Requiem for a Dream [Suzaku x Lelouch]

Epilogue

Suzaku begins to reflect on what it is humanity actually needs of him. He is no longer convinced the world needs another soldier, adviser, or ruler. There are too many of those to count, and the world seems no better or worse for them. Suzaku has begun to pay attention to the patterns of human life that remain consistent over time. There are periods of war that are so terrible that they inspire periods of peace. After periods of peace, restlessness and greed reconjures cruelty, and the world plunges into war again. Suzaku no longer believes he can stop this cycle; it is the natural rhythm of the planet, as timely and immovable as the endless ebb and flow of waves against the shore.

Lelouch has given him a more powerful purpose than fighting the tides. Suzaku takes seriously his role as bringer of hope to the Lord of Dreams. Once this purpose was named, it felt as though a missing piece was fit into place and Suzaku understands himself at last. This is the order he has been looking for all his life – something to quell the chaos within him and return him again and again to peace.

When World War 2 comes, Suzaku does not enlist. Japan's role in the conflict breaks his heart, but he has learned the dangers of Despair. He looks instead for resistance. He gathers stories of everyday Japanese resisting the war. He fills his notebooks with the protests of youth and the vision they have for a world without war. Their fighting spirit is a powerful balance to the violence of the times, even as state repression forces them underground. He brings these stories to Lelouch as often as he can, although it is never as often as he likes. The distance between their realms still leaves Suzaku feeling weary and unsatisfied, and he has spent the last few decades imagining a way they can be together without abandoning their roles.

When the war ends, Suzaku makes the long trek back to Kyushu, where he was once burned and stabbed by his comrades in arms. Although he finds the town changed in the century and a half since he was last here, the surrounding jungle is familiar. He knows the way to the clearing by heart. He arrives by light of moon, and finds Dream's garden untouched and thriving. New colors have burst forward in their absence bright golds and magentas have joined the night sky colors from before, creating a breathtaking gradient of flowers. The stream beside the garden has grown to become a river, and it still glows with ethereal blue. Suzaku sits by the water's edge and dips his feet in its healing waters. This space reminds him so much of the Dreaming – it has the hazy, unreal quality of a dream. And yet, it is also so solidly of Earth. It is here where an idea finally emerges, and he calls for his Dream.

"Dream maker," he whispers, and that's all it takes for Lelouch to arrive in a swirl of sand. Lelouch appears sitting beside Suzaku with his feet in the river as well. The moonlight overhead lights Lelouch's face, highlighting the otherworldliness of his beauty. Suzaku has seen this face countless times before, and yet each time he can't help but pause and take it all in – that Lelouch exists, that they belong to each other, that he gets to keep him.

"Feeling sentimental?" Lelouch asks, looking around at their garden and river.

"Always," Suzaku answers honestly. "But I had an idea."

"Tell me your idea."

"This place," Suzaku says, gesturing around them, "is yours and mine. Mortal and magic. Earth and Endless. Your river of dreams feeds the soil and flowers. They've become enmeshed over a hundred odd years."

Lelouch looks at him curiously. "Go on."

"If there is a place in the universe that belongs to both realms..." Suzaku says, trailing off.

Lelouch gets the hint, and his eyes light up with mischief. "We could be together in both realms at once."

"Exactly," Suzaku says.

*

They craft a new realm from that meadow – a place that is neither here nor there nor in between. It is still located in the jungle of Kyushu, and anyone who is invited can find it. From time to time throughout the decades, a human or two manages to find an invitation and make their way to the Garden-Between-Worlds. The immortal lovers greet these humans as guests, and each guest leaves a little better for having made the journey. They go on to create great works of music and art, inspiring new generations of dreamers.

The decades begin to bleed together, and Suzaku slowly changes form over time. Neither of them can pinpoint when exactly he began to shift from away from his human form, but one day it is undeniable – Suzaku is something different from what he once was. When that day comes, Destiny visits the Garden.

Lelouch practically bounces with joy when he sees her, and he gives her a big embrace.

"Suzaku, this is my sister Nunnally."

Suzaku has the sense that he is meeting someone of great and terrible importance. He extends a hand to shake hers formally, but she just laughs like the tinkling of bells and pulls him in for a hug.

"I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to meet you," he tells her.

"The pleasure is all mine, Suzaku. You are one of the most important things ever created, after all."

Suzaku feels his face go warm with embarrassment, and he looks to Lelouch with confusion. Lelouch arches his eyebrow back in a "No idea" expression.

"You must have noticed the change," Nunally says to them both, and Suzaku remembers that although she is blind, she sees all.

Suzaku nods, looking at his hands uncertainly. "Yes, something is different."

"You are the first of our kind to be brought into the world by love," Nunally says, smiling. "I've come to welcome you, Hope of the Endless."

Suzaku's eyes flash bright gold before returning to their usual green. He can feel the truth of this name as he hears it, and yet he is speechless. Hope is a powerful thing to be named.

"You already know your realm and your function. Knight of the Garden-Between-Worlds, you bring hope to Dream and he brings dreams to you. You two are a bonded pair and cannot be separated."

Lelouch grins. "So... no change?"

Nunnally laughs again, in her gentle bell-like way. "Yes, brother. No change."

*

Hope and Dream pass centuries in one another's company, and somehow manage to keep falling more deeply in love with the passing of time. There are eras of bliss and others where Despair comes knocking at their door again, but they always pull each other back from the brink of hopelessness. The force of their bond is so great that even humans notice it, and their love makes it into myth and legend. As humanity sharpens its technology and improves its ability to view the stars, they name new constellations for the lovers, Hope and Dream.

*

At the end of all things, Death saves them for last. After the last mortal creature has died, every god has met its end, and every other Endless has fulfilled its function, she finds Dream and Hope at the edge of all worlds. They are wrapped up in each other's arms, waiting for her. She smiles at them and they smile back, three old friends meeting again for the last time.

"What wonders you created together," CC tells them fondly.

"All thanks to him," Suzaku says fondly, gesturing to Lelouch.

"All thanks to you," Lelouch says, stealing one last kiss.

"Alright, you two," CC says, rolling her eyes. "The universe has had enough of you lovebirds. Time to go."

With Dream and Hope at rest at last, CC's work is done. She puts the chairs on the table, turns out the lights, and locks the universe behind her when she leaves.