…Okay people. I gotta rant.

Twins: What else is new?

(Are Promptly Chased away with the broom I use for sweeping the plot bunnies out from under my bed)

WHAT IS UP WITH ALL THE BAD TWINS ANGST?! Kaoru is NOT a cutter! Neither of them has AIDS, and they are NOT the types to endlessly anguish internally about an incestuous relationship!! In case you didn't notice, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK!! THEY'RE RICH AND SPOILED!! …. (And I say that with all the love in the world, but, y'know, it's true.)

So anyway, out of resentment of those things, and extreme exhaustion last week, OOC was riding in her car, listening to her Mom's old Oldies' Motown CD, and suddenly thought: That would be a really great Hikaru Angst Songfic! Then thought: Did I actually just get a plot bunny from a Motown Song?!

So here's a Hikaru angst fic…because poor Kaoru gets TOO MUCH abusive fangirl love. So now it's Hikaru's turn.

Kaoru: fails at hiding smirk

Hikaru: Hey!

Kaoru: Sorry…but, she's right, you know.

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Tracks of my Tears

People say I'm the life of the party
Cause I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing loud and hearty
Deep inside I'm blue

So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
Just look closer, it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears
I need you, need you

Since you left me if you see me with another girl
Seeming like I'm having fun
Although she may be cute she's just a substitute
'Cause you're the permanent one

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"You're certainly spending a lot of time with Haruhi lately."

"Mmmm…" A distracted mumble was the only response to Kaoru's quietly voiced question.

"You're getting along well, aren't you?"

Hikaru stretched back in his chair, "Yeah, we're becoming really good friends."

"Oh…I'm glad." Kaoru looked down into his teacup and said nothing more.

It took a minute for Hikaru to finally look back in his brother's direction to notice something was wrong.

"Kaoru? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," came the quiet reply. But Kaoru's terse grip on the china suggested otherwise.

Hikaru sat up.

"Kaoru…You're not…Jealous, are you?"

Kaoru tried to look away, but Hikaru stood, grasping his brother's chin firmly and turning it so that Kaoru looked at him. Kaoru continued to avoid his eyes.

"Kaoru, look at me. Look at me." He demanded in a slightly harsher tone.

Gazing deep into each other's eyes, Hikaru said what was on his mind.

"No one, and I mean No One, will ever replace you for me."

Kaoru's gaze wavered for a moment, uncertain, before he collapsed into his brother's arms, relieved.

"Oh, Hikaru!"

Around them, the fangirls erupted.

Ten minutes later, when the shift ended and Kyouya finally allowed the twins to take a much needed break, they wasted no time in disappearing into the nearest bathroom.

Staring at the dark circles under his eyes that he swore weren't there a week ago, Hikaru sighed at his reflection in the gilded mirror.

"Hikaru?"

Jerking his attention away, he glanced behind his reflection to his brothers' leaning casually against the stalls.

"About what I said earlier..."

Hikaru turned and faced his twin, doing his best to look nonchalant leaning against the sink, though his heart was beating twice as fast as normal.

"I know it was just part of the act, but..." Kaoru broke off, looking vaguely troubled.

"But?" Hikaru prodded, unable to take even the few seconds of hesitation, weighing heavily on the air.

Suddenly Kaoru looked up from tracing the intricate glass mosaic on the floor with his foot and broke out into a smile.

"I felt kind of bad saying those things. You know I support you and Haruhi one hundred percent right? I think it's great that you're seeing someone outside of just me, you know? I'm your brother, I don't want to eat up your life."

Hikaru carefully listened to Kaoru's words and searched desperately for any sign in his face that he was lying. There was none.

Even Hikaru could tell that Kaoru's sincere words and smile were just that, and no matter how much he wanted to there was no layer to Kaoru's words that showed he was bluffing or was hiding his emotions.

Feeling his heart break, Hikaru forced one of his best for-the-customers smiles.

"Thanks. I appreciate it, I really do."

Kaoru's smiled grew. "Great. We should probably get back out there though, break's almost over, Kyouya will have out heads."

"Nah, he wouldn't do that. Sales would plummet!"

The two shared an honest laugh together, and Hikaru smiled, for real this time.

"You go on out there and start buttering them up. I'll be out in a minute."

As his twin vanished out the door, Hikaru turned back to the sink.

He knew he would keep up the act with Haruhi, if only for his brother's sake. Kaoru worried about him so much, but Hikaru saw it as his responsibility to protect his younger brother. If he thought that Haruhi would make things better between the two of them, exposing Hikaru to the outside world, as he put it, then he would do it.

The shining bathroom magnified and reflected his tears a thousandfold.

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Hikaru: …That wasn't so bad.

Kaoru: Yeah, well you didn't have to commit suicide or crawl into bed with Kyouya or any of the creepy stuff!

Hikaru: True…Still, I can't believe that was her first story writing us! You'd think it'd be something more...you know...

OOC: I'm sorry! I'll write a nice Fluffy PWP for you next time! With no angst!! This was insanely hard to write! I'm so anti-Haruhi this is the opposite of how I think it should be!! Just…you know…with NEITHER of them angsting…Novel concept, no?

And OOC continues her tradition of having longer author's notes than stories, almost!

…You know the drill. See the review button? Click it. Or Hikaru starts cutting.

Hikaru: HEY!
Kaoru: Welcome to my life.