"The car will be here soon,"

Kyoya commented, leaning in the doorway of the bedroom to peer at his boyfriend. Kaoru was on the edge of his seat in front of the vanity, leaned in as close as he could to the mirror to carefully brush plum lipstick onto his lips.

"Just a sec…"

He retorted distractedly between strokes, not glancing away from his work, and Kyoya would have questioned his sincerity if he hadn't come to know by now that Kaoru applied his lipstick last and really was close to finished. The older man adjusted his glasses before crossing his arms, willing to spare at least an ounce of patience, not really in any kind of rush to get to the company cocktail party anyway. He eyed the younger twin as he worked: from what he could see tucked beneath the vanity Kaoru was sporting sheer black tights with a ridged pattern and black boots that zipped up the side. The cuffed shorts he wore barely covered his thighs and were plum to match his lips. His top was billowy cotton light cream in color, shorter in the front and longer in the back so that at the right angles his midriff would just begin to peek out. The shirt slouched cheekily off of one shoulder, and Kyoya decided he liked the way it looked; the patch of skin was certainly in character for the younger twin- unapologetically sensual.

Suddenly a question that had been nagging the Shadow King for a while surfaced and he pondered it a moment before deciding now was as fine a time as any to bring it up, choosing his words carefully.

"I've been meaning to ask, Kaoru,"

The Hitachiin's reflection blinked back at him in the mirror a moment, eyes curious, and Kyoya took the opportunity to continue,

"When you dress femininely, do you wish to be treated femininely?"

Of course it wasn't the most articulate way of saying what he meant but when it came to words less was always better than more and he knew that his boyfriend would catch his drift either way: Kaoru dressed in feminine clothes about half the time, sporting lipstick and heels to cocktail parties and dresses on date night without an ounce of self doubt- he was a fashion model, popularized by his androgyny and ability to photograph both men's and women's clothing, raised from birth by a designer mother who never taught him any kind of restraint when it came to fashion, after all. It all made perfect sense to Kyoya and it was this fact, paired with the Shadow King's knowing better than to ever bother trying to deny the whims of a Hitachiin twin, that led him to never bat an eye at his boyfriend's choice of wardrobe. Maybe it was apathy, too: why should it matter to him what the Hitachiin wore? Why should he care if they turned a few heads when they went out together- the people at the parties and restaurants and shops they visited weren't nearly as interesting as Kaoru and he really didn't care what they thought of him or his boyfriend, especially if the twin didn't either- which he clearly didn't.

Yet still- sometimes, when he noticed the amount of dedication the younger Hitachiin put into his appearance, the process taking even longer than when he dressed more masculine, making every line of makeup perfect and the clothing all fit the persona right down to the women's lingerie, working to accentuate the curve in his hips, being sure to hold himself in a way that showed off his feminine features…. It made Kyoya wonder if the twin actually wanted to be accepted as the persona he worked so hard to convey- if he wasn't seeking to appear 'feminine' but rather appear female. Again, the Shadow King didn't really mind either way- it made no difference to him and it was too much effort to get worked up over- but he figured he should at least ask.

Kaoru hesitated, not turning from the mirror to speak and not using his reflection to look his boyfriend in the eye either. He seemed to deeply ponder the question before answering slowly,

"Well no, I'm still a guy even when I dress like this…"

He sighed, setting down the lipstick tube and turning in his seat to peer back at his boyfriend, lips pursed and arm slung over the back of the chair.

"It's just clothes, I mean, if something as superficial as that determines your gender then I guess I don't really care what you see me as…"

He averted his eyes again and pulled at a strand of his hair, a habit Kyoya had come to learn was something he did when he was nervous, and he could tell the twin was working to keep the nerves out of his voice when he asked,

"Does it bother you?"

Kyoya shook his head.

"Do what you like- it makes no difference to me."

It wasn't a particularly sweet or comforting reply but it seemed to do the trick, color blooming across the twin's cheek before he quickly shook it off to hop up and flash a much more in-character grin.

"Then let's drop it and get going- I'm sure the driver must hate us for keeping him waiting all the time!"

Kyoya adjusted his glasses with an amused smile and turned to go, not bothering to mention that it was never himthat kept the driver waiting.

~K~

Genderfluid/crossdress/nonbinary kaoru is my own personal brand of heroine. u_u