It was quickly becoming apparent to Kyoya that Kaoru could only really work on homework for 30 minutes at a time. It had revealed itself as early as their first study date when the younger twin had seemed surprised and a little disappointed to see Kyoya actually taking out his books and notebooks once the pair were in the privacy of the older teen's bedroom- Kaoru clearly wasn't interested in studying, and if something didn't interest a Hitachiin it received no time from them. Kyoya had seen the younger twin spend hours designing and stitching clothing, attentively watch a lengthy film, or focus wholeheartedly on picking at his food for the entirety of a dinner date if something was on his mind- but when it came to english and algebra he couldn't spare an ounce of patience.
It was for this reason that Kyoya wasn't very surprised when he felt Kaoru slump against his side with a defeated sigh, letting his book slide from his hands onto the grass, only about a half hour after he had begun. It was a beautiful day, unusually warm for the season with clear blue skies, and the pair had decided to settle in the Ootori garden and enjoy the weather despite having to work. It had been Kaoru's suggestion, peering out the window at the estate's landscape as he spoke, and it had been such an out-of-the-blue question that Kyoya had had no reason to deny it- despite knowing the setting would only fuel the twin's distraction.
"Are you finished?"
Kyoya asked without lifting his gaze from his textbook, amusement in his voice.
"Taking a break."
Kaoru replied simply, defiantly, before lying down in the grass parallel to his boyfriend's legs with a gentle sigh. He watched the older teen as he worked, Kyoya leaned back against the trunk of a dogwood tree with his uniform sleeves rolled and tie removed, book laid across his lap. Kaoru was jealous of that book but even more so he was jealous of his boyfriend's diligence.
The twin let his eyes wander, the low, golden light from a sun just beginning to set making everything seem charming. They were surrounded by flower bushes, whites and purples and yellows carefully planted by a designer long ago so that every stem and petal was in place and matched. Kaoru thought that the Ootori garden reflected the family well: it was organized, uniform in its three colors, aesthetically beautiful through its order and attention to detail. It was nothing like the vibrant, eclectic Hitachiin flower garden in which Kaoru spent the majority of his time, every color and type of flower imaginable gathered together like a sea of fragrance and petals.
The twin ran his fingers lightly through the grass, trailing between his hip and Kyoya's free hand resting by his side, brushing the older teen's fingers with his own but not taking them. Kyoya dared not look up from his book, knowing the sight of his boyfriend relaxing in the grass would only serve as distraction. He was jealous of his boyfriend's contentedness but even more so he was jealous of his boyfriend's poise. Perhaps it had come from years of modeling or being raised by a fashion designer but Kaoru had an uncanny way of looking beautiful doing anything- a skill Kyoya both highly admired and was highly wary of, not wanting to be distracted or charmed so easily.
"Your flowers are so pretty…"
Kaoru sighed, pursing his lips grumpily when his boyfriend only replied with a
"hmm…"
and didn't look up from his work. Kaoru wanted a distraction, something to do besides his stupid English reading. He sat up suddenly, crawling closer to one of the bushes and beginning to carefully pluck up flowers by the end of the stem. He gathered a good variety of the purple, white and yellow blooms in a pile on the grass before carefully beginning to braid the stems together. After a moment he naturally fell into a rhythm, having something to do with his fingers instantly making him feel better. He had always had a knack for this kind of thing: he had vague memories of watching his grandmother design floral arrangements as a child on the rare occasion he wasn't with Hikaru, the woman offering him little daisies when he got restless and showing him how to twist it into a ring for his finger. He liked to think he had inherited his grandmother's eye for flowers and of course his hands were well-practiced at detailed work like this from stitching so braiding the flowers together was easy work. He took his time to do a good job, occasionally pausing to purse his lips and replace one flower in the link with a different one, finally hooking the two ends together after a few minutes time.
"Kyoya!"
He announced excitedly, crawling over and kneeling in front of his boyfriend before placing the flower crown on the older teens head with a bright smile.
"Tada~!"
"Oh?"
Kyoya lifted his gaze to blink curiously, bringing a hand up to feel what was on his head.
"No, don't mess it up!"
Kaoru objected, leaning over to rustle through his bag before pulling out a compact mirror and holding it up so Kyoya could see himself. The Shadow King peered at himself in the mirror a long moment.
"This is very impressive, Kaoru."
The twin felt his cheeks grow pink at the earnest compliment from his senpai; it hadn't felt like anything special before Kyoya had said so.
"However…"
The dark haired teen carefully lifted the crown from his head and transferred it to the twin's own, brushing a stray hair from the Hitachiin's cheek before admiring his work, noting simply,
"I think it looks better on you."
Kaoru was fully blushing now, sitting back on his knees and tucking his chin against his shoulder shyly.
"Kyoya…"
"Kaoru."
He felt a finger hook under his chin, lifting his gaze to meet the Shadow King's, Kyoya leaning forward to capture the younger twin's lips with his own. Kaoru smiled against his boyfriends lips, pressing closer, much more satisfied with this distraction.