Hello!

*Read this please*

I couldn't find anywhere to fit this in the story without it making it sound just sort of shoved in, so I'll explain the situation a bit just to clear things up. Every year, the Host Club has a Christmas sleepover at one of their houses. In the morning they exchange gifts, and then go to join their real families for the rest of the day. (Tamaki's idea. A way to spend time with his 'family' at Christmas. They all just went along with it.) This year it was held at the Hitactchiin's house, which is why Haruhi is sleepover over. (Mainly I just wanted a reason that would make some sense as to why she'd be there.) But, anyway, that's jist of it. Hope you enjoy!

"Kaoru~"

"Hhm."

"Hey, Kaoru~ wake up!"

The redhead slowly opened his eyes. He blinked once. Then twice. Beside him on the bed, his twin brother, Hikaru, was lying facing him, with his elbow propping him up.

"It's one thirty in the morning, Hikaru." He muttered sleepily, squinting at the clock hanging on the wall behind his brother. "What on Earth are you still doing awake?"

"I think I want to tell her."

And that, that simple sentence woke Kaoru up, like he had just been hit by a bolt of lightening. He sat up, letting the covers slide from his shoulders, and blinked at Hikaru.

"Now?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Why now, of all times? Now, at one thirty in the morning. Now, when she was probably fast asleep just next door. Now, when it was Christmas. Hikaru nodded.

"I've been thinking about it. I'm never going to get a more perfect moment then this, am I? I only ever get to see her when we're with the Club. I never get her alone long enough to say it. But now- now she's all alone, for hours. Plus, it's Christmas. What better time is there?"

"What are you going to do, wake her up? She's probably asleep, Hikaru." Kaoru reasoned.

"If I have to," was his reply. There was a look in Hikaru's eyes that Kaoru had never really seen before. He saw flaws in his brother's plan, but he couldn't say that it was a bad idea. Especially after he himself had been trying to get Hikaru to admit his feelings for awhile now. What made him so determined now, Kaoru didn't know. But he wasn't about to shut him down, and ruin his chance.

"Go get her, Hikaru." Kaoru said with an encouraging nod.

"Thanks, brother." Said Hikaru, and he jumped off the bed and headed straight to the door.

"Wait~ Hikaru~"

"Yes?" He said just as his hand reached the doorknob, looking behind at his brother.

"You might want to put a shirt on first." Hikaru looked down, and noticed he was only wearing a pair of pajama bottoms. He looked up with a tinge of red on his face.

"Thanks, Kaoru." He said, grabbing a nearby shirt and throwing it on. "Oh- and Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Hikaru."

Hikaru shut the door behind him, and as soon as he did this his mind was swirling with doubts. It had seemed like a good idea, when he was in his room. He hadn't known what came over him. It had been a spontaneous decision, and, truth be told, he had been half hoping that Kaoru would shut down the idea, and tell him how stupid it was. He opened his room door again, quickly walking inside of it and shutting it.

"Kaoru, I can't do this!" He said, leaning against the door. From the bed, he heard a sigh and an inaudible grumble. Then he saw Kaoru sit up again, staring at him through the darkness. "I can't do this. I can't tell Haruhi that I love her! Imagine how she'll react! She'll probably laugh in my face. Say I'm stupid. I can't do this, Kaoru." He repeated, slowly sliding down the door.

"I've never seen you like this before, Hikaru." His brother commented as he climbed out of bed, making his way over to him. "Usually it's the Boss that gets so dramatic." He paused, pulling his brother up by the shoulders and looking at him in the eyes. "You clearly don't know Haruhi at all if you think she'll laugh at you. But you'll never know unless you tell her."

"But~"

"No Hikaru. I'm not letting you turn back now. You had your heart set on this just moments ago." He opened the door and pushed his brother out. "Tell her, Hikaru. Like you said, you may not get another chance." And before Hikaru could respond, Kaoru shut the door. He heard a faint click, and Hikaru knew that his brother locked it.

Kaoru was right. Of course he was- Kaoru was always right. He may not get another chance, another perfect chance to tell Haruhi how he felt. But what if she did turn him down? He didn't know how he would react to that. There was a reason Hikaru never let anyone in. He didn't handle rejection well.

Taking a deep breath, Hikaru firmly told himself to man up and headed towards Haruhi's room. Kaoru had made sure that Haruhi slept in the room next to theirs- at the time he had thought it was just to annoy the Boss, but now he thought there might have been a more diabolical plan. Had his brother planned this from the beginning? He wouldn't put it past him. His brother did love playing matchmaker.

Down the hall was the Boss' room, and next to his was Kyoya's and next to his Honey's and Mori's room. From Honey and Mori's room, Hikaru could just make out the sound of snoring. He figured it was probably Mori. Jeesh, he's loud. How does Honey sleep? Maybe that's why he's always so cranky when you wake him up. Hikaru thought, then shook his head.

He knocked on Haruhi's door before he realized what he was doing. It was a soft knock, a single knock, and he wasn't surprised when no one answered. Slowly Hikaru opened the door, grateful that it was unlocked.

"Haruhi?" He called into the dark room. There was no response, but Hikari could just make out a lump in the bed sheets that was no doubt Haruhi. He moved a bit closer.

"Haruhi?" He repeated louder. There was a bit of a hum, then the girl opened her eyes. She blinked once at him. Then twice. Then three times. Then she sat up.

"Hikaru~ what are you doing in my room?" She asked sleepily, furrowing her eyebrows. Hikaru stood awkwardly in the darkness. Hikaru opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it almost right away. He'd never done this before.

"I'm sorry for waking you up, but there's something I need to talk to you about." He finally said after a moment, sitting on the end of her bed.

"Ah~ sure thing, Hikaru. But couldn't it have waited until morning?" She asked, pulling her knees to her chest as an attempt to make room for him on the bed.

"It is morning," Hikaru commented, and Haruhi deadpanned.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"I know," he said with a bit of a nod. He'd mainly said the joke for himself, rather then Haruhi. A sort of attempt to comfort himself. "And no- no it couldn't have." He added.

Haruhi must have noticed something was off with him. Perhaps it was the fact that he was avoiding eye contact with her. Or maybe that he was fiddling his thumbs on his lap, or that he wouldn't move any closer on the bed. It was something Haruhi had never seen in Hikaru- he was nervous.

"What is it, Hikaru?" She asked, her voice laced with concern. Why would he come to her, and not his brother? "Is it something about Kaoru? Are you guys fighting?"

"No- no. It isn't anything about Kaoru. We're not fighting." He said. He took another deep breath. "Actually- it's something I've been meaning to get off my chest for awhile, now. But I've never had the opportunity, or it's never been the right moment. And, I'll admit, I've been putting off saying it. Always making excuses. But enough excuses are enough~ what better time then Christmas then to say it?"

Haruhi listened to Hikaru with rapid attention. What could possibly be so important? She was silent as he continued talking.

"As you know, Kaoru and I never had any friends growing up. It was always us against everyone else, like there was a barrier between us and the rest of the world. Then we joined the host club. And, while we enjoyed our time there, there was still that barrier that separated us. It was still us versus them, as much as we may have pretended it wasn't. But then you came along, Haruhi. You broke down the barrier. Hell, smashed it to pieces. And I kept wondering why. Why you, of all people? You're a commoner. There isn't anything special about you~"

"Thanks , Senpai." Haruhi commented dryly. Hikaru seemed to ignored her.

"~And that's when I realized it." Finally, he looked up. He looked at her in the eyes, and Haruhi found herself unable to look away. Realized what? Hikaru took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm in love with you," he finally admitted.

Haruhi was silent, and her eyes went wide. She blinked at him.

"What?"

"I... Love you?" He said, with a bit less confidence. It came out more of a question then a statement this time. Haruhi was silent. He couldn't read what was on her face. "O-or I don't." He said quickly. "Sorry- Kaoru forced me to do this. It was just a joke. But clearly you don't love me, so no harm-"

But Hikaru never finished his sentence, because to his horror, Haruhi burst out laughing. Hikaru felt like shattering into one million pieces.

"You- you're an idiot Hikaru." She said inbetween laughs.

"Wh-" but he didn't get to finish his sentence that time either. He wasn't able to finish his sentence. He felt something soft and warm in his lips, and with a jolt Hikaru realized that she was kissing him.

After the initial shock was over, Hikaru began to kiss back. His mind was whirling. Was this actually happening? His hand found it's spot on her cheek, and the other arm snaked around her waist to pull her closer. In response, Hikaru felt a small hand on his neck, and another on his shoulder blade.

He deepened the kiss, which Haruhi readily returned. It wasn't long before Hikaru found that they had fallen over, so he was now partially on top of Haruhi and their tongues were exploring each other's mouths. It was only after, a few moments later when they found it difficult to breath, they stopped. Hikaru rolled so he was now laying beside Haruhi, both of them staring up at the ceiling in the darkness.

"Hikaru?"

"Hhm?"

"I love you, too."

And, before he even realized it, he was laughing. His laugh was followed by Haruhi's. Neither were exactly sure what they were laughing about. Perhaps just the insanity of it all. But they laughed. And they continued to laugh for awhile, until Haruhi let out a sleepy;

"Merry Christmas, Hikaru."

"Merry Christmas, Haruhi."

Kaoru stood outside Haruhi's door. It was six AM, and while the other house members were still asleep, he knew that Tamaki would be awake soon. The bloke somehow always managed to wake up early, especially on Christmas. And no doubt the first thing he'd do would be wake up Haruhi. While that was perfectly fine on its own, but he wasn't too sure how the King would react to what he'd discover. Hikaru had never returned last night, so he had an inkling of a suspicion that he knew where he was. Unless- unless it had gone horribly wrong, and his brother spent all night sulking somewhere. But, no, he had a funny feeling that wasn't the case. Opening the door, Kaoru smiled slightly at what he saw.

Entangled in the blankets, were his brother and Haruhi. Hikaru's arms were wrapped around her's -actually, it looked more as if he was holding onto her for dear life, if he were being honest-, and his face was nuzzled in her neck. Haruhi's arms were wrapped around Hikaru's. Apparently fine with how tightly it looked like he was holding her. It was a scene Kaoru never thought he'd see, least not from his brother. They looked so... Serene. So peaceful. As if nothing in the world could disturb them right now. Kauro felt a bit bad about having to wake them up. Pulling out his phone, he snapped a quick picture.

I'll use that for blackmailing purposes later.

Hey, he was still Kaoru.

So, what'd you think? Let me know! Thanks for reading.

Also, readingpower- fixed the few that were 'Kauro' instead of 'Kaoru'. Whoops! Thanks for the tip and the review.

Heh, after re-reading it AGAIN for editing purposes (something I really should have done beforehand, I know. Especially since I originally typed it on my phone to get the idea out of my head. But then I just wanted to get it up.) I realized that the first and last words are both "Kaoru". Completely an accident, but somewhat amusing.