Lelouch & Suzaku

The interior of the house was spartan, furnished only with essentials.

Lelouch, now 23 years old, stood by the window, a discreet scar near his left temple—the only visible remnant of his "death." He wore simple clothes, nothing reminiscent of the prince or emperor. His violet eyes had lost their youthful fire, replaced by deep weariness.

Suzaku, also 23, even taller and more muscular than in adolescence, removed his snow-covered coat. The Zero uniform was stored elsewhere—he had come in civilian clothes, but his posture remained that of a soldier. A new scar crossed his right eyebrow.

"You could have not come." Lelouch's voice was deeper than before, worn.

"Nunnally insisted." Suzaku placed a carefully wrapped package on the table. "She made cookies. She says you liked them."

A silence settled, heavier than the snow accumulating outside.

Lelouch finally turned his gaze to Suzaku. "How is she? Really?"

"Well. She governs wisely. People love her." Suzaku hesitated. "She sometimes asks about you. I have to lie."

"You've become good at that. Lying."

"I learned from the best." There was no bitterness in Suzaku's voice, only a statement.

Lelouch gave a twisted smile. "Touché."

Suzaku approached the window, standing beside Lelouch without looking at him. "Why here? Why this house?"

"It's discreet. Far from memories." A pause. "Well, from most of them."

"Ashford is twenty minutes away."

"Twenty minutes and five light-years."

The snow fell harder, isolating the house in a muffled silence.

Suzaku pulled an old chess pawn from his pocket, worn at the edges. "I kept it. The one from the final game."

Lelouch looked at it, his expression inscrutable. "Why?"

"To remind myself that even the most perfect calculations have a price." Suzaku placed the pawn on the table. "And that sometimes, the price is the one we choose to pay."

"Do you regret it?" The question fell into the silence like a stone into a well.

Suzaku took a long time to answer. "I regret it every day. But I would make the same choices again. That's the real hell."

Lelouch turned away from the window. "The tea is ready. It's all I have to offer."

"It's enough."

They sat at the small table, two men who had changed the world and now carried the weight of those changes on their adult shoulders.