"I think I saw you in my sleep, darling. I think I saw you in my dreams. You were stitching up the seams of every broken promise that your body couldn't keep. I think I saw you in my sleep."
-La Dispute
Kaoru was having that nightmare again. In this nightmare there is a man with eyes like fire and a voice like ice. In this nightmare there is also another man, but this man looks weaker. The scary man is arguing with the weak one, but Kaoru can't understand a word they're saying. He just knows that the scary man is angry, so angry and so full of something akin to wickedness, yet not quite so.
All of a sudden, the scary man makes eye-contact with him, as if noticing he were in the room for the first time. He begins to come towards Kaoru, and all Kaoru can do is shrink in fear, because for some reason his legs don't work. The weak man attempts to fight him off, but is knocked to the ground.
Sickly scarred hands begin to reach for him, and Kaoru ends up backing himself into a wall.
Yet he always wakes up just before they take him away.
This time, he was awoken by Hikaru bitching once again.
"If one of your…"friends" feel me up one more time, I'm definitely calling the police. Groping against one's will is illegal, and it's about time they knew that." Hikaru was threatening. He and Kaoru had just celebrated their sweet sixteen that night.
"You mean Kenji? He probably thought it was me, or something. You know he can't tell us apart." was Kaoru's defense. It was always Kaoru's defense.
"What? Is his gay-dar broken or something?" Hikaru retorted slyly.
A few moments later Hikaru was sitting in the hallway, leaning against the outside of his bedroom door, with a bruise on his left temple. Kaoru had locked him out.
Hikaru didn't mind, though. The ground was rather comfortable compared to the sound of Kaoru having a nightmare—"Don't let him get me! Oh my God, he's coming!"— Or even the sound of the gay accusations.
What people didn't seem to realize is that the twins weren't connected by some chain of fate, or something.
The fact remained that, just because one is gay, doesn't mean the other is. And no, they are not gay for each other, thank you very much. Although, there was that one time…
Anyway, those were the facts. Kaoru was the homosexual, and Hikaru was the heterosexual. Of course, that often put the two in awkward positions, because although they did not share the same sexuality, they indeed shared the same face.
If Hikaru had a dime for every time one of Kaoru's past boyfriends felt him up or made a pass at him, he'd be rich. Well, at least richer.
But that won't be a problem much longer, he reminded himself as he prepared to sleep for three more hours. Because starting the next day, he would be officially sixteen.
"I'll kill you." whispered Zebra (her name pronounced in the abstract fashion) to Quill ( his name said in the voice of a frat boy who's had too much to drink. Always.)
Quill smiled one of his cheekiest grins before running out of the apartment building and dashing towards the elevator. But upon arriving he discovered it had an "out of order" sign hanging on it. Desperate, he took to the stairs, running down them about three at a time before he reached the bottom. He heard heavy breathing and just knew Zebra was behind him.
"You twat!" she shrieked, still in her towel. She had just came out of the shower when she was ambushed and was pounding down the stairs at a speed unhealthy for one of her…um…voluptuous stature.
Quill had already made it to the lobby, in which he bumped into the doorman, Mr. Chambers.
"Sir, if the lady asks, you haven't seen me." Quill said between breaths.
Mr. Chambers raised an eyebrow at him, and then Quill slipped him a ten dollar bill. Smiling, Mr. Chambers gave his word.
"Listen, Mr. Chambers. Before I go I just have to say, it's been a pleasure doing business with you." said Quill to the doorman.
"And like-wise, young man. Now, she's coming. God speed."
And that's how Quill Wright made it off with Zebrah Johnson's suit case. Because he'd be damned if he spent another day in Wales. They were taking their asses to America whether she liked it or not.
Quill was an activist. And Wales must have been the laziest place he's ever lived. Nothing happens in Wales. And somehow Zebra had managed to convince him to go with her, and it was his duty as her best friend/translator. How he came to be her translator is another story.
The point was, he'd been there for a month, and already had enough.
He flipped out his phone, and called his friend/assistant/flat-mate, Bernadette, "Take your suitcase and meet me at the airport!"
"Are we running away together? Oh my, Quill, this is just so sudden." she gushed jokingly.
"I'm serious. I have all of my and Zebra's stuff. You packed last night, right?" asked Quill as he looked up the number for a taxi service.
"Yes. How'd you get Zee to pack?" she asked.
"I locked her in the shower room while I packed her things." Quill answered.
"Everything?" she said.
"Yes, yes!" was his reply.
"So, does that mean you touched her panties?" questioned Bernadette innocently, and Quill made gagging sounds accordingly.
"Grow up." he whined before hanging up and dialing the taxi service.
This little adventure was over. He'd seen Wales, and hadn't liked it. Now, it was time for Quill to return to America, where he could effectively combat the government by organizing peace walks and rallies. That was his job.
Zebra had coined him as a hippie, and he had more or less agreed.
Hikaru made his way down to the kitchen, where an extravagant breakfast was being set up by the maids. He had invited the host club over for breakfast as well, since he was tired of the lack of company. Sure, he had Kaoru, but the two of them were growing more and more distant. And his parents rarely attended breakfast.
That's why as he wedged himself in a seat between Haruhi and Mori, he was surprised when his mother made her way down the steps in her silk robe.
"Mother! What are you doing here?" he questioned as she made her way to the table.
"I figured I'd enjoy breakfast with my two darling boys." she said, but her voice sounded off. She said the sentence as if meaning to prove something.
"Where's dad then?" Kaoru questioned as he took a seat.
"He…couldn't make it." was their mother's response. She sounded regretful, but then all of a sudden turned cheery.
"So, these are your friends! You guys run that Host Club together, right?" she questioned. Then she looked to Kyoya, "Oh, I remember you! We've talked on the phone!"
Kyoya nodded, "It's always a pleasure, Mrs. Hitachiian."
Hikaru and Kaoru gaped at Kyoya.
"I hate to sound rude, but, I was hoping we would…eat brunch as a family. But, it's not as if I mind the company of all of your wonderful friends!" she smiled at them once again.
Hikaru was being oblivious as usual, and simply dismissed his mother's weird behavior. But Kaoru simply knew that his mother had wanted to tell him something. And, deep down in the darkest crevices of his brain, somewhere behind the corner he's neglected for years, he knew exactly what she had to say.
"Will you excuse us?" he said to his friends, before he and his mother left the room. After they made it into the hall, Kaoru realized Hikaru hadn't followed him. Angry, he stormed back into the dining hall and grabbed him by his shirt collar.
"What?" Hikaru asked, getting ready to curse his brother out, yet he stopped once he noticed the look on his mother's face.
"You two know how much I love you, right? And even though I'm not around a lot, I cherish the moments we're together. And that no matter what happens, we'll always be a family, right?" their mother started.
Hikaru was still clueless, but Kaoru simply knew.
"Your father was against me telling you, but I'm sure you two are old enough to handle it." she continued.
"What are you getting at?" Hikaru said moodily, "I'm starving."
"I'm saying that, you two will always be my sons, just not….biologically."
"I'm not following you…" said Hikaru. Kaoru saw right through his act. He was playing dumb, but he knew exactly what she was saying.
"You're not of my DNA." she clarified, but Hikaru was still acting thick.
He began to laugh, "What are you saying? Good one, mom."
Hikaru did not want to believe it, and therefore refuted it entirely. Kaoru couldn't help but think he's never seen anything so saddening in a while.
"She's not joking, Hikaru. We're adopted. Don't act so surprised. Deep down we've always known." Kaoru said to his brother, putting a hand over his shoulder. Hikaru shoved it off.
"Maybe you knew. But I didn't. And-and you!" he turned to his the woman that was not his mother any longer, "You've lied to me all these years."
"Hikaru…" she started, sounding disappointed.
"No! I don't want to hear it. But we certainly agree about one thing: You're no mother of mine." and with that last sentiment he grabbed his parka and headed out of the front door, without breakfast.
"I can't believe we're heading back to America." Zebra mumbled to herself as she found her seat in coach.
"Believe it. It was either America or Japan. Those are the only two places with schools that offered me scholarships. And we all know I can't speak Japanese." said Quill.
Yes, Quill Wright had a full-ride scholarship to Ouran Academy for his excellent accomplishments in charity work and journalism. But he'd been to Japan before, and didn't like it.
"But there were schools in Wales! Perfectly nice schools with perfectly nice teachers." argued Zebra.
"Nice is another way of saying boring." was his continued argument, "Right, Bernadette?"
"He does have a point, Zee…" she mused.
"If you didn't want to go so much, you could have just stayed." argued Quill smugly. Although he knew how difficult he made that option for her.
"Whatever. You're just lucky my mom won't allow me to stay in foreign places by myself, and that she has some kind of weird old lady crush on you." Zebra said to Quill.
Quill sighed. Zebra was a traveller. Her point of origin was Bath, a city in England. That's right. She was full-on British. But the amount of years she's ever spent in her home town can be counted on one hand.
In fact, that's how the two met. Quill, the trickster American, and Zebra, the head-strong Brit had met as a result of a prank about three years ago.
"Ma'am, it sounds to me as if you're from England." he observed when they first met. She was attending one of the pep rallies that Quill had organized simply to observe. She was studying journalism as well.
"That's correct. This is my first time in America. I'm attending Middlebrook High school starting this fall."
"That's perfect! Because I'm a student there." he told her.
"That's great. Maybe I'll see you around." she countered with a grin. Her smile was accented by bright green braces, which she still had.
Just before she was getting ready to leave, Quill had muttered something really odd.
" I'm also the school's designated translator." he explained, "Just call me whenever you need a translator. I speak four languages: American, British, and Mexican."
He even handed her a card.
"Those aren't languages. And you only said three." she said pointedly. She had already gathered that he wasn't a translator at all.
But by then he had already grabbed a sign and disappeared into the crowd, yelling something similar to, "No wars, you whores!"
It was friendship at first sight.
Kaoru, emotionally exhausted, made his way back to the table, and was greeted by a cold breakfast and sympathy-stricken faces.
"I guess you heard." Kaoru announced to everyone and no one.
"Every word." Haruhi answered. She moved around the table and wrapped her arms around Kaoru, "It doesn't change a thing. You know that, don't you?"
"I do. Plus, it was so obvious. No one in our family has bright orange hair. But it caught Hikaru off-guard."
"I'll go after him." Tamaki and Kyoya said simultaneously. They all looked at Kyoya, surprised. Rarely did the Shadow King ever show anything close to compassion.
"We'll both go." Tamaki agreed. They both grabbed their coats and went to find the lost boy.
Zebra got bored on the plane ride, so she closed her eyes and dreamed. It was the same one as usual. The one with the badly scarred man, whose voice made her shiver and who's eyes were always furious. And those terrible hands. Scarred. Patch-work people.
She awoke with a start. Quill was there when she woke up, and he whispered, "Another nightmare?"
She nodded.
"Maybe you should see someone about them. I'm a psychologist, you know." he reminded her.
"Just like you were a translator?" she quipped. He smiled in return.
"You're not a psychologist?" Bernadette asked in all seriousness, but by that time the flight-attendant had shushed the three of them.
It didn't matter how much she travelled. The nightmares found her no matter what bed she slept in.
Hikaru was sitting on a park bench, holding a cup of coffee, and staring at the clouds. He'd let himself get lost in them, if that's what it took. He'd stare at the clouds for the rest of his life if that meant not dealing with…with…
"Hikaru." a voice called. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh before answering, never allowing himself to face anything but the sky.
"Yes." he breathed.
"Are you alright?" a different voice asked. Kyoya. That made Hikaru grin. Kyoya Ootori actually gave a flying fuck about someone else for once.
"I'm grand." he lied, but so convincingly, "I've never felt greater in ages. I'm the big one six!"
Kyoya began to get annoyed, "That's not what we're talking ab-" but Tamaki calmed him down. Kyoya wasn't used to dealing with upset people, and could sometimes be a little insensitive.
"What he means is, how are you feeling about the news?" Tamaki elaborated.
"What news? I have no idea what you're talking about." Hikaru said pointedly, eyes opened now but still looking at the clouds.
"The news that you were adop-" Kyoya continued despite Tamaki's complaints.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Hikaru stressed before taking a deep breath and finally looking at them, "Now, you can either look at the clouds with me, or leave."
Tamaki and Kyoya sat on either side of Hikaru, cocooning him. Hikaru then spent the rest of their time pointing out shapes in the sky, and smiling when they agreed—"yes, you're right. That' definitely is a hare."—and keeping his mind off of other things.
Altogether, it was a good day.
A/N: Success! I finally found the time to write this first chapter. The idea just took me over and I knew I had to write it. I've only ever written a story focusing mostly on Tamaki, so it'll definitely be fun centering everything on the twins for once. If things seem confusing, they'll definitely be cleared up soon enough.
Thanks for reading! This was a big leap for me, and I'm glad I got to share it with you.
Sincerely,
Your New Bestfriend.