"Don't mess with the woodwork Kaoru I can't believe I even have to say that."
Kyoya snapped the moment he entered the dining room and saw his counterpart twirling the prongs of his fork into the dark, finished table, loosening his tie before taking his seat opposite the twin. Kaoru set his fork down with a clamor and smiled apologetically across at his boyfriend, drawing his chair closer to the table.
"Finally, we can eat!"
He commented, plucking up his fork once more to begin picking at his salad hungrily.
"I told you that you could begin without me- Tamaki was at this evening's meeting and I had a feeling he would make me run late."
Kyoya reminded, half-distracted, fishing for something in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Kaoru didn't look up from his salad but did pausing his eating long enough to acknowledge
"I know."
Finally Kyoya retrieved the lighter and cigarette from his pocket, placing the latter between his lips and lighting it quickly before leaning back in his chair and taking a long first draw. Kaoru leaned back in his seat as well, reaching for his water glass and eyeing the older man.
"You're smoking in the dining room?"
Grey eyes flicked up to eye the twin from beneath their wire frames, acknowledging the question but not bothering to answer. Kaoru crossed his legs beneath the table and brought his water to his lips, mumbling into the glass,
"You're a real class act."
Kyoya slowly straightened in his chair.
"What did you just say?"
Silence.
Kyoya eyed the twin another moment before taking another long drag of his cigarette and beginning to search the table for the dark, glass ashtray the maids had begun to put out with meals. But the only thing out of place on the table was a half full mug of coffee placed awkwardly out of the reach of both parties, its contents cold and bitter by now. It was old- it had been sitting out for days- Kyoya vaguely recalled seeing it there the last few nights and ignoring it… when it was fresh he had remembered enjoying it but now the sight of the thing was slowly making him sick- and why hadn't the maids dealt with it yet?- it was clearly beyond saving. He gave a deep, frustrated sigh, sending a wave of smoke over the mug. Then he turned his attention back to his counterpart with an attentive smile, declaring
"I purchased a grand suite in downtown Paris for us today: I thought it'd be nice to have some vacation property in France, maybe we could spend a few weeks there this spring."
"What about the villa in Spain you bought last month?"
Kyoya tapped his cigarette in the ashtray.
"We have plenty of time to visit both, as often as you like."
Kaoru finished off his salad, inquiring casually
"What does Tamaki think of it?"
Kyoya ground his cigarette butt into the ashtray, watching the glowing red ash fade.
"It was his suggestion, actually. Most of our shared clients spend their time in France so he was already considering getting some property out there himself, and he knew you'd probably be excited to model French fashion."
Kaoru smiled sweetly at his boyfriend.
"Really, he mentioned my modeling?"
Kyoya adjusted his glasses and eyed the twin a moment, finding the question a little odd, but Kaoru only took up his napkin and batted innocently at his lips.
"Well Kyoya, I think it's a childish idea."
The twin's voice was sweet as honey. The businessman quirked a brow.
"Childish?"
"And either way, I hate flying."
Kyoya gave a short laugh.
"Aren't you being the childish one now?"
Kaoru threw down his napkin.
"Then tell me Kyoya, what makes me childish, the fact that I don't smoke or the fact that I only sleep with one man at a time?"
The Shadow King was surprised- but Kaoru needed no answer to continue.
"Big Boy Kyoya with his office in a skyscraper and property in any country he can think of and his imported cigarettes! Big Boy Kyoya thinking he can have whatever he wants- when's it going to be enough! You're the greediest person I've ever met!"
Kyoya gripped the arms of his chair and leaned forward to look his boyfriend in the eye, speaking through his teeth.
"I'm not childish or greedy, Kaoru, I'm successful- I realize you probably don't know what that looks like because the only person you're ever looking at is yourself in the mirror!"
Kaoru was reeling but Kyoya wasn't done.
"I am the top executive of one of the most successful businesses in Japanese history, and you're still posing in other people's clothes for other people's magazines- did you even leave the house today?"
"Don't you dare!"
Kaoru leapt up.
"Don't you DARE insult the work that I do! I do what I need to do in order to reach the top- something I'm sure you of all people could understand!"
Kyoya rolled his eyes, but Kaoru continued.
"Do you think I'm an idiot, Kyoya? Did you really think I wouldn't notice you 'run late' every time you have a meeting with Tamaki? Tell me, what does Tamaki think of your smoking? It's okay, I already know the answer- if he didn't mind then you wouldn't have to smoke around me, right? About this French apartment, is it going to have two bedrooms or will I be on the couch every Thursday night when you're having a 'business meeting' with Tamaki!"
"Brilliant deduction skills, Kaoru!" Kyoya scoffed. "I don't know where you found the time to put all these clues together. The fact that I wasn't trying to hide any of them might have helped, though."
He narrowed his eyes at the twin, who looked surprised.
"My relationship with you and my relationship with Tamaki are two completely different things."
Kaoru slammed his hand on the table.
"Are you going to keep performing the Nutcracker all night or are you going to quit dancing around and admit that you're sleeping with Tamaki!"
Kyoya shook his head.
"I'm not sleeping with Tamaki."
Before the twin could protest he reiterated,
"I'm sleeping with you."
Kaoru could tell his boyfriend was telling the truth but although it should have been relieving news for some reason the sentence made the twin feel sick.
"And don't act so high and mighty."
Kyoya spat as he took in the twin's shocked expression, rising to his feet and adjusting his suit jacket.
"I know we aren't twins or anything so maybe the connection just isn't there but my older brothers never do seem to invite me over three times a week or send me home with hickies."
Kaoru shook his head.
"That's just Hikaru, that's- that's different-"
"Is it?"
Kaoru lifted his eyes and solemn amber met grey.
"Kyoya, do you love me?"
His voice trembled and when the Shadow King remained expressionless he quickly added,
"M-more than Tamaki?"
"No."
Kaoru's lip trembled slightly but Kyoya was unfazed.
"Do you love me more than Hikaru?"
He watched the twin process the question for several seconds before answering
"No."
Kyoya crossed his arms, satisfied, as Kaoru sunk weakly back down into his chair. Kyoya let a long silence fall over the room, watching his boyfriend weakly clasp his trembling hands together in his lap, a few escaped tears quickly being wiped from his cheeks. The Shadow King slowly crossed over to the form, expression pitiless.
"Kaoru."
He gripped the back of the chair with one hand and leaned down so they were eye level.
"Here's what we're going to do."
The twin tucked his chin to his chest, avoiding the grey eyes directly in front of him, but there was no way to avoid the steady voice speaking overly-calm in his ear.
"You're going to go take a bath and by the time you join me for bed you'll have put this silly Tamaki thing out of your head. We'll have sex like always and we'll go to bed without any more arguing, and tomorrow we're going to make plans to vacation in France. I'm sorry you're upset right now, I really am, but we both know that it won't benefit either of us to see this argument through."
He moved his hand from the chair to grip the twin's shoulder semi-reassuringly.
"You're important to me, Kaoru. I care about what you have to say, and about your needs. We've always understood each other- and I need your understanding now. You call me greedy, but you understand my situation well enough to know that I will never have what I want- and neither will you. But with each other we can get pretty close."
Kaoru gulped, and Kyoya knew he had succeeded.
"Now I'll ask you again, because I trust your opinion, and I suspect you weren't in the right state of mind the first time: What do you think of a vacation home in Paris?"
"I think it's a good idea, for both of us. I'm excited to model Parisian fashion."
Kyoya smiled, hooking a finger beneath Kaoru's chin and lifting the twin's lips to meet his own. They kissed each other deeply, lips filled with the love they refused to accept and the hatred they refused to acknowledge, mouths opening hungrily against each other before pulling away. They stared at each other a moment, panting, before Kaoru stood and headed for the door.
"I'm going to go take a bath."
Kyoya eyed the table, aware he hadn't touched his dinner but not really feeling hungry at this point. As he turned to go the coffee mug caught his eye a moment, old, bitter, cold, and needing some attention. He scoffed to himself, shaking his head as he headed for the door. Why hadn't they thrown it out yet? It clearly was beyond saving.
But by the time Kyoya reached the hallway, he had put it completely out of his mind, and so it was left.