Now that he'd started smiling at Lelouch, Suzaku found he couldn't quite stop. He'd missed this, he realized, and while they might never be friends again, it was a comfort to know that he would have this -- whatever it was between them, even after he lost everything. He probably didn't deserve that one bit of happiness for himself, but by now he knew enough to be thankful before it disappeared like everything else. At the very least, he knew that eventually things would be alright again, just because he was at Lelouch's side. They'd bring peace to the world. That hope was the one thing he thought he still deserved to have.

"I'd leave," he said, trying and failing to sound affronted. Okay, he probably wouldn't leave, but did Lelouch really think he would blatantly disobey a direct order like that? "I'd just protest a lot. Good night. . . Your Highness." He shouldn't feel comfortable teasing Lelouch, especially not that way, but this situation called for some kind of retaliation.