Genres: angst, romance

Rated: T

Characters: Kaoru Hitachiin, Hikaru Hitachiin, Haruhi Fujioka

Pairings: Hikaru/Kaoru, Hikaru/Haruhi

Summary: For as long as Kaoru could remember, it was always him and his twin brother. Then she came into their life.

On the Wings of the Universe

I. Existence

For as long as Kaoru Hitachiin could remember, it was always him and his twin brother, Hikaru. Everything that they did was done together: they ate together, they bathed together, and they slept together. The two twins spent their youth side by side, finding in each other's arms solace and companionship that no one else could give, not even their own parents.

"Kaoru? Are you awake already?" Hikaru woke up early that morning, a rare occurrence, sitting up from his side of the bed and rubbing the traces of sleep from his amber eyes.

Kaoru smiled at his dear brother and took his hand in his own, brushing his slender fingers affectionately. "Yes, Hikaru." His gentle smile became a wicked smirk. "So, what plans do we have for His Highness today?"

Hikaru laughed, a pleasant sound, and an equally wicked smirk appeared on his face.

In the little world that they shared, only he and Hikaru existed. Everyone else was insignificant, merely toys to keep them entertained. No one else mattered to them. That was their belief.

II. Promise

It was snowing that day, the soft flakes settling and melting in his red hair. Kaoru could feel his hair becoming damp, but he didn't care. He was too numb to care.

Hikaru glanced at him with worry. "Kao, what's wrong?" he asked vehemently. "You'll catch a cold if you keep doing that." With a tug, he pulled the hood of Kaoru's coat over his head and gave him a pat.

"Nothing's wrong," Kaoru replied shakily, "I'm fine." He looked down as he trudged through the snowy grounds of Ouran.

"Now, you know you can't trick me, so don't bother trying," his brother declared, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

Kaoru felt dizzy. He took a quivering breath, and finally said, "She made fun of me." Then he began to cry, and the tears couldn't stop.

Hikaru's immediate response was to embrace him, panicking as Kaoru rarely cried. "Who?"

"H-Hinako. The girl who asked me for a date. She just wanted to laugh at me," Kaoru muttered, a bitter taste in his mouth. "She told me how dumb I was."

Upon hearing this, his brother flared up with anger. "She's stupid for saying those things! I'll ruin her life!"

"No, don't," Kaoru responded quickly. "You'll make it worse."

Hikaru chewed on his lip. "Don't believe those things. They're not true. And besides," he whispered, "you don't need other girls. I'll always be by your side."

"Really?" Kaoru gazed at his brother, happiness restored within him. "Promise you won't ever leave me?"

"I promise."

That was one of the few times Hikaru was completely serious, unconscious of what the future could hold. Even so, for a long time, their promise was kept.

III. Love

Kaoru knew that the emotion that he felt toward his brother could be termed as "love." The concept in itself was not unfamiliar to the two—after all, they were a part of their school's famous Host Club, which acted on the idea of love and charm to appeal to the ladies. They themselves were responsible for attracting the females through incestuous love; daily, girls flocked into the music room to watch them participate in acts of adoration, gushing over the forbidden affection between them.

Kaoru knew that there was no such relationship between him and his brother. However, he could not deny his desire for it, that he wished it were so.

Although it was all supposedly an act, there was something about Hikaru's touches, brushes of lips, and passionate stares that was undeniably real.

IV. Comfort

One night, Hikaru woke from a bad dream. Kaoru, who had been reading by his side, immediately found his brother nestled in his arms, shaking, his face buried in his shoulder.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here," he whispered in his ear. It was these moments, when Hikaru was close to him both in body and mind, that Kaoru loved the most. "Everything will be alright."

Upon hearing this, Hikaru tilted his face upwards, brushing Kaoru's cheek with his fingers and smiling gently. "You're always there for me, aren't you?"

"Idiot. We're always there for each other."

"Ah, you're right." He leaned in, before pausing. "You know the things others would say if they saw us?"

"I don't care what the others say, Hikaru."

His brother smirked and sighed, cupping Kaoru's chin and drawing it towards him.

And Kaoru couldn't help but accept that it felt so right to have Hikaru in his arms, his brother's body warm against his, and those soft and rosy lips against his own.

V. Girl

Then she came into their life.

Kaoru did not hate her for what she did to them, though he knew that if Hikaru were in the same situation as him, he would have.

Haruhi Fujioka was a modest girl. She was pretty, but Kaoru knew that was not the reason why Hikaru liked her. The girl was unpredictably clever. She was the first to treat them both as unique individuals, able to sense their emotions.

Consequently, she broke through the wall standing between them and the rest of the world.

She proved to be different from the rest. That was why Hikaru had fallen for her, and he was too blind to see it himself.

Kaoru understood. Hikaru had never loved him the same way that he loved his brother; his actions were from pure lust, nothing more. It was heartbreaking, but Kaoru sympathized with Hikaru's feelings. So he set up a date for the two, hoping to brighten up his brother's spirits.

Hikaru was happy when he returned home that night. "It's really different, being with someone other than you," he admitted. "But whenever I see Haruhi's smile, I want to fly. She just makes me so happy. Thank you, Kaoru."

Kaoru was grateful to Haruhi. She had opened their eyes to the world around them, showing them what they were missing. It was no longer just him and his brother. He realized that it had not been for a long time.

VI. Soar

After Hikaru and Haruhi's wedding, Kaoru felt strangely mellow and reminiscent. He recalled how, many years ago, he and his brother had always depended upon each other until they met the Host Club and Haruhi. He chuckled lightly to himself, thinking of how much they both had grown. Hikaru was no longer by his side, but Kaoru was fine with that. Kaoru no longer needed him to be.

Indeed, they had set each other free.

What now? Kaoru wondered, as he regarded the midnight sky, the stars glimmering above him. He could hear from the chapel behind him the rambunctious laughter of Tamaki and Hikaru as they drank to celebrate the joyous marriage, and the occasional scold from Haruhi. He smiled at the sound of their voices. In a way, their relationships were still the same, withstanding the passage of time. Some things didn't change.

But some things did. He still loved Hikaru, of course. What changed, however, was the way that he loved his brother.

Kaoru knew what his restless heart still desired. He would travel the world and he would search and search to find the same love that his brother had found.

Maybe someday, he could fly, too.

The end