Hello friends! This story is something that came into my head when I was sitting in my lonely college apartment with no internet access. Since I did not have access to slash, I wanted to write slash, and these two have always seemed fairly easy to slash. Funny thing is, I was just gonna write a little backstory for a lemon, and then I couldn't stop with the story. I will hopefully add that lemon in later in the story, do not fear.

Of course I don't own anything, except my computer, and a new Cat5 cable.

Please be warned, in case you haven't already understood, this is a story about boys who like boys. If you don't like boys who like boys, please do not read this. You will not like it.

Everyone else, I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to comment!

He watched his twin, his other self, closely for signs of depression. The thought of either of them being depressed was once laughable, and nearly everyone who knew them would still laugh at it, but Kaoru knew better. Sometimes he wondered if broadening their world was really a good idea. They loved their new friends, but at times like these it didn't seem worth it.

Tamaki and Haruhi were holding hands. They didn't do it while the club was in session, but once all of the girls left, they would find their way to each other and somehow they would wind up with fingers twined.

Hikaru caught him watching. Dammit.

He didn't say anything out loud, but they didn't really need words. Hikaru's brow wrinkled slightly, What's wrong with you?

Kaoru shifted his gaze, Nothing.

Eyebrows came together and his left shoulder twitched. Bullshit. Tell me.

The younger ignored him and carried the outfits for the day into the back closet. He wasn't going to answer.

"Tono!" Hikaru sang, "Kaoru and I just remembered, we have some stuff to do at home. See you tomorrow!" Then he grabbed Kaoru and dragged him out the door and to the waiting car.

"What the hell?"

"Well," Hikaru said, "You weren't telling, so now I'm gonna make you tell. You've been freaking staring at me all week. I notice these things. What gives?"

"It's nothing, ok? Don't worry about it."

They noticed a bevy of their admirers nearby, trying to watch without being seen.

"Oh, Kaoru, whatever is bothering you, please don't hide it from me. I will do whatever I can to make sure that my dearest is without worries."

Falling into his role, Kaoru pressed closer to his brother, batting his eyelashes for all he was worth. "Oh, wonderful Hikaru, that makes me feel so much better! I know that nothing can trouble me, when you're here." They lean a bit closer, hold it for a second, and break into identical grins at the screams.

As they get into the car, Kaoru's laughter fades when he sees Hikaru's serious face.

"What's wrong? I mean it. I can't help you if you don't tell me what it is. Did I do something particularly stupid lately?"

Kaoru hesitated, then decided that the truth was the best option. "It's just…Tono and Haruhi have been holding hands."

"And that bothers you? I thought you didn't like Haruhi anymore."

"It doesn't bother me; I was worried that it would bother you! I mean, you'd think Tono would be a little more considerate, knowing that you gave up on Haruhi so they could be together. He's so freaking selfish!" Kaoru crossed his arms and sulked.

"Little brother, I'm fine. Really. I didn't really love Haruhi anyway—not like Tono does. Besides, what I did is no different than what you did when you let me go after her. Why do you get to be self-sacrificing and noble and not me? Huh?"

Kaoru blinked. He had never thought of that.

"Stupid," Hikaru chuckled affectionately. "I think they're gonna go on another date soon. Haruhi needs a dress to wear for it. Let's get some options together!"

They walked inside, heads together, plotting their friend's demise.

The next day, school and Host Club went as usual. The twins' performance was perfect, and several girls had to be carried out of the Music room afterwards.

While Hikaru was talking to Hunny about clothing ideas for Bun-Bun, Kaoru was, once again, putting away the costumes for the day. The week before, Haruhi had folded a velvet jacket, making it crease in an unsightly manner, and the twins had stripped her of all clothing duty.

"I'm glad to see the two of you managed to work out your problems."

Kaoru jumped, nearly dropping the costumes. "Geez, Kyouya, don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart-attack, I swear."

The "Shadow King" just laughed. The bastard.

"So what've you been up to lately, Kyouya?"

"Oh, the usual," he responded. Kaoru noticed his eyes going over to the happy couple, and felt guilty. Maybe it wasn't Hikaru he should've been worried about.

"You alright, Kyouya?" he asked.

The older boy looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course. I am always alright."

Kaoru was skeptical. "If you say so. You're not lonely or anything, are you? 'Cause I can come bug you like I did when Hikaru was chasing Haruhi. I know that Tono's kind of like your Hikaru, and so it can't be easy to let him go. Even if you are happy for him."

"That's an interesting way to put it. But if anything, I'm glad to have the extra time to concentrate on my portfolio. When he's not engaged in something, Tamaki can be quite demanding."

"Hey Kaoru! Wanna help me figure something out for Bun-Bun to wear for Halloween?" Hikaru sounded excited. Kaoru looked over at him and saw that he had everything already basically figured out. He'd be fine without his little brother this time.

"Why don't you handle it for now? I'll help you when I get home later. Kyouya just asked me if I'd help him out with something."

Hikaru would be able to guess what was up, but no one else was likely to. Maybe Haruhi, but she was too busy blushing about holding hands with Tono. Kyouya was one of the one's who enlarged his and Hikaru's world, and as a consequence, he was going to have to deal with being Kaoru's friend. Even if he wanted to be left alone.

Two hours later, Kaoru was regretting his decision. Kyouya could be so boring. Fed up, he marched over to his upperclassman and closed his laptop. He was a little afraid when Kyouya's glasses flashed at him, but he held his ground.

"Kyouyaaaa! Let's do something fun. I'm sick of sitting around here."

"What would you suggest?" He obviously hadn't forgiven the redhead for stopping his work, but at least he wasn't violent.

"Um," Kaoru tried to think quickly, "How about karaoke? There's a fun place just up the road. Hikaru and I have gotten a room there before. It'll be fun! I've never heard you sing before."

Kyouya was going to say no. Kaoru could feel it. To stop him, he grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the school-building. By the time Kyouya was able to respond, they were already halfway to the Karaoke place.

"You do realize that you're wasting my time, don't you Kaoru?"

"Yeah," he replied, happy that his plan was working, "But I don't really care. You need to get out more. Enjoy these years! Don't worry about being so serious yet; wait until you're fully grown."

Kyouya didn't respond, and Kaoru took that as a sign that he won. Just to keep him from getting angrier, though, he didn't make Kyouya pay for the room.

After about half an hour of singing, Kyouya started to lighten up. He even sang a few popular songs, even though his voice really was nothing to brag about.

"Oh, right, like you sing any better," he muttered, not really upset.

"I have the voice of the angels. No, the angels are jealous of how well I sing. That's how awesome I am."

"Then why haven't I heard anything worth remembering, well, worth remembering for being good?"

Kaoru scoffed and picked up the mike. As the song began to play, he did his best to screech as obnoxiously as he could into the microphone, managing at the same time to actually sing the song. He didn't even get halfway through before he was laughing too hard to sing anymore.

Kyouya was laughing just as hard. The younger boy stopped laughing and just stared as his stoic friend shook with the force of his laughter. The black-haired boy slowed and looked at Kaoru questioningly.

"Something the matter?"

"No," Kaoru choked out, "I don't know if I've ever seen you laugh that hard, is all. You hardly ever really laugh. I mean, yeah, you'll chuckle evilly sometimes, but that doesn't count."

Kyouya didn't exactly look convinced, but he let it slide. "Looks like we're out of time. Want to sing some more? I can buy half an hour or so more, if you'd like."

Kaoru shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. I should get home and help Hikaru with Bun-Bun's outfit. Leaving him in charge completely is a bad idea."

He was shocked when Kyouya actually looked a little disappointed. "You're probably correct. There's no telling what he'd try to pull, and then Hunny would have to kill him, which would make you sad."

Kaoru didn't know what to think of that, so he just brushed it off. "Hey, next time, though. I know! What're you doing this weekend? Mom and Dad will be out of town at one of Mom's shows, and she doesn't need us, so Hikaru and I were just gonna hang out and cause trouble. You're welcome to come hang out with us, though. Keep us from doing anything too stupid."

"We'll see," Kyouya replied, almost smiling. Kaoru was glad he did this—he didn't realize how much Kyouya missed Tono.

They waved as they left the Karaoke place. Kaoru would've usually hugged him, just to be obnoxious, but he didn't want Kyouya to realize exactly what effect he had on him. He'd thought the laughter would've been the end of him.

Adjusting himself surreptitiously, Kaoru walked to the car he'd called for a few minutes before. The ride home was quiet and it gave him time to think about the events of the evening. He'd thought that once Hikaru came back to him, he would leave Kyouya in peace, but he couldn't stand seeing his new friend lonely.

Then there was the issue of his crush. He was pretty sure it was just a crush, but sometimes he wondered just how deep his feelings for his upperclassman went. His body cheerfully reminded him that he was certainly attracted to the boy physically, making Kaoru glare at his fly.

When the car pulled into the drive, he was no closer to figuring out what exactly he felt for Kyouya. Since there was nothing to be done about it now, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell Hikaru about it yet, he put it off for a later time.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru ran down the stairs and flung himself into his brother's arms. "I missed you so much! Save me!"

Kaoru looked up to see a displeased Hunny at the top of the stairs.

"What'd you do?" Kaoru ignored Hikaru's questioning glance towards his groin. Now he'd have to tell, but at least it could wait until after Hunny left.

"Nothing! I was trying to help pick out colors for Bun-Bun's outfit, and Hunny got mad at me. Make him play nice."

Rolling his eyes, the calmer twin took Hikaru's hand and walked with him upstairs. Together, the four of them (Mori had been holding Bun-Bun while Hikaru fled for his life) figured out exactly what the stuffed-animal needed for the Halloween party.

The cousins left once everything was settled, trusting the twins to do the sewing competently. Once they were out the door, Hikaru turned on his little brother.

"So who's the soon-to-be lucky girl? I thought you were hanging out with Kyouya this evening. You could've told me if you had a date."

Face turning red, despite the fact that he knew it was silly to be embarrassed in front of Hikaru, he winced as he spoke. "I did spend the evening with Kyouya."

Hikaru looked confused for a few moments. Kaoru waited, knowing he would get it in a little bit. There it was—a huge grin split the older twin's face.

"Really? Kyouya? He's, huh, well, he's attractive enough, I guess. But he's a bit of a jerk. Actually, he's a huge jerk, which is fine by me, but I always thought you'd like someone nice. Damn. Kyouya? Are you screwing with me?"

"We sang karaoke together, and he laughed. I mean really laughed. You should've seen him. His head was thrown back and his whole body shook and he looked like I've never seen him before. It was, well, you felt my reaction."

Hikaru looked amused, but he wasn't going to make fun of Kaoru. He listened to his little brother extol Kyouya's many greatnesses while the two of them worked the sewing machine. They finished Bun-Bun's costume just about the time Kaoru finished talking.

"So what're you gonna do about it?"

"I'm not planning on doing anything about it. He's Kyouya. The Shadow King. I don't have a death wish. I'll be okay with a one-sided crush; it won't kill me."

Hikaru's eyebrow rose. "You're going to do something about it. I'm not listening to you fawn over him from afar. I'll kill us first."

Kaoru looked worried. "But Kyouya's not gay. He's not even bi. How's this gonna work?"

"Are you sure he's only into girls? Have you ever seen him act interested in a girl? Trust me; this'll work. I've got a plan."

The twins put their heads together and started whispering.

In his bedroom, a sudden chill came over Kyouya.

Hee Hee, this has been fun! Stick around to see what Hikaru's plan is!