Fin

Disclaimer: I don't own the Code Geass Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them

"You will need to relax, brother or I won't be able to get all of it out."

The sound of Rolo's voice whispered against his ear as he struggled to keep his breathing steady. The feel of the water streaming down his back only proved a minor distraction from the unpleasant feel of fingers scrapping the inner most part of him. Lelouch bit down on his lip as he pressed his palms against the cool tiled walls of the shower.

"Even -," Lelouch gasped clinching his teeth together as Rolo's fingers continued to pry into the deepest part of him, "Even if you say – say it like – like that – urgh . . . I – I can't!" He heard Rolo's soft sigh and felt the younger boy slide up behind him, only the wall in front of him blocked him from escaping.

"Please, brother . . . bare with me for the moment."

Lelouch opened his mouth to question what Rolo meant but the words were lost to him as the younger boy wrapped his hand around that. Panic engulfed him as he struggled against Rolo's grip, trying desperately to pry the other boy away even as his body swelled in response. It made his head swim, his chest tighten. I'm not gay. Stupid Suzaku! Lelouch bit down hard on his lip, curling his fingers against the wall as he struggled to maintain some semblance of calm.

"Ro-Rolo . . .." Lelouch felt his sides heave as his muscles stretched towards that great release.

"I'm sorry, brother . . .." Rolo's words followed him down into the darkness.

He woke to the sound of the AC flowing through the vents and the soft nearly inaudible sound of the engines as they worked to keep the sub moving. Lelouch blinked as he stared up at the dim ceiling above him. He remembered where he was, where they were going and the plans he'd conveyed to the Black Knights . . . he remembered some things but not all. Refrain. He sighed rubbing his forehead as he pushed himself upright. Beside him C.C. shifted in her sleep moving to claim the warmth left behind by his body. Perhaps it's best I don't remember? Lelouch glanced down at the strange girl who had changed his whole life. She was the beginning of his path as Zero leader of the Rebel forces seeking freedom from Britannia.

The past few months the Black Knights had stayed in limbo while he, Lelouch had indulged in the drug Refrain loosing himself in memories of the past. To what end? He remembered what he'd done at the school – if somewhat dimly and with some scattered pieces. He knew beyond a doubt that Ashford would no longer be a place of peace for him even if he did plan on returning one day. Too many broken bridges along that path. Lelouch sighed, in losing himself in the past he had ultimately lost much more than he had planned.

"What do you plan to do now, Lelouch?" C.C.'s voice caught him somewhat off guard and he turned to look down at her.

"I intend to keep moving forward," Lelouch sighed as he climbed to his feet moving to gather his clothes, "If I keep worrying about the past, then I will never be able to move forward. I won't be able to realize my dream."

"Even if it means losing the ones you love?" C.C. asked calmly.

"Even if it means I must be hated, I will live – I have much to atone for after all, I'm afraid I cannot die just yet. If the world hates me then so be it . . . if my friends turn their backs on me then that is the punishment I have agreed to take. I will keep on walking my path – that path I chose on the day I shot and killed Euphie, the day I lost to Suzaku and my past." Lelouch smiled slightly as he lifted the mask of Zero in his hands, "I will make my own path, carved out of the bodies of those I once called friend, sister, mother and father."

"And you won't turn back this time?" C.C. replied her lips half-closed as she looked at him.

Lelouch smiled, "I can't afford to turn back, if I look back now I won't be able to see the future . . . if I turn back now all those who have died and those that will die would never forgive me. This is the path I chose from the moment I decided to pull the trigger." He glanced over his shoulder at her and that lonely smile echoed across the ages of her heart, "I will believe in the path I chose even if I must walk across the corpses of those who placed their faith in me. Because I am Zero – the man who creates worlds, and the man who destroys them."