When I need You Sick LelouchxSuzaku

Chapter 4

Suzaku sipped the warm liquid from his coffee cup before placing it on the bedside table and turning back to the laptop. Lelouch rested quietly on his side of the bed. He was propped up on a small stack of pillows, his hands softly rubbing his belly. Following a barrage of late-night text messages from Milly, Shirley, and Kallen covering various topics ranging from revisions to the project and upcoming meetings to completely unrelated items, the prince spent the night between tasks and conversations.

Lelouch was exhausted but expected Nunnally to return before long. He squeezed his eyes shut as the sharp pain tore through his abdomen. He remained quiet in an attempt to avoid alarming Suzaku. 

"You know I can see you, right?" The brown-haired teen pointed out. Lelouch shot him a side glance.

"Well damn, and here I am thinking I was wearing my invisibility pajamas this morning." The prince replied sarcastically, earning a light chuckle from his friend. The young knight set the computer aside, leaning down to press his lips to Lelouch's forehead.

"Do you want me to get you some toast?" Lelouch shook his head.

"You haven't eaten in a couple of days, Lu. Are you sure you won't see a doctor about your pain? Even if it's stress, maybe they can give you something to help." He slipped a hand under Lelouch's nightshirt, resting it on his thin belly. 

"I don't need to."

"Have you noticed any tenderness anywhere?" Suzaku inquired.

"No. I told you, it's nothing to worry about."

"I still wouldn't call it nothing. They could've waited.  We agreed, no stress. Let yourself rest, really rest. It's more than just lying in bed or sitting down. Stop worrying about things that aren't important. Would it kill you to be a cooperative sick person for once?"

"It might." The prince replied. Suzaku shook his head. "Are you trying to tell me that the student council isn't important, or that You and Nunnally aren't supposed to be important to me?"

"The student council isn't as important as your health, and I told you that the project was my responsibility. Nunnally and I are fine. "I'll never understand why taking some time off is so terrible for you."

"It's not the time off that bothers me," Lelouch said. "There are a million things I should be doing right now, but here I am, lying in bed like there's nothing to do, and the list keeps getting longer."

"Sometimes you have to. What do you think you'll be doing for us if you overwork yourself? When you have pain, that's your body trying to tell you something's going on, and you need to stop. Who would take care of Nunnally if you're not here?"

"We've been through this. It's fine."

"You like taking care of everything yourself, and I get that. But sometimes, Lelouch, you need to take a step back and let go of the reins a little, you know?" Suzaku rested his head on Lelouch's chest. "When I say that, I mean let me handle things until you're feeling better." A moment of silence passed between them, allowing the prince to close his eyes and begin to sleep, listening to the soft sounds of his friend's even breaths.

"You know what we need?" Suzaku asked quietly, pulling Lelouch back into awareness.

"Uninterrupted sleep?"He replied.

"Well, yeah. But I was going to say that maybe when you feel better, we could take Nunnally and disappear for a weekend or something. It might help you relax." Lelouch scoffed.

"And go where?"

"Anywhere, as long as we're together. Sometimes a change does a lot of good." Lelouch didn't answer. He soon fell asleep despite his discomfort, leaving Suzaku to his own thoughts. 

A soft knock caught the teen's attention, and he slipped carefully out of bed and made his way to the door. Nunnally greeted him with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Suzaku. is Lelouch awake?"

"I'm sorry, Nunnally, he just went to sleep. He didn't get much sleep last night." Nunnally's smile faded.

"I see. Is he at least feeling better?"

"Not that I can tell. Do you want to come in and wait, or I could come and find you when he wakes up?"

"I don't want to disturb him if he had a bad night. If you wouldn't mind letting me know, I would appreciate it. I wish I knew what to do."

"So do I. I hate seeing him in pain like this. Do you think-" Suzaku paused, turning back to Lelouch briefly. "Do you think we could talk about a couple of things in the dining room?" Nunnally nodded.

"Of course. Is everything okay with you two?"

"We're fine. I'll meet you in the dining room?" The princess nodded, making her way to the designated area. Suzaku pulled his robe over his nightclothes and looked back once more before stepping out and closing the door behind him.

He knew that his best chance would be to get Nunnally on board with the plan. Certainly, she could help talk Lelouch into going along with them. He knew Lelouch would protest, but he decided that the time had come and this plan would benefit their family.