Part IV: Therapy

-oOo-

Hikaru tiptoed through the hallways, painstakingly aware of how his agonizingly slow pace did nothing to quell the subtle creaking of the wood floor or the inherent paranoia that came with sneaking around at night.

Id's reaction to the... plan that Hikaru had come up with had been rather inspiring, and he silently hoped that maybe he could get some sort of a similar reaction, though without having to… take such drastic measures. Hence the sneaking.

He only acknowledged very weakly that it was really all rationalization to be near his brother again. That… that… well he didn't really know what to call it, because if he even mentally said kiss then he was immediately bombarded with thoughts of other things one should never do to one's brother, which caused him a very, very specific sort of discomfort and –

Oh, damn, there it was again.

He leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the hallway window for a moment, thinking of everything disgusting and not the least bit arousing. And after convincing his stomach that it wasn't a good idea to go spilling its contents onto the shiny tile flooring from imagining Mori-senpai in a miniskirt, his problem was solved and he moved to confront the door to Kaoru's room.

As expected it was locked, and he was suddenly very glad that he had learned to pick all the locks in the house that one summer when he was bored. Cautious of the quiet clicking of the opening door, he crept inside and smiled fondly, because his brother was curled up and buried in the many sheets and blankets, like he always did if, by some act of god, Hikaru was up before him. Careful not to wake his sleeping twin, he crawled into the bed, gently embracing his brother's waist, and mentally prepared himself for the bodily harm that was guaranteed when Id would find him in bed with him the following morning. But he found himself decidedly more concerned with gushing as soon as Kaoru made a quiet whimpering sound and nuzzled into his chest.

"… no…" Hikaru flinched at the sound and pulled back just enough to catch the grimace that graced his brother's face.

"…no… not scared… no…no, no, NO!!" He felt Kaoru's arms tighten around his waist. His heart broke at his twin's unconscious suffering, and tried running his hand through his brother's hair comfortingly, though not enough to wake him.

"… mmno, no, I dun— mnm" Hikaru's eyes widened. I don't…? He doesn't what? Kaoru's quiets sobs brought back his attention.

"…'ll find me…" He felt hot tears running down his chest and subconsciously held Kaoru closer. That night. Kaoru is reliving that night… He wasn't sure how he knew, but he was absolutely positive.

"… no…NO… NO!!" Hikaru became painfully aware, in more senses then one, of nails clawing and digging into his back.

"…little longer… he'll find me… why… he's… not here… why… doesn't care…" He couldn't take this anymore.

"No," Hikaru whispered quietly into his baby brother's ear. "You're wrong; I was looking so hard for you. I'll always care. I'm right here… please…"

Kaoru only seemed to grow more restless, clinging more tightly, scratching harder. "… no… no… I won't—! I don't want to!! I DON'T WANT TO HATE HIKARU!!"

Hikaru's blood ran cold as Kaoru sobbed hysterically.

"…he's all I have…" His brother cried weakly.

The last piece of the puzzle had fell into place. Hikaru had his plan. And most of all…

He understood.

Shortly after achieving a dazed sort of consciousness, Id took over and promptly buried himself further into his pillow. After all, split personality or not, he enjoyed sleeping in just as much as the next guy. Especially since today, his bed was content in being much more comfy than usual. The sheets seemed warmer and softer, and his pillow was even warmer, despite the odd, but rather soothing, breathing motions it was making.

Odd mostly because pillows don't breathe.

And so, that morning, the Hitachiin household woke that morning to high pitched, girly screaming.

Hikaru Hitachiin in particular woke up to high pitched, girly screaming, a swift kick to the gut, and numerous pillows, books, lamps, and miscellaneous flying objects targeted in his general direction.

"YOU FREAK! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU PERVERT!!"

"Aww, come on Kaoru—" He ducked quickly out of the way of a flying copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. "—don't be like that!"

"I SAID GET OUT!!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh." Hikaru had hoped to get the confrontation done with that morning, but it would seem his twin was not in the mood to chat.

Oh well, at least I got out unscathed. He was immediately hit in the back of the head by Legends of Greek Mythology, in the exact same place he had hit his head the previous day, and heard the sharp slamming of Kaoru's door.

"OW! FUCK YOU CRAZY BASTARD, THAT HURT!!"

The last thing he heard was a muffled "Good!" before he headed to his room to get ready for school. After dressing and washing up, he was greeted by his smiling, but obviously uneasy mother.

"Good morning Kaoru!"

"Hikaru." He pouted slightly, though he really should have stopped caring a long time ago. "Good Morning."

"Oh of course! Listen Hikaru, I don't know how I should say this, but I've heard some odd… rumors."

"Eh?"

"Well, you see, some of the maids have informed me that you and your brother seem to be… fighting."

"Sort of… is that a problem?" He shifted uncomfortably

She eyed him wearily. "No, it's just… strange. Like someone kidnapped my boys away and replaced them with completely different people. I've never even heard of you disagreeing with each other before. Are you sick or something? Or maybe Kaoru…?"

Hikaru had to suppress a laugh. His mother looked genuinely concerned, and to anyone that didn't know them personally it would have seemed absurd.

"We're at odds with each other at the moment, but it should be resolved soon."

"Are you sure—?"

"Yes mom, I'm sure, and no, your sons were not kidnapped away by aliens and replaced, nor sick, nor anything of the like." He droned almost mockingly.

She smiled weakly at this. "I suppose I'll take your word for it. But do patch things up soon, things seem so much less lively around here with you two sulking."

"FOR THE LAST FREAKING TIME, I'M NOT DEPRESSED!!"

His mother grinned impishly. "Oh dear, but I never said anything about being depressed!" She chuckled a bit at her son's exasperation. "But really, if either of y—"

"If either of you ever need comfort, advice, or a shoulder to cry on, mommy will always be there with a kiss and a band-aid to make it ALL better. Can I please go eat now?"

She let out a soft half-chuckle, half sigh, smiling wryly at her son. "All right, all right. Have a good day at school."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Oh wait! One more thing dear."

"Now what!?"

"How rude, talking to your own mother like that." She teased with a mock pout, but quickly turned serious. "I got a call from the school saying that you were skipping classes yesterday."

"…oh right… I kinda fell asleep outside… I hadn't really slept well… so yeah…"

"Because of your brother?"

"…yeah… sort of…"

She sighed defeatedly. "Really, what am I going to do with the two of you? …Well, I'll let it go this time, but don't let it happen again, do you hear me?"

"Yes mother…"

"Ok, you can go eat now." She snickered.

He hummed in affirmation, continuing to the kitchen and grabbing an English muffin with jam, and rushing to the car, only to find that once again, his brother had left without him.

"Kaoru, you horrible brother, you left me again!" Hikaru said, drawing as much attention as he could as he pulled his yet unaware brother to his chest.

Despite suddenly tensing against him, "Kaoru" seemed unfazed. "Sorry, sorry! I was afraid we'd be late again!"

"Oh, but Kaoru-kun, you got here rather early today."

"I know, traffic was surprisingly light today."

Hikaru once again acknowledged how good his brother was at lying, only half paying attention as the conversation took less interesting turns, pointedly ignoring Kaoru's elbow digging into his stomach, trying to get him to let go without drawing attention to the action. He figured he wanted to stay as in character as possible so people wouldn't get suspicious, and needless to say, pushing Hikaru away would be about as strange as he could get.

Hikaru, in the meantime, was waiting for a cue.

"Kaoru-kun! I heard that you quit the Host Club! Is it true? Is it really true!?" One of their fangirls piped up as soon as there was a gap in the conversation.

"Yes, I regret to inform you that it is. I felt like it was time for me to pursue other things."

"Oh no! What will become of the 'Forbidden Brotherly Love'!?"

"Such a tragedy!"

"Does this mean you'll quit too Hikaru-kun?"

That was his opening.

"Hmm… who knows. After all, if I do, then that means I'd have another 2 hours in the day to spend with Kaoru… all alone." He said while suggestively breathing the last part into his brother's ear.

"Ah… Hikaru…" His twin turned and pushed against his chest. "Not here… don't say those things…"

The girls squealed and turned away, gushing rabidly amongst themselves. Apparently none had caught the thinly veiled disgust hiding under his twin's submissive face.

Id decided to take advantage of their absence.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" He cursed under his breath.

"Nothing, just doting on my favorite brother of course. Is there something so wrong about that, Kaoru?"

"That's Id to you, freak." He snarled, slipping discreetly from Hikaru's grip.

Hikaru just smirked and returned to his seat as the teacher came in.

He didn't like that smirk.

Not one bit.

Hikaru chuckled to himself from inside the empty classroom, twirling a remote with a red button in the center.

They had set and planned the entire thing incase of an "emergency". ("Emergency" read "dire boredom" in their case.) But never, ever, in a million years would either of them have guessed it would end up being used for something like this.

He also had to admit that knowing Kyouya had its perks. One of which being the knowledge that despite having a state of the art security system and cameras, they were hardly ever checked, and most of all knowing where its weaknesses were.

It just so happened that the two had rigged on of the unmonitored fire alarms to go off at the push of a convenient red button.

At 1:27 pm on the dot, he pushed the button. This, to any other person would be a completely arbitrary occurrence. To him, however, this was the exact time that the math teacher for his, Kaoru, and Haruhi's class would be getting into the thick of his lesson, and his brother into the thick of his own musings, far from a potentially wary state of mind. He as far as everyone knew, just happened to be in the bathroom at the time.

And so he waited in an unmonitored classroom that was conveniently en route of the evacuation area for the school, and when he heard the last of his class just walking past the door (because the two of them always lagged behind), he jumped out and dragged his unsuspecting brother inside.

Frankly he considered it a miracle that he was able to keep his hand over his twin's mouth long enough for the rest of the class to be out of earshot.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM YOU FREAK!?"

"SHH! Not so loud or a teacher might hear you!"

"SO LET THEM! I'D LOVE TO SEE YOU GET CHEWED OUT FOR THIS!!"

"They'll automatically assume that it's as much your doing as mine, you know."

Id's offensive posture dropped and he huffed irritably, scowling and moving to sit on a nearby desk. "So what exactly did you drag me in here for?"

"We need to talk."

"Tch. Talk all you want, it won't change a thing."

"I beg to differ, Kaoru."

"Why the hell do you keep calling me that!? It's Id retard! I'm not your brother."

"That was my mistake the first time. You're still my brother, my twin, no matter what you call yourself, and no matter how you act or feel!" Id's scowl wavered before the turned away.

"Tch. There's no use arguing with an idiot. Brother or not, it doesn't change the fact that I hate your guts."

"And you have every right to. Just as much as anyone else!" Hikaru had managed to keep his calm façade on so far, but he could feel it slipping.

"Wha—?"

"You don't have to pretend anymore Kaoru! You're allowed to hate me! You're allowed to feel anger, resentment, bitterness, and disappointment when I've let you down or hurt you!"

"…….."

"That's why you've never so much as even frowned at me before, right?!"

"…shut up…"

"You push all those negative emotions into him so that you don't have to feel them! Because you're terrified of having to separate, right?!"

"…shut up…"

"Please Kaoru, you don't need to do this for my sake! I want my brother back! Resentment and all!"

Without warning he lunged forward and gripped Hikaru's neck, knocking him into the wall. "I SAID SHUT UP!!"

His twin's eyes were shaking, face twisted in some mix of furry and terror, hands held half-heartedly to his neck, seeming unsure whether to choke him or hug him.

"H-he—! I—! …we—NO! I just—! …just… J-just s-stop it… …stop it! …pl-please just shut up Hikaru… you-you're… you're ruining everything! It wasn't supposed to be this way!" Kaoru choked out between sobs, collapsing so they both slid to the ground.

"…Kaoru…"

He suddenly reeled back, wincing is if the name stung him, trying to get away, but Hikaru managed to grab his arm and pull him back to his chest in a secure embrace.

"Kaoru, what do you mean 'It wasn't supposed to be this way?'"

Kaoru trembled against him murmuring under his breath.

"Kaoru," Hikaru repeated, tilting his brother's chin upwards to he would look at him. "tell me, please."

"Y-you…"

"I…?" He repeated, nuzzling into Kaoru's neck affectionately. He didn't miss the whimper his twin let out, nor the moisture that slipped onto his cheek. It only served to tighten his grip.

"You… you were supposed to go to her…"

"Her?"

"…Haruhi."

Hikaru startled. "H-Haruhi!?"

Kaoru nodded weakly.

"Why would I—!?"

"…because you love her…"

"Wha—?!"

"YOU LOVE HER!! DON'T EVEN TRY TO DENY IT!"

Hikaru's vice like hold faltered for a moment from shock, and Kaoru took the opportunity to push him away, and slowly began retreating to the door.

"You really, really love her… but… you won't… it's like you refuse to see it!"

"Kaoru…"

"I… I don't want to hold you back anymore… but you can't seem to let go… so… so… I thought… that maybe… maybe if you hated me… then you could finally move on!"

"Kaoru I could never—!"

"I don't want to be the reason you never find happiness Hikaru! … so just—!"

"Then why do you keep doing this?!"

"…what?" Kaoru suddenly stopped his slow backward steps towards the exit.

"DID YOU REALLY THINK I'D BE HAPPY IF YOU JUST ABANDONED ME LIKE THAT?!" Hikaru snapped, jumping up from the ground.

Kaoru couldn't seem to find his voice to reply.

"I swear, you're so smart, but you can just be so stupid sometimes. Of course I love Haruhi, she's our friend. She can even tell us apart!" He gave fighting the blush, and continued despite how awkward it was to talk about. "But I love all of our friends, they've accepted us, as twisted as we are, so why wouldn't I?"

"But you—!"

"But I still love you more." Their eyes met silently and any doubt was removed from their minds.

No more words were spoken as they moved towards each other.

No sounds were made as Kaoru's arms slid around Hikaru's neck.

No breaths were taken as Hikaru's hands rested on Kaoru's back.

No loving vows were needed as their mouths inched forward and—

"Well it's nice to see that you two made up." Came a deadpanned voice from the doorway.

They shrieked and clung to each other like drowning men, gaping at the intruder.

"Ha-Ha-Haruhi!?" Hikaru stuttered trying to grasp the situation.

"What are you doing here!?" Kaoru asked embarrassedly, trying to hide himself behind his brother's shoulder.

"Well during the fire drill, I had though it might be a good time to get some reading done, so I went back for a second to get my book. But as I was catching up with the rest of the class, I saw you drag Kaoru in here."

"Oh…"

"Normally I would have made you two go with me, but I was hoping that he was making some attempt to make up with you Kaoru. Though god only knows why you needed to do it during a fire drill."

"Well…"

"Don't be too hard on him Haruhi." Kaoru interrupted. "This is really my fault, I'll make sure to apologize later."

She smiled at him. "It's good to hear you're taking responsibility for it, but I'm just glad you two are happy again. In any case, let's get back to class before the teacher gets suspicious."

"Awwww, but Haruhi!!" They whined simultaneously.

"No 'but's!"