"Kyouya-senpai? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, Hikaru."

"Ara, ara, ara, Kyouya-san, did you know the commoners have melon-flavored cookies?"

"Yes, Fuyumi-neesan, I was aware of that fact."

"So this is Kyouya-senpai's sister!"

"Oh? Has Kyouya-san talked about me all that much?"

"Nope, not at all."

"Ara, ara, ara, Kyouya-san, I am ashamed that you haven't mentioned me to your best friends…"

"You know my best friend very well, Fuyumi-neesan. In fact, it would make my day all the better if he were standing here at this moment instead of myself."

"But Kyouya-san, you need to explore the wonders of the commoners' world as well! Besides, Tamaki-san said he was busy with other plans."

"Yeah, busy with Kaoru!" Hikaru pointed across the crowd of people to the McDonalds on the other side of the walkway, where a certain blonde and his redheaded companion were sitting next to one another, sharing a package of French fries.

"Oh? So that's what the idiot is up to," Kyouya replied nonchalantly, the tone of which did not please the older twin. The former glanced over at Hikaru's expression of fury. "Is there a problem?"

"J-j-just look at them!" Hikaru stared in mock horror as Tamaki lifted a fry and placed in gently into Kaoru's awaiting mouth. As clever as Kyouya was, he failed to see the issue with the gesture of affection. "The lord's embarrassing him!"

"I think it's cute," Fuyumi contradicted with stars in her eyes.

"Since when did Kaoru like the lord so much?" Hikaru continued to complain, ignoring her comment.

Kyouya's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Since when were you so unaware of his feelings?"

The other returned the insulting gaze. "Since when did it matter to you?"

Kyouya caught his sister staring at him a little too kindly for his tastes, and waved her off with, "Fuyumi-neesan, why don't you start heading towards the Hokkaido section? I'll meet you there." She smiled a little too keenly and followed his instructions a little too eagerly. Kyouya grabbed onto a surprised Hikaru's wrist and dragged him away in the opposite direction - just in time, too; a glance over his shoulder revealed that Tamaki had been just about to plant a kiss on the other's cheek with no retaliation in sight.

"Kyouya-senpai, what are you doing!?"

"Come. Staring at them isn't going to improve anything."

"Right. We'd better go over there and separate them." Kyouya stopped abruptly, and Hikaru noticed with irritation that they were no longer within distance of stepping in between the two diners.

"Is there really such a problem with them being together?" Kyouya turned around and faced him.

Hikaru didn't like the look the Shadow King was giving him right now. That which he could only call intrigue laying within the cold gaze was more than disconcerting. "Yes," insisted the redhead. "I mean, I like the lord well enough too, but he's still a big idiot." After stealing his hand back, he crossed his arms definitively. "Kaoru deserves someone better than that."

Kyouya crossed his arms as well, as if daring Hikaru to go further in his declarations. "So, regardless of your brother's feelings, you're going to disapprove of his choice if said choice does not please you?"

Hikaru nodded. "Kaoru deserves only the best."

"And you know what's best for him?"

"Aren't I supposed to?" he retorted, not really answering the question.

Kyouya breathed a light sigh and returned to walking slowly done the path amongst the commoners' stalls. It was harder getting through the boy's thick skull than he had imagined. "Then let me ask this. Is what's best for you the same as what's best for him?"

"Of course." As he followed after Kyouya, Hikaru wrinkled his brow as if annoyed at being forced to state the obvious. "There's only one 'the best,' so it has to be the same for the both of us."

"If there's only one, how can both of you have it?"

"We'll do the same thing we do with everything – we'll share it."

"But what if it's not sharable?"

"It has to be," Hikaru insisted. "If it's the best, it must be perfect, and in order to be perfect it must be sharable. Besides, Kaoru deserves the best, but he would say that I deserve the best as well, so in order for it all to work out – because it has to, since it's only the best – we have to share it." Kyouya stopped abruptly again, forcing Hikaru to do so as well so that he wouldn't crash into him, which would have only served to further annoy the Shadow King.

They found themselves in a small seating area that was vacant enough as to not frustrate Kyouya with an overload of commoners and yet populated enough as to signify the assurance of the café's pleasurable tastes. Kyouya pulled back a chair and gently but firmly pushed Hikaru down into it before leaving the twin to his confusion as he approached the counter and ordered them a couple drinks. He returned with a maple cream latte for his companion and a regular cappuccino for himself. At first, Hikaru was a bit reluctant at accepting a drink from the other for fear of retribution later, but when the cup was shoved down in front of him more forcefully than he would have liked, he thought he had better drink the contents without question.

After taking a sip of the frothy liquid, Kyouya winced at the poor taste, but continued to drink out of politeness. "People aren't sharable, Hikaru."

The redhead blinked as if he had just been told the moon was made of cheese. "Why not?"

Kyouya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He had to wonder whether Hikaru really believed this, or if he simply wanted to believe this. "What if this person doesn't want to be shared?" He wanted to ask What if Kaoru doesn't want to participate in this sharing? as well, but knew that the older twin would simply deny the possibility.

"She won't mind. We'll make it so. And you didn't answer my question."

A smirk flashed across his lips. Knowing Hikaru, it was probably subconscious; he had identified this person without meaning to, and it was just as Kyouya suspected. He continued, "You can't make people like you."

Hazel eyes narrowed sharply. "You seem to do a pretty good job of it."

Dark eyes glared back at him, but their owner did not honor the comment with a response. They soon lapsed into a tense silence, the only sound between the two of them caused by the sipping of coffee drinks. Hikaru wanted to run for it, but knew that if he dared to try anything the Shadow King or his secret police would immediately pounce on his hide.

Besides, there was something interesting about sitting here so casually across from the one and only Ootori Kyouya. The Hitachiin realized he had never had a one-on-one conversation with his fellow club member, and it was kind of nice to be able to interact that way with him. He wondered if this was the side Tamaki saw more often than not.

He wondered if there was a side to Tamaki that Kaoru was seeing that he himself couldn't.

"Maybe what's best for me and Kaoru is to just stay with each other," he mused aloud. Kyouya glanced up in what might've been surprise if he hadn't been the character he was.

"So you're not sure what's best for the both of you," he assumed.

Hikaru thought for a moment as he placed his drink back down on the table. "Not really. But I'm sure I'll know when I see it." He tried to look confident, but failed beneath that intimidating gaze.

That intimidating gaze approached a little too quickly as Kyouya leaned forward across the table, forcing Hikaru to lean back. "But what if, theoretically," the former continued regally, "on the road to discovering what's best for you, you have to try out some things that, on the one hand, may not be the best, but, on the other hand, are not so bad. Would you be willing to do that?"

"Depends. Is Kaoru trying it out, too?"

"In a way."

"Then, sure." Suddenly, Hikaru had a sinking feeling in his gut that told him with that reply he had gotten himself in a little deeper than he would've liked. This feeling was only augmented when Kyouya reached over to grasp his chin a little too gruffly and – the look in those dark eyes was a little too devious – came a little too close. Kyouya muttered something, but Hikaru didn't really hear it, because their mouths interconnected a little too quickly.

It tasted strong and bitter like a tomato, but at the same time a little sweet.