Hello! It's been six months ahaha... And I am SO sorry about that, but I wanted to focus on my past school semester, but now here is a new update! Also, thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I always appreciate those so much!

Let me not keep you, so enjoy! :)

A Fashion Disaster: Part 7

Lelouch was no coward.

He never considered himself to be.

He was always open, brutally honest, said his thoughts aloud whether it would piss someone off or not, and much more confident in himself than the average person, but what he never expected was to fall in love with a woman he merely met just months ago and to break her trust as soon as they fell into a relationship.

Which was why he was currently sitting in his condo, alone, without the presence of C.C., sitting in black pants, a white, wrinkled dress shirt, being a coward and refusing to come into work today to avoid the presence of his ex-girlfriend.

He was pretty sure when C.C. grouped his "fuck you" with his bastard of a father that meant she didn't want anything to do with him.

At all.

He had informed Shirley last night that he wouldn't be coming in today. He knew her and his mother would make sure everything was running smoothly and that everything would be in place for the fashion show, so he wasn't too worried and gave himself a day to sulk all day - once again, alone - in his condo and away from society. Also, while he had a pretty strict diet for himself, it wouldn't kill him to sit on his couch and eat from a carton of chocolate chip ice cream.

It was his second one and on any other day, he would probably freak out over having this amount, but he could hardly care at the moment while wrapped up in his blanket tightly and giving himself a brain freeze.

It was worse when he didn't even know where C.C. had gone last night. Obviously she didn't come home, but he had no idea where she could've gone… He didn't bother to find out unless he wanted to drive himself crazy about the thought of her whereabouts anywhere else other than this house. It was so depressing that he stuck another spoon full of ice cream in his mouth.

He glanced over at the white cat sleeping soundly on the couch beside him and sighed to himself. "It's just me and you now, huh? Because your actual owner wants my head on a pole… And I'm sitting here talking to a fucking cat." That made him put another spoon full of ice cream in his mouth.

He was pathetic.

Lelouch suddenly heard the door to his apartment opening and he was only hoping that it was a serial killer breaking in to take him away from all this pain because honestly, he wouldn't mind. The world hated him. His ex-girlfriend hated him. Being murdered would be the topping on the cake.

"Lelouch?"

Oh, it was Suzaku.

One of the few people who had a key to his house.

Would Suzaku murder him if he asked?

He didn't answer because he knew Suzaku would find him. He heard a deep sigh come from his best friend's mouth and didn't bother to take a look at him, even when he heard him take a seat next to him on the couch. "Lelouch," he called softly. "Look at me."

He refused to at first, but rather than having to talk more than necessary by arguing with Suzaku, he slowly turned his head to his best friend who had a sympathetic look on his face. He chuckled lowly. "You look a mess, Lelouch."

"I know," he muttered, not being able to get angry about Suzaku pointing out the obvious at the moment. "I was hoping you were a house intruder here to kill me."

The brown haired Japanese head shook his head at his friend's dramatics and said, "Well, that's too bad, isn't it? It's your best friend who came to check up on you since I've known you almost our whole lives."

Lelouch didn't answer.

"I know you've been wondering, but C.C. is staying at me and Euphy's house for now. I know she stayed with you, so I hope that eases some of what you're feeling," Suzaku explained to him.

Finally, he spoke up and muttered, "How was she?"

"A mess. Just like you right now. She was going to sulk all day, but she decided that her work was more important than shutting out everyone and all of society."

"I know that's a jab at me," Lelouch muttered.

Suzaku put a comforting hand on Lelouch's hand and pat it. "Hey, I know it's hard right now. That's not a decision we all have to make everyday, but there are many hard decisions we have to make everyday, and sometimes we have to keep going and moving forward."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes and Suzaku quickly explained what he meant. "I mean, sometimes we have to move forward while we work to fix our mistakes, and while I know what happened between you can C.C. wasn't a mistake and it was out of your love for her, you have to work to make it better. I know she isn't going to talk to you if going by all the curses she sent at you last night in front of me and Euphy, but don't give up now."

The raven haired fashion designer let out a deep sigh, pretty sure his eyes were watering again from either having held them open too long or from what he refused to call tears getting ready to fall. "I didn't want to have to do that to her," he admitted.

"I know."

"But Charles is so horrible…"

"I know."

"And I didn't want her to deal with the media reaction. It gets so bad, Suzaku, and I didn't want her to experience that."

"I know."

"Does that make me a terrible person?"

"No."

Lelouch ended up leaning onto Suzaku's shoulder with his eyes closed, his ice cream held tightly in his hands and mumbling, "I know I'm… Not the best person. I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"I know."

"I'll give you a little more time, but you're getting out of this house today eventually," Suzaku told him while running a hand through his own hair. He looked down at Lelouch. "Okay?"

"I'd argue, but I'm tired," he muttered while placing his head on Suzaku's shoulder more comfortably.

"I can tell."

Suzaku took the ice cream from his best friend's hands and placed it on the coffee table. He'd let him sleep for a few minutes, maybe an hour, but he wasn't going to let his friend take his usual route of sulking. He loved C.C. very much, and while he'd have to deal with the backlash of his decision, Suzaku wasn't going to let this be the end of them. He'd find a way to help them both out, and this wasn't the end of it.

…..

Later on that day, Lelouch was reluctantly dragged out of the house by Suzaku, who told him it was better to have fresh air than be stuck in the house all day after a, as he had put it, "It's sort of a breakup, but not really one if you think about it much."

That earned him a punch in the chest.

When Suzaku said he was going to drag Lelouch out of the house, the last place he was expecting to pull up in front of the house of his most hated brother among all his siblings - Schneizel el Britannia.

He cast the most dangerous glare at Suzaku he could muster, the said friend nervously tapping his fingers on the driving wheel, and growled, "What. The. Fuck. Are. We. Doing. Here?"

The Japanese man swallowed thickly while running a hand through his hair nervously. "Listen, Lelouch, I know you hate your brother, but-"

"Why the fuck are we here?!" Lelouch repeated once again, and he would kill Suzaku with his own hands if his best friend didn't tell him right now why they were here at his brother's house.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku finally snapped, tired of the raven haired designer's immature attitude. "You already know why we're. You know why we're here without me even having to say it."

"I didn't agree to it!"

"Your brother helped you out once before and he can do it again! You just have to ask him!" Suzaku shouted before getting out of the car and opening the side of Lelouch's door. "So get out."

Lelouch glared at him before turning around in his seat and stating stubbornly, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Lelouch."

"You'll have to drag me out of this car first."

Suzaku saw both him and Lelouch as mature men who had grown from their immature and irresponsible ways back in high school, but sometimes, once in a while, he saw that it was fit to go back to that time as that immature and irresponsible teenager, so he did exactly as Lelouch said.

He tried to drag him out of the car by his foot.

"Get off me!"

"Stop being a baby, Lelouch!"

"I'm not going in there, you bastard!"

"You are!"

"I'm not!"

"Schneizel helped you once before! He can do it again!"

"I'd rather die!"

While Lelouch and Suzaku probably thought they weren't making that much noise, it didn't take long before they heard someone clear their throat in the middle of their scuffle, causing them both stop mid action.

"Suzaku? Lelouch?"

There, in all his bastard glory, as Lelouch would say, was Schneizel in a white blouse untucked, dark blue dress pants, and black glasses. He looked on in small amusement, a smirk present on his pale face. "I thought I heard the familiar yell of my dear younger brother screaming "bastard!"

Lelouch looked unamused while Suzaku put - more like threw - Lelouch's foot back down on the ground. "Hello, Schneizel," the designer growled.

"Suzaku texted me earlier and said he wanted to make an appointment with me. I told him to just drop by the house first. It seems Father is causing trouble for you again," he explained.

"I can handle this by myself," Lelouch insisted. "I didn't ask this bastard to do anything."

Suzaku made a sound of offense, but Schneizel's smirk just widened. "I am a lawyer, Lelouch. I can get you out of anything."

"I'm not getting any help from you."

Suzaku just sighed.

Schneizel shrugged. "If you insist. Do come in for tea, though. The maid just prepared some. That's not a request."

With that, Schneizel started down the concrete path and back to his house. Finally, after another thirty seconds of thinking it over, Lelouch exited the car while glaring at Suzaku the whole time.

"Why the fuck do you have his number anyway?" he grumbled.

"I have all your siblings' numbers."

"... Fuck you."

…

"Here. I know he won't let you have it most times, but you deserve this," Euphemia smiled at her green haired friend while pushing a slice of pizza in front of her on a white plate. "It's pepperoni. Just how you like it."

C.C. looked at the slice of pizza and frowned slightly. Most times she'd eat it at every opportunity given, but it just made her sick right now. It strangely reminded her of Lelouch at the moment and she wanted anything to not think of him or remind herself of him.

She pushed it back towards Euphemia and mumbled, "I'm not hungry."

It was Euphemia's turn to frown at her friend. "You've worked all day, C.C. I know you're still upset about last night, but starving yourself won't do that, especially as a model."

"He threw me away," C.C. mumbled, closing her arms around herself and looking down in her lap. "He threw me away. I hate him so fucking much."

"But did he throw you away because he wanted to?"

"There's no way for that to sound right no matter how you put it, Euphy."

The pink haired woman chuckled slightly. "I've known Lelouch a very long time, C.C. He's my older brother, and he never does anything without reason, even if he doesn't tell anyone. Or even if it just makes him look like a huge, heartless asshole, it's because he cares."

"He cares too much. That's the thing, Euphy. You don't understand," the green haired model started to say as she narrowed her eyes at the girl. "I told him I didn't care and he went and did what he wanted anyway. He threw me away. To his father of all people.

"He just expects me to accept this and waltz into his father's company just to sign to it. I'm not doing that. I'd rather be destroyed by the media over our stupid deal we made. We made the deal because we're both stubborn idiots, and he's just scared because it was thrown back in our races. Neither of us expected it to go like this and he thinks making decisions on his own will fix the situation. It won't."

Euphy looked on at her friend sadly. She was right. Lelouch was rash, and he did make decisions on his own out of love, but it never ended with the other person being happy within the situation. He cared so much that he never stopped to think of anyone else's feelings. It's what hurt the most.

"Don't give me that look," C.C. hissed, but then frowned at herself noticing she had snapped at her friend. "I'm sorry, but I don't need a pity party. I'm fine."

"You're not fine, C.C.," Euphy told her. "And that's okay. You can cry if you want to."

"There's no need for me to do so. I'm angry, not sad."

While the pink haired woman had her doubts, she sighed and pushed the plate over to C.C. "Well, if you aren't sad, can you at least eat?"

C.C. looked down at the pizza and frowned at it once again. It looked unappetizing still, so she said, "Maybe later."

Euphy knew she wasn't going to get any other answer, so she left it alone. She wasn't going to force C.C. into anything she didn't want to do at the moment.

"So," Euphy started, hoping a change of subject might help lift the tense atmosphere. "Are you excited for the designs you're going to be wearing?"

"The bastard really does make the nicest clothing…" C.C. muttered to herself, but Euphy heard it and smiled slightly. "The designs are exciting, but I'm not looking forward to that day. I don't want it to come."

"C.C…"

"That means it's my last day with Lelouch and who looks forward to the day you have to separate from something you really love."

"Are you… talking about you and Lelouch?" Euphy questioned to make sure.

"I feel like our relationship comes with separating from the company. He got rid of me after all," she said bitterly. "But I won't miss him. Not at all."

"I understand."

She did. She understood a little too well. While she did rarely go to see her Father, she never once missed him after leaving to be with Lelouch. She had been a child model under her Father's management for so long, so while it slightly hurt to leave him, she was better off with her older brother. She knew that the best.

"I think… "Euphy started, even if she knew that C.C. would probably cast a nerve wrecking glare at him. "That in the end, everything will work out."

"You're just a sunshine full of hope, aren't you?" C.C. asked, a small smile etching onto her face.

Euphemia shrugged slightly, but smiled back at her friend. "It's always easier to than be constantly disappointed."

"... Thanks… Euphy," C.C. said.

The pink haired model smiled again and got up from the table, taking the pizza slice with her. It was unusual for C.C. to not eat any pizza, but she'd save the slice and the rest of it for another day until C.C. wanted it.

…

While she was silently going through it, C.C. still had no choice but to attend fittings and work. He might have made a bullshit decision without giving her a choice in it, but she was going to work her last days here doing her job best - Modeling. His mistakes weren't anyone else's and C.C. would not bring anyone else into this, even if she wanted to grab the nearest design and rip it into little tiny pieces.

For now, she was going through her schedule for the day with Cecile while they waited on their transportation for the day to arrive. While doing so, the one and only owner of this company entered the lobby through the front doors and honestly, C.C. herself was surprised he had even come in. He hadn't been present all day yesterday.

As always, he had to either dress himself up extremely neatly and precise, or wear flashier clothes than she did, but he unlike most times, his outfit was pretty simple today - A long, gray cardigan, a simple white v-neck shirt underneath, black dress pants, and a golden necklace hanging from his neck. It was simple, but as much as she didn't want to admit, he looked nice dressed that way.

Or was it her attraction to him talking rather than trying to act rational with her anger?

It could be both.

"Good morning, C.C. and Cecile," Lelouch greeted, not even giving them time to answer as he walked towards the elevators.

C.C. scoffed under her breath, wondering how he even had the audacity to greet her, so she didn't answer. Cecile, however, replied to him cheerfully and though his back was turned, the raven haired designer put a hand up in acknowledgement. He stepped onto the elevator, and it was hard for C.C. to miss his facial expression that went from its usual smugness to a deep frown.

She frowned herself. He had no right to be upset when she was the one who was being forcefully removed from her company, not him. She had it made it clear to Lelouch so many times that she wasn't scared of his father, and that she was willing to see the consequences for herself, but he decided that he didn't want to respect her decisions.

"C.C.?"

The model turned her attention back to her manager, and she gave her a smile full of sympathy. She'd rather not have that, but C.C. knew Cecile meant no harm whatsoever. The woman only did what she thought would comfort her. Thankfully, the woman didn't mention anything about Lelouch in her next statement.

"You have a perfume commercial to shoot for today," she carried on after gaining C.C.'s attention again.

C.C.'s face fell flat at the mention of a "perfume commercial." She loved her fair share of perfumes, but sometimes the overwhelming smell of it for these shoots drove her insane. "Another one…"

Cecile chuckled. "I know you hate them, but it's the only thing you have to do today along with a lunch you scheduled with Miss Kozuki and Miss li Britannia. Have the rest of the day to yourself afterwards, alright?"

She couldn't help the small smile that reached her face. Cecile was such a kind woman. "Thank you, Cecile."

The blue haired woman gave her a bright smile.

…

"That bastard did what?!" the red headed woman seethed, knocking up the table slightly. Euphemia quickly went to save their drinks before they spilled all over the table.

She glared at the said woman. "Kallen!"

"Oh, sorry," she apologized quickly before turning back to C.C. with an angry look upon her face. "That bastard kicked you out of the company?!"

"Kallen, he didn't-"

"He's always thinking for himself and by himself! This is one of the reasons why we broke up!"

Euphy rose an eyebrow. "Kallen, you and Lelouch literally have such a long list of reasons on why you all broke up. Which one is it?"

"It was complicated," she answered quickly before turning back to C.C., who was messing around with her avocado salad on her plate. "And so you have to find a new company?"

"Charles zi Britannia… wants me."

"Oh, not that bastard," Kallen huffed, crossing her arms under her chest. "Euphemia and I were out of work for months under Lelouch because of him."

C.C. cringed at that. Lelouch had mentioned before how Charles basically had him blacklisted, but never once had he mentioned why or how they managed to get out of it. "Lelouch… has mentioned that before," she reluctantly said and Kallen made an annoyed sound at the mention of her… Well, ex-boyfriend.

"Father is insistent when it comes to what he wants."

"He was more than insistent. That bastard-"

"Wait," Euphemia interrupted. "Which bastard?"

Kallen gave her a flat look. "Charles, Euphy."

"Continue."

"That bastard did his best to make sure he we had no work to the point Lelouch had to get Schneizel involved and that took so much convincing," Kallen remembered. "He almost threw a tantrum. What a baby."

"I could say just don't go to Father's company and go to another instead when your time with Lelouch is up, but that's more dangerous in itself," Euphemia said, her shoulders slumping at the thought of her friend having to unwillingly sign with a company she didn't want to.

"God, I wish I could just murder them both right now!"

"Kallen!" Euphemia gasped.

"How about I just quit?"

That statement stopped any argument Kallen and Euphemka were currently about to start as they both quickly snapped their heads towards C.C., who played around with her drink.

"What?"

"Repeat that."

"What if I just quit modeling?"

"Excuse my language, but what the fuck, C.C.?" Kallen blurted.

"None of this would be a problem if I just quit. Everything would go back to the way it was before. Charles will leave Lelouch alone and I'll pretend like I never once set foot into the fashion world."

"That is a dumbass decision, C.C."

That statement hadn't come from Kallen, surprising C.C. once she realized that the statement had come from her pink haired friend. "I know you easily entered the fashion world, so you didn't know how it worked, but you've worked really hard since Lelouch pulled you off of the damn street because he thought you were the perfect model, and you're going to throw that all away because our father can't take no for an answer?! This isn't like you to think this irrationally, C.C., and I disapprove of it. You're not quitting."

"So she does have a backbone," Kallen muttered.

C.C. let out a small scoff under her breath. "I make my own decisions, Euphy."

"I'm not making a decision for you. I'm stopping you from making a decision that you're going to regret."

"How would I end up regretting it if it's going to fix the problem?"

"Because you're a dumbass just like Lelouch, C.C.! You don't think at all because you care about others! Now you're just doing what he's doing!"

Kallen leaned back in her seat, thoroughly impressed by the pink haired woman who was usually very soft spoken.

C.C. shot a glare at her and Euphemia returned it, refusing to be fazed by her friend's intimidating nature. "C.C., at the end of the day, I don't care what you do, but make a rational decision, not an irrational one."

Euphemia let out a deep breath and quickly said, "I'm sorry, C.C., but your career isn't going to go down because of my-

"Bastard father," Kallen interrupted.

"Yes, thank you, Kallen." Euphemia pat the said woman's hand. She looked back at C.C. "I just suggest you make the right decision, C.C."

The green haired woman didn't say anything. She simply leaned back in her chair silently and opened up the menu that was in front of her to pretend she was skimming it and to think properly.

Quitting seemed like the best option, but… Maybe it wasn't.

…

"So… You want me to get Father to leave you alone because, excuse my language, you ended up fucking up the relationship with your girlfriend model?"

"... No."

"Yes."

"Which one, boys?" Schneizel asked as he sipped at his tea while eyeing the two younger adults in front of him.

"The latter," Suzaku smiled.

"Why the fuck do you keep talking, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked him rudely.

"I'm trying to save the relationship between you and your girlfriend because knowing you, you'll let it die and mope for the rest of your life!" Suzaku told him.

"I will not!"

"Your high school girlfriend says otherwise!"

"I was sixteen!"

"Lelouch, you binge-eat ice cream when you mope. That is not healthy."

"... Alright, and?"

"You're so useless."

"Boo-fucking-HOO."

Schneizel watched as the two men went back and forth with one another and if he was going to be honest, until this day, he still didn't understand how his younger brother and Suzaku had become friends with one another. They were complete opposites of one another and all he remembers is that one day Lelouch was a loner who preferred to keep to himself, and the next, he started bringing this Japanese boy around everywhere he went.

He sipped the last of his tea before placing his cup of tea down and firmly saying, "Quiet."

The two stopped arguing and Schneizel narrowed his eyes. Suzaku shifted in his seat while Lelouch looked anywhere but him, causing him to chuckle. "I'll handle it," he decided. "That's all."

"Excuse me?" Lelouch rose an eyebrow.

"I'll handle it, so… Be on your way."

"What the hell are you up to, Schneizel?"

"I'm going to save your ass. Again. Father is a bastard," the blond shrugged. "He deserves to be ruined."

Lelouch's mouth fell slightly open as he put a hand over his heart in touch. "You… You mean that?" he asked for clarity.

Schneizel nodded with a small shrug. "If he died tomorrow, I would still be at home sipping tea."

"Schneizel!" Suzaku scolded but the blond ignored him.

"Oh, wow… And all this time I thought you were a selfish bastard," Lelouch said, still in shock.

"Alright, you're being weird," Schneizel told him, but a small smile crossed his lips.

"See, I told you this wouldn't be so hard," Suzaku said, turning to Lelouch who snapped out of his shock at those words. The raven haired man shot a harsh glare at him.

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

"What did I do?!" Suzaku asked, scooting away from Lelouch.

Lelouch stood. "My brother is going to help me out, but you still brought me here without consent! Life isn't flowers and rainbows, Suzaku!"

"Wh- Ow! Lelouch!"

"You. Always. Have. To. Play. Glenda. The. Good. Witch!" He said as he tried to get a hit on Suzaku, but the brown haired man kept dodging him. "Gah!"

"Lelouch!"

Schneizel stood up quietly, dusting himself off, and calling for his assistant. "Kanon."

The man entered the room quickly. He glanced at the two men fighting in the background before turning back to his boss. "Master Schneizel?"

"Please get me another cup of tea," he commanded.

"As you wish, Master Schneizel, but um… What about them?" he asked, pointing towards Suzaku and Lelouch.

"Leave them be. They'll finish and escort themselves out."

…..

Later on, Suzaku and Lelouch went to the company because Suzaku absolutely refused to let him go back home to mope and eat unhealthy amounts of ice cream and then freaking out later about why he gained weight and eating like a bird.

Which was all unhealthy.

Instead, it was better to let Lelouch rant angrily while creating designs and sewing. It always did him good.

Suzaku was leaning on his hand as Lelouch grabbed a roll of fabric while angrily cursing his father. A small amused smile was on his lips as his best friend let out everything he had been holding in.

"And fuck that bastard! Fuck him! I've never met a more horrible person in my life! Schneizel is the most horrible person ever, but I wouldn't even fucking categorize him with our fucked up father!" He unrolled the fabric and took out a measuring tape. "And you know what? I love Mother, but fuck her too for even getting involved with that fucking bastard that's supposed to be my father because you know why?! He's a dirty, manipulative bastard and I wished he would just fucking DI-"

"Lelouch!" Suzaku cut him off because he was getting very loud at the moment and while only a few people were here, he would rather not people think someone was getting murdered. "I know you hate your father, but you're getting intense."

"If your father was a huge bastard, you'd be intense too!" Lelouch hissed as he started cutting out pieces of the fabric.

Suzaku rose an eyebrow at Lelouch with a small smile. He didn't expect his best friend's brain to be working correctly at all, so he just reminded him that, "Lelouch. My father is a huge bastard. Remember?"

Lelouch stopped in the middle of his movement with furrowed eyebrows until he let out a soft, "Oh," of realization. "I forgot."

He huffed. "Well, fuck your father as well. I can't stand any of these bastards and I wish them both gruesome de-"

"Lelouch!" Suzaku sighed as he stood up and put a comforting hand on Lelouch's shoulder. "I get it."

Lelouch's shoulders slumped and the grip on his scissors loosened at Suzaku's touch. "Do you… Do you think she's going to forgive me?" he mumbled.

"We have to see," Suzaku told him softly.

"I'm so dumb, Suzaku. I let my father get in my head and now I just… I ruined everything and after the fashion show next week… C.C. isn't coming back…" His voice cracked as he crouched to the floor. "I'm so fucking dumb…"

With a small sigh, Suzaku crouched down on the floor next to Lelouch, an arm thrown around his shoulder. "You're not… Dumb. Particularly. You just care about the people you love a little too much and sometimes it's not always okay. It makes you think irrationally."

"Is that an insult, a compliment, or reassurance?" Lelouch asked Suzaku lowly.

"Both?"

Lelouch hit him in the chest. He chuckled softly. "You're so useless…"

"But I'm a good friend, aren't I?" Suzaku smiled.

"I guess."

"So," Suzaku started, "The fashion show is in two weeks and you're gonna pick up your head and go in there like you own place as always. Bastard Lelouch is more confident than Sad Lelouch, isn't he?"

"I don't know if-"

"No. You hate for anyone else to act like the head bastard in charge, right? You can't show your father he scares you, Lelouch. Alright?"

"I can't believe your sappy speeches work on me," the fashion designer mumbled.

Suzaku shook his head with a small smile. "I try my best as your best friend and… I'm glad it worked."

"God, I hate you so much."

"I know you do."

Suzaku's smile widened and Lelouch returned it.

There's one more chapter after this, so I'm excited to show you all the last part!

Read and Review!