Meddling

By: Shiara-dono

I wish I owned Ouran. Alas, I don't.

Hitachiin Kaoru yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes. It was late, just after 2a.m. according to the clock on his nightstand. He sat up slowly, glancing at his twin asleep beside him. Quietly, he slid out of bed.

Kaoru had a perfectly reasonable explanation for waking up when he did. Hikaru had been secretive all day and Kaoru wanted to know why. The only thing he knew was that there was a letter involved, because he had seen (without his twin noticing) Hikaru stash it. He padded over to the nightstand on Hikaru's side of the bed and carefully pulled out the top drawer, wincing as it squeaked. Luckily, Hikaru didn't wake.

Kaoru rummaged around the drawer and pulled out a slightly crumpled envelope. He squinted in the dim light to read what was written on it. He could just make out the name Fujoika Haruhi written in his brother's messily scrawled handwriting. He raised an eyebrow at Hikaru's sleeping form before slipping into the bathroom to read more.

A huge grin lit Kaoru's face as he read the letter. It was a love letter to Haruhi. Hikaru was finally expressing the crush he had on her. No doubt Hikaru never planned on actually giving her the letter. Kaoru's grin widened even as a twinge of pain ran through his heart. He ignored it. A plan was forming in his mind; he was going to make sure Haruhi read the letter.

Okay, Plan A. Get Hikaru to confess. That was Kaoru's thought as he entered the school with Hikaru, who was still being unusually quiet. "Oy, Hikaru. Why are you so quiet?"

"No reason." The older of the twins mumbled hastily. Kaoru gave him the 'I so don't believe you' glare and Hikaru sighed. "I just have something on my mind."

No kidding. "And… you can't tell me?"

Hikaru squirmed under the puppy dog eyes Kaoru was giving him. "I… I… no. No, it's something I have to figure out."

"Ah… this wouldn't have anything to do with the letter I saw you holding last night, would it?" He asked slyly.

Hikaru's cheeks instantly flamed. "You saw?! I… I mean… what letter?"

"The letter that's most likely in your pocket. Who's it from?"

"No one."

"Oookaaay… who's it to?"

"……"

Kaoru sighed. It was obvious that Hikaru wasn't going to talk. That meant the chances of Hikaru, on his own, telling Haruhi of his crush were slim. He focused on forming another plan. Fortunately for him, his twin was too preoccupied to wonder why Kaoru was suddenly quiet.

Plan B. Get Hikaru to confess inadvertently. It was lunch by the time Kaoru was able to implement his plan. By sheer luck, he'd managed to convince Haruhi to eat lunch with them in the cafeteria. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at his twin, smirking.

Hikaru gulped. I know that look. He watched as Kaoru turned the full force of his puppy dog eyes on Haruhi.

Kaoru grinned inwardly. He made sure his voice quivered as he spoke. "Haaaruhiii… Hikaru won't tell me what's bothering him."

Haruhi gave Kaoru a bored look, fully intending to ignore him, but froze when Kaoru's eyes began to tear up. She sighed. "What's wrong, Hikaru?"

Hikaru's face burned as he looked away. "Nothing's wrong."

Kaoru sniffed and a tear ran down his face. "I know it involves a letter, but he won't tell me what it says." ::sniff::

Haruhi felt her own eyes start to water. "A letter?"

Hikaru's ears joined his face in the contest for being the reddest. "It… it's nothing! Just a stupid… love letter. Nothing important."

For reasons she couldn't name, Haruhi felt a sudden onset of jealousy. She fought to control her voice. "You see, Kaoru? He received a love letter. Nothing dire or life threatening." Her voice cracked. "Excuse me, please."

Kaoru watched her go, a speculative gleam in his eyes. "She thinks you received that letter? Oh, she's jealous!"

"That's not possible." Hikaru hung his head miserably. "Why'd you have to do that? Now she's mad at me."

Kaoru shook his head. "That doesn't seem to be the problem. And besides, you wouldn't tell me, so I had to come up with some way to find out." He paused. "You know, you really should give her that letter."

"I never said it was for her."

"Who else would it be for? Come on, Hikaru. I know you like her."

Hikaru glared at Kaoru. "I wasn't going to say anything!" He dropped his head further. "It doesn't matter anymore. She… she hates me…"

Kaoru smiled, another plan already forming.

Plan C. Get 'Hikaru' to give Haruhi the letter. Kaoru grinned wickedly as he stood in the bathroom, switching his hairstyle to that of his brother's. Good thing I thought to make a copy of the letter. He checked himself over in the mirror to make sure nothing gave him away, even fixing his posture a little. Then he went in search of Haruhi, careful not to run into Hikaru.

He found her just as she was about to enter the music room. He coughed to get her attention, dropping his voice to his brother's deeper tone. "Ha… Haruhi? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Haruhi looked at him oddly, but nodded.

Kaoru brought a blush to his cheeks and nervously ran a hand through his hair. "I… I wanted to give you this." He produced the slightly crumpled letter and handed it to her. "About earlier… I'm sorry if Kaoru or I upset you." He scuffed a foot on the floor. "Well, see you."

"Wait… Kaoru."

Kaoru groaned, shaking his head to make his hair go back to normal. "How'd you know it was me?"

"You have a small scar on your face where you got cut last summer. Other than that, it was believable." She gestured to the letter she held. "What is this?"

"It's the letter we were talking about earlier. It's from Hikaru. He's too afraid to give it to you himself." He turned and walked into the music room.

"Kaoru. You need to be more careful." Hikaru cooed to his brother as he gently massaged Kaoru's "injured" arm.

Kaoru winced. "Hikaru. I know I burden you. Sorry."

Hikaru drew closer to him. "It's okay. Because you are special to me."

The girls that were clustered around them swooned. For unexplainable reasons, the "brotherly love" act was still a huge hit.

Both twins turned as the door squeaked open and Haruhi walked in. She locked eyes with them briefly before flushing and looking away.

Hikaru went white, and turned to his twin. "You didn't."

Kaoru smiled guiltily. "Well, you never would have."

It was the first time that Hikaru had actually wanted to hit his twin. He clenched his fists together and barely controlled the urge. Instead, he gave Kaoru a scathing look and stormed out of the room.

Kaoru stood there for a moment, feeling slightly hurt, but he decided Hikaru had every reason to be mad at him. Still… Kaoru sighed and turned to run after Hikaru. He was surprised to find Haruhi blocking his path.

"Don't go after him. He won't listen to you right now." She drew in a breath. "You shouldn't have done that anyway."

"He never would have told you." Kaoru mumbled.

"Even if that's true, you still shouldn't have done that." She walked out the door.

It was about that time that Tamaki stood up. His voice floated through the entire room. "I have decided. I am in love with Haruhi!!"

Gasps and hushed conversations could be heard following Tamaki's announcement. "Master Tamaki loves Haruhi??"

"Does this… does this mean he's a homo?"

"Who? Tamaki??!"

"Maybe they all are?"

Kaoru shot Tamaki a dark look and shook his head, growling under his breath. Perfect timing, Tono, as usual. His mouth fell open as Tamaki raced out of the room. No! If Tono finds them, everything will be ruined!! He followed after Tamaki.

Ironically enough, Kaoru caught up with Tamaki in the court yard of the middle school. He was crouched behind the shrubs, peering out at Haruhi and Hikaru. Kaoru sat down next to him. Wow, like this doesn't look familiar. He thought bitterly. This was where all those girls had asked Hikaru and him out. But none of them had cared which twin they were. So the twins had rejected all the offers.

"Hikaru. Why did you run away?" Haruhi asked. Her back was to them, so Kaoru couldn't see her expression.

"Does it matter?" Hikaru looked away. "Just leave me alone."

"Is that what you really want?" Haruhi held up the letter. "This gave me the impression that you wanted me around."

Tamaki tensed. What are those two talking about? He wondered. And what's with the letter? Kaoru could tell me, but Haruhi will be mad if she finds out I'm here.

Hikaru glowered. "Kaoru shouldn't have given you that!"

Kaoru sighed, sinking lower into the ground. He's furious with me…

"Kaoru did what he thought was right. I don't think you would have given it to me." She paused. "Would you have?"

"No." Hikaru muttered.

"Then there was no point in writing it." When Hikaru opened his mouth to protest, she continued. "So, did you mean what you wrote?"

Kaoru held his breath. Beside him, Tamaki did the same.

Hikaru wanted to run away. Far away. He cursed Kaoru for putting him in this situation. He considered bolting, but glanced at Haruhi and stopped, surprised by what he saw.

Haruhi was watching him carefully, a mixture of fear, hope, and happiness on her face. A blush was starting to stain her cheeks. Why's he just looking at me? She wondered.

Hikaru gulped, turning red himself. "I… I…" Sighing when he realized he couldn't get his voice to work properly, he lowered his eyes and nodded, looking at her from under his lashes.

A strange warmth filled Haruhi. So, it is true. She thought to herself. Now what? I…I… oh, I'll do that. She smiled gently at him.

Red flags went up in Hikaru's mind. That smile…she's smiling at me??! That's not an 'okay, I'm rejecting you' smile! It's a… a…!! Every coherent thought fled Hikaru's mind as Haruhi stepped closer and reached out a hand to touch his face. He was frozen in place as she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.

It was over before Hikaru got a chance to enjoy it. They were interrupted by a loud cry of denial.

"NO!! I won't allow it! I won't allow my daughter to be with… with such an unscrupulous person!" Tamaki stood up and strode over to where the two were.

Kaoru banged his head on the ground. BAKA TONO!!! His mind screamed. He sighed, wondering if he should save Tamaki from the dangerous situation he had just entered. Nah. He needs a good dose of reality.

Haruhi turned in surprise. "Senpai?"

"Haruhi, you can't date him!"

Haruhi narrowed her eyes. "Why not? It's what I'm choosing to do. Why do you have any say in it?"

Behind her, Hikaru smirked. She wants to date me, hehe. Sorry, Tono.

"But…but… a father always has a say in who his daughter dates!" Tamaki spluttered.

Haruhi sighed. "Senpai, you aren't my father. And I'm dating him, whether you like it or not." She grabbed Hikaru's hand and stepped around Tamaki, intending to find a more private spot to continue what she had started.

Hikaru glimpsed his brother as he was pulled by. Kaoru gave him a guiltily yet smug grin. Hikaru laughed inwardly. Fine, he wins. But that doesn't mean I can't still punish him! He grinned back with what he was sure was the goofiest grin he'd ever worn.

Kaoru snickered at Hikaru's expression. He quietly made his way over to Tamaki. "Better luck next time, Tono."

"She… she rejected me. But I… I thought…"

"Don't worry about it. Women are fickle, right? She may change her mind about dating him." Doubtful. "And there are other women, Tono. Look at all your customers and how much they like you."

Tamaki raised his head, a gleam in his eyes. "It's true. All those princesses, all to myself!" He walked away.

Kaoru shook his head. He's easy to please. Now, hopefully Hikaru won't kill me when he gets home tonight. Ignoring the sudden loneliness he felt, Kaoru went to retrieve his bag from the music room.

-The next day-

"WHA--??! Haruhi and Hikaru??!" The customers crowded around Kaoru, who was looking down with tears in his eyes.

"Yeah. Now I have to… now I have to share him…"

The girls cooed, pressing closer to give him hugs. He grinned widely, glancing over their heads at Hikaru.

Hikaru winked and wrapped his arms more firmly around Haruhi. "But Kaoru. We've always shared."

Kaoru nodded. "True." He disentangled himself from the customers and walked over to the couch, sitting on the other side of Haruhi. "And we still do." He snuggled against Haruhi, who was fighting laughter.

"Ooh!" One of the girls whispered. "It's a whole new 'brotherly love' element!"

"Yeah, homo, homo, and homo!" A newer girl piped up.

Everyone fell over laughing. Kaoru looked at Hikaru and smiled. No, they wouldn't share Haruhi. But it was fun to make their customers think so.

-owari-

Well, chalk another story up to boredom. I have to say, I'm quite happy with the way this one turned out. It isn't easy for me to do one shots. Please let me know what you think of it! Ja ne!