Chapter Text
By now Lelouch believed nothing could phase him, not after a slightly older (and not so slightly deranged) Suzaku suddenly appeared before him one day. Afterall not much top another version of your boyfriend appeared from thin air telling you that because apparently another version of you went insane after your sister died (Lelouch understood, he would be lost without Nunnally too) he used geass on him to turn him into a slave that kills all Britannians (he hated Britannia too, but killing unarmed civilians was something he would never do…at least he hoped he never got to that point).
Nonetheless, after Karma (the nickname that was given to the other Suzaku to avoid confusion) settled down and somehow ended up living with him and Nunnally, Lelouch thought life would get back to some semblance of normality. Sure it was definitely a struggle when the two Suzakus occasionally bumped into each other, but thanks to Nunnally they managed to compromise enough for everyone to at least pretend to be civil. Suzaku was extremely unhappy with the idea of Karma living with him and Nunnally, but there really weren't many options (though Lelouch wasn't all that mad about there being two Suzakus or waking up in the morning and seeing Karma training out of his window, not that he could admit that to anyone).
But aside from that and his Suzaku being a bit more clingy (suppose that rubbed off on Karma too as he also became noticeably handsier with Lelouch, leading to him being stuck in the middle of a very tension-filled staring contest) life somehow went on. He attended classes and other activities like he normally would.
And for a time life was peaceful, no random glowing portals or alternate versions of themselves showing up to do god knows what. (No sign of the him from Karma's world either, which did weigh on the back of Lelouch's mind for a time, but seeing how Karma turned out it was probably for the better, god knows what would happen if he found Nunnally.)
Maybe he let the peace get to his head too much, perhaps he shouldn't have allowed himself to get used to Karma, maybe then he wouldn't have nearly had a heart attack when Karma (who was covered in blood from god knows where) walked into their shared living space, holding a baby.
There were far too many questions floating around his head as he stared at the sight in front of him, the 2 most pressing being: Who's blood was Karma covered in, and where the hell he got a baby from.
Unsurprisingly Karma's explanation (taken after Lelouch separated him from the mysterious child and forced him into the shower and new, clean clothes) of "It fell from the sky and then others fell from the sky and attacked me so I killed them" did not help save for partly explaining where the blood came from.
Lelouch paced around the living room, baby tightly gripping one of his fingers and giggling cheerfully, as he tried to figure out what to do. Looking at it closer it had the same hair color as Suzaku, if not for his panic about the blood Lelouch too would have probably assumed it was Suzaku's kid (he opted to ignore the stinging feeling of jealousy that struck his heart as his mind gently reminded him 'Karma hasn't been in our world for more than 3 months’ ). Another feature of the child that caught his attention was the child's strikingly purple eyes. He shook his head as a blush crept onto his cheeks, trying to push away thoughts better left unsaid. It was impossible anyhow….wasn't it?
"Master Lelouch–" Sayoko's entrance pulled him from his thoughts. How odd this scene must be; a child in his arms and Karma with his arms around Lelouch's waist (he wasn't sure when Karma had moved from his place on the couch), both staring down at said child like confused parents.
He shoved Karma away as he stammered towards Sayoko, silently pleading with her not to mention the scene and follow him away from Nunnally, he loved her to death and back. Still, the last thing he needed was Nunnally telling Milly about this nonsense and causing another Arthur incident. He turned around once more to signal to Karma to keep his mouth shut, before leading Sayoko (and C.C., who had just come back with yet another whole pizza) just far enough that they were out of earshot from Nunnally (Karma wouldn't hurt her, that Lelouch knew as an absolute in this world full of uncertainty).
After Sayoko very kindly taught Lelouch the proper way to hold a baby (the child refused to part from Lelouch no matter how gently Sayoko tried to hold him) Lelouch cleared his throat as he attempted some kind of explanation.
"Suz— Karma found this child and brought them here after apparently being attacked. I'm going to try and find it's…his parents, but I don't want the existence of this child being leaked to anyone, especially the president." He emphasized the last part as much as he could. C.C. simply shrugged as she started back to her room, claiming she 'promised nothing if Milly brought her an extra large,' and Lelouch could only sigh.
The child reached his hand out towards C.C. as he began to cry. Sayoko rushed to try and calm him, but the further C.C. got, the louder he cried. Noticing this, she turned around, staring inquisitively at the young boy reaching for her.
"Sissy." His hand was still tightly clinging to Lelouch's shirt as he tried to pull Lelouch towards her. C.C. tilted her head as Lelouch slowly walked towards her. The child flailed his arm until C.C. reached out her hand, which he gleefully took.
"Sissy~" he gurgled out as he wrapped his hand around C.C.'s finger.
"Lelouch, what is it doing?" She shook her finger, which only made the child laugh more.
"How should I know, I've never taken care of a baby." He was just as lost as she was and Sayoko seemed content to giggle at the scene.
"Lelouch, what was that sound? And what did I hear about a baby?" The wheels of Nunnally's chair squeaked against the floor as she rolled towards them.
"Sissy!" The boy released his grip on Lelouch's shirt and turned to reach towards Nunnally, other hand still firmly clasping C.C.'s finger.
"Oh my, hello there." Nunnally reached her hand towards the sound, which the child immediately latched onto, "Who might you be?" She cupped his cheek with her other hand, squishing his cheek as she wiggled the finger the boy gripped so tightly. Eventually, all his attention focused on Nunnally and Lelouch managed to (with Sayoko's help) set the boy down on Nunnally's lap as he tried to explain the situation. Nunnally continued to play with the child as he talked, occasionally nodding her head but still focusing most of her attention on the boy in her lap.
After watching his sister happily play with the boy (thankful to have him out of his hands) Lelouch managed to calm down enough to actually organize his thoughts. Right now the most important issues are who Karma killed, who the baby belonged to, and finally what exactly they do with the baby. After all, it's not like their home was probably equipped for a…Lelouch wasn't sure how old he was, he couldn't be older than 1 or 2 years old…anyway, they simply weren't equipped for a child, and buying what they needed would definitely alert Milly to their situation.
They also didn't have a place for the child, Karma and C.C. had already taken up the few extra rooms their home provided. Nunnally was in no condition to take care of a child and he couldn't force them onto Sayoko. That left three options and there was no way he was trusting C.C. or Karma to take care of a child especially at night, leaving only his room. Lelouch didn’t move much in his sleep, but it was still unsafe for a child to sleep in a normal bed. (There was also the issue of Karma occasionally sneaking into his head, making it crowded; not that he could deny any version of Suzaku, especially when the normally stoic form looks too hesitant and fragile. He had been through enough and if sleeping by Lelouch's side eased his pain, who was Lelouch to refuse to help the person he loved most- even if this version wasn’t really his Suzaku.)
Suzaku -his Suzaku- was another issue; how was he supposed to explain this when Suzaku seemed ready to murder at the mere mention of Karma’s name? And as much as he loved Suzaku, he couldn’t honestly trust him to keep his mouth shut (yes he could keep a secret, but Lelouch was nothing if not cautious and Milly had ways of making people talk). Meaning for the time being Suzaku had to be banned from their home, as much as it hurt both himself and Nunnally to come to that decision.
With that in mind, they (as in Lelouch and Sayoko as Nunnally was keeping the child busy while Karma and C.C. completely ignored the situation) went to work attempting to form a temporary home for the child. Sayoko snuck diapers in with their usual groceries and with a lot of online searches and effort, Lelouch (with a bit of help from Karma) managed to build a makeshift crib. For his food, they decided they could make do with pureeing vegetables.
After a bit of baby-proofing, their house finally seemed at least decently suitable for a child, it definitely wouldn’t work for a long-term solution, but that child’s parents would hopefully come soon so it would work for now.