Hikaru sauntered into the host club about fifteen minutes early one spring afternoon accompanied, as always by Kaoru. It was his first day of school as gulp a second-year.
"OH! MY LOVELY KINGDOM HAS APPEARED!" A dramatic Engrish voice filled the room. It took Hikaru about two seconds to deduce that Tono had taken it upon himself to learn English over break. He rolled his eyes. Another year, but the same host club, right?
At first, the host club seemed to be fully intact and functional. There were a few differences of course, like the fact that Hunny-senpai had managed to grow a few centimeters and could no longer comfortably fit on Mori-senpai's shoulder. Or the fact that Mori-senpai's voice had went from a baritone to a deep bass. Or the fact that Kyouya-senpai had long since ditched his clipboard for a PDA as his company boomed into the electronics business. Or the fact that Tono was the source of constant, senseless Engrish phrases…
Okay, Hikaru reasoned, well… it wasn't exactly the same, but it was close, and all the relationships were still intact.
Haruhi walked in late, like she usually did. Atleast one member hadn't changed. Same hair, same boys school uniform, same everything. Unless...
Hikaru blinked a few times. WHAT…? The entire club stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Mori-senpai clanked a plate on the table he was setting up. What the heck is wrong with this picture!
All eyes focused on Haruhi's chest. Somehow, she'd gone from an A-cup to… to… well, as a guy, Hikaru could only guess as he felt a nosebleed coming on.
Tamaki immediately blushed with his entire face. Kyouya shifted his glasses uncomfortably. Hunny, the only one who seemed on any level of comfort in this situation, smiled and said, "Haru-chan! You're becoming a prettier girl!"
Haruhi felt the sweat trickle down her forehead. Gaw, she knew they'd notice, but did they have to be this blunt! She ducked her head and went to set her backpack down, meaning avoiding eye contact with any of the other hosts.
"Ahem." Kyouya stated. Haruhi stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around to look at Kyouya dreading what he would do. "The guests will be here in less than ten minutes." Kyouya immediately busted out his cell phone and within moments a high powered motor burst out from the floor as Renge magically appeared with ace bandages and binding vests and tape. "Oh! The lovely art of crossplay!" She fantasized. She dragged Haruhi into the back room and she emerged about five minutes later looking… well… kinda fat. All that padding required to hide her newfound boobs was a little overkill.
"We'll take it." Kyouya snapped. "MY LOVELY PEACHES!" Tamaki moaned in anguish. (It was apparent he didn't know what he was saying). "Maybe you could tell people you finally tried Ootoro?" The twins suggested, unhelpfully. "Here! Take this cake!" Hunny shouted, equally unhelpful.
While all of this was going on, Mori pointed at the door and boomed. "Guests."
Tamaki waltzed over to the door and greeted his fans. "AHH, MY DARLING FEMALES! I MISSED YOU LIKE I MISS DOORKNOBS IN A DOORLESS ROOM!"
Meanwhile, Kaoru grabbed Hikaru by the hand and dragged him off to their table. Hopefully the guests would be the most stable factor in the second year of the host club. When you had things like a host with the potential to grow… those things… and a half French/half Japanese kid who yelled senseless Engrish around the room… you needed some stability, right?
Hikaru smiled at Kaoru. It was time to relax. They were now in a situation they could both handle.
"So," He began, "What have you girls been up to over break?"
"Well…" One of them began through fits of giggles, "My friends and I started an Ouran Doujinshi Club!"
Both Kaoru and Hikaru blinked at each other. That's a pretty shameless thing to admit doing. They silently agreed.
"Hmm… did you guys have any vacations?" Kaoru ventured.
"Yeah." The girls quickly agreed, seemingly not wanting to waste time on pointless questions. "Hey… forgive me for asking this, but I have to know! Someone told me that both of you sleep in the same bed together! Is it true!"
Whoa, that came out of nowhere. They'd sure gotten braver with their questions. Hikaru shifted uncomfortably and looked at Kaoru to see how he wanted to handle this one. The two of them were pretty good at keeping family affairs inside the family. Kaoru threw him a look that told him. These girls are not tense enough… this could be trouble.
"Princesses, that's a private matter!" Kaoru blushed. He turned to his brother and pouted, "Hikaru, did you tell!"
In response, Hikaru stroked his brother's chin lovingly and said, "Kaoru, don't worry, I would never tell anyone a thing like that. I'll protect you from whoever is spreading these rumors!"
A group squeal from the girls ensued. It did make them tense, but it seemed to make them all the more anxious to ask questions instead of quieting them down.
"Ohmigosh!" Squealed girl three, "Hikaru! Will you whisper a lovely secret into my ear?"
Hikaru smiled. "Anything, princess."
"Tell me, what is it like to kiss Kaoru?"
Hikaru hesitated for just a moment. No one had ever gotten the guts to ask him that before. He blushed slightly and glanced at Kaoru before he recovered and whispered, "We don't kiss and tell." So that everyone, not just her could hear it. This ensued a laugh, and the conversation turned more normal than that. After all, the brothers Hitachiin had decided at the beginning of last year that a fangirl was always, always happier with teasing than the real thing.
The rest of the afternoon passed flawlessly. Unless you count the fact that all seven of Haruhi's guests asked her why she'd gained weight and the best excuse she could come up with was that she'd visited Hunny-senpai's house over break. Or the fact that one of Tamaki's guests actually knew English and was quite put off when Tamaki called her "HIS SUPERB TOMATO FLOWER". Anyways, same year, same basic host club. Right?
After the guests had exited, Kyouya held a meeting about money and some other stuff, but Hikaru was barely listening. He stared out the window pointlessly running the sentence What's it like to kiss Kaoru? Through his mind. He tried not to think about it too much, but the tragic reality, he reminded himself, was that he actually had no idea what it was like to kiss Kaoru. He couldn't have answered that question if he'd wanted to. He would have liked to have a good laugh at what the fangirls wrote in their doujinshi, except that he was feeling like a horribly inadequate host being unable to answer even a question that simple and straightforward. He continued angsting and staring out the window until Kaoru poked him in the shoulder. "What are you doing, dude? Pay attention!"
The truth was, it pained Kaoru not to be able to drag Hikaru out of the room that very moment and force Hikaru to tell him what was wrong. Something was obviously eating away at his brother, and he wished that Kyouya-senpai would stop talking about tea cup budget so that they could stop the meeting and he could find out what it was. He waited about another minute more before he stood up abruptly, clanking the chair, grabbed Hikaru by the hand, and exclaimed, "WE HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" Kaoru quickly dragged Hikaru towards the door and exited.
As Haruhi watched them leave she commented, "I didn't know they were aware of each other's bladders…"
"Don't worry," Kyouya-senpai reassured, "It is simply their ploy to get out of this meeting. It is highly unlikely that either of them actually have to go to the bathroom."
"ABOMINATION!" Tamaki cried and shook his fist.
Hunny chimed in with, "I have to go potty too!"
The twins didn't stop until they came to a rest on a bench outside the school. "Hey, I was worried about you. Are you okay?"
"Well, yeah… I just kept thinking about what the girls were saying this afternoon."
"Yeah," Kaoru agreed, "Some of their questions were pretty out there, huh?"
"Yeah…" Hikaru agreed, "But we couldn't actually answer them…"
So, that's what's bothering him. Kaoru observed. "I don't see how it matters… we faked our way through it didn't we?"
Hikaru nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything more on the subject. I guess if Kaoru is okay not knowing, then I am too.
Later that night, Kaoru lay on his bed reading Ultimate Frisbee Magazine, while Hikaru (contrary to popular belief) sat on his own bed listening to his ipod, staring off. He was interrupted by a pillow that hit him sharply in the side of the head. He took off the earpiece and frowned at Kaoru.
"Quit permeating the room with your horrible expressions." His brother teased. Hikaru didn't respond, except to mumble something under his breath and sigh.
"You're still thinking about that?" Kaoru idly flipped a page. "If anyone should be troubled, it should probably be me."
Hikaru frowned and looked up from his pillow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well," Kaoru pondered how to put it, "You're always the one teasing me."
Hikaru didn't have much to say to that. Should he apologize! He flumped back on the bed and proceeded to pretend to be sleeping, despite the fact that he knew Kaoru wouldn't be fooled.
The next day in the host club the twins were not a hit. Kyouya was pacing back and forth in front of them looking unhappy. "What's wrong with you two! You barely touched each other today! This is bad for business! What's the deal, Hikaru?"
"Why is it just my fault?" Hikaru replied irritated and somewhat embarrassed.
"Umm…" Kyouya frowned, "It's obvious why it's your fault. You guys get your act together before tomorrow or I'll have to intervene."
Hikaru wanted to bury himself in the ground. He did not look up or meet eyes with his brother, but sat there dejected. It was bad enough to feel awkward with someone, far worse for them to point it out.
The next day wasn't a whole lot better. Both Kaoru and Kyouya had reprimanded him various times to 'keep up the act', but it ended up with Hikaru blushing more than Kaoru and by the end of it, he was tired of being asked where Kaoru liked to be touched, and he just wanted to go angst in Tamaki's angst corner.
After the guests had exited, Kyouya marched over to the twins. "I've discovered the source of your problem."
Both twins stared at Kyouya not wanting to know how he knew so much about their lives, and dreading what he possibly thought he was going to do.
"The simple solution to this dilemma is to have the two of you kiss."
Kaoru froze, not knowing what to do. He looked over at Hikaru who had his mouth hanging open and was really starting to blush. Several awkward moments passed.
"Please proceed." Kyouya sat ready to observe with pda and pen in hand.
"I can't believe you just asked us to do that…" Hikaru said in disbelief. I mean, what if Kaoru didn't want his first kiss to be with his brother? There were feelings to be considered here.
Haruhi wandered over. "Could it be that you two have never…" she proceeded to make a kissing gesture with both her hands. Hikaru's blush was coming back.
Tamaki followed Haruhi over yelling, "OH TRAGIC MONKEY!"
Kyouya frowned at Tamaki and said, "Please be quiet, you're discouraging them."
Okay that was it. Hikaru felt like a guinea pig and he wasn't gonna stand for that. Red-faced, he stood up abruptly and shouted, "If we're going to do that, we'll do it on our own time!" With that, he exited the room while Kaoru was still sitting there gawking at Kyouya. Normally he would run to take refuge in his brother right now, but that was the one person he didn't want to face just then. He wandered outside into the courtyard and sat down on the bench. Why am I having such a huge issue over this? He mentally kicked himself. Was it that big of a deal? Why didn't he either just do it, or decide it didn't matter. Right… Kaoru doesn't want me to… okay, so why can't I stop caring so much! He wished that he had better control over his emotions like Kaoru did, because even he knew that he looked like a complete idiot back there. He then got up and did something he'd never done before – got a ride home from school without Kaoru.
Back in the club Kaoru watched his twin's back as he headed out the door.
"Are you gonna follow him?" Haruhi asked. Kaoru slowly shook his head. "He wouldn't want me to." He nearly whispered, still somewhat in shock from the whole experience. Kaoru didn't look up, but continued staring at the floor. He shifted uneasily thinking about Hikaru and what he must be feeling. "Some of this is my fault." He said into the air. He got up and weakly left the host club, and somehow made it home that afternoon.
When Kaoru finally arrived home, he found Hikaru lying in bed. He almost didn't go in the room at all, but Hikaru sat up when he saw Kaoru standing there and said, "I'm sorry I left you at school today… I just had to get away from everyone." Please don't be mad at me. His eyes pleaded.
Kaoru dropped his backpack on the floor and sat on the bed next to Hikaru. He hugged his brother tightly and said, "I know… don't leave me there next time." Lack of any physical contact for the last few days left Hikaru not knowing what to do with himself, as he'd spent all his brain power thinking, 'touching Kaoru bad'. He ended up just kind of sitting there absorbing the moment while Kaoru hugged him. When Kaoru noticed he was getting the 'stiff-as-a-board' treatment, he looked up at Hikaru and asked, "Not going to hug me back?"
Hikaru looked aside shamefully and said, "I don't want to do anything you don't want me to." Kaoru laughed at him gently and said, "Well, obviously, I want you to hug me right now."
Hikaru's eyes widened. "Okay." He agreed. He started to reach out and then hesitated. However, if Kaoru told him to do something, he was going to do it. So he reached out and wrapped his arms around Kaoru absorbing the physical contact he'd missed. A few moments later he realized he hadn't let go. Both of them realized there was something missing if they were that clingy after not having touched each other for just three days. It was time to talk.
Kaoru pulled away and looked Hikaru in the eye. "You know, you could always ASK me what I think instead of angsting about it."
Hikaru sighed and said, "I just I figured I already knew… and would save myself the awkward conversation."
Kaoru sighed. "Its been horrible for me the past few days to sit there and watch you angst." He leaned back on the bed and started mocking Hikaru. "Whats it like to kiss me? I wonder...is it nice? I wonder if kissing me is just like kissing you...? except I wouldn't know..." As an afterthought he added, "I wonder if I taste like lunch!"
Hikaru smiled, "Kaoru…" Wow. His brother was naughtier than he liked to admit. Hikaru blushed slightly at the thought.
In return, Kaoru threw him a weird look and said, "I thought I was supposed to be the shy one?"
Hikaru cringed a little at the teasing, but then focused and said, "Okay, Kaoru? I really want to know what you think. I'm asking you now."
Kaoru sighed and became serious for a moment. "You know… I never would have agreed to join the host club if I hated it everytime you touched me."
Hikaru took a deep breath. "Then you weren't serious when you said, 'You're always teasing me, I should be the one bothered.'?"
Kaoru shook his head. "I'm not bothered and I don't mind being teased by you." he explained, "I just said that cause logically, shouldn't the uh… less dominant person usually be the one upset about this type of thing?"
"I guess." Hikaru laughed, "So host club business as normal?"
"Yup." Kaoru agreed.
"Wait…"
"What?"
"I still have the same problem as before…" Hikaru felt kind of childish bringing up the whole issue again, but they hadn't even talked about what started this is issue in the first place.
Kaoru grinned. So Hikaru wasn't gonna let it go, huh?
"I guess I'd like to try it once, then…" He tried to encourage Hikaru to do it himself without being completely obvious. He was sure reluctant to take initiative sometimes.
Hikaru's eyes lit up when he realized what he thought Kaoru meant, but just to be sure, he said, "Try what once?"
Kaoru narrowed his eyes. He pulled Hikaru down so that he was lying directly on top of him. "You know exactly what I mean." He whispered with his lips almost brushing his twin's.
Yes, Hikaru knew exactly what he meant. His lips quivered slightly as he opened his mouth and closed the gap between them. While the wetness of his brother's mouth was an initial shock to him, he soon found that it was kind of nice. He wondered what Kaoru thought about it. He opened his eyes slightly and met with Kaoru's eyes. The awkward thought of what they were doing was too much. Both of them pulled away and started cracking up out of nervousness. Hikaru laughed and threw his arms around Kaoru and said, "Not with anyone else but you…" and just left the sentence hanging. After the two had finished their giggle fit, Hikaru cleared his throat and said, "Seriously now, I'm gonna do it without laughing this time…" and its gonna blow you away.
With more confidence this time, he cradled the back of Kaoru's head, stroking his hair, smoothly dipping his tongue in and out of his twin's mouth. Now this was a kiss. The way Kaoru gripped the back of his shirt, just made him want to kiss deeper. Hikaru, thouroughly enjoying himself, pulled Kaoru even closer and went as far back into Kaoru's throat as he dared. A low, Mmmm could be heard from both of them.
At that exact moment, their mom walked by, heard what was going on, and flung the door open. "Trying to kiss your brother, Hikaru?"
There was no conceivable way he could have been doing something else, so he quickly scrambled off of Kaoru, blushed, and shook his head. He threw a scared look at Kaoru, but didn't look up at his mom, knowing he was in for some real trouble. Why is it only my fault? He briefly wondered.
Haruhi was talking to Kyouya the next day in the host club. "I don't know about you, but I kind of find it a relief that the twins don't actually do that type of thing in real life."
Kyouya was about to mention that they were only 15, but his cell phone rang, interrupting their conversation. "Hello? Kyouya here."
"Yes? Mmhmm… oh… uh huh… okay…." Kyouya's face turned pale as he flipped his cell phone shut.
"I suppose the twins won't be in the club today." He said shortly.
Haruhi gasped, "What happened, senpai? Why can't they come?"
"They got grounded for making out."
At Haruhi's expression, Kyouya reminded her, "You were the one who had to know."
Tamaki wilted and screamed, "FOREBODE!"
Hunny pranced up and tugged on Mori's sleeve. "Takashi, what is 'making out'?"
Mori looked at Hunny and boomed, "No, Mitsukuni."