Hikaru frowned as Haruhi dodged he and Karou's attempt to sandwich her between them in their usual hall-walking formation.

"Hey guys." She smiled, turning slightly to look up at them cheekily, while keeping her pace a few feet ahead of them.

"Ne, Haruhi, what's the matter with you?" Hikaru pouted, pointedly ignoring Karou's look of warning.

"The matter is," Haruhi began in one of her righteous tirades, "every day after class as soon as we're through that door into the hallway you two scoundrels smash into me and practically carry me to class between you. I would appreciate some breathing room, where I didn't have to worry about my notes getting crumpled beyond recognition." She fumed before turning ahead and storming off in the direction of their next class.

"Like you can even read your chicken-scratching anyway! Don't blame your bad note-taking on OUR trying to be friendly." Hikaru fumed hotly.

Karou anticipated Hikaru's hot reaction a second late as he was distracted by Haruhi's forlorn sigh preceding it. Filing her out of character reaction for later study, he jumped in to defuse the situation just as Haruhi retaliated.

"At least I TAKE notes! And don't spend the class trying to DISTRACT other people who ARE!" Giving up any pretense of walking she stood her ground and pointed up at Hikaru. "Unlike SOME people I know!"

"Mah-mah!" Karou wrapped an arm around Hikaru and tugged him close, effectively communicating the need for silence. "Of course, we sometimes forget to give you your space, as we're not used to needing any." Karou amended sweetly with a large grin as he squeezed his brothers shoulder so he knew to keep his mouth shut, even as it was gaping open with a predictably juvenile insult already formed on his lips.

Haruhi's shoulders slumped and she nodded as she turned and began walking. The twins followed behind her and almost crashed into her a second later when she stopped.

"You know, I'm surprised that the two of you don't want more space from each other sometimes." She commented softly before walking again.

The twins stood shock-still for a few seconds. Their amber eyes wide they turned to look from Haruhi's retreating back to each other simultaneously and then back to Haruhi before scrambling to catch up as her form was swallowed by the other students in the usual hallway bustle.

"What do you mean by that?!?" Hikaru demanded as they caught up with the cross-dressed woman and closed in on her heels.

Karou sighed. "Don't be so upset." He laid a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's natural that people who aren't born with a twin don't understand."

"What should I understand?" Haruhi asked as she turned mid-step so she could face her friends and they all stopped mid-hallway.

Hikaru gaped like a fish. Karou would have laughed if he'd noticed, but as it was he was raking his brain to come up with an answer.

To anyone else in the school the twins would have come up with some quirky brotherly-love explanation and begin caressing each other to prove their unfathomable devotion, but with Haruhi…

Both brothers had previously discussed their inability to lie to the tomboyish girl. Whether because she had so quickly ascertained their identities or… something else they were not sure.

Hikaru seemed to favor the theory that Haruhi was simply too astute to be lied to. With some type of super-human power of perception (Hikaru's words) she had seen though all the facades of the Host Club, the least of which was certainly not the twins own identities. They were especially touched by her perseverance of their individualism despite their attempts to keep their identities secret from everyone but themselves.

Karou's theory was based on the fact that both he and his brother finally felt as individuals in someone's eyes, which was – if he were honest with himself – the reason he sent Hikaru out on the date with Haruhi in the first place.

Karou was very excited about this person who could tell them apart. She was the only one, aside from their parents, who could flawlessly identify them. Karou wanted to push that separation, not so much that he wanted to be separated from Hikaru (or that he wanted this 'space' as Haruhi called it), but that he wanted to be seen as a separate entity… sometimes even when they were together.

Hikaru wasn't of the same mind currently, but Karou knew that he held Haruhi's opinion in very high regards and wondered if tonight's bedtime discussion would be about that particular statement.

Realizing that Haruhi and Hikaru both were staring at him, Karou startled out of his musings and struggled to focus on what had actually been said and not what was floating around his head.

"It's complicated." He amended. "But, when you're born and raised with someone who's so like yourself you begin to think of them as an another part of you."

Hikaru opened and then closed his mouth. He gave a small genuine smile to his twin as he nodded in slightly surprised agreement.

Haruhi nodded more slowly, her face scrunched up like it always did when she was thinking deeply.

"I see." She finally said with a bright smile. "It must have been great never to feel alone when you were young and your parents were away."

Karou thought about mentioning the maids and servants that were always attending the twins, but didn't want to get into yet another misunderstanding regarding the differences between their lives and commoners upbringing.

Besides, what she said had a lot of merit. Even with the hired help it would have been very lonely without his brother. A brief thought of how lonely Haruhi had grown up with only one parent, no siblings, nor even a maid or butler for company invaded his thoughts before Haruhi spoke again.

"Well then, shall we go to class?" she asked as she unexpectedly spun around and stepped between the boys.

The Hitichinn brothers looked helplessly at each other over Haruhi's head, as she looped her arms in each of theirs and proceeded to drag THEM to class, suddenly driven by the fear that their hallway discussion would make them late.

Karou caught Hikaru's delighted smile at the girl's antics and didn't need a mirror to know he was wearing a very similar expression. The familiar feeling of harmony swept over him as he knew they were both feeling the same excited wonder at the depth of the girls understanding of their relationship.

And so, once again, the commoner reminded the great Hitichinn brothers that even while she saw so clearly through their facades, hers remained more an enigma than ever.

It's short, I know and kind of a slow set-up, but I promise it WILL get more exciting. Just a little more set-up of their characters and then... ACTION! Of all the Host Club members, the twins' relationship (coupled dangerously with my imagined personal predicament over their newest and only best-friend Haruhi) tickles my muse. This is my first attempt at an Ouran High School Host Club fanfiction, so your forgiveness for any out-of-character behavior is appreciated.

Disclaimer say : I not make, just play.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to review. Constructive criticism is welcome!

Suzi aka KatsyKat