A/N: Written for AarinFantasy's Halloween contest. Yeah, I wrote it all in one go without stopping. You can tell that my attention to detail starts to fail, but honestly, I did just mean it as a short fluffy piece. The pairing is Kaoru/Mori with mention of Hikaru/Haruhi. I don't actually like Mori, but the pairing made sense in my 4AM head. So, enjoy the short little fluffiness.
Warning: AU? OOC? I dunno. I wrote a situation to fit my goal.
"What year is it?"
"It's 2008 just like it has been for the past 10 months."
"Don't mock me. For all you know, I could have been asking in Chinese years or something."
"You're not Chinese."
"I could be for all you know."
A third person entered the conversation. "He's your twin brother. He'd know if you were Chinese because he would be, too, then."
"You ruin everything, Haruhi."
Kaoru could imagine Haruhi's shrug even in the darkness.
It was the Halloween-est night of all Halloween nights (as claimed by Tamaki, anyway). The moon was bright and tinted with red as if taunting everyone's imaginations with the possibilities of werewolves and ghouls. The trees were rustling with the breeze with some red leaves falling down each time and coating the yellowing grass on the ground. Little children were long in bed, having nightmares that their costumed comrades were actually monsters, some not being able to sleep at all but instead spending their time wondering if they should check under the bed or not. Adults sat on their couches, waiting for November to come as they watched old horror movies.
Tonight, however, Kaoru had not been out trick-or-treating or curiously observing American culture. He, and the rest of his old high school friends, had flown to New York to visit Tamaki and attend his house warming party, or Halloween fright-fest as he insisted they call it. Being raised as wealthy people, they all were required to learn English at a young age and therefore had no problems interacting with the Americans Tamaki invited. If anything, he had the most trouble communicating. Every now and then, he'd throw in a word that was Japanese, and the Americans just nodded along confused.
People were the same everywhere. Tamaki had money, and he was handsome. He could be speaking Hindi and no one would say anything bad.
Of course, that didn't stop Haruhi from pointing it out, causing poor Tamaki to sprint into the corner and cry for minutes at a time. This left some of his new acquaintances confused.
The party had dragged on well into the night with Kaoru being bored to death. He didn't know how this could be any less fun. He didn't know these people, and they didn't seem to be the type he could be himself around. They seemed like the type who would "frown upon" his actions. Ootori-san seemed to be the only one of his old friends really mingling with these foreigners. Of course, he was talking about business and trying to make connections as always. He even managed to blackmail two people so far. Hani and Mori were by the food table chatting up waiters as Hani managed to go through the whole night's supply of candy. His brother wasn't much for companionship that night, either. He kept glaring at Tamaki dancing with Haruhi. It was obvious that his feelings for her had only increased after they entered university together. It was also obvious that Haruhi was not interested in Tamaki, but this did not stop Hikaru from glaring from his perch by the front door.
Finally, at almost midnight, people began to clear out, leaving only the ex-host club members. It was then that things went so horribly, terribly wrong. Tamaki, in his desire to show off, had kicked out all the waiters and decided to turn on everything in his penthouse suite. This did not bode well for the poor, innocent circuits, and the power gave out. And that included the whole building. Including the elevator.
And so they were stuck. In the dark.
"I don't feel so well," whined Hani, clutching his stomach.
"I told you to stop at the third bowl of candy," scolded Mori.
"I know, but it just…" Hani trailed off for a second, his high-pitched voice fading into the stuffy air of the room. "I took one piece of candy, and then I took another, and then I started to think to myself: why did I pick those pieces of candy and not others? Do the candies feel sad that I didn't pick them? So, I decided that it would be mean of me just to leave the others there when no one else would eat them. Plus, I didn't want them to go bad."
Kaoru lightly laughed at this, thinking of the weird sort of logic the man seemed to possess.
"You're right, there; those people didn't touch any of the sweets. They were a little stiff," Haruhi said, pondering to herself.
"I was told I had to invite most of them. That's why I also invited my friends and my beautiful daughter to keep me company through the miserable time I would have otherwise had!" exclaimed Tamaki, his eyes glinting dramatically.
"I now own a mobile phone company. Overall, I'd say the party was very successful," Kyoya said, ignoring Tamaki as he pushed up his glasses in the dark.
"I'm not surprised that Kyoya-san had a good time," remarked Haruhi passively.
"I also had a good time. Thank you, Tamaki-kun, for inviting Hani-chan and Mori-chan to America," Hani said very politely.
"Thanks, Tama," added Kaoru.
Hikaru stayed quiet, using his odd sort of night vision to continue to glare at the hand that was around Haruhi's waist. Kaoru frowned at his brother, worried about the type of emotional damage tonight could have on him. It was only a few weeks ago that Hikaru admitted to him that he had feelings for the woman, but he had not come around to confessing to her yet. Kaoru was worried that tonight would stop him from ever doing it.
"I'm going to head to the balcony," Kaoru said, getting up and moving through the dining room into the living room and out the doors to see the lights in the city.
"It's a little awkward in there, huh?" asked a voice behind him only seconds after he stepped out.
The deep rumble belonged to none other than Morinozuka Takashi. Naturally, the man was right. Most of them didn't see each other regularly once high school ended. The only ones who really remained close to each other were Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi, and Mori and Hani with one another. Of course, Tamaki randomly dropped in on everyone, but that didn't really count.
"It is," Kaoru agreed, leaning against the wall and taking in the cool, autumn air as the big billboards flashed ads pertaining to Halloween.
"Has Hikaru still not confessed to Haruhi?" asked Mori gently.
Kaoru didn't see the point in playing coy and pretending he didn't know what he was talking about. Mori and his cousin were the most watchful in the bunch. They always had been. "No, and after Tamaki's clingy nature, I feel like he never will. It's sad, really, because I really do think she feels the same."
"He doesn't mean harm," Mori said, looking into Kaoru's eyes.
"I know he doesn't, and that's why I don't hold it against him. It's just frustrating to see him act as if we're still sixteen. It's a quality I can usually appreciate, but that doesn't include tonight."
"I envy him for that the same way I used to envy your playful nature when we were in the host club," admitted Mori.
"Really? I always thought you would be annoyed."
"I was… sometimes," Mori said.
Both laughed, and Mori gingerly took Kaoru's hand in his own, something that he didn't even notice until the laughter died down. He blushed lightly but didn't make a move to take his hand out of the strong grasp.
"You know, I have to say that this is the least scary Halloween I've ever partaken in," said Kaoru, "and it's not just because I'm not causing trouble for everyone."
"You mean the smiling jack-o-lanterns and projected ghosts on the walls didn't scare you?" asked Mori, his bright teeth showing as he smiled.
"Yeah, I really think that Tamaki missed the mark with what Halloween is supposed to entail. Even the little trolls on the table had smiley faces on them."
They laughed again, and there was no missing the fact Mori had definitely moved closer to Kaoru. Though he towered over Kaoru, the intensity in his eyes had a sort of softness to it that drew Kaoru in. When he spoke again, the twin had no choice but to be mesmerized at the movement of his pink lips.
"I really do miss all of you, though, even if I have trouble expressing it sometimes," Mori said quietly.
"All of us?" Kaoru asked dumbly, the heat from Mori's closeness blocking out the cold of the autumn air.
"Especially my Kaoru-kun," Mori said, pushing him gently against the wall opposite the rail of the balcony.
"Your Kaoru-kun?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mori smirked, lowering his head and kissing him firmly. Mori's hand that was grasping Kaoru's moved to the wall, the other hand cupping his face. Kaoru stood there, taking in the soft lips of the rough man who had out of nowhere kissed him. He moaned deep in his throat, liking the feeling of the brick at his back and Mori pressed into his front.
Mori pulled away after a few seconds, a smile on his face. "We should get back to the group before they send a search party."
"Sure, search party," Kaoru said obtusely, watching Mori disappear through the doors. He touched his lips gingerly, feeling them swollen from where Mori had nipped on them.
Well, that was the scariest thing to happen all night.
A/N: Read, review, or do whatever. Heh. Thanks for reading.