A/N: It's Sunday! You know what that means! A brand new chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass.

Chapter 7

- Comfort Zone -

He took his steps carefully reaching the back of the elevator, barely noticing the two people cornered behind him. He calmed himself and stopped his tears. The stress wouldn't get to him again.

The stale, filtered air of the mask tasted bad in Zero's mouth.

He thought to himself, how could Lelouch stand this?

It wasn't much of a sacrifice – a little stale air for a secret identity. He could manage for the time being. The confined space of his mask didn't allow the tears to escape anywhere. The moisture underneath the metal and padding dried up from the warmth of his face and breath.

How he didn't notice the two backed into a corner of the elevator was beyond himself. His eyesight was limited by the mask and his sense of smell was stale – if not entirely gone, it was extremely distorted for weaker odors. The taste of sweat was a primary concern of his; he couldn't drink water while wearing the mask.

Sight, smell, taste, and touch.
He asked himself again, how could Lelouch stand this!?

At least he could hear. The mask itself had amplified vocal sounds and certain auditory signals – other ambient noise was naturally canceled due to the padding used to cover his ears. It, ironically, blocked out all non-essential noises and therefore made it easier to hear. It was intended as the voice modulator wouldn't function very well if it picked up the noise outside of the mask at all times.

But this increased signal of hearing didn't save Zero on this particular day. In fact, it was the bane of his very existence on that particularly ambient elevator ride for he could hear every little sound the couple in the corner were making.

He wouldn't dare try to look, so he merely pressed his button and turned away from the awkward situation. The hotel was definitely home to all sorts of patrons.

Zero took this time to gather his composure and gain awareness of his surroundings.

The pair were confined, for the most part, on the opposite end of the elevator away from him. It wasn't a sense of dread Suzaku felt – it was a sense of embarrassment. The man had been stiff ever since he walked in. The thought of walking in on some estranged rendezvous between a man and his mistress crossed his mind before he pushed it to the back of his mind. The itching feeling didn't go away, however – there was clearly tension in the room and he couldn't tell if it was between his presence in the elevator as Zero or if it were the two forcefully restraining themselves from restraining each other.

He, at first, mused that the man was a European perhaps a rich Britannian here for the service. The long silver hair was a feature he would remember and this weakened that suggestion. His attention turned towards the woman, but, the man was covering the area in which she stood. Without obviously adjusting himself to look, he wouldn't be able to see more about the two.

The man, Lelouch, looked as if he were to trying to block as much of C.C. from view as possible. It would be a nuisance for the other to see her with a complete stranger – as soon as he heard someone walk in, his thoughts were directed away from an emotional chit-chat and to a challenge laid out in front of him. He had to ensure C.C. was kept hidden from sight.

His violet eyes tried to catch a glimpse of the man behind him.

I can't move my head – I might draw more attention to myself. Just my eyes.

On both sides of him, the most he could see was the empty elevator. That said, it was clear someone was there – they were leaning on the metal bannister causing it to groan as the elevator moved down towards the lobby. The lumbering elevators in the hotel moved slowly for safety reasons – it took about 40 seconds to travel down this far. Lelouch still had at least 15 seconds before they reached the lobby; enough time to be disastrous if they discovered their identities.

The largest disadvantage Lelouch had was the lack of sight. His inability to see would perhaps be the ironic weakness of him in this situation, despite his displeasure of recklessly using Geass.

The assumptions he thus chose were worst case scenarios.

1. Assume my Geass will not be able to work. I don't want to depend on it.
2. Assume the person in question is actively trying to glimpse at her – that's an issue in itself.
3. Assume they can tell my identity through any disguise. I don't want to risk this.

He must succeed – it would all be ruined if they found out his identity. And for that, his first condition to fulfill is ensuring that they don't know who he is, or at least, conclude that he is not Lelouch, at the very least.

With a shuffle, the silver-haired man shuffled closer to C.C., who had been calmly settled into the corner and stared him down.

C.C. stare held a look of questioning: "What am I to do next?"

Lelouch brought his lips to just above her own.

Zero, sensing a change in the situation, shifted his weight and tilted his head ever so slightly. A false assumption of the couple enjoying themselves successfully undermined his judgment following the faked kiss. It only furthered his uncomfortable position inside the elevator. He silently debated saying something or even coughing to ensure they noticed him – he decided against it.

Lelouch, hoping the person inside the elevator didn't recognize his voice, spoke in an anxious manner to C.C., "Hey, unbutton my shirt."

There was no sly smile on his face – in fact, Lelouch was constantly trying to catch a glimpse of the person behind himself. C.C. understood what he meant as she carried out the issued command, partially concerned and partially surprised.

The importance, Lelouch thought to himself, is in the tone of the command – not the command itself. If I can make them uncomfortable, maybe they'll leave the elevator without bothering us. Or at least turn away.

The gaze Zero held glued to the button panel caused his eyes to bathe over all the numbers endlessly in an effort to wipe his mind of whatever dirty thoughts were coursing through it.

Lelouch blinked rapidly to get C.C.'s attention and then proceeded to look at the sleeve of his right arm.

Underneath was the ghost tattoo – the ethereal symbol might be just enough to throw the elevator patron off any ideas that they might have had. Despite it saying, "I have returned to this world," Lelouch was sure that it wouldn't mean much more than a quote to the other person.

C.C.'s unmatched skill in unbuttoning shirts aided Lelouch in quickly having the sleeve unbuttoned.

Guiding her eyes with his own, he ordered her to, "pull up this shirt," hinting at his sleeve to be rolled up.

Suzaku let out an uneasy growl of displeasure. It was muffled but Lelouch heard it. It was a man.

Damn. This may be harder than I thought. If it's a guy, he might not just leave from some slight uncomfortable feeling. I might just have to intimidate him.

To maintain the idea that he was being stripped and thus validate the uncomfortable feeling the man felt, Lelouch grabbed her right hand and brought it straight to his neck collar. Slowly, he brought his right hand down, the tattoo facing outwards towards the man in the corner.

His shirt sleeve was up past his elbow and his tattoo was visible. Zero saw it and considered who the man could possibly be.

What was accomplished by the strip acting, however, was wiping the idea of Lelouch from Suzaku's list of possible people you could walk into while taking the elevator.

Not that he had a specific list or anything.

Lelouch smiled to himself, knowing that the conditions had been cleared. He could hear the cloth on the man behind him rub up against the elevator wall. Whoever it was in there with them was nervous now.

Without any exit, anxiety takes effect.

Lelouch, in all intentions to keep the charade up, would take it a step further to ensure he was not recognized.

"Bring your arm around my neck," he began. His left hand came down from the side of the elevator, shifting his body to cover that area and hide C.C. from view in it's place.

"We have to make him uncomfortable. Make sure you push my hair aside from my left cheek. I want to show him the tattoo there."

He caressed the side of her face and brought it slowly down the left side of her body, past her shoulders – it had to look sensual to keep the ploy – and hooked his arm around her waist, jerking her, ever so slightly, closer to his own body.

Lelouch could only wait, breathing, for her cold fingertips to reach his face as her hands brushed up alongside his backside and up to his shoulders. They curved around his neck and her arm retracted before finally pushing it out from in front of his cheek.

There was the Knightmare Frame tattoo, one that many in Japan would know all too well.

Suzaku stiffened in his suit. For the past twenty seconds he'd been stuck, unable to do anything in the elevator. Finally, the elevator had arrived to it's destination.

Lelouch timed his own glance at the stranger with the door's opening, perhaps to ensure that there would be no crossing of the eyes with each other. It was to his great surprise – and only his, as C.C. was also unable to see past Lelouch in her compromising position – that the man rushing to leave the elevator was costumed in the tailor made outfit Lelouch knows so well.

The unmistakeable cloak and mask belonged to none other than Suzaku Kururugi – successor to the title Zero.

Lelouch's eyes were wide with disbelief as Suzaku's were wide with embarrassment.

A storm was just avoided.

He'd never be able to forgive me if he found out it was me. I already know what he'll say. I already know what he'll ask.
His thoughts were flying now.
He'll ask why I couldn't bring Euphie back.
He'll ask why I could come back and not her.
To be honest, I think he's right.
Why am I back?

C.C.'s hands cradled around his face and brought his flushed lips to her own. They brushed noses slightly and she gave a trademark smile in return to his puzzled looks. He stayed silent.

Usually, he'd say something.

"Here's the part where you say, 'that wasn't part of the plan,' Lelouch." Lelouch simply stared back at her as they remained in the corner.

The elevator doors closed.

It didn't take long for he to notice something had him thinking.
Lelouch was deep in thought, his eyes frantically rushing as if to look for an invisible answer.

Worried, she asked, "What's wrong? Who was it that you saw? Nunnally?"

"No. Zero," he answered. "I have rarely seen myself on the other side of that mask. But how could I forget the last moments I've had while I was still breathing. That mask, only bloodier, was the only thing I saw. There's only one person who's in there."

C.C.'s eyes lost their excitement, the moment passing.
She nodded in agreement as they thought in unison:

Suzaku.