Author note - Disclaimer - I don't own Code Geass. Also, even though there is a blurb about Vampire Knight, I don't consider this a crossover because it's just a blurb and will not be mentioned again. Sorry if some of the characters end up being a little OC. Also I apologize if this gets a little catty (pun intended).

Ok so I had to come with a name for my cat race and really I have no freaking clue (apparently I'm not all that creative after all). I'm just going to be really lame here and take Neko and my fav animal (tiger) and combine them. Please don't judge me for this.

Lelouch inherited quite a bit from his mother. Her pale skin, violet eyes, black hair and slim figure to name a few. Unfortunately he also inherited some animalistic qualities such as his fluffy black ears and tail with the occasional fangs and claws if he was feeling particularly feisty. Lelouch was part of a race of cat people known as the Nekoti. There wasn't very many of them left in the world. Well not that he knew of anyways. There was CC, but she really didn't count as she was a witch too. It didn't appear that Nunnally inherited this particular quality from their mother. Not that he could tell anyways as Nunnally was the pinnacle of serene patience and the kitty traits only seemed to surface when emotions were at their highest. Like when he was under severe distress, anger or…you know when he was feeling a little frisky…which didn't happen that often. He was above such crass urges.

Suffice to say his life was a little difficult and he tried really hard to not get too worked up over things. He had learned this lesson at a young age when his mother was killed. He was only 10 at the time, so he wasn't entirely sure of the whole story. Some parts are foggy. All he remembers is that his mother, he and Nunnally were alone when the assassination took place. His mother was killed and the children barely escaped with their lives. Nunnally was crippled and became blind. Lelouch escaped harm completely (well physical harm) and when he confronted his father, he was so worked up that his cat traits came out in full force. His father and the present members of the Britannian royal family had looked so thoroughly disgusted. His father called him a monster, disowned the siblings and exiled them to Japan probably hoping that they would perish at some point especially during the invasion, but Lelouch was a crafty little cat and managed to keep them out of harm's way.

Now crafty he might be like a cat, but that's where the cat traits seemed to end. He lacked the natural athleticism of his feline friends. Which was completely unfair, I mean come on, shouldn't he be able to run and all that stuff? If he really was a cat, he would starve to death never being able to catch prey. At least he was smart and could plan traps and all that, but it didn't help him in gym class. He took a huge breath trying to fill in his burning lungs as he ran around the track with his classmates. Lelouch really hated gym class. Like a lot.

"Lulu you're doing great! Just keep it up a little bit longer" Shirley jogged up next to him.

Lelouch really felt like scowling at the cheerful girl. He was only on his second lap. Shirley was on her third. He still had TWO more to go! Life was so unfair sometimes. He was so winded and out of air that he couldn't even voice a response to the orange haired girl that was way too athletic, so he waved in response…and there she went again. Lelouch watched her retreating back. Wait. Was he seeing black dots in his vision? Maybe if he passed out he wouldn't have to run anymore. That would be great.

He wasn't sure how he managed, but he ended up surviving gym class. Thank god. Well maybe not. He really wished that he could just not have gym class. It really sucked. Like a lot. He was sweaty and stinky. Ick. Well his aversion from feeling gross and dirty might be another feline trait. Cat's liked to feel clean. Lelouch liked to feel clean. He did not feel clean now which meant he would have to shower. Lelouch hated showering or bathing or swimming. Water was evil. It was wet and evil. Water was the bane of Lelouch's existence and he needed to shower. Ugh. Gym really sucked.

Well at least he had a writing/language class next. A class that Lelouch excelled in. Words. Lelouch loved words both written and spoken. He was good at it. His crafty genius could be fully used with words. He sauntered into the class and sat down in his usual seat right next to one of his only sort of friends, Kallen. The redish pinkish haired girl turned to look at him closely with tired calculating eyes.

"I see you survived gym today. You don't look to dead on your feet…yet" Kallen stated casually with a little smirk.

"Thankfully. How do you manage to get out of it all the time?" Lelouch questioned as he pulled out his notepad and pen.

"My health, dear Lelouch, is frail and it has been decided that I shouldn't over exert myself."

"Well isn't that convenient. Perhaps I can convince Headmaster Ashford that I have failing health as well…"

Kallen's blue eyes sparkled mischievously looking at her extremely handsome classmate. "Well I'm sure with your silky smooth tongue, you might be able to convince him." She really did think that Lelouch probably had a silky smooth tongue. Not that she had ever felt it…Not that she wanted to feel it… No. It was Lelouch for crying out loud. Her thoughts continued to drift in inappropriate directions of Lelouch's tongue and her cheeks tinted pink getting dangerously close to her natural hair color. She was saved from any further musing when the teacher walked in and announced class starting.

The class quieted down as the teacher explained the pen pal program that Ashford Academy was going to participate in with another school called Cross Academy. Good interschool relationships…etc…some bullshit like that. Lelouch yawned slightly still tired from gym. He felt like he needed a nap. That was another cat thing. Lelouch loved naps. Not as much as a real cat, but an occasional nap was great. His attention snapped back to the teacher as they handed out letters from various Cross Academy students.

He opened the letter and looked at the picture of the boy he was assigned to. His lips pursed in consideration. The boy was exceptionally pale with lavender eyes (he could relate to the eyes even if they were lighter colored than his. It wasn't a color you see very often) and silver/whitish hair. He was particularly broody looking as well as rather attractive. He read the name – Zero Kiryu. Zero. Hmm… weird name. He read over the letter. Apparently he didn't just look broody he was actually quite broody and appeared to not really want to do this based on what he had written. Lelouch shrugged. He didn't really care. He just wanted a good grade and if he had to converse via the written format with this broody attractive man oh well. No sweat of his back…literally this wasn't gym class after all.

The rest of the day passed relatively easy for Lelouch. He excelled in most classes. His school day ended like every other day and he ended up sitting comfortably in one of the chairs in the club room for the student council listening to Milly excitedly explain an upcoming event. The woman loved planning events…and they were almost always painful…and fun… but mostly painful either physically or emotionally. It was his job as Vice President to make sure she didn't get too carried away, but really trying to talk Milly out of something could be exhausting even with all his verbal charm. Like right now as her blonde haired swayed and her blue eyes sparkled with delight and her full figured body pressed against him as she wrapped her arms around his thin frame. He thought he was good at manipulating people, but he was always weak to her demands if she was touching him. He did have a libido after all…and Milly was…well she was really pretty and sometimes it was hard (not that pervert) when she pressed up against him. He ended up folding for the most part, but at least he talked her out of the more eccentric ideas.

Lelouch was on his way home when Milly caught up to him. "Hey Lulu do you think you and Nunnally could do me a favor?"

"It depends what that favor is" Lelouch responded carefully. Asking him to do favors was one thing, but if she was asking to involve Nunnally he needed to be careful. Not that he didn't trust Milly. He knew she was a very caring person underneath all the boisterous…bouncy-ness.

"My father has set up another dinner with a potential suitor and I was hoping that you and Nunnally might join us for dinner tonight. You know to help alieve some of the awkwardness. It would be nice to have some friendly faces around."

Lelouch couldn't see a reason to reject the request. He always felt bad that Milly was being forced into situations dealing with suitors. He personally thought her father should back off and let Milly pick whoever she wanted, but that wasn't really the way the world worked. Especially for people of the upper crust. They had this weird obsession of keeping the higher Brittanian class within the higher Brittanian class. It was frowned upon to branch outside of one's ranking. To sum it up, it was complete bullshit. He readily agreed to her request and she hugged him tightly thanking him for being such an exceptional friend. Milly really did give some of the best hugs…Nope. He wasn't going to go there. He suppressed his inner beast and retracted his slowly growing claws.

Nunnally was excited about going to dinner at the Ashford's and Lelouch smiled fondly at his tiny adorable frail sister with her wavy light brown hair and kind smile. They got dressed in appropriate attire and made their way to the Ashford house. Their own house wasn't too far away as it was one of the guest houses on the Ashford Estate. After the invasion and the fall of the Kururugi Estate, Lelouch had managed to elicit the assistance of the Ashfords and they accepted guardianship of the two young displaced Brittanian siblings. Lelouch would forever be indebted to the Ashford's kindness.

They were greeted by a servant of the household and led into the sitting room to wait for dinner to be served. Lelouch surveyed the room. Something he did every time he entered a new room to look for possible threats and exits in case escape was needed. He took in the sight of the Ashfords (not too hard to identify by their tall statures and blonde hair), a woman with dark purple hair and kind grey eyes, an eccentric pale man with extremely light purple hair and sky blue eyes…and…and…Suzaku Kururugi. Lelouch's heart stuttered to a stop looking at the young male. Lelouch knew instantly who it was even if he hadn't seen Suzaku since they were 12 years old. He still had the same floppy brown hair, tan skin, bright green eyes. The only difference was that he was taller, more muscular, his jaw was more defined and his face was lacking the baby fat it once had. To put it lightly Suzaku looked amazing and was smiling happily at him. Lelouch felt his claws and fangs extend a fraction as he tried to suppress his overwhelming happiness. It was Suzaku!

"Greetings Lelouch and Nunnally. We are happy that you could join us this evening" Headmaster Ashford greeted them. "Let me introduce everyone. This is Lloyd Asplund one of the Earls of Brittania and one of their main scientists, his assistant Cecile Croomy and his ward Suzaku Kururugi. These are our wards Lelouch and Nunnally Lamperouge."

"Is it really you, Suzaku?" Nunnally asked with a small excited smile.

Suzaku walked over and knelt in front of her wheel chair taking her tiny delicate hands in his. Lelouch couldn't help to notice how much larger and more masculine his hands looked now. "Yeah it's really me Nunnally. You've really grown up these last five years haven't you?" Nunnally reached out with her hands and traced her fingers over his face as if she was testing it to make sure it was really him.

Lelouch with all his pretty words was a little tongue tied at the moment just watching this Suzaku. Which was very different from a 12 year old Suzaku, but at the same time was exactly the same. His gentle smile, the little dimples, the soft twinkle in his emerald green eyes. Eyes that were now directed at him. Suzaku stood in front of him. Was Suzaku the same height as him now? Lelouch didn't think so. He still seemed slightly shorter, but he was definitely more muscular.

"Lelouch. Good to see you again" Suzaku said fondly and grasped his bicep firmly in greeting.

Lelouch opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Lloyd. "Oh, so you are already acquainted with my valued guinea pig. How delightful." Lloyd beamed at them.

Lelouch had to hide a look of disdain quickly at the creepy way the light purple haired man was smiling…and did he just call Suzaku a guinea pig? Suzaku gave him an apologetic smile and released his arm.

"I apologize for Lloyd's unfortunate words. Suzaku helps with our research and Lloyd sometimes gets a little creative with his word choice" Cecile stepped in smoothly with a small apologetic smile of her own.

"Pish posh. Semantics my dear. Words are words. I'm just excited to finally meet some of our dear Suzaku's friends" Lloyd carried on cheerfully.

Suffice to say dinner was quite the affair. Lelouch was pretty sure that Lloyd was a sociopath. A highly functioning and intelligent sociopath. He shared a sympathetic look with Milly. She was handling this commendably. All polite smiles and carefully chosen replies. Cecile tried to reign in some of Lloyd's more outlandish comments. Headmaster Ashford and his wife continued to be polite hosts and mediators. Suzaku…well Suzaku was Suzaku. Lelouch wasn't sure how else to describe it. Bright smiles. Honest. Polite. The ideal dinner guest. Even if he was just an honorary Britannian. Not that the Ashford's minded in the least. They were fairly progressive for an elite Britannian family.

"Your school seems quite admirable. It's a shame that Suzaku hasn't been able to attend such a fine establishment. Sometimes I fear that his home schooling is lacking some fundamentals" Cecile said thoughtfully as they ate their desert. Some fruity salady type thing. Meh. Lelouch didn't quite care for it.

"Well he's more than welcome to attend if you were interested in enrolling him here" Headmaster Ashford responded warmly.

"My dear Cecile, Suzaku doesn't have to time to trifle in such mediocre things like socializing with people his own age. I am grooming him for greatness" Lloyd objected enthusiastically with a creepy smile. Did Lelouch forget to mention he thinks Lloyd is a sociopath because yeah he thinks that.

"Oh, but I think it would just be wonderful if Suzaku went to school with us. It would nice to be able to talk to him every day and catch up" Nunnally said softly. Her voice full of warmth. Lelouch smiled gently at his sister. She was the absolute best.

"Unfortunately Mr. Asplund I would have to agree with the others. Well it is essential to focus on one area of interest at some point, I believe at our age we should be broadening our horizon, so that we are able to fully appreciate all the intricacies of life and how to maneuver efficiently through it" Lelouch responded casually. A little hopeful that maybe they could persuade the sociopath to let Suzaku attend Ashford Academy. It would make Lelouch quite pleased. Ok. A lot pleased to be able to see the one person he considered his best friend.

"Well said Lelouch" Milly piped in happily and winked at Lelouch.

"Ah, but you see my dear boy, Suzaku is quite great at maneuvering things like a knightmare frame. That is why he is very much required for my work."

"Suzaku would still be able to assist you Lloyd, but I do think he would quite enjoy going to an actual school for once" Cecile continued in her pleasant convincing voice.

"Umm…if I could interject for a moment, I would be honored to attend Ashford Academy" Suzaku spoke up. "Of course if it is agreeable to Lloyd."

"Well I can see when I have been out voted. I fold, however, Suzaku I expect you to work twice as much when you are assisting me" Lloyd said with a warning tone and another creepy smile. Lelouch shuddered internally.

"Of course" Suzaku said with a smile directed at Lelouch. It was breathtaking. Not literally because Lelouch was still in fact breathing.

"Well it's settled then. I will grab the paperwork for you on your way out tonight. The guest house you will be staying at is fully staffed, so if you need anything, feel free to ask."

"Suzaku if you are staying the night, why don't you come stay with us? We can have a guest room made up for you" Nunnally volunteered hopefully. She hadn't been able to talk to him in five years and was very much excited to hear about what he has been up to.

Suzaku looked at Lelouch first before replying. "If it is not a problem for you, then I would gladly accept."

"Of course it is no trouble at all. We look forward to hosting you" Lelouch replied smoothly with a warm smile.

"Well that settles matters than for the night. It is getting late and I do believe that we should all retire for the evening. While you are filling out the enrollment papers, I will try to locate a dorm for young Kururugi to stay in" Headmaster Ashford stood. Everyone joined him.

"If it would be easier, Suzaku could come stay with us. We do have extra room in our home after all" Lelouch volunteered casually. The headmaster looked at Suzaku for his input.

"That is very kind of you Lelouch and I would be very happy to accept" Suzaku gave him a winning smile. "If that is acceptable to the headmaster of course?"

"Of course. I see no issue with it."

Everyone said their departing words. Milly gave Lelouch one more quick wink and the three reacquainted friends left. Lelouch was more than happy to let Nunnally do most of the talking on the way back to their home. He loved her voice to begin with and now he also got to listen to Suzaku's voice. It was mesmerizing. He loved it.

They talked late into the night, but when Nunnally continued to yawn more frequently, Lelouch forced her to go to bed. Suzaku promised that they would talk more in the morning before he left. He also reminded her in a fond amused voice that he would be spending a lot more time with her coming up. That seemed to appease her worry about letting him out of eyeshot (well not really eyeshot since she couldn't see…more like earshot? That doesn't sound quite right though…). Well anyways back on track. She went to bed with a pleased smile on her delicate face leaving Lelouch and Suzaku to their own amusements.

"It's been a while Lelouch" Suzaku said softly as he looked over Lelouch's face. He took in the sharp angles, thin lips and sharp lavender eyes. He wouldn't voice it, but he thought Lelouch was beautiful…was it ok to think another man was beautiful? Ah well, it was his inner monologue anyways, so it really didn't matter.

"Yeah it has been. I'm sorry to hear about your father. I'm also sorry to hear that you got stuck with Lloyd. I've come to the conclusion he's a sociopath."

Suzaku burst out laughing. Not that carefully structured laugh that he had used throughout the night. No. This was a full blown authentic Suzaku laugh. Lelouch smiled in response. Older Suzaku's laugh was enchanting.

"Yeah. He's most definitely a sociopath, but a genius one at that" Suzaku responded when his laugh had receded enough for words. Little laugh tears trailed out of his eyes and he wiped them away. "God have I missed you're sharp tongue over the years…"

Lelouch felt his cheeks warm a little. Which was very uncharacteristic of him. Lelouch Lamperouge did not blush.

"You know what else I missed…?" Suzaku continued with teasing hint to his voice. The tone causing a weird wave of excitement to pass through Lelouch. "You're adorable fluffy ears."

Ok. So now Lelouch was blushing. Of course Suzaku knew about his ears…and tail… It was hard for him as a child to not let his emotions sometimes get the better of him. Suzaku unfortunately had found him one time in full blown kitty mode. Lelouch had been horrified. Suzaku had been thoroughly awestruck. His ten year old mind thinking it was the coolest shit he had ever seen (not that he swore at the age of ten. His vocabulary was much more limited back then).

"So come on Lelouch, are you going to let me see you in cat mode or what?"

"Suzaku it is quite rude to ask a question like that" Lelouch clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Ah come on man! I want to see what a mature Lelouch with cat ears looks like" Suzaku pressed on. His grin so dazzling that Lelouch lost his train of thought. Why shouldn't he let his ears out? It wasn't like he was able to do it around anybody else…and it was Suzaku after all. He still trusted him with his life.

"Fine, but the moment you start referring to them as cute, I will be out of here in an instant" Lelouch warned.

"I would never refer to your ears as cute" Suzaku said in a serious tone. "Maybe adorable…"

Lelouch scowled at him and Suzaku burst into another fit of laughter. Not that Lelouch didn't like Suzaku's laugh, but he was not going to be teased in such a manner. He had pride dammit. He stood gracefully to his feet and started to leave. Suzaku grabbed his hand quickly and Lelouch had to stop the look of surprise that threatened to over compass his scowl…Suzaku was…strong. Wow.

"Kidding. Just kidding. I won't tease you anymore" Suzaku said genuinely. The smile on his face disarming Lelouch's ire.

"Fine, but I won't warn you again…" Lelouch warned one last time. He then took a deep breath and let his carefully built wall down just a smidgen. His human ears receded and his cat ears popped out at the top of his head. He tried really hard not to feel self-conscious about the whole ordeal.

"So fucking cool" Suzaku said in awe. "Can I touch them?"

Lelouch's thoughts stammered in his brain. Touch? No one had touched his ears outside of Nunnally in years. Suzaku was probably the last non related person to do so, but that was over 5 years ago. Did he want his ears touched? Not really…but if it was Suzaku… "Uh…fine…I guess."

"Sweeeet" Suzaku said happily and slowly reached his hand up.

Lelouch's eyes followed the manly hand a little apprehensively. He shivered involuntarily as Suzaku rubbed his ear gently between his fingers. It felt…weird…and he kind of…liked it. Or maybe it was just because it was Suzaku…and he had missed him. Like a lot. Life had been hard after losing the contact. Lelouch didn't make friends easily. After how his life had gone, he was more guarded than most people.

"Soft…" Suzaku trailed off softly still rubbing the delicate ear between his fingers. He moved them around experimentally. They were sitting next to each other on the couch and Lelouch leaned into the touch instinctively. He ended up trailing his fingers through Lelouch's hair. "Your hairs soft too…"

A weird noise escaped through Lelouch's mouth and he froze. Suzaku's hand also froze mid stroke.

"Did you just purr?" Suzaku asked in a highly amused voice.

"N-no!" Lelouch stammered out quickly as his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

Suzaku chuckled softly. "I'm pretty sure you just purred…"

"I did not! I'm going to bed" Lelouch stood up quickly and moving towards the exit, but paused for a moment. "Umm…I'll show you to your room…"

"Sure" Suzaku responded the tone of his voice clearly showing that he was still quite thoroughly amused. Lelouch had purred. I mean come on that's adorable!

"For the record if you mention this to anybody, I will kill you" Lelouch said in a petulant voice.

"My lips are sealed" Suzaku responded. His hand reaching up to run his fingers through the silky black strands one more time. Lelouch let out an unbecoming squeak and swatted his hand away.

"Stop that!" Lelouch said sternly. His ears were tilted back showing his annoyance.

"But you apparently like it…" Suzaku said amused and gave him another award winning smile. Dimples included.

"Hmph." Was Lelouch's only reply as they walked down the dark hallway. He was not about to admit that he likes it…which he does, but he has pride dammit! "This is your room. I'll see you in the morning."

Suzaku watched Lelouch's retreating back as he stormed gracefully away. The back view of Lelouch was just as attractive as the front. He smiled amusedly at the fact that Lelouch's ears were still sticking out at the top of his head and were still tilted with annoyance. Lelouch was just as adorable as he remembered him. He smiled fondly and entered the guest room.

Lelouch slowly put back up his mental wall as he changed for bed. His cat ears disappeared and were replaced with his human ears. He still didn't fully understand how it was physically possible to have two separate sets of ears that magically seemed to disappear whenever the other set came out. Like really? It was freaking creepy.

His face was still warm as he climbed into bed. It was utterly embarrassing what had happened tonight. Lelouch had never purred before. He didn't even know it was possible. What makes it worse is the fact that he hadn't seen Suzaku in 5 years and he wanted to make a good impression. Show how much he had matured…and he fucking purred. Ugh. How undignified could he get? His lips formed into a pouty little scowl as he tried to think of something else…anything else except for the fact that he had purred in front of Suzaku. He eventually fell asleep sometime around 3am when his brain had finally tired itself out from over thinking.