Coup d'�tat

Coup d'État
By Eline

From the ever-so-lovely kink-meme, a request for thronesex (*the* kink in this fandom) between Emperor!Suzaku and Knight!Lelouch--which is, personally speaking, very interesting. Because I get to do the AU where Suzaku’s personality doesn’t split itself into a doormat and the douchebag version of his former arrogant and brash self. And is probably not crazy. Lelouch doesn’t have the Geass, some of the crazy-angsty R1 stuff did not happen and R2 just wasn’t the same. They are probably a few years older as well.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

October 2022 a.t.b.

The news reports flooded in one after another. People could hardly believe their ears.

The usurper had taken the capital. The usurper’s forces had outflanked and overwhelmed the Royal Guard, the militia and the naval forces. Even worse, some units in the army had defected.

There was outrage and some vocal protests by the native Britannians, naturally. From the assimilated peoples of the various colonies, there were tentative celebrations. Something was about to change.

But one fact remained--the usurper was Emperor by right of conquest. By their own rules, the strongest had prevailed.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

October 14th, 2022 a.t.b.

The throne room of the Imperial Palace was the centre of the Britannian Empire. Now it was empty except for two lone figures who were striding across the cavernous expanse of space to the Imperial Throne on its dais.

Kururugi Suzaku, formerly the Knight of Seven, looked up at the throne. Once, he had been a subject of a vast empire. Now, after a week or so of strategically-fought battles, he had won the war.

“Well go on, it’s yours now,” said the other man. Lelouch vi Britannia, his chief strategist, was not far from his side these few days. Clothed in severe black, he stood in stark contrast to Suzaku, who still wore his Knight’s whites.

“I can wait until the coronation . . . ” Though he was not particularly in favour of that local custom, Lelouch had convinced him of the necessity of showing the Britannians symbolically that a new regime was in place.

“You should get used to it. The coronation might last five hours.” Here, Lelouch’s wickedly sardonic sense of humour was evident.

“Cut it down to half an hour--I know you can do it,” Suzaku said, but he did ascend the dais and lower himself onto the throne. Whatever magic that made the sitter an Emperor was not evident to him. It was merely an imposing chair.

"It suits you." His strategist had been a prince, eleventh in line for the throne of Britannia. The natural arrogance that was his by right did not overshadow his effectiveness as the mastermind behind the coup. Suzaku might be a warrior and a relatively good field marshal, but Lelouch thought in terms of nations when he fought.

Brilliant, the way a diamond was brilliant--hard edges, hidden facets and chilly logic. If Suzaku had never seen this prince in the throes of passion, he would have thought the other man was a statue carved in ice--a very attractive statue too. But he had the pleasure of having Lelouch in his bed and at his side in the war room--a most satisfactory arrangement all around.

"It's a bit too grandiose for my liking." The earlier teachings of his youth had stressed a certain austerity in how a warrior should live. Of course, he was an alien to these shores--something of an oddity in the inner circle of the Palace for all that he had been an Honorary Britannian for years.

"You could change it. Overhaul the entire Palace if you like."

Lelouch had no love for the old regime. Ever since the assassination of his mother and the events that had blinded and crippled his sister, the eleventh prince had been out for vengeance. Suzaku supposed that this was his final, most humiliating blow to the system that had spurned him. Setting up a former Number as Emperor before dividing the conquered territories of the once world-spanning empire--a fitting end for a moribund dynasty whose final legacy had been colonialism and imperialism of all things.

Somewhat amused, Suzaku watched as Lelouch gestured animatedly about how they could have the entire place renovated to resemble the Taj Mahal, the Forbidden City and a Japanese castle fort all at once. The prince did not hate Britannia so much as he hated its policies and the man who had instituted them.

“Quit taking it out on the architecture--I’m sure it did nothing to deserve all that and you have other things to re-construct,” Suzaku said. His accomplice would be extremely busy when the restructuring of the former Holy Britannian Empire took place--fair penance for the one who had shattered it. “You can have the place torn down afterwards for all I care.”

“An Emperor needs a Palace,” Lelouch said, but he was obviously considering Suzaku’s suggestion.

“This Emperor needs people he can trust,” Suzaku corrected. “I believe no-one would guess my final choice for a knight.” That was another of the anarchic traditions Britannia had instituted, but it had some merit.

“I wouldn’t dare second-guess my Emperor,” Lelouch said with a show of false demureness.

“Oh come on . . .”

Lelouch put his head to one side. “Well, there are the original members of the Knight of Rounds . . . Bismarck--oh wait, you defeated him in the Battle of Florida. The Knight of Twelve--”

“Went down with your father’s flag ship.” Suzaku had been in the frontlines for most encounters, strategically targeting the strongest pilots in order to weaken support for the Royalists. That particular battle had been like walking into a firestorm, KMF notwithstanding.

“The Knight of Nine--”

“Who was regrettably killed in that skirmish with the Chinese Federation that you set in motion to prevent them from allying with Britannia.”

“The Knight of Four--”

“Eliminated in Cambodia by that uprising you engineered against the occupying forces.” It was good to call countries by their original names.

“The Knight of Ten--”

“Not so lamentably taken down by rebel forces during the Battle of Tokyo. Which was, also your doing.” That had been one of the most regrettably destructive battles so far even though it had taken out a significant portion of the Britannian military overseas. He had avoided open warfare over inhabited areas to reduce civilian casualties as much as possible--that much Lelouch had promised the two princesses. But the situation had unfortunately escalated beyond the point where evacuation of civilians had been necessary.

“The Knights of Three and Six--”

“Eventually sided with your brother as you knew they would.”

“Oh dear, I seem to have taken half the candidates out of the running and you finished off the rest in battle.” Lelouch shrugged theatrically. “You’ll have to appoint someone else as your most elite warrior, I’m afraid.”

“I was thinking of appointing my head strategist to the post,” Suzaku said, playing along. “Able Knightmare Frame pilots are trainable, of course, but a cunning strategist is much harder to find. As are people I trust.”

“My head may swell and explode with all this flattery.”

“Well don’t--I need your head for other things, including the planned withdrawal of occupying forces from all the Areas,” Suzaku said. Former colonies. They were going to become former colonies.

“I live to serve.” Lelouch gave an ironic bow.

He was the least servile man Suzaku had ever known. But this proud and fiercely independent creature had chosen to follow him. It was enough to make his blood heat.

“Serve, you say?”

“Well, for starters, there’s that wardrobe of yours. You’re still wearing your Knight’s uniform, for crying out loud.” Lelouch was also ever so good at playing coy. “As Emperor, you should wear something more fitting to your station--”

"I would rather wear you, naked and moaning my name."

"Oh? That would set an interesting fashion trend," Lelouch said archly. Verbal spars seldom fazed him. “There’s only one of me.”

"One-of-a-kind apparel--that sounds about right for an Emperor. Imagine how shocked everyone would be when they find out who you are."

Long thought to be dead, casualties of the annexation of Japan, Lelouch and his sister were still scions of the royal family. A disinherited and out of favour scion, the last time anyone bothered to check, but enough to throw any hardcore loyalists into confusion.

“It’s on your head if you want to be associated with my family,” Lelouch said casually. “But if was up to me, I’d avoid the spotlight as much as possible.”

The scars from his mother’s assassination had not faded and Lelouch’s greatest weapon so-far had been secrecy. “We can decide about all that later. Come here,” Suzaku said.

Lelouch stepped forward with a knowing smirk. “I would say that the throne is already getting to your head--”

Impatient now, Suzaku tugged his lover forward for a kiss. The events leading up to the coup had required weeks and months of separation--lost time Suzaku fully intended on recouping, starting from now.

“I would display you proudly as my knight,” he said when they separated for a brief instant. “But if you don’t wish it, then I’ll keep your name and face a secret. You can be the Knight of Zero to the rest of the world.”

“So command me,” Lelouch said in a voice that was already husky with desire. His answer was another tug that pulled him right onto Suzaku’s lap.

Lelouch did moan as his mouth was thoroughly plundered. And he turned such a pretty shade of red when he was aroused.

“This comes off,” Suzaku said, pausing in his attentions to tug at Lelouch’s jacket. There was a little too much material between them for his liking.

Shrugging the garment off with negligent ease, Lelouch loosened his cravat and slipped it off. “Like this?”

“That’s better,” Suzaku said, redirecting his efforts to the soft skin of Lelouch’s throat. “This business of giving orders is getting easier.”

“Oh I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it in no time,” Lelouch muttered, engaged as he was undoing Suzaku’s cloak fastenings and the front of his uniform while a pair of distracting hands wandered over his person. “You were insufferably arrogant as a child to begin with.”

“Insufferable, was I?” Suzaku nibbled at the lobe of Lelouch’s ear--just hard enough to make him shiver a little in anticipation. “I seem to recall it was a certain Britannian prince who was stubbornly refusing our hospitality. I thought you were terribly rude in addition to being a stuck-up prig.”

“You thought I was priggish? Oh if only I had a recording of some of your little speeches,” Lelouch said, obviously amused. He pushed open the coat of Suzaku’s uniform to reveal the skintight flight suit underneath. “Anyhow, if we were, we wouldn’t be doing this right now, would we?”

“It beats explaining suspicious stains in the cockpit of my Knightmare Frame.” Suzaku grinned at that particular memory.

“Ugh, I remember that. All those gear-sticks and control-handles everywhere.” Lelouch made a face and shifted on Suzaku’s lap. “But I don’t think I’m sitting on a gear-stick right now . . .”

“But it was a spontaneous fit of passion,” Suzaku murmured, his hands slipping under the hem of Lelouch’s shirt.

“It was you on an adrenaline high after an aerial battle!” Lelouch was not so distracted that he could not spare the energy to glare at Suzaku.

“Bah--that’s so clinical. Could you be less analytical for a little while?”

The prince gave him a considering look. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

And it was Suzaku’s turn to feel an almost indecent thrill coursing through him as Lelouch got off his lap to sink down between his knees. Those deft fingers ghosted along his inner thighs and undid the fly of his trousers.

Lelouch took his own damned time to stroke Suzaku before licking his erection from base to tip. In a manner designed to prolong the act and infuriate the watcher, he teased the head of Suzaku’s cock delicately with his tongue until the other was practically squirming where he sat.

Finally relenting, Lelouch deigned to suck on the already engorged head of Suzaku’s cock. It was almost a kind of exquisite torture as Lelouch took him in slowly, inch by sensual inch. But it was also just another aspect of their relationship--not a displeasing one to Suzaku’s mind. Holding himself back, he entertained himself with thoughts on how he would reciprocate this little act later.

Then Lelouch started hum gently around his cock. Oh--now that was playing dirty. Suzaku clenched his fists and tried not to whimper as the prince swallowed him in deeper.

“Enough,” Suzaku managed to say even as he pulled Lelouch up to kiss him. The prince gave as good as he got this time, their tongue twining together in a dance that they had grown accustomed to but never tired of.

“We should continue this in my room--”

“What happened to being spontaneous?” Lelouch asked and before Suzaku could say anything he had unfastened his trousers.

Suppressing a groan at the sight of that much unclothed skin, Suzaku knew that he was not going to be able to restrain himself much longer. Fortunately for the both of them, he had come prepared. They were not a pair of fumbling teenagers anymore and Suzaku was damned if he would repeat that particular lesson again.

“I see you had this all planned.” Lelouch raised an eyebrow at the small plastic squeeze-bottle Suzaku dug out from his pocket.

“Contingency plans are very important,” Suzaku agreed as he thumbed the cap off the bottle. And being almost skinned raw was painful.

“What? In case I decided to be spontaneous?” Lelouch asked. But he was quick to take the bottle and squeeze out a generous amount of lubricant.

“Generally speaking, that was the plan,” Suzaku said, hissing softly as Lelouch coated him with the cool gel. The prince ever so helpfully straddled his thighs, bringing him close enough so that Suzaku could slip a hand behind him.

“You never considered that with so many variables, it might not have worked?” Lelouch gasped as a greased finger worked its way between his buttocks and lightly circled his entrance.

“No, not really,” Suzaku said after a moment of pretended deliberation and pushed his finger past the ring of muscle that had tightened involuntarily when he had stroked it.

That distracted the prince enough to cut off whatever sardonic retort he had planned. Lelouch did moan when he added a second finger. Turnabout was fair play, Suzaku thought as he pumped his fingers in and out carefully, making sure to stimulate that sensitive gland. His efforts were rewarded amply by the sight of Lelouch writhing with every stroke.

“All right, you’ve made your point,” Lelouch said through gritted teeth. “Now--ahhh! Suzaku!”

“What point was I making?” Suzaku asked, having pressed down gently on that soft node a moment before.

“You know full well what I--” Lelouch paused and smirked down at him in a manner that boded ill for Suzaku, who barely managed to stop himself from squeaking as a slender hand reached down to grip his sac.

“Oh don’t look so shocked. Now that I have you by the literal balls, negotiations can commence.”

“Your specialty, not mine,” Suzaku said, forgoing diplomacy for direct action as he removed his fingers and slid his hands down to cup Lelouch’s rear. He was really skinny, Suzaku thought distractedly as the prince evidently agreed to his terms and released him.

Bracing himself on Suzaku’s shoulders, Lelouch positioned himself over his erection and started to ease himself down impatiently.

Equally impatient but not willing to rush things, Suzaku watched as Lelouch moved, his aristocratic features scrunched up in concentration. It was easily one of his more endearing traits. Not many people had the privilege of knowing him well enough to see him as anything other than aloof and cold.

“Are you done staring like a stunned puppy?” Lelouch asked irritably. He was flushed and sweating lightly from holding that position.

“For now,” Suzaku said, urging those slender thighs to part further so that he would have room to move. Lelouch could not do this all by himself, Suzaku knew as he started to thrust upwards into that tight channel.

Voicing his pleasure in no uncertain terms, Lelouch ground down at the same time his hips arched up. Despite the anticipation building up within him as he was enveloped in hot, willing flesh, Suzaku took care not to go too fast. Sometimes, he did not know his own strength and Lelouch seldom said anything even when it got overly rough.

It was like that sometimes. Suzaku supposed that this was another one of those times. It was not that he objected to what Lelouch found arousing. Just so long as he was not hurt--

“Suzaku,” Lelouch growled in his ear, three parts lust and one part princely impatience. “Don’t hold back!”

“I’m just drawing it out a little longer,” Suzaku said, feeling his impending orgasm inching closer as Lelouch squeezed him. “It’s not as though we get to do this everyday. Thought I don’t think you mean to consecrate the throne before--”

“--Rhymes with,” Lelouch gasped out as Suzaku thrust upwards, sending something akin to a jolt of electricity up his spine. “Nnnggh, harder!”

Lelouch was especially vocal today. And the throne room had fantastic acoustics to broadcast the fact that someone was getting royally screwed.

“Suzaku!” Lelouch flung his head back, fingers clawing at the material of Suzaku’s flight suit as the former knight started to pump his erection.

Burying his own lustful cry in the flushed and reddened skin of Lelouch’s neck, Suzaku held his hips down as he thrust deep inside the prince, feeling the muscles spasm and tighten around his member abruptly as he climaxed.

“Nmm . . . mmhh . . .” A little disorientated after that, Lelouch responded slowly to Suzaku’s kisses. Realising that Suzaku was still hard inside him, Lelouch started to move sluggishly. “Suzaku . . .”

The sight of those violet eyes glazed over with that aftermath of their desire and those kiss-swollen lips was more than enough to send Suzaku over the edge.

Lelouch’s arms were around him, cradling his head against his collarbone as Suzaku came with a shout.

Running his hands up and down Lelouch’s back as they both slumped bonelessly on the throne, Suzaku basked contentedly in the afterglow. If it had been up to him, they would have got to this part of the day much earlier, but even a ruler was constrained by the demands of his position. Such a shame that it was getting late and Lelouch was fatigued by the evening’s exertions.

Lelouch was still panting--Suzaku was just breathing hard. His knight was no athlete and not a foot-soldier to be risked on the field. He served best in the capacity of a strategist. And if Suzaku had been the type to admit it, there was a kind of challenge in partnering this prince that he relished.

“If I did not have that power, the Geass, would you have joined me?” he asked idly in the lull that followed.

Lelouch was silent for a moment. “Your power makes you a good fighter,” he said at last. “But if what I wanted was to back the horse with the largest armies or the most canny knight, I would have insinuated myself into the company of some viceroy or the Knight of One’s bed. Though it’s difficult to imagine Bismarck’s tastes running to--you can stop laughing now.”

For all the seriousness of his question, Suzaku had laughed out loud at the very idea of the most solidly loyal member of the Rounds being seduced by--actually, now that he thought about it, Lelouch could be extremely persuasive if he chose to be.

“So long as I don’t have to worry about you hopping into the beds of men old enough to be your father just because they have the Geass,” Suzaku said after the worst of his mirth had died away.

“As I was saying,” Lelouch said, glaring daggers his way. “I am not so fickle. You need someone to plan what to do after you’ve hacked the other side to shreds, muscle-for-brains.”

At the mention of Lelouch’s childhood nickname for him, Suzaku had to smile. His first victory, he reflected, was when he had won this prince as a friend and later a lover. The most strategic battles were the ones that would, in the long run, win the war.

“And here we are now, Buriki prince,” he said. “I bet I can still beat you at Sugoroku.”

“What? Where the hell did that come from?” Lelouch spluttered. “Anyhow, you’ve got infernally good luck--which wouldn’t help you in a game of chess, by the way.”

“Fortunately for me, we’re not playing chess,” Suzaku said, sitting upright. His movements caused Lelouch to shift as well and the prince gasped a little as Suzaku’s cock slipped out of him. “It’s about time for you to turn in.”

“S-still have a meeting to attend . . . The re-establishment of the foreign consulates--”

“At this time? Cancel it. Or do you want to explain why you’re limping into your meeting?”

“They might already know,” Lelouch said with a tired but wry smile. “We were not exactly very discrete about it.”

If any of his selected officials were still in the dark, they would know soon, Suzaku reflected. Palaces were terrible places to conduct affairs. If Lelouch had been any less of a genius as a tactician and strategist, he would have been accused of favoritism. Not that he cared, but it might have been problematic in the long-run.

Suzaku played his final card. “Your sisters are going to accuse me of letting you work too hard and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“You’re too easily bullied,” Lelouch said, but he subsided and did not make too much of a fuss when Suzaku helped him dress. He could not really talk, being a devoted slave to Nunally’s every whim. At Suzaku’s insistence, Lelouch allowed himself to be dragged back to his quarters.

Suzaku had deliberately chosen a set of rooms that did not originally house members of the royal family. The small suite he had commandeered was serviceable, easily defendable and afforded a certain degree of privacy for anyone coming to or leaving from it.

It also had its own ensuite bathroom, which Suzaku used to his advantage. Lelouch was ever so fond of long hot baths and if Suzaku happened to be in the same tub, he was usually too relaxed to object to it.

“Where is your witch?” Lelouch asked, looking around as though he expected the woman to pop up from behind the bathtub.

“She’s her own person. I am not her keeper.” C.C. might be anywhere--she appeared as and when she chose these days. Although to be fair to Lelouch, she did like popping up abruptly to unsettle him.

Lelouch and C.C. had a mostly cordial relationship--when they were not sniping at each other for the heck of it. Suzaku had no desire to be a scratching post for either of them when they had their particular moods and he let them be. Some allowances had to be made for the company he kept, no matter how strange it was.

When they were well on their way to turning into prunes and Lelouch looked like he was going to fall asleep right there and then in the tub, Suzaku got them both out of the water. Decadent as certain aspects of the Palace were to a soldier, the enormous fluffy towels were extremely welcome in the current season.

When he was not cantankerous and prickly as hell about his own independence, Lelouch was as lazy as a dozen cats on a warm window ledge. And he could fall sleep anywhere at the drop of a hat. Which was what he was doing while leaning against Suzaku.

Speaking of cats, Arthur--now the unofficial royal pet--was taking up twice his body length’s worth of space on Suzaku’s bed.

Having other plans for the space, Suzaku got up and shooed Arthur off the bed--succeeding mostly because the cat let himself be chased off. It would not do for anyone else to see him battling with his cat.

“You already have that contrary excuse of a witch, why in the world did you pick up a cat as well?” Lelouch asked as Arthur hopped up onto the nightstand and pretended to ignore them until he could stage another attack on Suzaku’s fingers.

“Well, a cat might look at a king, as you Britannians say,” Suzaku began as he pulled back the covers.

“Not like that they don’t,” Lelouch said, eyeing Arthur warily. The cat yawned at both of them and flipped himself over to wash the base of his tail. “This one looks like he wants to shred the king’s fingers.”

“Well, he does. Ignore him,” Suzaku said firmly, physically settling Lelouch in bed. “I need you up and about by nine tomorrow morning.”

Lelouch smiled. His penchant for sleeping in late drove Suzaku up the wall sometimes. “Is that an order?”

“If I made it an order, would you obey it?”

“As Your Majesty commands.” His tone was mildly mocking, but he closed his eyes obediently.

Suzaku had a few more things to settle before he could go to bed, but he took a moment to watch Lelouch in that unguarded moment. Asleep, the prince looked far more like the boy he once had been all those years ago. He was really getting nostalgic now--

“If you’re going to say something, speak up,” Suzaku said to the air. Behind him, the heavy drapes shifted ever so slightly. “You’ve had plenty of opportunity to object to this, you know?”

“Why would I object? It’s your business who you sleep with.” Golden-eyed and silent as a shadow, the witch slid off the window sill and walked up to the bed. “He might actually be a good balance for you. But don’t tell him I said that.”

“I won’t.” He turned to the woman, aware of her scrutiny and that of late, that enigmatic gaze encompassed them both. Suzaku knew--had known for almost two years now--that she had first considered the prince as a potential acceptor of the Geass before she had literally stumbled upon him. “What is it now? Do you have news of any other Geass users?”

“They’re in hiding--that much I can tell.” She was as unreadable as the day he had met her, but Suzaku liked to think that they had an understanding so long as their contract held. So long as his goals did not interfere with hers . . .

“And they can stay there.” Suzaku had only met one other who had been “gifted” by the witch. It made him leery of any other dealings with Geass users. “Just as long as they’re not foolhardy enough to use--”

“You were always reluctant to use it,” she said. It was the one particular sticking point between them.

“If that Chinese madman was an example of what happens to an advanced case of usage, then my reluctance is justified,” Suzaku said firmly. “I am not that boy you found in the middle of a war zone.”

“No, you’re not,” C.C. agreed. “Enjoy it while it lasts.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *