Author: jengou
Title: Five Things that Make Kaoru Smile
Pairings: Kaoru/Hikaru
Disclaimer: Ouran High School Host Club was created by Hatori Bisco.
Summary: Kaoru has his happy moments too.
Notes: I felt guilty for writing angst and making readers (and Kaoru) sad, so here is a happy fic! sneaks under Kaoru's Emo Barrier (tm)

This fic is a standalone, but if you like your angst, you can read this as a prequel to 'Sorry versus Apology'.

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1. dancing in the morning sun

Some mornings, the sun streaming in through their bedroom window seemed to shine and sparkle on their white bedsheets, like sunlight reflecting on snowy planes.

Such mornings, Kaoru liked to stand up on the bed, step on the sparkles with his toes, point his index fingers about, disco dance to a silly song in his head.

Hikaru would make some noise about the bed jostling and roll over to to find that he's caught between Kaoru's dancing legs. He'd squint up Kaoru's legs and croak out a hoarse "Good morning". And Kaoru would reply, "Get up you lazybum, and dance with me".

2. avacados

Kaoru loved avocados. He loved the nutty flavour, the densely creamy texture on his tongue, and how when they're so ripe, the meat separated from the skin and you could peel them with your fingers.

"It's great for facemasks too," Kaoru said just as his peeled avacado slipped out of his fingers, slid off the breakfast table, and slammed on Hikaru's knee before splattering on the floor.

"Great, I'll have super soft knees then," mumbled Hikaru around a mouthful of syrup-soaked pancakes.

Kaoru wiped the avacado mush off Hikaru's knee with his thumb, sucked on it absentmindedly, and thought about nothing at all.

3. freshly baked freckles

Neither of them talked about their freckles, which only showed after being out in the sun for too long. It was one of those few things which weren't identical about them - Hikaru had three on the right cheek and four on the left, and vice versa for Kaoru. When they were younger, they used to stare at each other's cheeks after a day on the beach, silently counting each other's freckles over and over in disbelief. They still do sometimes.

The freckles Kaoru secretly loved were the ones the sun scattered across Hikaru's shoulders. Those freckles smelled of freshly baked oranges spiced with cinammon, radiating warmth, making Kaoru's nose tingle.

4. names like 'rupert' and 'pimlico'

Kaoru sometimes wondered why their mother gave them such common gender-neutral names. If Kaoru had boy twins, he'd call them Rupert and Pimlico. They sounded funny and made Kaoru giggle.

Rupert would grow up to have a bushy beard and Pimlico would have an afro. They would stowaway on a pirate ship at the tender age of sixteen and eventually rule a small country in South America together to make history. Because Rupert and Pimlico were names for heroes.

"Your children are going to get bullied so badly, with names like that", Hikaru would tease. But even Hikaru had to admit, "though they'd probably never be bored."

5. hikaru

Sunday evening and Kaoru was sprawled on the floor reading 'Hachiko', an old present from their father. Purple, pink, orange lights shifted and blended into each other as the autumn sun set, creating a fuzzy halo out of Kaoru's hair. Hikaru was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, arms crossed behind his head. He knew what Kaoru was reading, and waited patiently.

Kaoru would start making painful sounds in his throat, and Hikaru would pretend that he didn't notice, noticed but didn't recall, recalled but didn't judge.

"Hikaru..."

"Hm? What is it? You want a hug? Kaoru."

"...Un..."

"Come over here, then."

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'Hachiko' is the name and true story of an Akita dog. During his owner's life, Hachiko saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Tokyo's Shibuya Station. Even after his owner's death, Hachiko returned every day to the station to wait for him, and did so for the next eleven years. His faithfulness to his master's memory impressed the people of Japan as a spirit of family loyalty all should strive to achieve.

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Author's Notes: Though this is a happy!Kaoru fic (I insist!), it's still sad how all five of these things revolve around Hikaru in some way or another. It's especially sad because it probably isn't reciprocated... ;;