Caught in the Rain
This is a slight AU, as in the host club doesn't exist and all the characters aren't filthy rich.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Kaoru was bored. He was resting on the counter beside the cash register he was supposed to manning, waiting for a customer to show up. Normally at his job he'd have his twin brother, Hikaru, to talk to while they worked but unfortunately, today Hikaru had caught a cold and had to stay home. Kaoru was originally going to stay home too, to make sure that Hikaru would be okay but his brother had insisted that he'd be okay and that at least one of them should go today to help out. As a result Kaoru has been bored and worried about his older look-a-like ever since he started working today.
"Alright Kaoru, you're free to go now if you like," his boss, Ashura, told him.
The red-head looked up from the counter he was currently resting on to his boss.
"I thought that my shift went until 8:30?" he asked questioningly, looking at his watch, "It's only 8:15."
"We're not exactly teeming with customers so I think I'll be okay," Ashura smiled at Kaoru, gesturing to the empty tables, "If anyone else comes I can handle them myself. Besides, it looks like it might rain soon and figured you'd like to get home before that starts seeing you don't have a car. Also, Hikaru would be concerned if you got a cold as well."
Kaoru turned to the window and saw that, indeed, there were dark clouds in the sky, looking like they'd burst at any moment. Having decided that he would not like to be caught out in the storm and realizing that Hikaru would be unhappy if he also got sick, Kaoru accepted his boss's offer and gathered his stuff together. He left shortly after, calling out a "Good-bye" as he went.
Not long after he left the little cafe Kaoru felt the first few drops of rain on his head. It figures that the one time I don't bring an umbrella it decides to rain, Kaoru thought as he picked up the pace in his walking.
The raindrops started out light enough but it wasn't long until the rain came down harder, effectively soaking Kaoru. The red-head was silently cursing himself for the lack of umbrella when he didn't notice a car pull up beside him.
"Hey," a voice called out, "Do you need a ride?"
Kaoru was pulled out of his silent cursing to see who was addressing him. He let a little squeak as he saw his long time crush, Kyoya Ootori. Kaoru didn't know how long he spent just standing there; staring at the object of his affection, while wondering why the heck Kyoya was talking to him when he didn't even know the raven knew he existed. It must have been awhile seeing as Kyoya let out an impatient "Well?" staring at Kaoru expectantly.
Kaoru snapped out of it, a blush immediately making its way on to his face as he realized that he was blatantly staring at Kyoya. He recalled that Kyoya asked a question but he couldn't quite remember what it was so he just out the oh so intelligent response, "What?"
Kyoya sighed impatiently, seeming to be having regrets on stopping in the first place. "I asked you if you needed a ride."
"Why?" Kaoru blurted out, still having difficulties wrapping his head around the fact that the Kyoya Ootori was actually talking to him.
"Well, unless you make it a habit of trying to catch a cold by dressing inappropriately for the weather, I'd suggest you get in the car."
Kaoru nodded numbly, shivering as he felt the rain getting through his light hoodie that really wasn't doing anything to protect him.
"Well, come on then," Kyoya said, gesturing for Kaoru to get in the car.
As he entered the car Kaoru was immediately greeted by a wave of heat washing over him from the heater. He sighed appreciatively as his body slowly started to warm up. He told Kyoya his address as the raven pulled back onto the street and continued on his way.
The atmosphere in the car was stiflingly awkward. Kaoru was fidgeting in his seat and even Kyoya was furrowing his eyebrows in discomfort. Neither of them quite knew what to say as they'd never actually talked before. Finally Kaoru gave in to his curiosity and asked the question he was dying to know the answer to.
"How do you know who I am?" he asked Kyoya, trying to think of an incident that would lead to Kyoya recognising him.
"How could I not know who you are?" Kyoya answered, "You're one of the infamous Hitachiin twins. I'd have to be pretty out of the loop to not know who you are."
"Oh... yeah," Kaoru mumbled. He had forgotten about the reputation he and his brother had gained from their pranks and 'relationship'.
"Speaking of which," the Ootori continued, "Where is Hikaru? You're not normally one to be alone Kaoru."
"He's home sick," Kaoru explained until it dawned on him. Kaoru... He had been called Kaoru! "How do you know which one I am?" he asked incredulously. No one has ever been able to figure out which one of the Hitachiins is which other than their close friend Haruhi Fujioka.
The red-head's outburst took Kyoya aback slightly. "What do you mean? I've always been able to tell you guys apart."
Kaoru stared at his crush in shock. What? He's always been able to tell us apart? Why didn't he ever say anything? As his head was swirling with thoughts of the like he completely missed whatever Kyoya said after that. He saw his lips moving but couldn't make out what he was saying. His head was spinning and he was feeling extremely warm. Soon he couldn't even make out what was in front of him, everything was just a blur of color, spinning around him rapidly until finally, it all faded to black.
Hikaru was feeling a lot better now. He slept for a few hours after Kaoru had left for work and now he was feeling well-rested and healthy again. Speaking of Kaoru, he hoped that he wasn't too bored out of his mind from being alone at work. He and his younger counterpart didn't often do things alone and when they did they were normally very bored and eager to see each other afterwards. Not that their feelings for each other were beyond that of brotherly love, which was just an act they played. It was their ultimate prank.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Seeing as Kaoru wasn't home yet Hikaru went to go get the door. I wonder who it is, the older Hitachiin wondered. He and Kaoru didn't normally have guests, unless it was Haruhi, who was visiting some friends this weekend so it couldn't possibly be her.
Deciding to satisfy his curiosity he opened the door to see a sight he thought he'd never see. Standing in front of him was his brother's crush, Kyoya Ootori, who was carrying an unconscious Kaoru in his arms. Hikaru felt rage flow through him, what the hell did this bastard do to his precious baby brother?
"Bastard," Hikaru growled in anger, "What did you do to him?"
Kyoya raised an eyebrow, what on earth is the Hitachiin getting at? "I can assure you that I had nothing to do with this," the raven said, "I believe that Kaoru here caught a fever for being exposed to the rain. He passed out while I was giving him a ride home."
Hikaru was still a bit suspicious of the teen in front of him but his concern for his younger brother outweighed his suspicion so he invited Kyoya in to put Kaoru to bed.
"His room is just over there," Hikaru pointed out to the raven.
Kyoya nodded and brushed past the red-head to put the twin in his bed. Hikaru followed closely behind to make sure that nothing happens to his sweet little brother.
Kaoru woke up to the feeling of a cool, wet cloth being placed on his forehead. He recognised the bed he was in as his own and noticed a figure sitting beside him.
"Hikaru?" he croaked out, for who else would be nursing him back to health.
"He's getting another blanket for you right now," a voice replied.
It took Kaoru a moment to register whose voice replied to him, seeing as he now knew it wasn't Hikaru. It was too deep to be Haruhi's and no one else ever came around so who could it possibly..?
"Hey, do you need a ride?"
Kaoru's eyes shot open and he shot up out of bed, turning to see Kyoya smirking down at him.
"K-kyoya? What are you doing here?" Kaoru stuttered, blushing at the thought of sleeping in front of his crush. I wasn't snoring, right?
"You fell unconscious while I was driving you home," Kyoya explained, "You caught a fever from staying out in the rain."
That would explain why I'm feeling so warm right now... Kaoru thought.
"Anyways," the raven continued, "You should continue resting. You aren't better yet." Kyoya gently started to guide Kaoru back to lying on his bed.
Kaoru blushed at the close proximity of Kyoya's face. Wow, he's never been this close to me before, Kaoru thought dazedly, openly ogling the face of his crush. He's so attractive, his midnight hair, his steel grey eyes... Kaoru's eyes continued wandering, taking in the Ootori's face, stopping at the sight of his lips. His gaze seemed drawn to them like a magnet and his hazy mind couldn't help but wonder what they would possibly feel like, or better yet, what they'd taste like. His curiosity grew until finally, as usual, he gave into it, slightly rising up off the bed so that he could close the gap that was between their lips.
Kaoru brushed his lips against Kyoya's, noting how the raven's lips were softer than he first thought, and enjoyed the sensation. It was different, the feeling of another's lips on his own but he decided that he liked it. His lips felt kind of tingly and he could feel the older teen's breath against his face. It's kind of minty, Kaoru mused, minty with a hint of cinnamon. He just stayed like that, lips unmoving, feeling no need to deepen the kiss let alone not knowing exactly how to.
Kyoya, who until then had been in a state of shock, abruptly pushed the younger Hitachiin away and backed away from the bed, leaving Kaoru to fall backwards now that he wasn't being supported, holding a hand up to touch his lips. Feeling his face start to heat up he quickly turned and left the room, brushing past Hikaru who was returning with some blankets, and headed back to his car. The sound of him driving away could be heard back in the house.
Hikaru turned to stare at the departing Ootori. Had Kyoya been... Blushing? He brushed that thought off, of course he wasn't blushing he's the Shadow King, and entered his younger brother's room. There, he was met with the sight of his younger brother curled up in a ball, holding his hands over his bright red face, muttering to himself quietly.
"Hey, Kaoru," Hikaru called softly, "You alright?"
This successfully broke his younger brother out of his trance like state, as he turned to stare at him with big tearful eyes.
"H-hikaru," he whimpered, instantly changing the slightly older teen into overprotective big brother mode.
Hikaru walked over to his brother and held him close; feeling tears slowly start to soak through the shoulder Kaoru was currently leaning on. He rubbed the younger teen's back, whispering comforting words into his ear until he was ready to tell him what was wrong.
A few minutes passed until Kaoru finally pulled away from Hikaru, wiping his eyes and sniffling slightly, he turned to face his older brother. Hikaru's heart went out to his brother, seeing the state he was in. What was it that got him worked up like this? I don't like seeing him look so sad.
"Kaoru you have to tell me what's wrong," Hikaru said softly, "Otherwise I won't be able to help you."
He heard Kaoru mumble to himself, catching something along the lines of "I don't think you'd be able to help," which only made Hikaru even more worried. What was so wrong that he couldn't help his precious twin?
It took Kaoru a few moments to finally say what was bothering him; having opened and closed his mouth a few times he sighed and told Hikaru what was wrong. "...I kissed Kyoya..."
"WHAT?" Hikaru yelled, frightening Kaoru into backing away from him.
Hikaru took a few moments to take deep calming breaths. After deeming himself calm enough he sighed, running a hand through his hair. I guess I could've handled that better... He thought, taking in Kaoru, who was shrinking back against the wall, seemingly trying to disappear into it.
"Sorry Kaoru, I didn't mean to yell, it's just..." Hikaru broke off with a sigh, "What were you thinking?"
"I don't know," Kaoru mumbled, "He was pushing me down on the bed and..."
"He was pushing you down?"
"He was helping me lay down... Anyways, his face was so close and I couldn't help it. I just kind of... acted on impulse..."
Hikaru sighed, something he found himself doing often at this point, and patted his brother on the head. "There's nothing we can do right now so get some rest," he instructed, "We'll figure out what to do later."
Later ended up being three days later, Kaoru's fever ended up keeping him home sick for the rest of the weekend and had him miss two days of school. He spent most of those days worrying about what Kyoya would do to him; he created many scenarios in his mind of what might possibly happen, going from simply being punched by Kyoya to being forced out of the country by a super secret group of agents that listen to the commands of Kyoya Ootori only. He knew most of the ideas were very farfetched but, granted, he wasn't fully in his right mind when he thought up half of the scenarios.
When Wednesday came around and he was feeling better, he was tempted to feign sickness so he wouldn't have to go to school and face Kyoya. He decided against it though because he knew that he was worrying his brother enough already for being sick this long and it didn't want to make his brother worry any longer so he bucked up and decided to let it be made known that he was better.
All through the ride to school Kaoru was a nervous wreck. What was I thinking? I should have stayed home, Kyoya will kill me! Thoughts like that plagued him until the two of them arrived at school. He didn't even register where that they stopped until he noticed Hikaru had gotten out of the car and was waiting for him to open his door.
He stepped out of the car and stood beside Hikaru, grabbing his hand for support which he in turn returned with a squeeze of his hand. He smiled gratefully at his brother and took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. He adopted a smile that was the same as his brother and they commenced walking towards the school, falling in sync with each other's steps, still holding hands.
He kept up his smile, ignoring any glances that were sent their way; they had gotten used to them by now and had thought it'd be best for the rest of the student body to get used to them by now. The smile only faltered slightly when he saw the grey eyes that were trained on them as well but Hikaru squeezed his hand again and he fixed his smile. Kyoya wasn't making any move to approach them so he figured he was okay for now.
His smile grew a little more genuine as he saw his and Hikaru's one and only other friend, Haruhi, walk up to them. She had been the only one who had ever been able to tell the two of them apart (other than Kyoya, he mentally reminded himself) and so they decided to accept her. They even decided to tell her that their 'twincest' relationship was actually just a big prank and just shrugged it off as a 'typical Hitachiin thing' and that she 'should have figured it out by herself earlier'. Ever since then Kaoru had started to see a bit of chemistry building up between her and Hikaru and had been silently rooting for one them to make the first move.
"What's up with the hand holding?" she asked quizzically, "You normally hold that back until later on in the day."
Hikaru turned to Kaoru, silently asking if he could tell her. Kaoru nodded but added, "Later though, I don't want anyone else to hear."
The two of them nodded, Haruhi understanding that it must be that something that the younger Hitachiin viewed as private. The three of them made their way to their classroom to start off their school day.
Kaoru was getting less jumpy as the day continued. He stopped constantly checking over his shoulder as if Kyoya would just appear out of nowhere and kill him or something by halfway through the day. He had expected Kyoya to do something early on, between first and second period, but when Kaoru hadn't even seen a glimpse of Kyoya during that slot of time he couldn't help but feel the teeniest bit slightly better, Maybe Kyoya wouldn't do anything after all, he thought hopefully.
He was extremely cautious during lunch, being on the constant look out for a certain Ootori or an unforeseen attack Kyoya might have planned, with some help from Hikaru and Haruhi, who now knew the reason to Kaoru's jumpiness and pitied him for getting on the Ootori's bad side. Lunch had gone well, except for that one heart stopping moment when he thought he saw the older teen looking his way, but as it turned out he was just looking at his friend Tamaki who was also in his general direction. Other than that one incident Kaoru hadn't seen Kyoya all day and by the start of his final class he was under the impression that Kyoya really wouldn't do anything.
Halfway through the class, Kaoru felt the need to use the bathroom so he got permission from the teacher and left. After relieving himself he was walking back to the classroom, humming quietly as he was no longer under so much strain. As he walked through the school hallway under his sense of security he felt a lot lighter knowing he didn't have to be so overly cautious now. He didn't even give the slightly open door to the janitor's closet a second glance, something he would be regretting a few moments later.
As the red-head walked casually walked past the slightly open door he failed to see the arms reach out from it, grabbing him and pulling him into the closet, closing the door in the process. Kaoru was about to shout for help when a hand clamped down on his mouth, preventing any sound to be heard from outside of the closet, and an arm held him around his waist, not giving him any chance get away from his unseen attacker.
"Don't struggle, it's not going to accomplish anything." A voice whispered into Kaoru's ear.
Kaoru froze at the sound of the familiar voice. While he didn't have any doubts on the reason he was kidnapped into the closet in the first place, he hadn't expected it to be Kyoya himself who did the grunt work. He seemed more like the evil mastermind who watched from the distance while someone else did the dirty work.
"Now I'm going to let you go, but I can assure that if you try to get away or yell for help you won't accomplish anything. Understand?" Kyoya asked coldly.
Kaoru nodded, conveying that he understood he was stuck here and couldn't get away.
"Good." Kaoru could just imagine the smirk that Kyoya most certainly had on his face, enjoying the control he had on his underclassman right now.
Kyoya let go of Kaoru, who immediately crumbled to the ground as his knees had gone weak from fear during the process of his 'kidnapping'. The smirk was still present on Kyoya's face when he looked down at Kaoru, seeming to love the effect he had on the younger Hitachiin.
"Well then, straight down to business," Kyoya stated, all semblance of joy and amusement disappearing from his face as he took on an expression that showed that he clearly meant business.
"O-okay," Kaoru mumbled, wondering what he meant by 'business'.
"Alright then," Kyoya started, "Why did you kiss me?"
"W-what?" Kaoru spluttered. He felt his face grow hot with a blush and turned away in embarrassment.
"I meant exactly what I said, which isn't a difficult concept. I'd like to know why you kissed me." Kyoya stated coldly.
"That is..." Kaoru mumbled, feeling his face grow hotter. How do I reply to that..?
"Damn it Kaoru I can't hear you when you're mumbling!" Kyoya snapped, "I want to know why the hell you kissed me!"
Kaoru was taken aback by the older teen's outburst, as was it obvious that said teen was quite taken aback himself.
He cleared his throat and once again asked in a calmer, yet almost deadlier, voice, "Tell me why you kissed me the other day Kaoru. Don't lie either, I'd be able to tell."
The red-head blushed once more, realizing that there's nothing he could do now. I never pictured myself confessing under these circumstances...
"I... I guess it's because I... like you... a lot. I really like you... yeah..." Kaoru stuttered awkwardly.
He turned away, not wanting to see the look of utter repulsion that was surely on the Ootori's face right now. He had never had any intention of confessing to the older teen when he first realized why he felt so warm when he saw or was around the older teen and had held true to those thoughts until a few seconds ago when he was forced to go against them. He knew that Kyoya was obviously straight so there was no point in confessing in the first place. He had absolutely no idea the object of his affection would react to this confession but knew that it couldn't be good.
"Kaoru, look at me." He heard Kyoya say, Well, he doesn't sound extremely disgusted, Kaoru thought, clinging to the hope that Kyoya would let him down gently.
He slowly turned to face Kyoya, slightly tensed, as if expecting to be punched or at least scorned if anything. What he got was far beyond anything that he expected.
Kyoya was crouched down to Kaoru's height and he gently grasped Kaoru's chin, he pulled him close and placed his lips against the younger teen's slightly open ones. Kaoru made a slight noise in the back of his throat as Kyoya's lips brushed against his. It was the same as when he kissed him when he was sick, but something about it seemed so much more pleasing knowing that it was the other who started it, not another stolen kiss. Yet he couldn't possibly comprehend why Kyoya was kissing him. Didn't he hate him or if anything at the very least, wasn't Kyoya straight? There were so many variables to why Kyoya kissing him was such a strange concept that he couldn't fully enjoy it. Plus there was the fact that Kaoru was shocked out of his mind and couldn't even start to think about returning the kiss.
Kyoya pulled back, smirking at the look of shock on the younger teen's face. "I've been waiting for you to say that for awhile now."
"W-what?" Kaoru spluttered.
Kyoya chuckled at the Hitachiin's reaction, "You don't honestly think I wouldn't have noticed your constant staring, do you? I noticed that one of the Hitachiin's would constantly stare at me and, of course, I was intrigued. I learned which one you were through your brother calling your name at one point and I couldn't help but keep an eye out for you. It was through the moments while I was waiting for you to realize that I was also in the room that I started to notice the subtle differences between you and your brother." He paused for a moment, letting Kaoru take in all that he said before he continued. "It was through the constant watching that I started to appreciate your differences. That appreciation became admiration and consequently turned to me developing feelings for you."
The blush that had slowly faded earlier came back full speed on Kaoru's face as he processed what Kyoya said.
Kyoya smiled at how adorable Kaoru looked right then and leaned in for another kiss as he pulled Kaoru's body flush against his. The kiss started with a soft placement of lips against each other's the kiss but it soon developed into something more. Kaoru wound his arms around Kyoya's neck in order to be closer to the older teen. He felt Kyoya run his tongue across his lips and let out a small moan. He immediately pulled back, covering his mouth in embarrassment.
Kyoya smirked, "There's no need to be shy; the noise you made was cute, very much so like you."
Kaoru, if possible, blushed even harder. "Sh-shut up," he stuttered, "I'm not cute..."
"On the contrary," Kyoya said, pulling him in for a hug and giving him a small peck on the nose, eliciting a squeak from the younger teen, "I find you very cute."
Kaoru pouted in his new found lover's embrace, but relaxed into it after a few seconds, not being able to stay mad at Kyoya for a compliment.
He smiled slightly to himself, I guess it was a good thing I was caught in the rain...
The End
And thus, my first fanfic that is here to stay! Sorry if there are any substantial grammar or spelling errors... Hope you enjoyed it!
(Also I'd like to congratulate you for supporting this pairing, it needs more love)
Please review!