Last part and final. Let me remind you the twin are always overdramatic and that it's plausible that they'd do that kind of stuff. :D Okay?

Warning: Some cursing, some mentions of violence, and etc. :3 Slightly twincest, not much.

Disclaimer: I do not own. :D Now, let me go to school.

After.

Part III Understand.

"Hikaru, have you been crying?" he asked quietly, as Hikaru trudged slowly into his room, flopping onto the bed tiredly.

"No," he mumbled in reply, wiping the tears off on his pillow, stubborn.

Kaoru fell silent, "Well, if you're sick or something, tell me. I'll be working on my homework next door, okay?"

Hikaru closed his eyes sleepily, nuzzling his head against the pillow, not bothering to take off his clothes. He heard the door click shut softly, and the air conditioner rumbled slowly in the dead silence.

Suddenly, strange song burst into play-

"Kami, he's never changed his ring tone?" he groaned as he put his hand towards the drawers, opening it up, grabbing for the orange cell phone, flicking it open-

"Moshimosh? Hikaru here," he answered, sleepily-

"Eh, Haruhi's right- that's funny-" he heard Tamaki's voice carry over, and he mentally groaned- he didn't want to deal with them right now-

"What's funny?" he mumbled, his eyes drooping again.

"That you would answer Kaoru's phone, and that it's still in use-" he rambled, but Hikaru cut him off quickly-

"He wouldn't give me my phone back so I'm stuck using his until the month's over," he said, rolling onto his back, looking at the ceiling boringly.

"Anyway, Hikaru, can you come to the commoner's supermarket- do you know where that is?"

"Kind of, have to ask Kaoru to bring me-"

"Is Kaoru there?"

Hikaru sat up, slightly, running a hand through his messy hair, "No, do you want to go and call him?"

"No, just come to school than, next Sunday, seven in the morning if you can make it, meet us in the courtyard," he said quickly.

"…okay," Hikaru raised a brow, before drawling, annoyed, "Do you have another plan, or something?"

"Oh, and Hikaru, don't say anything about this to Kaoru."

He looked at the phone for a while, "Wait, why?"

"Just don't."

And the phone beeped. He stared at the phone for a while before he flipped it shut and flopped tiredly onto the bed again, falling asleep almost immediately.

This… was awkward. Hikaru blinked as the limo pulled up to the commoner's supermarket, many of the civilians were staring at the car as if it was not normally seen- and it wasn't.

"Okay! Let's go every-!" Mori planted a hand on Hani's mouth, and with the little college junior under his arm, he climbed out of the limo, Tamaki following quickly after him. He whipped around and presented a hand to the Hitachiin, who just stared at it before pushing him away and stepping out of the limo, closing the door behind him.

"Kyouya! Aren't you coming?" Tamaki lowered his head towards the open window, just to be deadpanned by the Ohtori.

"No, this doesn't really concern me," he sipped his tea sophisticatedly, his eyes closed, "Have your fun. I'll check up on Haruhi."

He snapped and soon the limo rushed away from the commoner's marketplace, and everyone around them all turned to see the retreating limo.

Hikaru turned away from the sulking lord, and examined the marketplace, his eyes looking over the slightly familiar stands.

"So!" he felt a hand weigh heavily on his shoulder, as the drama-filled voice continued, "Where might we want to start, Hikaru?"

The Hitachiin simply shrugged his hand off, "I don't know; I don't even know what we're supposed to be doing-"

"Spying!" and Hikaru blinked as Tamaki retreated into some strange corner and reappeared, his sunglasses ready in hand- "Do you know- Haruhi's still as single as she'll ever be!"

He blinked at this statement, his mind piecing things together, "Do you mean… that she's going on a date?"

He nodded, almost blissfully happy, "Yes! My daughter's finally growing up!"

Hikaru simply blanked for a second, an onslaught of feelings suddenly coming back to him. He shouldn't be here- he'd completely ruin whoever's chance with her. After all, he still… liked her. He coughed, clearing his throat, before asking, weakly-

"…So… why did you drag me here?"

Tamaki suddenly snapped his head in Hani's direction, who was waving something in the air. The blonde pulled him into the alley, throwing him behind him before peeking back outside.

"Tamaki-"

"Shhhh!" Tamaki shushed, and waved for him to come. Hikaru scrambled to his feet, before peeking over his shoulder, and this almost felt like something-

The man pointed towards a vague direction, but Hikaru could make out a familiar face- scratch that, two familiar faces-

Haruhi and her forced happy expression.

And- Hikaru widened his eyes-

Kaoru.

"…Kaoru?" he mouthed, and all the feeling drained out of him, a portal of emptiness opening up. He gulped, only relieved that his brother had a blank face on, and by his lip movement, he's-

"-marketplace, but you know, I have homework left at home to do, and-"

Hikaru was almost tempted to slam his head against the wall- Kaoru's on a date with Haruhi, and all he's talking about is homework. Talk about a boring, monotonous life.

"Well, this supermarket just opened up recently… so there's new kinds of foods to try out," Haruhi added, trying to lift up Kaoru's mood. She smiled at him, "Come on, you need to go out on an outing sometime."

Kaoru lidded his eyes, but he followed the commoner girl silently, his hands in his pockets.

Tamaki looked proudly at the two, while Hikaru was staring, disbelieving-

"Tamaki, what's the point of this?" he asked.

The blonde smiled a wide smile, closing his eyes, and flicked a strand of hair out of his face-

"Don't you want to see Kaoru be alive?" he asked energetically, but Hikaru shoved his away roughly, ignoring the stares they were receiving.

Hikaru eyed his brother, as they weaved through the crowd, before he looked at the older male, stating truthfully, "He… doesn't look very alive."

"Well, yeah," Tamaki furrowed his brows. He turned around and suddenly the other two males were there, Hani balancing on top of Mori cutely. He waved to them, commanding with some sort of strange dignity, "Persuade Kaoru to smile."

"But Tama-chan! Kyou-chan said not to interfere!" he shouted, as the taller man nodded.

"What?!" He looked ready to pull his hair out, "Why?! Nothing will happen!"

"Yeah, that's what he said too!"

Hikaru shrugged, not caring as he crept slightly away, a strange feeling seeping into his heart-

Love? Jealousy? He furrowed his brows, and dashed away from the commotion, following the two into a store.

"I really want to go home, Haruhi," Kaoru complained again, looking along the shelves and the rows of food. Hikaru's eyes raked the walls, and he looked with some sort of revelation that some of the foods he hadn't tried yet.

"Hmm?"

He blinked, and as if instinct took over, he ducked behind the candy counter, startling the clerk, as Kaoru looked over in his vague direction.

"Kaoru? Look, some mints!"

Hikaru peeked over cautiously, ignoring the glances from the commoner girl and the store manager, watching Kaoru's bored expression clear up, just slightly.

"Wow, I never knew some of these things existed," he commented, as he took a small sample from the box. He ran his eyes over the box, waving it once, twice, and he chewed on the mint slowly, before he licked his lips, "It's actually pretty good."

"There's some more here," Haruhi piped up, although her happy tone was slightly strained, "You know, you can always get some for Hikaru, if that's what you're thinking."

They both flinched; and Hikaru found it strange that they still reacted at the same time-

"Okay," Kaoru said simply, before wandering the rest of the shelves, and picking out random boxes, to Haruhi's watchful gaze, and widening eyes. He pursed his lips, "You know what, maybe Hikaru would like to try some strawberry mints-"

"Yeah, those are pretty good," she smiled, picking out some more boxes to bring to the clerk.

And Hikaru watched as his brother smile that serene smile he had never seen in a long time, and his eyes moistened slightly.

He leaned against the counter, watching, tears ready to fall, and it suddenly occurred to him that Kaoru didn't smile all the time anymore.

And it's all because of that incident.

He didn't remember the exact sequences.

It was too hard to.

But he knew that Kaoru had completely eliminated it from his mind; he had covered it up so well that the only word he could supply was that it was before.

He still remembered fragments of it. He never got the chance to completely erase it.

Hikaru closed his eyes, hugging his pillow to himself, wondering why- why- why it even happened.

Yelling. It was rare, but he heard it. It was down the halls.

He sighed deep into his pillow, trying to remember what had happened already, what had happened next.

Kaoru was somewhere downstairs, or upstairs. He wasn't sure. He only heard the yelling and that was when he decided that he would find out what-

What was the yelling about? He asked his blurred memory.

A designator, screeching her lungs out. It's only lunchtime, not Host Club. He knows her as a designator, one of the ones that Kaoru and Hikaru used to entertain.

He moved his eyes over to the window, his eyes wondering, when was this?

After the twins had broken up their act, there was a fair amount of opposition. But not a lot.

He searched his dizzy mind, forcing it to dig up memories of more than two years ago.

And the fog cleared up and he could see, the windows open behind them, another person, hidden, being yelled at.

He tightened his eyes, hugging the soft pillow closer, willing himself to remember, and then it clicked, and the color drained out of his face-

Kaoru.

"Hikaru?"

He stopped at the edge of the staircase-

"Why did you stop your act? You said that there was no way you two would be separated!" she yelled, as Kaoru simply looked out the window, ignoring her-

"He did; not me. Hikaru wants to fly unrestrained," he replied softly, his arms crossed, "I have the right to let him go."

"And disappoint all of us! I've been going to the Host Club for more than two years to-"

"Be entertained?" he finished, a chilling tone in his voice. Hikaru froze, watching as the two glared at each other. There was a thick silence, until the girl broke it-

"I heard a funny rumor," she challenged, but Kaoru's gone back to looking out the window. She placed a hand on her hip, "That Hikaru's fallen out of love with you-"

"It never existed," Kaoru replied coldly, not looking at him.

Hikaru felt like he had to do something, before this- this-

"And it's always been an act, then?" she said lightly, on the border of irritation, and he nodded, ignoring her curiosity.

"Wasn't that what people paid to look before? Acts?"

And Hikaru's eyes widened as she grabbed the front of his jacket, but he's deadpanning her expression-

"You were lying! Lying all along?!" and it's bordering on madness, her voice, her tone, her eyes, and Hikaru didn't know how Kaoru could handle such a-

"We could never be in love; we're brothers," he retorted, "No matter how well we act, it's always an act, and it's impossible to love your own family."

"But you were lying to your own designations!" she growled angrily, "What kind of host would be that cruel to girls!"

Kaoru gave her a dismissive look, before saying, his voice cold, "The Devil Type. Wasn't that what you were going to get regardless?"

And Hikaru paled as he heard every single biting remark-

"Kaoru?" he called softly, not wanting to disturb them, yet wanting for Kaoru to hear, "Kaoru?"

Hikaru took several more steps to the top of the stairs, walking towards them, as his brother paused and gave him a curious glance-

"You…" she almost hissed, staring at the younger twin, unaware, completely unaware that the elder was there. Kaoru removed her hands from his tie, his eyes moving back to meet hers-

"Stop it. We're not going to host anymore if you continue like-"

"All hosts are damn jerks. They lie, they cheat," she whispered, laced with hate, and she clenched her hands, turning around, her form crashing into Hikaru's, and suddenly, her eyes narrowed.

"Um, Hanako-san," Hikaru started, innocently, reaching out, maybe to comfort her, but she hissed protectively, as she backed against the window-

"Get away from me," she said, a hint of insanity creeping into her tone. Her eyes flashed, her hands feeling the edge of the window sill, "Or else I'll jump-"

Hikaru's heart stopped, his eyes widening, "You can't jump!"

"Yes, I can!" her amber eyes watched him cautiously.

"But-"

"Hikaru, she's lying, she's just baiting you!"

"No, she's really going to jump!" Hikaru said, his heart beating harder.

"Get away from me then," she said, a delirious smile coming onto her lips.

Hikaru bit his lip, taking several steps backwards, as Kaoru followed, his eyes on his twin.

And in an instant it seemed like she hoisted herself onto the windowsill, and reflexes snapped, and he moved quickly towards her-

"Wait, Hikaru! Don't!"

"Hikaru?" and he blinked, raising his head from the pillow, his teary eyes meeting his brother's concerned ones. Kaoru wiped away the salty drops with his thumb, before looking into Hikaru's eyes, watching. He traced a line in the tears before asking, softly, "What's wrong, Hikaru?"

"Kaoru," he whispered, hugging the pillow close to him, "You said you didn't remember what happened then."

Kaoru slid close to him, his arms wrapping around Hikaru's waist, "No, I don't… Why do you ask?"

The elder twin looked up at him, looking at his brother's confused eyes.

"That… girl… Hanako…"

"Hanako?" Kaoru cocked his head, blinking innocently.

"…Did she die?"

Kaoru furrowed his brows, thinking hard, as Hikaru watched, his heart beating anxiously.

Suddenly Kaoru's expression loosened up, smiling a sad smile, "The one who threatened to jump… no."

"Then…" Hikaru's breath stopped, realization flooding into him, his eyes widening. Kaoru patted his back comfortingly. His voice cracked, a small tear leaking out of his eye, "She… She tricked me."

"She was admitted into the mental hospital afterwards. I think she forgot about the entire ordeal," he said slowly, softly, before smiling at his twin, "She had some problems before she met us… But… If you weren't there at that certain time, at that certain place…"

Hikaru choked on his tears, "I don't know why… I couldn't tell. I didn't know why you were being so… so cold to her."

"She was assuming," he sighed, "I had to make her know that nothing's happened between us. And never will."

Hikaru looked at him through his tear-filled eyes, and shook his head, "No… that's not right…"

Kaoru blinked, raising his brow, "What's not right?"

Hikaru closed his eyes, thinking back to the several weeks today, before sliding them open, pointing out shyly, "You love me."

At this, Kaoru smiled, a cautious "I'm only smiling for you to be happy" smile, "Of course, I would. We're brothers."

"You said that you loved me more than a brother," Hikaru recounted, painfully aware of how his twin flinched, "And I said that I didn't."

Kaoru fell silent, his eyes staring down at his fingers, downcast as Hikaru continued.

"Then… why didn't you-"

"Hikaru," he sighed heavily, a tired glint in his eyes, "That won't change anything. You loved Haruhi, and I loved you. I didn't want to let you go, but I wanted you to choose your life…" he paused, shrugging carelessly, "But… Hanako-san kept pestering me; it seemed as if she was only comfortable with me, and kept asking me to tell you that I…"

"And you did," Hikaru blanked slightly, "And I rejected you…"

"And she went insane," he whispered, his hazel eyes scanning the bed sheets, stopping at a small embroidery in the sheets, "And you…"

A long silence echoed emptily through the room.

"The entire thing is so confusing that I don't know who's at fault," Kaoru mumbled quietly, "It's my fault that I loved you; Hanako's fault that she wanted us together; your fault that you believed her and…"

There was a sudden stillness, as Kaoru whipped his eyes to stare at Hikaru's blank face.

"Hikaru!" Kaoru latched his hands onto his shoulders, his eyes wide, as he continued to rant, waving his arm fiercely, "That was three stories high! Three stories! Like a hundred feet up, Hikaru! What the hell compelled you to jump off of that?!"

Hikaru blinked quickly, "What? That-"

"Three stories!" Kaoru continued hysterically, his shoulders shaking, his hazel eyes piercing Hikaru's, "Do you know how freakin' scared I was? Did you know how worried I was that you weren't going to ever wake up? Did you know how long it took everyone to convince me to leave you alone?"

He pressed his palms against his shoulders, gripping hard enough to bruise. His voice was shaking, as a small tear fell down his cheek.

"Did… you know how scared I was when you almost died?"

Hikaru opened his mouth slightly, his mind buzzing with activities, telling him to do something, to not make the same mistake as he did before.

No, I didn't know, Kaoru, I was unconscious! How the hell am I supposed to know? his old self wanted to say, wanted to yell into his face. His blank, confused eyes scanned his twin's tears, watching as another drop fell down his cheek-

Kaoru bit his lip, cursing himself for losing it in front of his twin. He fisted his hand, rubbing against his eyes, trying to stop the tears forcefully. Hikaru's arms circled around his back, pulling him close, enveloping him in an embrace, one that he's wanted for two years-

"I… I know now, Kaoru."

And then, Kaoru rubbed his face into Hikaru's shoulder, finally letting himself cry the tears that's been held back after.

And then, Hikaru finally realized what's been missing, what's been confusing him the entire time.

Since that day, Kaoru had never cried, and he had never knew it.

It was a while. After, before, then all described it well, but not as well as a while.

The birds cooed sharply, before hopping off the branches with a loud snap!, the falling lights coloring the inside of the curtains a deep orange. Trees shook outside, the shadow of their branches nipping at the windowpanes, clothing the dark room in an even darker cloud.

Hikaru casually flipped a page in his magazine, his eyes absorbing the latest fashion designs, because even after that, he stilled wanted to excel in designing. Kaoru leaned against him, content to lying on his twin's legs, as he stared emptily at the mirror across the side of the bed. He fingered his fingers, almost dejectedly, before propping himself up on the bed, looking up to glance at his twin.

"Can I say that I'm sorry for being so stupid and crying?" Kaoru deadpanned his twin, redness still apparent around his eyes. Hikaru simply blinked, lowering his magazine to meet the identical pair of hazel eyes.

"You don't have to," Hikaru said meekly, attempting a small smile.

Kaoru pouted slightly, before raising himself almost entirely off of his brother, "Really, that was idiotic of me. Crying, I mean, it's so- so-"

He made some flailing motions, his words coming out in a slur of swears. He met his brother's eyes before jerking his head away, a dark blush on his face, moving his hand spastically in the air.

"I mean, it's so-"

"Overrated?" Hikaru piped in, blinking innocently.

Kaoru stopped and blinked back, "Yeah… cliché and overrated," he scratched at his head, before sighing, "Anyway, that was just bad," he trailed, ending with a mumble.

Hikaru flipped the magazine closed, setting it to the side of the bed, his eyes roaming his twin's dejected figure.

"I feel like an idiot."

"I do too," Hikaru added, almost timidly.

Kaoru averted his hazel eyes, leaning against his brother comfortably, his heart beating in perfect sync with his twin's.

"You know… Kaoru…"

"Hmm?"

Hikaru glanced down his twin's expecting, waiting eyes, before gulping nervously, feeling his cheeks heat up. He coughed, "We're in an awkward position… if you may note that."

The younger twin looked down, before widening his eyes, immediately making to scramble off his brother, "Ah! Sorry, Hikaru, I just-"

He felt hands against his hair, as his protests were muffled by Hikaru's shirt. His blinked his eyes against the cotton fabric as Hikaru blush darkened, his eyes wandering to the side, slightly (very) embarrassed, "I just thought it was a little weird; I didn't say I didn't like it."

Kaoru blinked, peeking through the folds of his clothes, "You… then. Hikaru, then…" he paused, wondering how to say this tactfully, "What about… you know…"

Hikaru shrugged, stroking his twin's hair absentmindedly, "I'm not sure… I'm not sure about anything anymore."

"Ah… okay," Kaoru said quietly, not wanting any more, and closed his eyes, rubbing his head against Hikaru's stomach.

"But you know, I think I know what you said to Kyouya-senpai in the time before I woke up," he mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

There was a long silence, as Kaoru waited with baited breath, wondering, wondering if Hikaru really did know

"And, Kaoru…"

Hikaru tilted Kaoru's chin upward, hazel meeting hazel, his finger running along his soft skin, his thumb stopping over his lips.

"Even after all that, you'll still- no, always be my number one, even after that, even after all this."

Kaoru smiled, a small happy gleam in his eyes.

"Even if it's the only thing I understand after all."