Hikaru was rushed into a vacant room by a team of doctors and nurses, Kaoru following close behind. "What happened to my brother?" he asked desperately.

A nurse finally heard his frantic cries and sat him in a chair by the bed. "Your brother here was in an...accident. He fell down from a third-floor balcony in your home, and one of the maids found him and called us."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Hikaru!" he called, trying to run to his twin. The nurse gently held him down, trying to calm the boy's hysterics.

"What's your name?" she asked smoothly. If he was distracted by her questions, then maybe he would forget his need to comfort her patient-or so she thought.

"Kaoru Hitachiin. But I need to see my brother!" he replied.

"There will be time for that. But I take it that Hikaru-kun is your twin?"

"Uh-huh." Kaoru had finally caught on, and he realized that he had to let the doctors work on Hikaru.

"Does it then follow, then, that you two are of the same blood type?"

"Yes, but does he need blood transfusions? Is it that bad?!" A shaky fervor was once again creeping into Kaoru's voice as his gaze drifted away from the nurse's kind eyes to the hospital bed where Hikaru lay, motionless.

"We aren't sure yet, but if need be, we will take blood from you because the fresher it is, then the better it is. My name is Hitomi by the way, and I'm going to take you outside now, okay? The doctors need to work on Hikaru."

"O-okay." Kaoru unsurely rose to his feet, and felt himself going weak at the knees. He swallowed, and kept walking out of the room with resolve in his mind: he was going to do whatever he had to in order to help Hikaru.

"Now tell me, Kaoru-kun, why were you here before Hikaru-kun arrived?" Hitomi asked.

"I was with my-" he blushed before continuing, "my boyfriend, Tamaki Suou-oh Kami, I have to go back to Tamaki!" He rose suddenly, trying to take off down the hallway.

To his aggravation, Hitomi would not let him go. This poor boy, his brother in the hospital, and his boyfriend is here too! Either way he's too emotional to be going anywhere. But still, he looks as though he's going to go regardless of whether or not I agree, she thought, torn. She loosened her grip on his arm, and he took the hint, sprinting down the hallway back to Tamaki.

He came to Room 212 and threw the door open, and found himself shocked at what he saw. Tamaki sat in a chair sobbing with a slim arm carefully wrapped around his shoulder. Kaoru's followed its slender form and saw that it belonged to the one person he possibly feared the most: Kyouya Otori-the one boy who had the power to ruin everything for him. And that was just what he was doing with this undeniably loving gesture that he was giving Tamaki. He was comforting the other boy in his time of need, just what Kaoru should have been doing. He started to go to Tamaki to offer him what little help he could, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder: Yuzuru Suou.

"I understand, Kaoru-kun, but Tamaki...right now, he needs Kyouya-kun. I don't think what you have between you is going to work, either. There is something different about the way that they understand each other, something that disallows another person the same access to either of their hearts." The chairman himself had tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked at his son sitting with Kyouya, pain evident in his eyes.

Kaoru looked at the pair, and then smiled slightly. "I know that now. Kyouya is the only person who can bring him true happiness. It hurts-believe me, it does-but I can't deny them that." His eyes drifted to the monitors that sat by the bed, and he immediately realized that the unthinkable had happened-Tamaki's grandmother was dead.

I don't know why he's so upset. She never loved him. Why is he so concerned? It's not like me, about to lose Hikaru! It's not fair! He doesn't get the right to cry right now! Kaoru screamed internally, running from the room before letting his tears flow. He fled back to Hikaru's room, where a congregation of doctors and nurses stood outside the door, each bearing a grim expression that worried Kaoru deeply.

"We did all we could, but..." one began.

"He's dead, isn't he?! Don't even say it!" Kaoru cut the doctor off mid-sentence, unwilling to hear the ominous news.

"No. He is very much alive. However, we were unable to repair a shattered vertebrae in his lower back. His spinal cord took the brunt of the energy from the fall, and as far as we know...he is paralyzed from the waist down, for life."

Kaoru inhaled sharply. "My brother...Hikaru...you're...paralyzed," he whispered, "I should have taken the fall. I should have been there. After all you've done for me, I should have been there for you. Hikaru, my brother, I'm sorry. More sorry than you can imagine." He took slow, robotic steps towards the room and knelt by his brother's side, stroking away a stray strand of hair from Hikaru's face.

In response to the touch, the older twin's eyes fluttered open gently. "Kaoru..." he murmured, "What happened?"

"You fell. That's all they've told me."

"Why can't I feel my toes?"

"They say you're...paralyzed...from the waist down. I'm sorry. I should have been there."

"It can't be your fault. You were with Tamaki-senpai. You can't blame yourself for that."

"Still..."

"Don't, Kao. Just be glad I'm still here."

"I am, Hika, I really am. I love you more than anyone else. You're my brother, forever."

"Love you too." The pair smiled, and they truly were happy. They had each other, and they would as long as they lived. One couldn't survive without the other. That was how it had always worked, and how it always would. They were brothers, not just in blood but in soul, too.

The door creaked open slightly, and a blonde head poked itself through the crack. Examining the situation and deeming it acceptable to enter, Tamaki walked in, followed by Kyouya. "Hikaru-kun. What happened? We heard you were here, so..."

Kaoru was hit with a pang of nostalgia for when he believed that Tamaki truly loved him. This moment was why he'd fallen for the teen-even when his life was falling apart, he took the time to look after others he cared for.

"I fell off a balcony. I'm okay...for the most part. I can't move my legs."

Tamaki's eyes widened in shock. "Hikaru-kun, that's terrible!"

"It's not that bad. I get to be pushed around in a wheelchair!"

Kaoru smiled. "Yeah! I'll push you!" he said, obviously cheered up.

Tamaki's eyes sparkled. "That's good to hear. But in all honesty, I did come here to talk to Kaoru-kun."

Kaoru was visibly hurt by the readdition of the honorific, but he swallowed his pain. "I think...what we had...it isn't going to work."

"I thought so too. I do care about you, a lot. But I don't think we work as a couple, you know?"

"I understand." Kaoru had accepted the truth the second he'd seen Kyouya comforting Tamaki in the hospital room. He'd thought selfish things about himself-what he hadn't realized was that sometimes, even the most selfless of people needed to be held and comforted.

"Thank you. Hikaru-kun, feel better." With that, Kyouya and Tamaki left, hand in hand.

It was over, Kaoru supposed. No more games-at least, no more with other people's hearts. They had plenty more to play before everything was over-that is, if it ever ended.

AND THAT'S IT. Um, wow. That was...wow. I can't believe it's done. BUT. I WILL WRITE AN EPILOGUE IF REQUESTED. So, did you like? I tried to give it a happy ending, I really did. I feel so accomplished. Review, and ask for an epilogue or a spinoff if you want :) But definitely REVIEW :)

Also, I wanted to explain the title of this story. I couldn't really think of one. So I arbitrarily titled it "Breathless". As the story progressed, though, I realized that that's what the whole storyline was making them-breathless from exhaustion and exhilaration.

I hope you enjoyed Breathless! Please review! Thank you so much for reading!