... No hope at all. How anyone could be so dense-- and this was his only ally in the place? Lelouch was almost tempted to give voice to these thoughts, but as scornful as they would be, making disparaging comments about Suzaku's intelligence had long since lost any effectiveness as an insult. It had become as much of a staple of their friendship as the frequent jabs at Lelouch's pride, and as reminiscent of those moments their current conversation was becoming, neither of them were going to take that last step anytime soon. Lelouch certainly wasn't.
Trying very hard to remain absolutely still in his seat, Lelouch glanced up, caught the uncertainty and, yes, that had to be concern, then looked away. He couldn't figure out why Suzaku cared after everything that had been said and done, even if he had fallen to pieces right in front of him. Lelouch could easily pin down why he cared, but-- had Suzaku seen through his efforts to protect him earlier? No, he'd be a lot angrier with Lelouch if that were true, wouldn't he? Still, this was...
"If your sense of chivalry is so unbearably strong that you can't stand the thought of leaving me to my own devices, you're free to stay, of course, but don't expect me to keep you entertained while you're here," he said finally, flipping open his journal and pretending to review the information written for the thousandth time. "Unlike some people, I'm prudent enough to know when to quit, and while I may not be tired right now, it's likely that will change later. What you do both then and now is entirely up to you." None of which answered the question at all, and while that made it far more likely to be misinterpreted as a yes than a no, Lelouch was far more interested in seeing just how Suzaku chose to take it. He probably wouldn't catch all of the hidden layers of deeper meaning, but that suited Lelouch's purposes just fine.
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Trying very hard to remain absolutely still in his seat, Lelouch glanced up, caught the uncertainty and, yes, that had to be concern, then looked away. He couldn't figure out why Suzaku cared after everything that had been said and done, even if he had fallen to pieces right in front of him. Lelouch could easily pin down why he cared, but-- had Suzaku seen through his efforts to protect him earlier? No, he'd be a lot angrier with Lelouch if that were true, wouldn't he? Still, this was...
"If your sense of chivalry is so unbearably strong that you can't stand the thought of leaving me to my own devices, you're free to stay, of course, but don't expect me to keep you entertained while you're here," he said finally, flipping open his journal and pretending to review the information written for the thousandth time. "Unlike some people, I'm prudent enough to know when to quit, and while I may not be tired right now, it's likely that will change later. What you do both then and now is entirely up to you." None of which answered the question at all, and while that made it far more likely to be misinterpreted as a yes than a no, Lelouch was far more interested in seeing just how Suzaku chose to take it. He probably wouldn't catch all of the hidden layers of deeper meaning, but that suited Lelouch's purposes just fine.