♘ Loyal Knight ♘

"I may have my reservations about the whole surrogacy thing, but...you are carrying out future child. You'll still get paid for that--"he sighed, lacing his fingers together when he noticed his hands were shaking and rested them neatly on his lap.

"Yes, of course. I intend to start looking right away. And I can help out around the house house too." She said, feeling so grateful to them. "Is there anything I need to be aware of?"

The more Lelouch listened, the more he was hearing the similarities. No money to get out on her own, an abusive parent, keeping her under her thumb--this place was her cage.

But she had no one to steal her away.

"Fine," Lelouch got to his feet, keeping a firm hold of Suzaku's hand solely because he was his guide outside of their home right now. In response to the confused sound he heard from Suzaku, he sighed. "Stay with us. You're an adult now, you came willingly. She can't call on abduction charges."

The hold he had on Suzaku's hand told his husband that he didn't want to, but it was necessary...otherwise he'd be a hypocrite.

"If Lelouch says it is okay, come stay with us until you able to get onto your feet." Suzaku said as he glanced at Leah who seemed stunned about the offer. "Would you wish to come with us?"

Leah didn't hesitate to answer.

...He felt a little ashamed.

None of this was her fault, and he was still a little irritated with Suzaku, but he was sure that would fade once the child was born. If...he wasn't still scared of being a parent by then.

Though, was she hoping they'd help her out of her situation? Suzaku already had his hands full taking care of him...

"Leah... We honestly had no idea of your situation. Lelouch is still irritated with me for making the decision to have you as our surrogate, and I don't blame him." Suzaku gave Lelouch's hand a gentle squeeze in apology. "I am aware your mother has the appointments covered, but do you personally have some money saved?" Implying she is hiding money somewhere her mother can't get to.

"I'm sorry... I... I lied to you both. Not about the pregnancy. That's real." she whispered to them, tears welled up in her eyes as her voice shook. "But...I never agreed to be a surrogate. Mother was the one who pushed me to be..."

"Why would she do that?" Suzaku asked her in a hushed voiced. The answer would be obvious, but considering how this house was pretty upscale and it's a Britannian one, Suzaku didn't want to assume it's about money. Then again, there were Britannians who want more money just because. There was hardly any Britannian who was struggling.

...Imagine having to put up with a crusty old bitter shell of a woman every day. The only solace she'd probably have would be knowing she wasn't a daughter of the Emperor.

And with that, Lelouch might've developed the smallest bloom of empathy for her. Perhaps it could blossom more over the coming months, should he decide to nurture it.

Anyway, for now it was time to ignore the old bat.

Suzaku rubbed his husband's back to ease his distress he felt from being in the car. It always worried him to see Lelouch not doing well by his doing even if the car trip couldn't be avoided. And the would have to take the trip back home after this visit too...

"I am glad you both decided to come out here. Um, well, the pregnancy is going well. The morning sickness finally went away. So I'll be able to see you both often very soon, if you're okay with that."

"Oh, pardon me for finding something simple that would make my husband smile for his birthday," Lelouch couldn't help it. Her bitter tone was still ringing in his ears. She was about to hurl a retort back at him, but the young girl they were waiting on entered the room.

"His birthday? Aw, how sweet."

"It's your birthday today, Mr. Kururugi? Happy Birthday." Leah asked, Suzaku held up his free hand as though to signal her to use his first name. He was at least going to be friendly to her.

"Miss Leah, call me Suzaku." he reminded her with a gentle smile he reserved for those who bothered to respect him. "And yes, it is. Thank you so much. And for accommodating Lelouch and myself today."

As the pair walked along the sidewalk leading up to her home, the door opened--she lived with her mother, so the elder woman was the one that answered when she saw them through the window. Lelouch couldn't see it, but she was eyeing Suzaku suspiciously.

"Honey, your clients are here," oh, but Lelouch heard that disdain in her voice. Immediately, he already didn't like her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He greeted her and bowed slightly while still holding onto Lelouch's hand. Suzaku needed to keep holding it to stay grounded and aid his husband. "Miss Leah is a wonderful client and we're happy to have her."

"Mhm..." He still wasn't pleased with the situation regarding the surrogate, but what's done was done and there wasn't any going back now. He'd given in, they were going to be parents in the near future.

He still hadn't called the woman by name, yet.

Hand in hand with his husband, they left the home and went out to the car. He always did hate car rides, but it was necessary with how far the woman lived from them. Once he was in the car, he buckled himself in.

"I'm sorry. I know you hate riding in cars." And Suzaku is an exceptional driver. He glanced over to make sure his husband was strapped in before turning on the ignition and strapping on his own seat belt.

Suzaku drove the speed limit so he wouldn't make his husband more nervous and checked on him at each redlight stop. The drive to their surrogate's house wasn't long by car, but it was too far for either of them to walk for just a simple visit. Thankfully, the drive was over 30 minutes by car due to some light traffic.