as spoke a bad word about him, be just simply…letting this…go?

"It's called reciprocity, Lulu; normally you're such a fan."

"Not like that."

"You're an insensitive asshole to me, I'm an insensitive asshole to you; you get what you sow."

"I think I liked you better when you just punched me," Lelouch grumbled. And yet it continued to seem like more token complaining than anything — it was utterly mystifying.

Suzaku still looked amused as he brought a hand up to the back of Lelouch's head and pulled him in for a (slightly deeper than it really needed to be) kiss. "No you didn't."

Oh. Was this some sort of actual relationship? Did Suzaku actually…want Lelouch? But what about Zero?

"Don't I control you or something? You're not allowed to do that."

Suzaku raised his eyebrows. "You can try, but I'd like to see how any of your plans are going to work without me."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes. "You'd never leave me."

"No," Suzaku said mildly. "Because you'd never actually try to make me your slave. Right?" He said the last part pointedly, with a hard look.

Lelouch sighed and looked away again. "No," he admitted reluctantly, sounding almost regretful about that fact.

"There's something seriously wrong with me for loving you," Suzaku said, before kissing him again.

Well. Apparently Suzaku did want this. For…whatever reason. What appeal there could be to the Demon — beyond maybe surface level aesthetics, which the personality more than negated — was an absolute mystery to the viewers, but nonetheless there seemed to be some to Suzaku, and whatever he'd had with Zero must have ended for good with Zero coldly pushing him away at the end of the last video.

"Uncalled for," Lelouch mumbled against his lips.

"Completely called for," Suzaku shot back, and kissed him harder, running his hands over Lelouch's waist and down over his hips before using his grip to start pushing Lelouch backward across the room toward the bed.

Once Lelouch hit the edge, he pulled away from Suzaku and pushed himself up onto it, kicking off his shoes and backing up onto it fully. Suzaku toed off his shoes as well and then immediately crawled over Lelouch, penning him in and leaning his face in close. "I know you'd never do that — the thought of making me your slave, making Nunnally your slave, anybody close to you, it fucking horrifies you. And yet it's so difficult for you to admit things like that, to admit to having humanity, even to me. Why do you think it's so much easier to be the villain, even to the people who love you, the people you love? Why do you want to scare them away? Why do you want to become the lie you've created?"

Lelouch closed his eyes. "Please don't psychoanalyse me in bed."

Suzaku stared at him for a long moment and then let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. Just know that I see through your bullshit."

"You always do," Lelouch said wearily.

And yet, to the viewers, none of this added up. How could they…say any of what Suzaku was saying was true? Maybe Suzaku was working for him voluntarily, but Lelouch did chain his sister Princess Nunnally up like his slave, and now they were pretending as if that thought would horrify him? How could Suzaku say Lelouch's villainy was only some lie he had created when all the blood he'd spilled — all the utter misery and suffering he'd caused — was so very real? None of it added up!

Suzaku kissed him hard and cupped one of Lelouch's cheeks with his hand. "I've only ever met one person who cared as deeply as you do."

Lelouch's face flashed with pain. "Don't. Don't go there right now."

Suzaku kissed over his jaw and down his throat. "I'll never forgive you," he whispered against his skin. "But I'll never stop loving you. I'll never leave your side. Not until the end."

"You have a knack for bringing up the worst shit possible during sex," Lelouch murmured, but it was hazy, and he seemed more concentrated on arching his neck for Suzaku as he lavished attention over it.

"Mm, well, you learned that a long time ago. Hasn't stopped you, has it?"

"Unfortunately not." Lelouch pushed at Suzaku. "Off. I'm the emperor of the world, I get to be comfortable while you fuck me."

Suzaku obediently moved aside, looking amused as Lelouch crawled into bed and arranged several pillows under and around himself just so.

"Of course Emperor Lelouch doesn't want to do any of the work," Suzaku teased. "I guess that means no more just pushing you down on whatever's closest and having my way with you either? Fucking you on the floor, against the wall, bending you in all sorts of fun shapes?"

Lelouch huffed. "Why is it that I'm never the one twisting you into a pretzel?"

Suzaku laughed. "Are you trying to imply you're more considerate?" Incredulous was an understatement. "It's because you're weak. You couldn't do half the shit I do."

Lelouch paused for a long moment. "I'm sure I could figure something out."

Suzaku just laughed at him again.

"Well sorry I'm not in the army," Lelouch huffed, and suddenly Suzaku rolled back on top of him, kissing him hot and open mouthed.

"You don't have to be; I like you like this." He ran a slow hand down Lelouch's side. "Pretty sure you agree if the way you obsess over my arms and shoulders is any clue."

"I do not obsess," Lelouch protested, hands sliding up over the fine black mesh covering Suzaku's biceps and shoulders between the black sleeves and white collar of his uniform. "They're just…nice."

"Yes, that's exactly why you chose this outfit for me," Suzaku said sarcastically. "Because you don't like staring at them all the time."

"Pure coincidence," Lelouch insisted, sliding a hand up into Suzaku's hair and dragging him down for another deep kiss. "Now take it off and get in bed."

Suzaku huffed out an amused breath, but shifted back onto his haunches, straddling Lelouch, and slowly pulled off his gloves, finger by finger, before tossing them over the side of the bed to the floor. And then he peeled his uniform top off, letting Lelouch stroke a hand over his abdomen as he pulled the sleeves from his arms and threw the shirt to the floor as well.

Lelouch's hand trailed down to his waistband and he curled his fingers around it, before tugging forward hard. Suzaku bent over him again, caging him in with his forearms, and Lelouch arched up to kiss him, starting to undo his trousers with one nimble hand as he did so, tracing up his side with the other hand, over his back, feeling over his muscles.

Lelouch slid his hand into Suzaku's trousers, his other hand coming up to tangle in his hair and pull him closer, kiss him harder, deep and open mouthed and desperate. Suzaku made a pleased noise into the kiss, rocking into Lelouch's hand as his own slid down to frantically begin unbuttoning Lelouch's sleeve, fingers stumbling over the buttons. He managed to get them all undone and shifted his weight to undo the other sleeve and then eagerly pushed up Lelouch's shirt.

Lelouch braced his free hand on the bed and slowly pushed himself up, giving Suzaku time to shift onto his knees to give him space before briefly breaking their kisses to tear his shirt over his head and throw it toward the floor and then crushing their mouths back together as he shoved his trousers down, squirming out of them and his pants under the sheets.

Suzaku pushed him back down, pressing his body down against him again and grinding with a sinuous roll of his hips. Their moans mixed together as Lelouch's hand slid down the back of Suzaku's trousers, grabbing his ass and pulling him against him harder as he spread his legs, knees poking up slightly through the sheets as he pushed right back up against Suzaku.

"Fuck." Suzaku broke away gasping and scrambled off the bed, shoving the rest of his clothes off in record time whilst Lelouch threw his own discarded clothes out of the bed, his socks quickly following. Suzaku snatched the lube from on top of the bedside table (and, once the viewers thought about that any, it didn't take long to realise that being emperor of the world probably meant you didn't have to act ashamed of anything, did it? And he was Lelouch the Demon, after all, he'd probably just kill anyone who so much as looked at him funny about it) and climbed into bed with Lelouch, immediately settling on top of him between his legs and kissing him hard, like he'd somehow managed to miss him in the spare seconds they'd been apart.

He managed to get some of the lube on his fingers, and then his hand disappeared under the sheet.

A moment later Lelouch made a small noise in the back of his throat, and Suzaku started kissing over his jaw, down his throat. 

Lelouch turned his head, baring his throat for Suzaku. "More," he gasped, and then, after a moment he let out a wanton, "Ah—"

"Yeah?" Suzaku murmured huskily, skimming his teeth over his sensitive skin.

Lelouch wrapped a leg around Suzaku and buried a hand in his hair, pulling his face closer against him as he ground against him, eyes shut tight.

Suzaku left a trail of sucking kisses back up his neck to his face. "Lelouch," he panted reverently against the side of his face. "Lelouch, Lelouch."

Lelouch let out a small moan. "Yes," he breathed, so soft it was hardly audible.

Suzaku spent a few more minutes fingering him until finally he decided he'd had enough and reached for the lube again, getting more in his hand and then reaching back down. From the slight movement of his elbow under the sheet he was likely stroking his cock, and he leaned his face closer to Lelouch as Lelouch's eyes slid shut, waiting for him to kiss him or fuck him or both.

Suzaku stopped when their lips were just a hairsbreadth apart. "Don't close your eyes," he murmured.

Lelouch's striking violet eyes fluttered back open, and Suzaku's hips finally pressed forward.

Lelouch's mouth fell open slightly as his brows scrunched in pleasure, his eyes falling half-shut, but he fought to keep them open while Suzaku immediately fell into a slow, easy rhythm.

"Gorgeous," Suzaku whispered against his lips, awed and reverent, and then kissed him deeply.

Lelouch's eyes finally slid shut, and he made a low, pleasured noise and wrapped his arms and legs around Suzaku, pushing one hand back into his hair.

They continued on like that for quite some time until Lelouch started rutting up against Suzaku with little frustrated noises, clearly trying to spur him into going faster, though it was utterly ineffective.

"Suzaku!" He snapped.

"Mhm?"

"Are you trying to tease me to death?"

Suzaku smiled, and it was entirely uninterpretable what he meant by that.

Lelouch huffed and pushed at the bed, attempting to roll them over. "If you want something done right, you'd better do it yourself," he grumbled to himself, and then glared at Suzaku as he only looked dubiously at Lelouch's attempt to push them over one-handed.

Suzaku conceded to Lelouch's glare and rolled to the side, pulling Lelouch on top of him. "Tired of not getting to be in charge? You'd think you've had enough of that in your life."

"Shut up," Lelouch snapped, planting a hand by Suzaku's head and reaching back with the other behind himself under the sheets, before slowly starting to roll his hips. He quickly gained speed as he leaned forward a little further over Suzaku and brought his other hand back up, leaning his weight on his hands braced to either side of Suzaku's head. "Tired of your games. I brought you here to get fucked, and I intend to do just that. So make me come already."

Suzaku laughed. "You're hot when you get all fired up."

"I'm always hot!"

Suzaku certainly seemed to have a type. Lelouch and Zero were turning out to be unsettlingly alike in so many strange, little ways.

"Mhmmm," Suzaku drawled. "But I like watching you like this." He slid his hands over Lelouch's hips. "It's sexy."

"There are so many other sexy things without you having to piss me off!"

Suzaku smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners (and this time, it just looked like genuine happiness, with nothing else behind it), and rolled his hips back up against Lelouch. "Sorry honey," he said teasingly.

Lelouch's breath hitched, and Suzaku's eyebrows rose slightly then his grin widened. 

Lelouch scowled at him. "Fuck you."

"I think that's kind of moot right now." Suzaku ran his hands over Lelouch's waist and pulled him down closer.

Lelouch resisted for a moment, but quickly gave — however his scowl stayed fixed firmly in place.

Suzaku brushed a sweet kiss over his mouth and reached down between them to jerk him off quickly. "You totally have little domestic fantasies about me, don't you."

"Don't psychoanalyse me in bed," Lelouch growled.

Suzaku turned his head slightly, a ghost of a smile still lingering on his lips as they skated over Lelouch's cheek. "Okay sweetheart," he murmured softly against his skin.

Lelouch bit his lip hard with a small, wounded sound, and a few pearly drops splattered over Suzaku's chest.

Suzaku covered the side of Lelouch's face with kisses, bringing his free hand up to stroke over his hair. "God, you're so perfect," he breathed. "So perfect."

His hand between them slowed and it slid back to hold Lelouch's hip before he braced his feet against the bed and rolled his hips, slowly starting to fuck him again.

Lelouch gave a little half-voiced moan and dropped his head to Suzaku's shoulder.

Suzaku ran his hand down from Lelouch's hair over his cheek and tilted his face back up, giving him a slow, loving kiss. "I wish we could," he said softly against his lips before kissing him again.

Only a few short minutes later, Suzaku was crying out against Lelouch's mouth as his hips stuttered and hitched, and then they slowed to a stop. He let go of Lelouch, breaking their kisses and staring up at him as his hands stroked over Lelouch's sides, his hips, down his thighs, and then back up.

Lelouch gave a sated groan and shifted off of Suzaku's cock before rolling onto his side beside him, one leg still hitched loosely up over Suzaku's hip as Suzaku turned up to face him and scooted closer, almost right up against him.

Lelouch rested one hand on Suzaku's chest and buried the other in his sex-tousled curls as he pulled him in to kiss him again. Their kisses turned slow and lazy as they basked in the afterglow, occasionally letting out a small, contented sound.

The door abruptly opened without so much as a knock. "Lelouch—" A green-haired woman started. "Oh. You have company." Which was a very polite way to put things, in the face of them both tangled up closely in bed together, obviously naked despite the mussed sheet still partially covering them, their clothes strewn over the floor, pillows and hair in disarray, and tongues in each others' mouths.

Lelouch broke away from Suzaku to cast an annoyed glare at her. "Yes. Leave."

She crossed her arms. "Well that's rude."

"C.C. Out." He grated out.

C.C.? It was probably only because the previous video was so fresh in everyone's minds, but that left many people wondering. Was this somehow the same woman Zero had been so close to? How? Why? How could she support two such vastly different people? Such vastly different causes?

"If I didn't know better," Lelouch sniped, "I might start thinking your constant refusal to knock is just you fuelling a perverse need to explore certain aspects of humanity."

C.C. gave a coy smile. "Why? Are you offering to teach me?"

Suzaku's face darkened, and Lelouch smacked a hand over his mouth without looking.

"Quiet, witch," he snapped. "Suzaku is off limits."

"I wasn't asking Suzaku to teach me," she said blithely.

Lelouch narrowed his eyes and sat up slightly,  leaning toward her. "Suzaku is off limits to tease," he specified. "You know exactly what you're doing."

She huffed. "You're no fun. You've become a real stick in the mud since becoming emperor, you know."

"You've always thought I was a stick in the mud," he dismissed, leaning back again. "Now get out; I was enjoying myself for once, not that you'd know anything about how to do that."

"Honestly, no redeeming qualities," she muttered in a way that was clearly still meant to be heard as she finally turned and left, closing the door behind her.

"She does that shit on purpose just to annoy me," Lelouch complained, dropping his hand from Suzaku's mouth. "She had to know what we were doing, she can feel those things."

Suzaku pressed his lips together and looked away. "Well your eternal bother is less of a problem now that eternity is quite short for you," he eventually mumbled.

"Suzaku." Lelouch scooted closer to him, splaying a hand over his abdomen. "You know some sacrifices have to be made for results. It will all be okay. As long as—" his fingers traced over a round, deep scar, "As long as there's no more of you dying for me, it will be okay."

"Yes, you've made that an impossibility," Suzaku said bitterly. "Now I just kill for you." He closed his eyes. "Please don't make me." His voice sounded weak. "Please don't make me kill you."

"Suzaku," Lelouch said quietly. "We have goals to achieve, and debts to pay. This is our due."

Suzaku rolled on top of Lelouch, looking desperate. "Please. Please. You already took Princess Euphemia from me, don't take you too. Don't you owe me this? After everything you've done?"

Lelouch slowly shook his head. "You know this is about more than us. If it was just us, yes, but the whole world rests on this, Nunnally's dream rests on this, so no, Suzaku, I don't owe you that."

Suzaku's eyes teared up. "Please don't do this to me. You did the same fucking thing with Princess Euphemia, and now you're doing it all over again. Not only are you taking yourself from me, you've fucking destroyed your name in everyone's eyes, in history, forever. You're Lelouch the Demon." A few tears dripped onto Lelouch's face. "And they all think I'm a fucking monster for loving these psychopaths, for mourning you. They don't know who you are, they don't know how— how good, sweet, loving, caring, perfect," Suzaku was starting to babble frantically. "They don't understand—"

"Suzaku." Lelouch met his eyes directly, his stare flat. "I am the last person who deserves to have a single fucking tear shed for me after half of the things I've done. Stop trying to make me into something I'm not. You know my sins intimately, and you know very well that this is so much less than what I deserve." His eyes turned away, downcast. "Euphy…I wish… She deserved so much better. She deserved everything. I…wish things could have been…different." His gaze turned back on Suzaku, hard and determined. "But don't you dare conflate the two of us. Euphy was so many things that I never had a chance in hell of being, so much more, and she…she wanted a gentler world too." Lelouch was starting to look distant, his voice going softer and distant as well. "She knew, she had me figured out from the beginning, and she looked me in the face and forgave me for everything, without hesitation and with a smile. I'll never understand how she could do that, be so kind, so…loving, and just extend her hand to me. I— I— Of course she convinced me to work together, despite all my plans, and even though it might seriously compromise everything I was working toward, because, because…she was Euphy. And then— And then—" His voice faded away, his eyes looking haunted, and when it finally came back it was hardly more than a whisper. "It's a wonder they didn't hear me crying as I spoke. Sometimes I hate that I'm so good at acting, even though it serves me well and I'd never have gotten here without it. I spend so much time cursing all of the things that got me here, and yet I can't turn back now, or it was all— all for…nothing…"

Suzaku's eyes were more intense than ever as they bored into Lelouch. "What happened?" He pressed. "What are you leaving out?"

Lelouch blinked and focused back on Suzaku. "I…can't."

"Lelouch!"

"I'm sorry, Suzaku. I…I'm sorry. Now's not the time. You'll only— Now's not the time."

Suzaku closed his eyes. "Please," he whispered, sounding devastated.

"I can't," Lelouch repeated.

"Give me something, Lelouch. They're all going to fucking celebrate your death." Suzaku's breaths started to become quicker, panicked. "And you're going to make me watch that, hear everybody's relief that you're fucking gone. You're going to make me watch Nunnally's relief that you're dead. You. Who would do anything for her — have done anything for her. Please. Please, Lelouch."

"That's the point," Lelouch said quietly, his throat sounding dry. He swallowed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. There isn't another way to do it. I just— let me make a peaceful world for Nunnally." His voice grew stronger. "You can't use her against me, you know I have to make her dream a reality at whatever cost it takes, and if it's my life then so be it, if it's a million lives then so be it; I will destroy this world and recreate it anew. You can't tell me you don't want that too, Suzaku."

"NOT WITHOUT YOU!" Suzaku yelled as more teardrops splashed down onto Lelouch's cheeks, rolling down them as if they were his own. "Find another way!" He sounded half-crazed, but Lelouch was unfazed.

"There isn't one."

"Lelouch, please, you're supposed to be the brilliant chessmaster, you're supposed to have a hundred schemes, how can you not find another way?!" More tears dripped onto Lelouch's face, but he still made no move to wipe them away.

"I'm sorry Suzaku. You know more than anyone that I'm based on lies and showmanship."

"You're not!" Suzaku protested heatedly. "Those are a part of it, but the things you do would be fucking impossible without your actual tactical genius, so just shut the fuck up and think of another solution!"

Lelouch reached up to stroke a gentle hand over Suzaku's cheek. "I've tried." 

Suzaku dropped his head, looking beyond miserable. "Please. At least tell me what you're hiding about Princess Euphemia?" He begged, his voice wretched.

Lelouch looked away, eyes sad. "I can't."

"You can't at least tell me before you die?"

"I…" His lips pressed together for a moment. "Yes. You'll find out within the month."

"Well obviously! If you're going to tell me, time is fucking running out!" His face turned heartbreakingly devastated again. "Lelouch," he whispered hoarsely, shifting his weight onto one forearm to stroke Lelouch's hair back from his face and then run his trembling hand over the side of Lelouch's face, cupping it gently. "Lelouch, please. Don't leave me alone."

"Somebody has to look out for Nunnally," Lelouch said firmly. Then he leaned up to give Suzaku a soft kiss. "I'm not dead yet. I'm not a dead man walking and I'm not dead yet; I'm still here." 

He wrapped his arms around Suzaku, and Suzaku dropped his head to Lelouch's shoulder, crying. "Don't leave me. I love you, please don't leave me."

"I'm right here."

This whole exchange was not just confusing, it was utterly staggering to the viewers. The idea that Emperor Lelouch had planned his own assassination? That somehow it was a plot for…world peace? The idea that with all the pure evil Lelouch the Demon had done, his aim all along was peace, was just…beyond absurd. The world had improved vastly after he'd been assassinated, but that was because he had been the evil causing all of the problems! And the idea that he was doing this somehow for his little sister — his little half-paralysed sister who he'd kept in chains — was laughable. She had been the only one to cry over his body, but Princess Nunnally had always been a loving and sweet girl; even as awful as he was and the horrible things he'd done to her, he was still her brother, and it only made sense for someone as gentle as her to be sad. 

And Suzaku…Suzaku had been supposed to kill him. But Suzaku was reported to have died in combat several days before, and of course they all saw Zero kill him, so what happened there? Lelouch must have had to change plans last minute, and perhaps it would make sense for Zero to take advantage of an opportunity like this, even if it meant going along with the Demon's plan, if he saw the same outcome Lelouch had predicted. And perhaps he would have even relished it beyond vanquishing the evil, for being handed the opportunity to kill the man who stole his lover and ultimately led to his early demise… Which, speaking of, Suzaku was unparalleled in combat. It did make one wonder how serious he was about not wanting to be left alone. If maybe he did it on purpose.

The last thing — and perhaps most confusing of all — that just kept itching at viewer's minds was the mention of Princess Euphemia. Suzaku said that Lelouch had taken her from him and ruined her name, and indeed Lelouch had vaguely described something that seemed to imply just that. Yet in the last video, Suzaku had said that it was Zero. Perhaps the assassination was not the first time they had worked together after all? Maybe Lelouch was how Zero got Euphemia to do what he wanted. Though exactly how was still up for question, since Lelouch had been frustratingly vague on the details. He'd also asked Lelouch what else he was hiding about her, the same way he'd tried to get something out of Zero…yes, the two must have been in on everything together, that was the only thing that made sense. The only question was why and how?

Just so many questions and not nearly enough answers to go around!

"Do you want me to fuck you?" Lelouch murmured. "Make you feel me?"

Suzaku sniffled, and then sighed out a, "Yes," almost sounding relieved.

He rolled onto his side beside Lelouch and felt behind him on the bed for the lube as he wiped at his face with the back of his other hand. He quickly found the lube and snatched it up, passing it over before pulling Lelouch closer and kissing him again, sliding a leg up to rest over his hip.

Lelouch slicked his fingers up and set the lube aside before sliding his hand between them.

Suzaku rocked against him as he worked, occasionally offering muffled moans of encouragement.

Lelouch broke away after a few long minutes. "Turn over." 

He brushed a final kiss over Suzaku's mouth before Suzaku pulled back and turned away from him, and then he reached for the lube again, reaching down to slick himself up as he scooted closer to Suzaku until he was plastered against his back, curling around him slightly and forcing him to bend as well.

Suzaku slid his top leg forward a little and raised it so Lelouch could slide his own leg between his, and then Lelouch pressed a kiss behind Suzaku's ear as he pressed his hips forward.

"I'm still here," Lelouch whispered, pressing another kiss to his skin and sliding his hand around Suzaku's front, up his abdomen to his chest until it came to rest over his heart, holding him tightly as he started to steadily move his hips. "I've got you."

He pressed more kisses behind his ear, down his neck, over his shoulder, and Suzaku made a sound that was half pleased sigh half moan, his eyes fallen shut, as he planted his foot flat on the bed, his knee poking up high under the sheets, opening his hips more for Lelouch.

Lelouch gave a satisfied hum against him. "Can you feel me?"

"Yes," Suzaku murmured, but answered a slightly different question as he interlaced his fingers with Lelouch's over his heart. "Can feel how much you love me." And, well, Suzaku seemed to be the only one who had any idea what was going on in the Demon's head, so maybe that was what he had meant after all.

Lelouch nosed against the juncture of his shoulder and neck. "Good." His voice was low and firm, and he pressed a kiss there. "Ore wa anata ga daisuki," he whispered against his skin.

Suzaku made a small, desperate noise and craned his head back, reaching back with his free hand to pull Lelouch's head in and kiss him. Lelouch propped himself up on his elbow, leaning over Suzaku slightly to make it easier, and kissed him back passionately.

Eventually Suzaku was making little moans on every exhale and pushing back against him as Lelouch jerked him off.

"Suzaku, fuck, Suzaku," Lelouch gasped.

Suzaku reached back, grabbing Lelouch's hip to grind back harder against him and whimpering out, "Oh god," before his mouth fell open further, his face scrunching slightly with pleasure as he made a mess of the criminally-expensive-looking sheets on the bed.

Lelouch mouthed slow kisses over the back of Suzaku's neck, now just grinding against him more than thrusting as Suzaku let his foot slide down the bed again until his knee was fully dropped.

Suzaku let out a soft, half-voiced moan, and Lelouch finally took his hand away from his cock to run up and down over his bicep a few times as he continued to kiss over his skin.

After a minute or so, however, Lelouch slowly pulled his hips back and then reached down between them, jerking himself off quickly.

Suzaku's hand stroked over Lelouch's hip behind himself. "Mm. Love you," he mumbled, eyes still shut and body lax, his face half turned into the bed.

Lelouch's breath stuttered, and he buried his face against Suzaku's shoulder with a muffled moan.

Suzaku's mouth curled slightly in a tiny smile and his fingers flexed under the sheets as he briefly squeezed Lelouch's hip. "Love you," he whispered again.

Lelouch's hand left his cock to slide back around Suzaku, holding him tightly. "I wish forever was longer," he murmured against him.

A few moments later, a few slow tears slipped through Suzaku's closed lashes, sinking instantly into the sheets or sliding over the bridge of his nose to drip down as he laced his fingers together with Lelouch's again. But he said nothing.

In fact, they only laid there just like that, curled up together, until the video cut off a couple minutes later.

The online reactions were predictably wild.

Welcome to the Knight of Zero Mystery Video Forum! (Or the KOZViF for short, since that's such a mouthful lol).

This is an open space to talk about anything and everything relating to the two mystery videos that have surfaced, and any more that may be yet to come! We only ask that you please keep the conversation respectful. There are mods, and any use of slurs, hate speech, etc. will see you immediately banned. Other than that, please enjoy theorising with each other!

[Edit: Additional note: yes, all users are anonymous and randomly generated on purpose! We thought it best on a public forum surrounding such controversial figures and controversial subject matters, which has become (as we suspected it might) very high traffic due to the hot topic! IP tracking is off as well. We don't want to see anybody getting doxxed over their opinions about this!]

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Anon8267
> I'm so extremely confused by…EVERYTHING about the two videos. I don't understand what we were supposed to get from them

Anon608014
> I don't either. All I got was that WOW Kururugi Suzaku is EXTREMELY fucked up lol

Anon965615
> Also got some serious jealousy issues like oh my GOD

Anon40513
> Maybe it was warranted in Zero's case since he LITERALLY TORTURED HIM AND RUINED HIS LIFE WHAT THE *FUCK*?? YEAH I'D BE WORRIED HE'D LEAVE ME FOR GREENER PASTURES TOO

Anon7959
> I mean. Zero did HELLA fucked up shit to him too.

Anon33464
> I'd be jealous if I was suzaku too, re: CC. Like who spends time casually with their friend in their underwear, and shares a bed with them, and apparently cuddles if she 'crushes him to death'?

Anon70500
> Yeah, and continues to do all of that even after he knows she has feelings for him and after she's literally kissed him??? He talks about her like an annoying roommate, but then lets her do all of that, and when he gets serious says he loves her, so like ?? Yeah id feel a little wtf is going on there too. And him calling her his friend/his only other real friend does not really feel like a reassurance, because he...calls suzaku a friend too. In fact, he repeatedly called suzaku his friend? Not a boyfriend or a partner or a lover, but a fucking friend? And he seemed to be putting the two of them on the same level by comparing them and saying they were his only real friends and that he loved them both and believed they loved him. Like ?? The fuck? If i was suzaku id be incredibly pissed off!

Anon27253
> Idk he did say he loved suzaku other times and definitely seemed to mean it in a different way, and the whole calling him 'my love', and obviously fucking him...he really didn't sound interested in cc (or kallen for that matter) to me. P sure he's super gay lol and therefore they are not a threat. He IS clearly super close with cc, but he's also super close with whoever was taken from him, like INSANELY so with the whole saying she's his entire reason for living and EVERYTHING he does is for her and he misses her like he'd miss his own lungs...I think he's just an extremely passionate person, and when you get close to him, you are CLOSE.

As for calling suzaku a friend, that really didn't feel like he was pulling a no homo or downplaying anything at all with that to me. It sounded like he was being pretty open and sentimental, which the way he did it also implied that that's pretty rare for him. So I think that's significant, and probably meant a lot to suzaku (or, maybe, if the break up didnt outweigh it lol). I mean, your partner can be your friend too, in fact it's GREAT for your partner to be your best friend! I don't think anything he said made it seem like he was trying to downplay/brush aside their romance, I just think the fact that suzaku was his best FRIEND as well meant a lot more to him emotionally than the other aspects of their relationship. I mean, he didn't shy away from saying he loved him, but he also said that would never change that he'd never forgive him for what he'd done, and wouldn't keep him from killing him if suzaku made him. So yeah. I think suzakus friendship meant a lot more to him.

Anon136
> Okay but speaking of reasons Suzaku was jealous...am I the only one wondering what the hell Zero was doing in the shower with Kozuki Kallen tho? (I assume that's who they were talking about???) 

Anon95970
> Ur not!!!! Like  w h a t ? 

Anon254885
> WAIT does that mean Kallen knows Zero's real identity too????

Anon136
> Oh shite yeah

Anon83
> She'd HAVE to if he was in the fucking shower with her, AND on whatever 'exploit' he was on dressed like that with her and CC…clearly he was disguised NOT as Zero so he couldn't have been wearing the mask. Obviously CC must know who he is if she lives and SLEEPS with him, that'd be pretty impossible to manage staying masked constantly, but Kallen must as well.

Anon12397
> Well yeah, if she's kissed him, that kind of requires no mask lol

Anon8384
> Oh yeah, they def both know who he is. I wonder if any of the other black knights know? Or anybody else…since suzaku isn't one, and neither is CC, and he's clearly capable of having connections in strange places, considering the whole SUZAKU thing, and his kind of implied closeness with princess euphemia and probable collusion with lelouch?? 

Who IS this man, literally what on earth, it only gets more confusing the deeper you go. He has the weirdest fucking connections.

Anon734805
> Man. Idfk. That man was always on some next level wild shit, he CLEARLY always had crazy connections to pull off all the wild shit he did. I just don't understand…how. Like how could we not know about him, how would it not be easy to find out who he is from that?! But it's not! It seems downright impossible, nothing ever seems to add up right.

Anon89277
> It DOES. HE IS LELOUCH. I KEEP TRYING TO FUCKING TELL PEOPLE ON HERE AND YOU'RE NOT LISTENING. HE IS EMPEROR LELOUCH AND IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE IT'S GLARINGLY OBVIOUS

Anon32048
> Bro. People have LOOKED at your crackpot theory and it has like FIVE MILLION HOLES IN IT. It doesn't make any bloody sense!!!! Let alone 'glaringly obvious'!

Anon2949
> Can we get back to the videos? I can't be the only one absolutely shocked that ALL of those mfs were gay, right?????

Anon915362
> The whole thing just turned me upside down and shook me for spare change dnfkdnmf. Like. Did. Did he really genuinely call Lelouch the Demon…Lulu. What???? I'm sorry at this point 'the Demon' is part of his legal name to me, I just cannot wrap my head around someone calling a bloodthirsty PSYCHOPATH like that something as cutesy and innocuous as fucking LULU

Anon117233
> *I* can't square suzaku rlly calling lelouch good and sweet and caring and loving, like WHAT. In what world???? Even LELOUCH was like It's Time To Stop lolll

Anon822629
> IKR?????

Anon9824
> No lol you aren't the only one shocked. Tho I'm not sure Suzaku was, I always suspected him and Princess Euphemia had something going on and the videos only confirmed it for me. But he definitely liked men, THAT can't be questioned, not after THOSE videos.

Anon80668
> Re: lulu, no i know i was O_O as well. Like. DOES NOT COMPUTE. Like he really said that in all seriousness? Like he was kind of teasing, but…mate. What??

Anon77495
> About lelouch (not) being caring/loving/sweet…idk. He clearly was really loving and sweet toward suzaku, and seemed to really love princess nunnally and literally destroyed the world and DIED for her, plus I thought I had heard that he used to take care of her himself when they were living on their own for a long time? And despite what he did, he sounded like he loved princess euphemia a lot and was very protective and defensive of her memory. So…as much as he is a monster too…people are multifaceted, and suzaku was in love with him and of course only wanted to look at the best parts of him, and I think he WAS those things sometimes to some people.

Anon457935
> I was surprised they were gay, but then I was like, wait WHY was I surprised about Zero. Doesn't he seem kinda, idk…fruity? The other two though yeah I had no idea. Suzaku I also thought was in love with Princess Euphemia, and Lelouch I…honestly didn't think was capable of that much human emotion lol. Maybe buying sex slaves or something equally awful (tbh I assumed he WAS forcing himself on Suzaku in the beginning). But ig I just assumed it would be women.

Anon32
> Lmao yeah I assumed he was forcing himself on Suzaku too. That seemed much more Lelouch the Demon, yunno. Much more than…letting Suzaku shit talk him and then being all lovey with him. Madness.

Anon410687
> Why'd Zero have to roast poor Cici so hard tho lmaooo. 100% gay. She was hot! And so is Kozuki Kallen! He was around the two of them dressed the way he was describing??? Went in the shower with Kallen? Shares a bed with Cici? Sees her in her underwear constantly? Has been kissed by her? And just thinks 'disgusting, get off of me' nsnfkfkf that is a FLAMING HOMOSEXUAL I don't know what else to tell you. He's in drag with your dick up his ass, how does Suzaku even have the nerve to be JEALOUS? Does he THINK? You could not create a gayer man if you TRIED.

Anon4397
> Yeah u def weren't the only one surprised. When i clicked the first one I wasn't prepared to watch like…an hour of off and on gay sex lmao. At least Zero totally planned all of that and apparently wanted to be *tasteful* about his sex tape and not actually SHOW anything (except for his bare ass and cum dripping down his legs because apparently THAT was fine. Like DUDE), but it was still bad enough. The only redeeming quality was the utter shitshow of drama between and after lol. 

I clicked onto the second one HOPING it wouldn't be soft(medium?)core porn again, and was wildly disappointed. Plus there wasn't nearly the level of drama, way too lovey dovey

Anon30188
> Agreed lol. At least the 2nd one was courteous abt nudity too? Makes me wonder if lelouch also planned that. At first i thought he was probably just paranoid and had security cameras everywhere, but idk seemed a little too *convenient* with the staging of everything once again.

Anon767243
> Idk, unpopular opinion maybe but I thought it was hot and sweet, the way they (both couples) obviously cared for each other so much when they stopped fighting. I didn't really have a problem with it being gay. I agree that they were probably both staged though, but I doubt Suzaku knew about either, or at least not until after the fact. But now I'm wondering who could have gotten their hands on these and be releasing them and WHY? Maybe they both eventually sent them to Suzaku and it's somebody who went through Suzaku's stuff after he died…

Anon1288
> Dont know if id go that far (hot/sweet) but i dont think the gay thing really bothered me. Surprised me yeah, because it's not like we see a lot of gay couples in britannia (or I guess what used to be britannia) i know they exist but theyre pretty subtle about it, and maybe that makes it feel like its less common than it is because none of us had any idea about zero, suzaku, or lelouch, three major public figures, so…idk. But i dont think that part really bothered me to watch, it was more the fighting and how upset suzaku was even tho on a personal level i hate him since he was the supporting power behind lelouch but its just confusing when youre actually seeing into their private lives and emotions, like that's still a really hurt person and it's hard not to feel upset for them

Anon588339
> That's a good question about who's releasing them. I'm not sure we'll ever know unless they decide to reveal themselves, but I think your theory is the only thing that makes any sense. Who would have access to both Zero AND Lelouch's personal files?

Anon925130
> Well…they both were close to that C.C. woman…

Anon42267
> True! And we have NO IDEA what her aims are, since she was somehow supporting BOTH of them, completely opposite causes… ?? Maybe it is her. Actually I think that may make more sense. They both seemed a little too fond of keeping secrets to voluntarily share that with Suzaku.

Anon23290
> Can we talk about how suzaku totally figured out zero was filming and WHERE the camera was, but still didnt say shit? He let zero get away with just TOO MUCH shit, and i think zero knew it too and thats why he did it, because he knew he could get away with it

Anon736
> True. That was bang out of order and Id be pissed off as all FUCK if someone filmed us fucking without ASKING ME FIRST. Especially if they were, I dunno, ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE WAR?? AND THAT TAPE COULD DESTROY MY LIFE????

Anon4404
> Yeah. Also though, since Suzaku figured it out, that kind of supports that he might have confronted Zero about it later and forced him to share it, once it became clear they'd broken up for good?

Anon588339
> Oh yeah that makes sense. And if he figured out Zero, it's totally plausible he could have figured out Lelouch as well

Anon42267
> Okay but who is even left to look through his stuff? Who is even close to him besides Lelouch and Zero, one of whom is dead and the other of whom might be dead or might not but either way it would be a stupid move to release them because it does NOT look good for him and he's way smarter than that

Anon83646
> Well Lady Kaguya is his cousin. Maybe she got custody over his things? Idk why she would WATCH them, let alone release them, but…idk.

Anon229331
> Speaking of that…Zero said they were betrothed?? Aren't they literally FIRST COUSINS?!

Anon588339
> Idk either. Ig that leaves us in the same place, we probably will never know unless they reveal themselves

Anon2868
> Re: betrothal. Well yeah, but they were from basically Japanese nobility before Britannia took over, so. You know, political marriages and such, not always the most SAVOURY of pairings, and kind of to be expected.

Anon441907
> I don't feel like I got anything from the videos except a hundred more questions and no answers, but…they left me super emotionally confused as well. Idk if that was the point. Maybe it was some sort of trying to redeem Suzaku in the public's eyes somehow?? And maybe even Emperor Lelouch? I don't think it did or ever will, but I don't know, idk if I ever really thought of these terrible people (or Zero either, he's a SYMBOL, a miracle maker) as…actual PEOPLE. But idk the videos just. Brought an uncomfortable level of humanity to them that I don't know if I was ready to face. 

Like. These are actual people with emotions and people they care about, and you're telling me THE DEMON can feel love??? Sincerely? That he can be sweet? I felt like i was in an alternate dimension where everything was upside down. You're telling me ZERO. THE LEADER OF THE BLACK KNIGHTS, WHOSE GOAL WAS TO DEFEAT BRITANNIA AND GAIN INDEPENDENCE FOR JAPAN. WAS…TOGETHER WITH A KNIGHT OF THE ROUND????? THAT THE JAPANESE TRAITOR WAS TOGETHER WITH THE LEADER OF THE JAPANESE REBELLION DOES THAT MAKE IT BETTER OR WORSE I DONT KNOW!!!!!

Anon388254
> Zero is unstable as FUCK lol. Idk why I was surprised by that. I was, but then I was like. Wait why. He was ALL OVER THE PLACE. How the fuck did Suzaku deal with him?? Why did Suzaku WANT to deal with him? Was the ass that good, like damn, he was on some CRAZY shit

Anon7201
> Lmaooo true though. He was fucking pingponging from like 'I'm The Sexiest Bitch Alive Were You Aware? IM Aware' to 'Yeah You're Right To Hate Me Babe I Suck' to 'I'm Madly In Love With You' to 'I Have Absolutely No Emotions Ever And Am Cruel As Fuck' to 'I AM FILLED WITH *SO MANY* FUCKING EMOTIONS AND I HATEEE YOUUU! (and also I'm gonna force you to witness my breakdown over some random chick???)'. What…what is it like inside his head?? I'm afraid to even ask. Can NOT imagine trying to be in a relationship with that, like WHAT, how do you even START to deal with all of that mess. Literally impossible not to be toxic as fuck

Anon89590
> I mean. I guess we can confidently say the drama comes naturally to him. Like holy fucking SHIT. Everything that motherfucker did was dramatic as all HELL. Literally his 'entire reason for living'? 'I miss her like I'd miss my own lungs'? Like calm down you dramatic hoe lollll

Anon594510
> You guys are mean as fuck!!!!! Were you not paying attention???!! Someone he LOVES DEARLY was literally fucking KIDNAPPED BY THE EMPEROR OF BRITANNIA and if they used him to win the war, then he wouldn't have seen her for over a YEAR! I THINK HE HAS A FUCKING RIGHT TO BE UPSET!!!! It also sounds like she's infirm or disabled in some way or can't fully take care of herself or something from the way he was talking!! He has every right to be upset and terrified for her! Charles Zi Britannia was huge into eugenics-y tripe and 'only the strong survive/are worthy', and of course he wouldn't want her anywhere near him! Who knows what he might have done????!

Anon1525
> Also lol, you guys are calling him crazy but 1. the emotionless thing was clearly a front/defence mechanism and Suzaku straight up called him on that, and 2. he clearly loves suzaku, he SAYS he loves Suzaku, he ACTS like he loves Suzaku, and I just think it's too intense and Suzaku knows him too well for it to all be manipulation. But he also CLEARLY has a lot of hurt and resentment buried in there, because, if you listened to what he said, Suzaku did some EXTREMELY fucked up shite to him! And of course Suzaku has his own anger because Zero ALSO did extremely fucked up shite to HIM, but two wrongs don't make a right! They don't cancel each other out, and Zero still has every right to be upset and resentful just as much as Suzaku does. 

Suzaku directly tortured him, used him, possibly drugged him because he said something about lucid moments?? Forced him to do things INCREDIBLY counter to his beliefs, and betrayed not only him but his loved one as well (because Zero said I thought you loved her too!) and helped the emperor take her. 

Whilst what Zero did was INCREDIBLY fucked up (he forced the woman Suzaku was sworn to protect and it sounds like was in love with to commit genocide on his people and then murdered her. And then Suzaku also mentioned whatever Zero did to save his life at some point is ruining his life and he can never be rid of it?? I don't understand but I'll take his word for it) but neither of those things were PERSONAL the way that Suzaku's were. Zero clearly was using Princess Euphemia to advance the goals of the black knights, and Suzaku said himself that Zero was terrified for him and it might have been the one selfless thing he's done (but that it still managed to be selfish anyway). So Zero's AIM in those things was never to hurt Suzaku, and Suzaku was never a TARGET for him. And even though SUZAKU says he's going to kill Zero, and even though Zero sounds like he's lumping Suzaku in with the emperor and saying how much he DESPISES him and always will, he…only says he'll kill Suzaku if he MAKES him. That's not his goal, he doesn't WANT TO, not the way Suzaku does.

Suzaku, on the other hand, set his sights directly on Zero (and someone vulnerable who he deeply loved!) time and time again, and STILL IS NOT DONE. He still wants to kill him! 

And Zero accepts that. That is REALLY the difference between them. Suzaku is on his high horse about his make believe morality about what he's doing, when he's just as much of a monster, except he refuses to take ownership of all of his deeds. Zero knows exactly everything he's done and refuses to make EXCUSES, because what's done is done. Personally, maybe I'm wrong, but I think he maybe didn't originally intend for things to go the way they did with Princess Euphemia and they just went wildly out of control. But he knows he's still responsible. And he also knows that if he tells Suzaku that, Suzaku will make excuses for him and try to lessen what he did (maybe that's just my optimism? But to me that's the only thing I can think of that fits with his behaviour) and clearly it weighs on him because he said it hurt him too, and it was one of the things he was most explosive about. TWICE, Princess Euphemia made him suddenly explode into shouting, and he also kept calling her Euphy. Who was she to him? Who IS he? How could they be close? How could his and Suzaku's personal lives seem to be so close, where they seem to know people in each other's close circles and know these intimate details about each other? No type of identity I try to think of for Zero makes sense, because all the facets of his life seem to contradict each other.

Anon89590
> Alright yeah that's valid

Anon26005
> He was still all over the place tho, it wasn't just the end, it was the whole thing. How the hell do you even keep up with him?

Anon906076
> Okay Zero was wild and all, but *I* couldn't get over Lelouch just letting Suzaku talk back to him and be rude as fuck. Caught me so off guard like what?

Anon207043
> Tbh I was fully shaken by Lelouch telling Suzaku he didn't deserve to be mourned and ACKNOWLEDGING his monstrousness. Like…idk I guess I thought he either thought he was right to do everything he did, or knew he was terrible but just didn't care, but he…seemed to believe he deserved punishment for everything he did, said he deserved WORSE than what he got (he said this was SUZAKU'S punishment as well, which is a fucked up thing to say to your lover, but he was right that Suzaku had a LOT to pay for as well, and he got off easy as hell by dying (on purpose??) before Lelouch could enact his plan). 

I kind of don't know what to feel. I…don't know whether that makes it better or worse that Lelouch went into all of this with his eyes fully open and decided it was worth the cost anyway. That's its own brand of horrible. He felt every life he took and did it all anyway as long as it served his ultimate goal of giving Nunnally her peaceful world. I don't know whether that's just an insane testament of love, or a special type of evil, or maybe both.

Anon413107
> Same. Idk how to square the self-reflective, repenting monster who is…committing his evil for the greater good? Yet knows that doesn't excuse his actions and that he is not a good person for it and the blood on his hands is very real? It's so confusing, how do I feel about him. I almost want to call him weirdly rational and able to see everything with an unsettling clarity, except that I don't understand how someone can make the decisions he did and be rational, not be some type of insane.

Anon26736
> IDK either. And his love for Princess Euphemia felt so real, and yet he still helped force her to do what she did and set up her death. How??? I don't understand him.

Anon86
> Yeah but suzaku didn't learn SHIT from zero smacking him in the face with all the shit he did, because he STILL likes to pretend he's blameless. They all think im a monster for loving these psychopaths??? No suzaku, we think you're a monster for much more than that, white reaper. My dead friends and family say hi. Or did he just so easily forget the way he laid waste to europia? Were our lives so meaningless to him?

Anon8302
> Not just Europia. He dropped the FLEIJA warhead on the Tokyo settlement. 25 million of his own fucking people dead. Honestly, he's worse than The Demon in my book, I fucking hate that traitor and I'm glad Prime Minister Kururugi didn't have to live to see his son become such a...disappointment isn't a strong enough word. Monster is maybe the only word for it after all.

Anon4991
> Maybe that's why Suzaku and Lelouch went together so well. Same type of terrible? They deserve each other? Idk

Anon770094
> What I don't understand is how suzaku dropped ZERO for THE DEMON????? Talk about a fucking downgrade. And he was supposedly in love with him?? And then suddenly he's madly in love with lelouch? There wasn't THAT long between the black knights partnering with the chinese federation and the demon's assassination! And actually we can probably assume he was already with lelouch when he became emperor and suzaku became his knight, so that's even less time. How???

Anon8324
> Well Zero WAS reported to have died. Maybe even Suzaku thought that. He does seem to have a…type. It wouldn't be wild to think some of his feelings for Zero kind of got transferred onto Lelouch in the wake of his grief

Anon46
> Lets not get carried away with how much of a 'downgrade' that is. Zero is not a fucking hero. How are so many people just GLOSSING PAST him ADMITTING to MAKING PRINCESS MASSACRE ORDER THE MURDER OF MILLIONS OF JAPANESE BECAUSE IT 'PLAYED INTO HIS PLANS BEAUTIFULLY'??? Zero is a TRAITOR just as much or MORE than Suzaku! He fucking tricked us! Tricked us into believing in him and cheering him on, and then betrayed us and made us believe it was BRITANNIA. They're all monsters. All three of them are evil, vile fucking people, and I'm glad they're dead, it's the least they deserve. Somebody should take Zero out for good this time.

Anon753889
> That's a good point. Maybe that was why Zero and Suzaku had chemistry too lol. All genocidal maniacs. Saying they have bloody hands is honestly an understatement, it's more like they're just swimming in pools of blood at this point.

Anon277385
> Oceans

Anon56672
> Well Zero also pretty clearly broke up with him at the end of the first video, so…I mean yeah, he probably would have gotten together with Lelouch soon after that

Anon975677
> Okay yeah, but suzaku didnt seem to be ACCEPTING his breakup lol. Or at least he was Trying to still argue. Idk it just didn't seem like hed give up on him so quickly when he was so in love with him and wanted to believe the best of him

Anon4349
> …Unless he found something extremely similar but less complicated in Lelouch. Just saying. It kind of does make sense, they're very similar in a lot of ways.

Anon89277
> I AM TELLING YOU WHY IS NOBODY LISTENING LELOUCH *WAS* ZERO!!!!! THEY'RE THE SAME PERSON!!

Anon1835
> Nobody's listening because you sound fucking INSANE. That makes NO SENSE. 

Anon89277
>No, it makes no sense for him NOT to be!! Everything doesn't add up otherwise! Why would Suzaku be referencing Zero and Lelouch doing the exact same things (re: Princess Euphemia), FURTHER why did Zero seem so familiar with Princess Euphemia? Why did Suzaku not say something like why would you call her that or what right do you have to call her that when Zero called her Euphy instead of only saying 'don't act like you care about her *not after what you did*'?! Implying that it would have been normal or expected for Zero to call her that before and to care about her? BECAUSE SHE'S HIS SISTER! I mean COME ON, even as close as SUZAKU was to her he didn't call her that, yet Zero DOES???? You know who else called her Euphy?? LELOUCH. AND HER SISTER, PRINCESS CORNELIA!

Also they're BOTH extremely close to that C.C. woman?? And they both seemed to care about her, yet they both insulted her, and insulted her the same WAY (calling her a 'witch', which is a kind of unique insult). AND they both called their parents horrible; in the first one Suzaku asked Zero why he was such a dick and Zero said genetics and Suzaku found that funny, so probably agreeing, and in the second he said Lelouch was the worst person he'd ever met and Lelouch said no you've met my father (just saying, that would make total sense from the hating britannia standpoint! They're the same person and he hates his father and what he represents!) And, speaking of, Suzaku calls them both terrible people and says they've done awful things (objectively true), but also says they care deeply about other people (up for debate? Or, at least, it seems like they might, but in a twisted way that does more harm than good). 

And they also BOTH played the same trick of trying to pretend to be emotionless, and they BOTH said Suzaku ALWAYS SEES THROUGH THEM. *AND* both implied they'd been together for a long time — Suzaku asks why he can't let go of him even though he's terrible, and Zero says 'history' (and the fact that he KNEW Zero apparently has low blood pressure or something ALSO supports that!), and Lelouch says Suzaku always brings up the worst possible things during sex and Suzaku tells him 'well you learned that a long time ago, but it hasn't stopped you has it?'

Lelouch also says Suzaku knows more than anyone that he's based on lies and showmanship, which is exactly what Suzaku said to Zero, AND Suzaku calls Lelouch a tactical genius, which Zero obviously is!! He describes Zero and Lelouch extremely similarly, saying Zero is 'supposed to be such a brilliant mastermind, supposed to keep track of everything all the time' and that Lelouch is 'supposed to be the brilliant chessmaster, you're supposed to have a hundred schemes'.

And watch the two videos side by side! They're the same person! Zero and Lelouch have the same build, they're both slightly taller than Suzaku, both have black hair, and have the same VOICE. Listen to it, it's EXACTLY THE SAME! (PLUS Suzaku sweet talks them the same way, like says some of the EXACT same things, and mentions to Lelouch throwing him down on whatever's closest and putting him in uncomfortable positions to fuck him, which is EXACTLY what he did with Zero. WHY is beyond me, apparently Suzaku has sadism he doesn't get out enough on the battlefield? But that isn't the question, the fact is he does.)

Anon61667
> Alright I still think this person is mad, but that's a good question, why IS Zero so overly familiar with Princess Euphemia? Who could he possibly be, how does that make any sense, how can those two things (that and his LEADING THE FIGHT TO DESTROY BRITANNIA, seemingly despising it more than anything) possibly go together?

Anon938681
> Okay 1) why would a britannian PRINCE want to destroy britannia and free japan??? 2) zero and lelouch must have been working together for some reason, probably a temporary alliance because it got them both something they wanted. Maybe lelouch thought euphemia's murder made him one step closer to the throne, and for zero obviously the massacre worked to the benefit of the black knights' cause. And if they were working together, it makes sense they might share this cc as some sort of common ally. 3) they're clearly SIMILAR (i think that's why suzaku then fell in love with lelouch because he reminded him so much of zero but they finally werent on opposite sides and idk maybe some other stuff) i just don't think they're the SAME. 4) their ideas of 'history' and 'a long time ago' may be different than what YOU'RE thinking, I mean those are vague phrases, and there was a LOT going on which probably made everything feel longer 5) maybe that's just suzaku's style??? Seems like it and i don't see any reason why he would change from one partner to the next, especially if lelouch reminded him of zero. 6) ZERO LITERALLY. KILLED LELOUCH. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT ON LIVE BROADCAST. HOW THE FUCK ARE THEY THE SAME PERSON

Anon594015
> ^^^All of this. They may have surface level similarities, but at their core, they're just too WILDLY different!!! They had COMPLETELY different aims! The demon was literally a bloodthirsty, power hungry MONSTER who took over the world and FORCED everyone to bow to his will. Zero was NOTHING like that! Yes, even IF he did terrible things like the massacre. Which I'm still having trouble getting my head around, because it just doesn't FIT with his MO. The black knights were there by CHOICE and they could back out at any time, and he didnt use them as sacrificeable pawns, he treated them like PEOPLE. They did cause the landslide that killed a bunch of people, but that was early in the game and maybe it's naive of me but i want to believe that that was a miscalculation. Zero is…so much more compassionate. He's always been a symbol, but the PEOPLE'S symbol, and it makes him human in a way that Lelouch is nowhere even remotely close to being

Anon42709
> Also, Lelouch and Zero were WAY different about the no emotion thing! They were both convincing but for different reasons. 

Lelouch it was easy to believe might really be considering making Suzaku his slave, because he's LELOUCH THE DEMON, and of course he looked sincere about his reluctance.

Zero was just…scary. I don't honestly understand how Suzaku could handle it, I know I could never be with someone like that, but he just. Shut it all off. It was like he became a different PERSON. And he said cruel shit and fucking MEANT IT. I don't know, Zero is scary. Maybe he did a lot for us and I can appreciate that part, but I don't know if I like him or would want to go anywhere near him on a personal level. 

Anon9584
> EXACTLY. I see where the last person was coming from in terms of the public personas, but god, personally? I got the exact opposite impression. Lelouch seemed INFINITELY more human. It kind of upset me watching the first one back looking for things, because the parts where Zero goes suddenly soft, I just couldn't help but wonder…is that all cold calculation too? Does he feel anything at all? Or is he just manipulating Suzaku?

Anon828727
> Well they both DID acknowledge that Suzaku can tell when he's lying to him, so it was probably genuine, their relationship was just fucked up and volatile as hell

Anon141
> Okay yeah, except Zero didn't always mean that because he tried to use THAT as manipulation too! He told him TWICE that he couldn't lie to Suzaku because he always saw through him, whilst in the same breath proceeding to LIE TO HIM MORE. Or, at least according to Suzaku's analysis. Honestly I'm not 100% if we can trust that. Zero is scary and cold and cruel, and Suzaku clearly WANTS to believe certain things about him and is also still grief stricken about Princess Euphemia, so…I kind of keep going back and forth as to whether I believe Zero really was lying at the end. It kinda makes more sense that he wasn't especially when he then went in with all that shit about why he hates Suzaku and really seemed like he meant it. 

Anon887491
> Thats a good point! And, I mean suzaku DID get him to drop the act before soooo idk. Maybe he rlly wasnt lying that time. Kinda rlly fucked up.

Anon158874
> Yeah, speaking of Lelouch seeming weirdly more human, who was expecting domestic fantasies from THE DEMON?? Mind boggling. And yet forces me to see him as human. The worst possible type of human, but human nonetheless. I just can't get over that. Did he really want to just, what, settle down and have a quiet life somewhere with Suzaku???? Not be emperor? That sounds completely MAD. But I guess if he wanted to make Nunnally's dream a reality, he would HAVE to stop being emperor. I guess he just wished he didn't have to die and somehow the two of them could magically fade into obscurity and get away with everything and live happily ever after?? That's insane. That's fucking insane. But I guess fantasies aren't necessarily rational or realistic.

Anon39030
> Oh come on, r u guys serious?? U rlly think Suzalelou is better than Suzero???? U rlly think LELOUCH THE DEMON is better than ZERO??? I know Suzero fought a lot, but they clearly had a deep connection and loved each other a lot, and I don't even know how you guys are getting that Zero is cold and scary and unfeeling out of any of that!!!!! He was SO emotional! He was really trying NOT to be at times, but he was, and he clearly cares about Suzaku!! Didn't u see the dizzy part??! That was so fucking SWEET! And he called Suzaku 'my love', when the hell did Lelouch ever do anything like that? Suzaku clearly knew Zero better than anyone, they shared a history and nobody else knew the first thing about Zero, yet Suzaku seemed to know EVERYTHING. *AND* Zero said 'u know I'm much better suited to caretaking than being fussed over myself' so how does that sound like a person who doesn't care abt ppl to u??? He clearly has ppl he takes care of in his life and I think that's one of the things Suzaku rlly loves abt him, cos it made him go all heart eyes and covering him with kisses, so he CLEARLY didn't disagree! You didn't hear the way he talked about whoever was taken from him?? HE CARES! HE LOVES PEOPLE!!!!

Anon297492
> Say sike right now. Zero was blatantly manipulative as hell!!!!!!! We have NO way of knowing what was real and what wasn't! I think the 'better suited to caretaking' thing was an absolute load of bullshit. Like what in the hell? In what world? Where is there any evidence of that???

Anon70293
> Well clearly Suzaku agreed, and I'm with the first person because he knows him way better and has seen way more of Zeros private life than we have! Remember we DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW JACK SHIT about Zero!

Anon297492
> Well that's exactly the problem! This is the only glimpse into his private life we have, and everything in it points toward him being a cold, manipulative asshole!!

Anon187149
> PLS tell me this person is joking??? Suzero were fucking INSANE together, just mind bogglingly messy and toxic. How the FUCK do you look at two people SCREAMING at each other about their PLANS TO MURDER EACH OTHER???? AND LIKE. ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY'VE KILLED/ABDUCTED EACH OTHERS' CLOSEST LOVED ONES, RUINED EACH OTHERS' LIVES, SUZAKU HAS STRAIGHT UP TORTURED ZERO, AND ZERO IS THE CAUSE FOR GENOCIDE THAT GOT BLAMED ON THE WOMAN SUZAKU LOVED?? TELLING EACH OTHER THEY FUCKING HATE EACH OTHER AND THEY'RE THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO THEM AND THEY'LL NEVER FORGIVE THEM? AND THINK: omg otp uwu!! <3

LIKE. I would not call SuzaLelou a model relationship, but at least they seemed to genuinely fucking care about each other, and feel bad when they were hurting each other, and want to comfort each other and make it better as much as possible instead of just being a fucking asshole. Clearly they weren't without their messiness and heartbreak too, but godDAMN, at least they didn't scream at each other or hit each other or say they hated each other.

Anon64561
> They really did sound utterly cracked lol literally screaming like YOU THINK IM NOT ALREADY PLANNING TO MURDER YOU? and zero was just like YOUD BE RIGHT TO JUST WAIT UNTIL IM DONE DEFEATING BRITANNIA. ???? Absolutely bloody bonkers. Just saying it like that's fucking NORMAL???????? Bruv T-T Just wildly fucked in the head, the both of them

Anon860515
> CLEARLY in need of some SERIOUS couples therapy

Anon295418
> Lmaooo can you fucking IMAGINE trying to be their relationship counsellor dhnfkdkf. I'm squawking. Where the fuck do you even START, just throw the whole relationship away

Anon84989
> That's a good point actually in the difference between their relationships, because we know Zero and Lelouch were BOTH responsible for Princess Euphemia, yet SuzaLelou was clearly so much healthier, because Suzaku was fine admitting that he'd never forgive him for it, and it was clear he was still upset about it and desperate for answers when it came up, but he didn't seem to be…actively HATING Lelouch for it the way he did Zero, or he compartmentalised it in some way at least. When Lelouch wanted him to not bring it up, he didn't hesitate to remind him clearly that he'd never forgive him, but then he also immediately told him that he'd always love him though and stay with him until the very end. And that's just such an insanely different approach than the explosiveness of the Suzero relationship that it blows my mind that that tinfoil hatter that keeps lurking around can genuinely insist Lelouch and Zero are the SAME PERSON when their dynamic with Suzaku is so incredibly fucking different.

Anon21
> EXACTLY, zero was manipulative as hell, and suzero were super toxic together, and IS NOBODY GONNA MENTION HOW CREEPY THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS???? 

Suzaku is like?? 17 in that video???? And they talk like they've been together for A WHILE?? HOW OLD WAS HE WHEN THEY GOT TOGETHER?! ZERO IS A GROWN ASS MAN

Anon615032
> ….Gonna be honest, that did not occur to me. Wtf??

Anon4904
> I mean, that's perfectly legal. He's 17, not like. A kid. And also if he's old enough to be in the military, I feel like he's old enough to shag whoever he wants

Anon512919
> I don't think those two things equal each other

Anon75410
> Well we don't KNOW how old Zero is!!!! For all we know he's only a few yrs older! He def didn't look like. OLDER older from his body

Anon1416
> Oh fr?? I did NOT know he was that young! Whatve they got a kid out there killing people for?????

Anon8427
> Cause he's good at it ig lol

Anon118532
> You cannot convince me zero is any younger than like. 28. He's got WAY too many sophisticated plans, got his shit way too together

Anon6
> Idk, Lelouch took over the entire WORLD when he was like. 18 lol. JS, it's possible, and Suzaku did compare them a lot.

Anon915992
> Well it's also possible that he and Lelouch worked a lot better because they were so much closer in age/life experience!!

Anon89277
> Okay I left for dinner, but I can insist it because they clearly ARE the same person!!!!

To reply to the earlier comment: 1) Lelouch (and Princess Nunnally) were recorded as having DIED in childhood. So that makes me think they got disowned or something, and maybe Lelouch was extremely bitter about it, so that was his motivation for wanting to undermine Britannia and then take over. 2) By your logic of them being too irreconcilably different, that makes no sense!! How would either of them be okay with C.C. supporting BOTH of them then if they're each others' antithesis? 3) They're more than just similar, they're TOO similar. And idk about you, but Suzaku really didn't seem like he was thinking about/seeing anybody else when he looked at Lelouch, he just seemed extremely in love with HIM. That doesn't seem like someone who's only with Lelouch because he reminds him of Zero. 4/5) Fine, I can concede that, but I still think the idea of Lelouch and Zero just being similar and Suzaku being with Lelouch because he reminds him of Zero is STUPID. 

6) This is CLEARLY a new Zero. Haven't you noticed that he never talks? He doesn't want to reveal that he doesn't sound like the original Zero, and we all have his voice imprinted in our heads from moment after moment he made the world stand still. And beyond the drama of the assassination itself, he doesn't have the…FLAIR the old Zero did. And even that, it was dramatic, it was symbolic, but he…I don't know, he didn't do it with the same ostentatious mannerisms (and probably some sort of dramatic and moving/inspirational speech) as Zero. Zero is a performer, and he's flamboyant and dramatic, and this Zero…is not. Where is the panache (as Zero said in the video)? 

And LASTLY. This Zero is weirdly attached to Princess Nunnally. He's always around her, watching over her. Why? There's something supremely fishy about that. What reason would Zero have to do that?? (If he wasn't Lelouch, as you insist). This Zero was without a doubt part of Lelouch's plan to assassinate himself and have someone watch over his sister. But why? I don't know, none of it adds up. Maybe he really was aiming for world peace, clearly he was devoted to his sister even if it was in a twisted way, but why spill so much blood first? Why do so many horrible things? Cause so much suffering? Become such a monster? It doesn't make any sense. None of it makes sense. I don't understand how his head works. Why would he think she would want any of that? Did he truly think there was no BETTER way to work toward a peaceful world than 'destroying it and creating it anew'? And that it was truly worth ANY cost? How is it truly a peaceful world if it was created through so much murder and violence and tragedy? I don't know, it just seems sick to me, he clearly has a twisted way of looking at things.

Anon779924
> Um, Zero CLEARLY SAID that NONE of them (him, Suzaku, *OR* CC) were exactly on the same side, so YES, it makes PERFECT SENSE that she'd be supporting him and ALSO Lelouch, who Zero disapproves of and considers counter to his goals (and even tho Suzaku ended up being on Lelouch/Britannia's side, since CC is still also supporting Zero, they are not all exactly on the same side no matter what way you look at it)!!!!

Anon1327
> Wanting to undermine britannia and then take over???? Did you hear the way zero TALKED about britannia? He said it needed to be destroyed and that charles zi britannia and anyone who steps up to take his place must be crushed without hesitation or mercy because thats the only way to get rid of the ROT. How does that sound like someone who wants to TAKE BRITANNIA FOR HIMSELF to you???????

Anon89277
> Except…isn't that exactly what Lelouch did? He took over Britannia (stepped up to take his father's place), then he made britannia the entire WORLD, then he MADE ZERO CRUSH HIM WITHOUT MERCY. AND GOT RID OF THE ROT. It's…kind of genius?? Except extremely fucked up because he decided that it was okay to slaughter thousands and force the entire world into fearful misery in the process? It makes more sense that they ARE the same person than that they're somehow in cahoots

Anon148262
> NO, it makes way more sense for Zero to take advantage of Lelouch's madness or whatever the fuck to do exactly what he had wanted and ensure a better world. This is NOT the Demon's doing, it is ZERO'S

Anon52
> Also why is nobody mentioning that Suzaku BROUGHT UP killing Zero on his own! He was devastated about it and upset with Zero for making him fall in love with him, but he wanted to kill him for Princess Euphemia. On the other hand, with Lelouch he COULDN'T STAND THE THOUGHT of killing him and was practically hysterical over it. There's no way they're the same person, and that also makes me think Zero had WAY MORE responsibility over what happened with Princess Euphemia. Especially because of Zero vs Lelouch's reactions to it. Zero was very matter of fact about it and said that he knew exactly what he did and didnt seek forgiveness. Lelouch was really upset about the whole thing, even just at the mention of her first, and then he seemed really…idk upset and regretful talking about what happened, and it sounded like he loved her a lot and was really protective of her even with what he did and he mentioned he was crying afterward. I don't think that excuses any of his involvement, but I think he probably was less directly responsible, and it makes sense for him to be more upset, because she WAS his sister. I still don't really…UNDERSTAND what happened though? He left a lot out, and said that she convinced him to collaborate with her despite everything, but I guess he must have changed his mind again and backed out last minute and helped Zero make her massacre the Japanese knowing Zero would kill her for it, which I still don't really understand how they did THAT either…?

Anon227156
> There's all sorts of little differences! Sure they're very similar, but the differences are in the details. 

Zero SAYS he loves Suzaku, whereas Lelouch won't, he'll only say other words, or show it, or agree that he does. 

And Suzaku says he HATES Zero. He says it a LOT (even though a lot of the time it sounds a lot more like he means he loves him. Probably more like he hates that he loves him. Or he loves him but wishes he hated him?) He even says Zero is the WORST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO HIM! And he only says he loves him when he's breaking down and desperate and talking about killing him and asking why Zero made him fall in love with him. But he never says he hates Lelouch or laments falling in love with him or asks why he's doing this to him, he says that he loves him A LOT, and only asks that Lelouch doesn't make him do it, but he doesn't ask why, or ask why he made him fall in love with him and put him in this miserable position. 

Lelouch also seemed way into Suzaku's arms in a way that Zero wasn't.

I'm sure there are plenty of other things, but like. They're totally different people. Yes they have many similarities, but those similarities actually highlight the differences when you look closely.

Anon89277
> Lelouch said 'I think I liked it better when you just punched me' implying that they DID used to have a different dynamic, and Suzaku DID punch Zero in the first video! It's completely plausible their dynamic went through some changes in the gap between the two videos!! WHY IS NOBODY LISTENING TO ME??????

Anon54331
> Because you sound off your fucking rocker lmao. I think you're reading WAY too much into that, it makes a MILLION times more sense for them to be different people, literally everything sensible points in that direction, but you're just connecting these little things and putting so much significance on them when they either don't matter that much and/or you have NO WAY of knowing if you're even interpreting them correctly!

Anon82717
> Us plebs, fighting: Suzero is better! No, Suzalelou is way better! No—

This guy: If Zero and Lelouch are the same person, I can ship them BOTH with NO CONFLICT. HELL YEAH, IT'S BIG BRAIN TIME BABYYYY!!

Anon349537
> The real big brain move is shipping neither because they're all terrible people who destroyed COUNTLESS lives

Anon9357
> Does that massive stick up your ass hurt all the time? Or just when you try to bend over?

Anon483890
> Well, I'm not exactly throwing my hat in with the conspiracy theorist, but I dunno about zero only being matter of fact, that seemed like a front to me. He sounded pretty chummy with euphemia imo. He kept calling her nicknames and got quite pissed off and said her death had hurt him too and suzaku was blind not to see that ??

Anon213
> Guys guys, crackpot theory: 2 zero theory is right, suzaku faked his death, and SUZAKU is the 2nd zero!!!

Anon814208
> That's even fucking stupider than Zero = Lelouch. Suzaku HATES so many things Zero has done WAY too much to EVER attach that name to himself

Anon213
> It was a joke -_-

Anon3009
> Off topic, but how the hell is it fair that LELOUCH THE DEMON and THE JAPANESE TRAITOR/WHITE REAPER get a fucking love like THAT and im still single??? Half of us dont have shit? What the fuck is that? How the hell do the literal worst people get to just HAVE THAT, it makes me want to BREAK SOMETHING

Anon490534
> Well they didn't exactly get a happy ending…

Anon679245
> Tbh seemed like they loved hard af, but more of a curse than a blessing. It just seemed to bring all of them fucking misery. Suzaku, zero, AND lelouch. Idk, they got passion ig, but there was high cost imo. I dont think id take it if i had the choice to have something like that.

Like. I mean hell I know Suzaku is a terrible fucking person but im human and I cant help that it HURTS to watch how much fucking PAIN he's in in both of the videos, dude is just suffering. Personally…im one of the ones who believes he killed himself. I just dont see how a man with a skill level and kill count that high could just suddenly be bested by accident. He really sounded like he meant it when he said he didn't want to be left alone, and he kind of sounded like he didn't give that much of a fuck about world peace or making sure Lelouch's sister was okay, he just wanted to be selfish. Which, tbh, seems like he has been through a lot (like. Oof, hearing him talk about Euphemia's death was rough, especially in light of everything maybe not being her fault, and that sounded traumatising and painful as hell), but he's also meted out a lot of horror and heartbreak to countless families and betrayed his entire country, so…as he told Lelouch…I guess you get what you sow.

Anon721494
> The whole thing was just incredibly tragic to me, and it was worse because I felt like I shouldn't feel that way because these are people who committed some of the most heinous acts the world has seen (INCLUDING Zero, because he ADMITTED he was behind was Princess Euphemia did), and yet…it still felt that way. Maybe it's just because I don't think ANYBODY deserves that, even monsters. 

I mean…to be forced to murder the person you're in love with, and to be forced to do so knowing nobody else will mourn and you will be surrounded by blatant CELEBRATION of their death…Lelouch was a monster for asking that of Suzaku. I agree with the last person's assessment, and honestly in his position I'd probably kill myself too.

Anon721494
> Actually, I'm not done, because idk, Suzaku's is the worst, but Lelouch has his own tragedies as well. Knowing your days are severely numbered when he obviously did want to live longer and have a life with Suzaku (and yes lol, the domestic fantasies were quite a shock, but kind of make sense when we put together everything we've learnt about him. He seems extremely devoted to the people he cares about. It's just that things DON'T work the way he would like to fantasise because the real world is complicated and his logic is extremely twisted so he makes fucked up decisions and hurts the people he loves whilst literally in the practise of being utterly devoted to them. It's messed up. But it makes sense that he would WISH things could be simple and that he and Suzaku (and probably Nunnally) could just simply be happy together, uncomplicatedly, away from everything else in the world). Knowing you're going to be murdered by your lover, knowing how badly you're hurting them by putting them in that position, and yet he clearly felt he had no other option. Feeling like he HAS to sacrifice himself and hurt one of the people he loves most in order to give his sister her wish, and knowing that she'd never thank him for it or know he gave it to her or know the sacrifice he made, and would probably continue to hate him forever (tho she clearly didn't, since she was the only one to cry over him and was practically inconsolable over his body despite everything he did to her. Maybe it was just that he was her brother and she loved him, maybe it was that he used to be a good brother before he went all evil emperor, idk. But ig he'll never know that). Clearly being afraid for what would happen to his sister after he died. 

I also think…everything he said about Princess Euphemia was kind of heartbreaking. It doesn't change anything he did or make it better but the fact that he IS so sad about it and that it hurts him to think about what he did, that he cried over it, at least means SOMETHING. She was his (half)sister too, and it sounds like he really loved her, and he was so defensive of her to Suzaku — someone who he already knows loves her and thinks the world of her, but he couldn't stand the disrespectful implications of her being compared to him. I hate to feel sympathy for someone so evil, who COMMITTED so much evil. But when I separate Lelouch the Demon from Lelouch the person I do. Maybe I shouldn't do that.

Anon721494
> And Zero. I know people are saying that he's scary and cold and calculating, but I don't think so. Or rather, I do think he is those things in some measure, but I don't think he's ONLY those things, and I don't think it means he doesn't have genuine feelings. Yes, he does clearly try to lie to and manipulate Suzaku, but it seems like he's trying to protect him? Or at least that that's what Suzaku thinks? And Suzaku's upset that he won't admit that. I mean, how can you listen to the way he talks about C.C. (either time! When he talks about her wanting to be loved, and then at the end) and say he doesn't have feelings? He literally says he loves her and Suzaku even if he wishes sometimes he didn't, and he believes they love him too. And at that same part at the end when he's talking about so many people he wishes he didn't have to lie to, that he sometimes wishes he COULDN'T lie to — he clearly has people he cares about in his life, a LOT of people. And then there was of course his meltdown at the very end. There was so much raw emotion in that, I'm just not sure how you could say that's fake. And with the woman who was taken, who he clearly loves very much, his comments about the former emperor looking down on her for being weak paired with what he'd said earlier about being better suited to caretaking make me inclined to believe this was someone he took care of full time, or at least did when he wasn't being Zero. Maybe an elderly mother? Or grandmother? He cares about people, and I really think Suzaku is one of those people, as volatile as their relationship was. 

Like…the way he acts once they stop fighting, in the middle of sex and directly afterward, I see no reason for him to fake that, he just seems to care for Suzaku and want him close. I agree with that person who was defending him above; he's just too sweet and loving and they just know each other too intimately and have too much history for it to all be fake and Suzaku to not realise that. Plus whatever Suzaku was saying about whatever Zero did to save his life now ruining it, he said Zero was clearly terrified for him and wasn't thinking about himself dying or completing his mission, he just wanted SUZAKU to live. He clearly cares about him. 

So his tragedies are the whole star crossed lovers thing, pushing Suzaku away (*I* think) to protect him, and losing him permanently, first to another man and then to death. I can't imagine how much that hurt to play the villain and hurt him and push him away when just minutes before, you were (again, *I* think) baring your heart and honestly seemed so in love with him. (For clarity, I think his emotions about the things Suzaku did were real, but I also think there's a reason he only dredged them up right THEN, and before was able to act so lovey with him. I think he normally compartmentalises very well, and that he knew the only way he had any real chance of pushing Suzaku away was to use something genuine, the genuine resentment he holds elsewhere in him. And as someone else pointed out, even with that resentment out full force, he still does not WANT to kill Suzaku, he only wants him out of the way). And then to have to watch him give up on you and find someone else, and then find out that he'd DIED and you never got to tell him the truth, and you don't know if he died hating you or not but he probably died thinking you'd rejected him for good.

It's all just a sad mess. A sad mess for horrible people, and maybe the impulse is to say they deserved it, but. I don't know. I don't know if anybody deserves pain like that.

Anon89277
> THERE!! THERE, SEE!!!!! ZERO! ZERO'S PERSON! IT'S NUNNALLY! IT ALL MAKE'S PERFECT SENSE, IT ALL FITS TOGETHER!! That must be why Nunnally was inconsolable over Lelouch, because he WAS a loving and caring brother until he became Zero and then Lelouch the Demon!!! I told you!!

Anon31003
> Mate. Give it a rest.

Anon261072
> I want some of whatever this guy is smoking lmao

Anon5251
> Okay, not to throw my lot in with the tinfoil hatter, but according to all the sources that have decided to speak from Ashford Academy (where Lelouch and Nunnally went to school/lived on campus under the assumed surname Lamperouge from Britannia's takeover until Nunnally left for Britannia in 2018 (before soon coming back as viceroy of then-Area 11), and for Lelouch until he became emperor I think technically, although he had been missing a lot of school for a long time by that point), Lelouch was actually reported to be extremely protective of and doting toward Nunnally. She was an honourary member of the Student Council, and he liked to include her in his friend group and in activities whenever he could (and as far as everybody could tell, all of his friends DID like her; she was very sweet). Apparently they had an Eleven carer for her, but Lelouch also did a lot. (I'm working on writing a book about Lelouch! His early life and descent into madness, and my various hypotheses on why things turned out the way they did. Research has been interesting!)

Anon854137
> JAPANESE!!!!!

Anon922457
> They had a JAPANESE carer for her!

Anon5251
> Sorry, sorry! I meant: Apparently they had a Japanese carer for her, but Lelouch also did a lot. (Apology bonus info: he was reportedly very good at cooking! Probably he cooked for them since leaving Britannia.)

Anon41139
> Wow, he rlly took 'I'd kill for you' to a whole new level huh

Anon74679
> Lolllll

Anon582599
> That's not funny. Some of us actually fucking suffered under that monster, and it will never get to be just a JOKE to us.

Anon41139
> Yeah well some of us need to have a laugh about it all sometimes to cope with the trauma. Sorry, everybody's different

Anon8028
> Wow. Really does bring a whole new layer of humanity to him though. Like, I already was so surprised by how much raw humanity I saw in the video, and learning this too adds up perfectly with what was said in the video, yet all of it is still turning my world upside down, because…I still think of him as lelouch the demon, I mean he still did all those things, and how do I reconcile these two people ??

Anon265536
> You all keep talking about this HUMANITY, but all I see is that Lelouch is an inhuman demon more than ever. I know Suzaku was a horrible person, but he fucking killed himself because he couldn't stand being without him, and not ONCE did this man EVER say he loved him back. It was all just careful wording and trying to force him to do literally the most painful thing you could ever ask of someone, and he seemed way more concerned with 'somebody has to look out for Nunnally' than SUZAKU'S feelings. Straight torturing him, and not only that but forcing him to revisit his trauma with Princess Euphemia, and abandoning him!

Anon153245
> Oh boy, I cannot believe you're about to make me defend lelouch the demon, but how the hell do you watch that and not think he clearly loves suzaku just as much as suzaku loves him? Yes, he clearly has some aversion to saying it in so many words, but suzaku also clearly knows that and knows what he MEANS and clearly does not feel unloved. He literally says 'I can feel how much you love me' and lelouch says GOOD. That IS lelouch saying he loves him. Lelouch's bloody kink seems to be imagining them living all domestically happily ever after for fuck's sake, how do you not think he's in love with him??

I think Lelouch had a twisted head and twisted priorities, and it made him do the things he did and think he was being rational, but I don't think there's any debate that he loved Suzaku (AND Nunnally and Euphemia, while we're at it. He had a fucked up way of showing it for sure, but he did)

Anon9783
> I agree, he seemed to really love Suzaku even though he was arguably doing something extremely fucked up to him. I'm not sure whether he saw it that way or not (honestly he might HAVE. Either way it wouldn't stop him, clearly achieving Nunnally's dream was the most important thing to him regardless of ANY cost). I don't know if I can articulate it, because I don't think it was just things you could point at and say 'well that could just be manipulation'. I just…I don't know. It felt like he did.

Anon8447
> Okay, I know most of you are not japanese, but he absolutely DID say he loved him, and he lived in japan WAY too long not to know the connotations of exactly what he was saying (and BEFORE you even start on that 'he went to a britannian school' bullshit — I KNOW. But he moved here BEFORE britannia took over. That's how he was reported to have died, he and princess nunnally were supposedly caught in the war. Plus, like someone said above, they had a full time carer for nunnally who was japanese AND something that nobody has really mentioned is that Suzaku was on the student council with him, this is like well documented. They already knew each other and were friends before he became emperor. So he had a japanese friend who later became his lover. I know he was a monster in many respects, but like…he HAD friends. A lot of good friends who really liked him. He was…nice. He was nice to his sister. And he clearly hated his father and wanted to get rid of britannia's legacy for nunnally. So…yes, i do think that probably all meant he was the type of person to care about learning and respecting our culture. I don't like him and i hate a lot of the things he did and the path of devastation he left behind him, but I can acknowledge that he was a multifaceted person and not some caricature of all evil). 

Anyway, saying things like that feels a lot more…significant in japanese than in britannian, and what he said is like LITERALLY translated as I like you a lot, which I know in britannian does not sound like the same thing, but including cultural context, a more proper translation WOULD be I love you, maybe even I love you darling. Because like I said we don't really say these things, and using like the literal translation for love would just feel incredibly awkward more than anything. And he also used anata, which is a very familiar form of you, and can sometimes be used to indicate affection, or be used kind of like darling or dear or something (though it's usually only women to their husbands. I guess the queer relationship changes the game a little? I don't know. That was just kind of funny to me though right next to ore, which is like a…very like manly, authoritative, masculine form of I lol. Also that's not the first person pronoun most people start out with when learning japanese, so that just supports my theory that he knew what he was saying. Plus he didn't say much so maybe it was hard to reliably tell, but to me at least he sounded like he was talking pretty fluently and comfortably). 

Anyway, what I'm saying is I think he knew exactly what he was saying and meant it, and he absolutely did tell Suzaku he loved him in an unnecessarily lovey way (there are plenty of less profuse/intimate/…flowery? I guess? ways that we would express similar sentiment, which would be translated into 'I love you' in britannian as well).

Anon3142
> Lelouch malewife confirmed lmao

Anon14825
> Hajdjdkksskfkc

Anon617
> Don't. Don't do this to me. That's so fucking sweet. Not the demon. Don't make me soft over the DEMON. He tells Suzaku he loves him in his own native language? Plsssss

Anon400729
> And so sweet/profusely?? Pls, this is killing me. Why does he have to be so soft and romantic ahhhhh

Anon9575
> Well I doubt it's THAT meaningful to Suzaku, since he turned his back on his country a long time ago. Honourary Britannian right? Doubt he even thinks about Japanese culture anymore

Anon885072
> I don't think he thinks at all anymore, considering he's pretty fucking dead…

Anon144154
> Well in the first video with Zero, Zero said Suzaku hated Britannia as much as he did, and Suzaku was trying to get Zero to join him on 'changing Britannia from the inside', which was clearly his own goal. Like Zero, I think that was naive and misguided, and he sold his soul in the process, but…idk, his heart was in the right place? That doesn't excuse anything he did, but I'm just saying, I think he really did still love Japan and want to fight for it. He just had a colossally stupid way of doing so. Though, actually, idk. Technically he succeeded? Since he hitched his horse to the Lelouch bandwagon and Lelouch's plan to basically rebirth the world…worked I guess. As loath as I am to say anything positive about all of that horror and tragedy. And now we have an independent Japan again. He didn't exactly live to see that though. 

Anon32577
> Ig all of that's true. Damn… Now I'm just sad. Shouldn't even be sad for these terrible people. But all of it just…is really, really depressing.

Anon108
> Hmmm. Re: the initial comment about not seeing Lelouch's humanity/him forcing Suzaku to do the most painful thing possible...I've been trying to think through...WHY that was his plan. Because Lelouch is a strategist. Suzaku said it pretty damn clearly, and he certainly didn't manage to gain control of the entire WORLD by ACCIDENT. But...Zero killing Lelouch makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE for his plan. I can see no world in which that doesn't work a hundred times better in making everybody feel freed and having a figure of justice to rally behind than SUZAKU killing him...so WHY then would that be Lelouch's original plan?

And I think it's because he knew if Suzaku killed him, he would be giving him a chance to boost his public image and to be pardoned of everything he did in collusion with Lelouch, since he freed the world of Lelouch and could say he was an unwilling participant/was planning this all along. As much as Lelouch said Suzaku had things to pay for (and he bloody well DID!) and as much as this would hurt Suzaku, Lelouch was still trying to look out for him and provide him the softest landing possible. It's sweet in its own way. I just can't imagine how devastating it must have been for Lelouch to find out Suzaku had killed himself instead of taking the easier life Lelouch had worked so hard to try to create for him.

I think Lelouch was a very strange person. Incredibly ruthless, but would go to (I would say quite literally) insane lengths to do any and everything for the few people he loved, up to and including hurting them (sometimes quite severely) in the process, to give them something he deemed most important. I think his perceptions were pretty skewed. I think they'd have just liked to have him in their lives.

Anon55178
> That's even more depressing. )))':

Anon920387
> Oh. Oh fuck. It is and I'm about to make it worse because…didn't Lelouch say 'it'll all be okay as long as there's no more of you dying for me'...and that's exactly what Suzaku did. Oh that must have hurt like a motherfucker, I genuinely can't imagine finding out it all went exactly the way you feared it would worst case scenario even though you did everything in your power to make it the best case scenario. Damn, this is like a much more macabre Romeo and Juliet, nobody gets a happy ending, everybody is miserable, and love could do fuck all to fix anything.

Anon7284
> Do NOT make me cry over these mfs

Anon221554
> Does that make zero paris lol

Anon804308
> Lik if u cri evrytim </3

Anon576026
> Ur trolling but i would unironically like if that was an option on here, this shite has me so emo

Anon41684
> Oh god. It's time to log off for the day I don't want to get emotional about the fucking demon fuck you

Anon21117
> Well. I'm sad as fuck now. And vaguely upset that I'm feeling anything at all about the literal worst people in existence.

Anon762866
> Okay, but all of this depressing talk aside, is it bad to thirst after Zero??? We didn't see his face, but wow, what we DID see… I didn't know I was into the whole crossdressing thing, but at least in THAT case I was. I still have absolutely NO CLUE what he could have been doing that necessitated that, but I'm not complaining. (And also, I hate to agree with Suzaku but...I wish I couldn't agree that modesty is not a good look on him. Why was him being so full of himself hot? Like, 'you have a beautiful man on your lap, it would be a shame to waste me' PLEASE. FUCK ME NOW)

Anon290
> (*cough* is it bad to thirst after lelouch? TERRIBLE, don't get me wrong, but like, the actual PERSON aside…it's a crime for a man that fucking monstrous to be so beautiful. He was right, he IS always hot and it's maddening, those eyes should be illegal. Petition for the insides to always match the outsides)

Anon329717
> Listen, I don't know what exactly zero was up to, but with his elaborate schemes and flair for the dramatics…it shouldn't have even been the surprise it was lol. The lelouch=zero truther is right about one thing at least, zero IS flamboyant as hell, and I don't know why it never occurred to me that this is exactly the type of man who would weaponise drag

Anon958497
> He had NO RIGHT pulling off those clothes better than I could've ever dreamed. His VOICE too. I guess I didn't notice so much when he was just making his dramatic speeches, but it's so sexy. I'm signing that proposed petition, Zero is a POS too and should NOT be that fine because I currently hate myself

Anon371
> Right??? His voice is so deep and smooth I want him to lick me fnnfjv never in my life did I think I would be jealous of Kururugi Suzaku, but I AM. I can't BELIEVE he gave that up! Hope Zero didn't angstily swear off love after Suzaku because like…I'm available. Hmu. I'm sure I'm not the only one either… 

Anon371
> Actually, fuck. He's totally gay isn't he. I have no chance in hell T-T

Anon72015
> Oh to be cici and get to share a bed with zero every night.....*wistful sigh*

Anon293177
> Fr their relationship is so weird though lol, like who does that?

Anon49757
> Idk, Zero just seems like a...very intense person. I think probably any relationship with him is pretty intense.

Anon13921
> Oh to have a weirdly intense relationship with Zero....

Anon727767
> You guys can thirst after the twinks, personally I think Lelouch had the right idea putting Suzaku in that little outfit because those ARMS. Like yes sweetie it is of grave national importance that we be able to stare at your buff shoulders whilst you commit atrocities, thank you. Hands so bloody but arms so fine. (We're all going to hell, see you there)

Anon1550
> Clearly none of you had loved ones murdered by any of them. You're all disgusting.

Anon40175
> idk, Suzaku had someone he was extremely close to (loved?) murdered by BOTH of them and still thought they were hot and wanted to fuck them, so…

Anon1550
> BUT KURURUGI SUZAKU IS SICK IN THE HEAD AND HAS BLOODY ASS HANDS HIMSELF

Anon12785
> Alright point

Anon950255
> Counterpoint: they both (possibly ALL THREE, if the new Zero theory is true, which actually I think it IS pretty convincing. It would make sense if he really did die when they said) are DEAD. So it's really not about the actual people, it's literally about aesthetics, and nobody thinks they're good people (well, some people still think Zero is good, but nobody thinks the OTHER TWO are, and a lot of people don't think Zero is either) so it's not like they're saying that's a redeeming quality or something. They're just talking about it abstractly

Anon1550
> It's still disrespectful. How would you feel if people, even your LOVED ONES, were thirsting after your MURDERER, even KNOWING WHAT THEY DID

Anon950255
> Well id be dead, so i dont imagine id feel much of anything

Anon1550
> You're disgustingly disrespectful.

After hours of scrolling, Suzaku finally forcibly shut Lelouch's laptop and dragged him away from it.

"Fretting over reactions isn't going to help anything," he reminded. "Come eat dinner."

"What the hell was that witch thinking?!" Lelouch grumbled to himself for the nth time as he reluctantly followed Suzaku to the table.

"What is she ever thinking?" Suzaku's voice was mild, but Lelouch knew damn well this whole thing was bothering him too, he just liked to pretend he was at peace with everything all the time like a prick. 

Reluctantly, he had to admit it was a good point, though. C.C. could be wildly unpredictable, and tended to consider filling Lelouch in on her plans optional at best. 

Like saving his life after Suzaku assassinated him, without filling either of them in on that little scheme. That one would've been fucking nice. Could have saved them both a lot of heartbreak. She just loved being an asshole, didn't she? Even when she was technically doing a decent thing and saving his skin.

Lelouch sat, and now that he was paying attention, he was kind of hungry, and dinner smelled good, but he wasn't incredibly willing to thank Suzaku when he'd dragged Lelouch away like he was a child. "I'm going to kill her," he said darkly instead as he stabbed at his food.

"Isn't that what she wants from you?"

"I'm going to tear her into tiny little pieces," Lelouch corrected himself.

Suzaku laughed. "You haven't considered asking her what her plans are?"

"Her?! She's about as transparent as a brick wall. She'll be intentionally unhelpfully vague, mysterious, and ominous too if I'm unlucky, which I have definitely been feeling rather unlucky lately. She enjoys fucking with me, and she'll know this is bothering me."

Suzaku snorted. "Talk to her anyway. You'll never stop complaining and muttering to yourself otherwise."

"I'll complain when I talk to her too, and you know it," Lelouch (rightfully) pointed out.

"Probably, but it'll feel a little less 'hermit nearing the end of the downward slope to insanity' and more…coherent?"

"And you call me the worst. That's quite a lot of nerve, as much as you imply my grasp on sanity is tentative and temporary at best."

Suzaku just raised his eyebrows as he chewed his food.

"Ugh. Why am I even with you?"

Suzaku swallowed. "Right now? Lack of absolutely any other options."

Lelouch let out a startled laugh, which only grew as he found that funnier than he'd really anticipated. Because Suzaku was right, technically, but it was an utterly absurd thing to say. Even if Lelouch wasn't stuck in hiding for the foreseeable future due to being presumed dead and the entire world knowing his face, even if he had the whole world open to him once again, he would still pick Suzaku, just as he always had, and they both knew it.

"You're stuck with me now, honey," Suzaku said blithely. "Guess you should've thought about that when you were making your brilliant plans."

Lelouch was never going to admit the way that made his chest feel all warm and fluttery inside. Suzaku couldn't drag it out of him if he tried.

Asshole probably knew anyway, from the amused look in his eyes.

"What are you up to, witch?" Lelouch demanded without preamble, as soon as the video connection went through and C.C.'s face appeared on the monitor.

"Always so impolite. Is that any way to treat a friend?"

"Is going through my personal files, watching my sex tapes, and releasing them online any way to treat a friend?"

"Well that seems like a bit of an overreaction," C.C. said calmly. "It rather seemed like you expected them to be watched, with the way you hid your face and kept Suzaku from saying things, and the way you managed to engineer things…semi-tastefully."

"Well I'm not stupid. If I'm going to do something, I have to be prepared for the worst outcome. Which would, apparently, be this! So yes, I didn't do anything in them that I wasn't prepared to have seen in a worst case scenario, but that didn't mean I wanted it seen! Especially not by the entire public!"

C.C. sighed. "Well, I got bored and started looking through your cloud storage—"

"Why do you even have access to that?!"

She ignored him. "—and I have to admit they weren't very entertaining at first. But those two…you said a lot of interesting stuff in them. Not stuff I didn't know, but… It's just been really obnoxious hearing everybody only call you the Demon and talk about how terrible you are all the time, okay? Leave it to you to figure out a way to annoy me even when you're supposed to be dead. I know it's never going to completely change everyone's opinions, but it might just help a little if they knew."

Lelouch threw his arms up. "Everybody pinning all the blame on me was the point! You could have ruined everything! What if they rejected this whole new world because it was The Demon's Plan?! What if they decided maybe going back to the old ways was better after all, just to get away from the association with me! 

"And Zero! You've turned most of the world against him now! He's supposed to be the symbol for justice! The symbol they can all unite behind! What do we do when the world turns against that symbol? We can't reveal it's a different Zero without revealing Suzaku's identity, which would only make things worse, because they all hate him even more!"

C.C. looked thoughtful. "Hmm. Well you could just have him speak, couldn't you? Everybody knows Zero's voice, but not so many know Suzaku's, and it would be obvious it was very different."

Lelouch scowled. He hated it when she had answers. "And what about you? Haven't you screwed yourself over by using a video with you in it? Won't you have to go into hiding as well?"

She smiled. "You're forgetting my love of cosplay. This is the perfect excuse to try so many new looks!"

"Unbelievable."

"So judgy."

"No more videos." Lelouch said sternly. "No posting anything else. And stay out of my files."

C.C. sighed. "I suppose they already did as much as they're going to do anyway. Alright."

Lelouch heard Suzaku walk into the room behind him as he complained, "You don't have to sound so reluctant about it."

C.C. raised her eyebrows. "Well I wouldn't hate to watch more. You have such a lovely body, Lel—"

"SHUT UP, WITCH!" Lelouch hung up on her just as her gleeful cackles started.

He turned to see Suzaku with his arms crossed looking very unimpressed, and supressed an eye roll. "You know she only does that to piss you off."

"I know." Suzaku said, flat and clipped.

"Then getting moody is only doing exactly what she wants."

Suzaku strode over and slid his hand into Lelouch's hair, pulling his head back slightly and kissing him possessively.

Lelouch made a low, pleased hum into the kiss and brought his hand up to cup Suzaku's cheek. "You wanna lay your claim on me, you possessive bastard?" Lelouch murmured teasingly against his lips, and before Suzaku even had a chance to answer, Lelouch was giving him another slow, open mouthed kiss, swallowing any reply he might have had.

Suzaku grabbed Lelouch's waist and hooked an ankle around one leg of the chair, yanking it out of the way and then promptly dropping Lelouch on the floor in a disgruntled heap.

"Suzaku!" He glared as Suzaku only laughed at him. "Why do you have to be such an asshole about it?" God, if he wanted to fuck him on the floor, he could've done it a million other ways other than dropping him.

Suzaku grinned, getting down on the floor with him and crawling over him, pushing his chest back until he was lying flat. "Because I love hearing you say my name all affronted like that. Best part of my day."

He gave Lelouch a filthy kiss and slowly ground their hips together, and in a matter of minutes, Lelouch quickly forgot any intention of a retort to that.

Lelouch awoke to a shrill phone ringing and gave an exasperated sigh against the back of Suzaku's neck.

Suzaku turned over in his arms with a groan and hauled himself up on his elbow, reaching over Lelouch for his mobile on the bedside table.

"'Lo?" He picked up groggily. 

His eyes suddenly went from half shut to wide open, looking caught. "Uhhh." He glanced down at Lelouch and gave an awkward cough, and then seemed to change the subject. "Why do you need me?"

There was a pause, presumably as whoever was on the other end explained.

"Okay, I'll be there in, like, thirty five minutes," he said, the bed creaking slightly as he started to climb over Lelouch, but just as he got one foot on the floor, his other ankle caught on Lelouch's hip and he tripped slightly before he managed to catch himself. "Shit, sorry," he whispered to Lelouch for all but kicking him.

Lelouch just tiredly waved him off. Suzaku clearly needed to go be Zero, and there was never any time to waste with that.

Suzaku winced and held the phone slightly away from his ear as Lelouch heard whoever it was — possibly Kallen, from the sound of it — start bitching loudly with what sounded like a barrage of semi-frantic, incredulous questions from the tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Suzaku interrupted her flatly, his voice bordering on cold. "I'll be there in thirty five minutes." And then he hung up.

"That was Kallen?"

"Yeah." Suzaku went to the closet and started stripping off his sleep clothes to pull on the Zero uniform.

"She's not gonna stop hounding you about who you're sleeping with."

"Well she can go fuck herself. Honestly — 'The old Zero would never have been unavailable because he was too busy shacking up with someone'," he mocked. "Please, like you didn't do that all the fucking time."

"Well feel free to point out that our literal public sex tape shows he absolutely would."

Suzaku snorted. "I might. I don't think I'll say it quite like that though; I prefer her staying in the dark about me, even as much as it bothers her."

"Or you could just tell her you're a big boy and plenty of people have relationships if she hadn't noticed, and it's absolutely none of her business. Condescension works on her. Makes her pissed off, but it works to shut her up." 

It really wasn't Kallen's fault, and in her place he'd probably be a little pissed off about not being privy to the details of the new Zero too, after knowing the identity of the first and knowing him fairly well. But she didn't know about Lelouch. She didn't know about the Zero Requiem — except, well, now he supposed the whole world kind of did thanks to C.C.'s meddling — and she certainly didn't know he'd survived, and neither did she know that Suzaku was alive. And her curiosity and (even if somewhat warranted) entitlement to knowing about the new Zero was…incredibly inconvenient. So, Lelouch supposed she was just another person who would continue to end up hurt by their lies, and that was just the way things were.

"You really are mean sometimes," Suzaku commented mildly.

"Mmh." Lelouch closed his eyes again. That definitely hadn't meant Suzaku wouldn't do it.

A couple minutes later, Lelouch felt a gloved hand cup his cheek and a kiss pressed to his forehead. "Love you. Be back soon."

"Mhm," he mumbled. And even if it was fairly noncommittal, he knew Suzaku would take that for the 'I love you too' that it was.

And then, with a swirl of his cape, Suzaku was disappearing through the door. 

But he'd be back. He'd always be back. And in a matter of hours, he'd be curled snugly in Lelouch's arms again where he belonged, and all would be right once again.