A/N: I don't own Ouran, really, I don't.
Now this story is a Hikaru/Kaoru one-shot but it's nothing more than fluff. We're talking very, very mild stuff. BTW, this story is written from the point of view of Hikaru.
Enjoy :)
At first it had all been for the ladies of Ouran.
Their reaction, the blush that never failed to creep into their finely powdered cheeks-we went in day after day just to see it. We would do anything for a scream and a shock.
Let me say that once more, we would do anything.
Kaoru and I had always been close. Not in the way that everyone else often saw, honestly, that was mainly for the good show. But nonetheless, we were inseparable. I never have and never will love anyone as much as I love my brother and I can say that without crossing my fingers mind you. Since our first day at the club Tamaki had claimed we were the attraction that gave the hosts a reputation (excluding him, we all know Prince Tama-chan pulled the strings). For better of for worse, we were getting the attention and for that we were priceless.
Those boys withstood a lot of nonsense from us; I had to give them credit. Don't think I didn't notice when Tamaki looked away uncomfortably with almost every swoon we delivered. Even Honey, as sweet as he could be, pinched his mouth every now and then. But every time I pulled Kaoru to my lap and brushed away the pearls that gathered at the corners of his slightly bruised eyelids I always had to admire his devotion. He withstood the most. Every embrace and tender stroke I gave him. Every whisper, every moan that touched the corner of his ear, he never acted out of character and damn if I wasn't impressed.
Haruhi once told me Kaoru and I were like two peas in a pod. At the time I laughed, mindlessly thinking she was making some obscure reference to our mother's womb but in time I understood her childish comparison. Kaoru and I were one in the same, granted, we had our differences but the point she was making is there would never be anyone like him. No one would listen or understand as much as he would, no one would laugh with me or stand by me as long as he had. Funny how these things come together.
I looked to my left and watched my brother's mouth move from the other room. He laughed, closing his eyes as he did so and threw back his head. Here comes the moment where he says something rude but covers it up with pure wit so no one gets offended. A smile graced my own lips and I stood up from the antique chair that rested before the large window, stretching then slowly making my way towards Kaoru. It was the summer of our second year; we had decided that this summer we would spend the majority of our time in our small château located in the countryside of France. We hadn't come here since we were just small children and it seemed like a good time to visit again. Our mother was currently in Venice, showcasing a new season's wear but it wasn't anything new, we were used to being alone so often. In fact, it would have felt stranger with her looming around.
Kaoru's amber eyes flickered up towards me just as he was saying goodbye, the phone clicked and he gave me that signature smirk of ours. "You'll never guess who's coming to visit for the rest of our summer." I clicked my tongue and held my hands up in obvious surprise.
"They found us already, my, that didn't take long. When will they be here?"
"Three days tops, the boss still has to convince Haruhi to get on the plane. Apparently she's never traveled out of the country and is terrified to spend more than three hours in the air." Slender fingers brushed through his styled hair and he closed his eyes, "we better enjoy our last moments of peace and quiet then. What do you suppose we do?" I tapped a finger to my mouth, over the course of our short lived summer we hadn't done much. Trips to the city had quickly lost their thrill, and once I thought about it there wasn't much to do around here. A frown quickly replaced my curious expression and I locked eyes with my twin.
"I've got nothing." You would think that being as rich as we were our lives would be filled with luxurious adventures and thrills, but they're right when they say money doesn't buy you happiness. Kaoru snapped his fingers and quickly pulled my attention back to ground zero, he had a wicked grin plastered on his face and that look in his eyes that I couldn't resist. He was up to no good and I couldn't wait to here what he had in mind.
"I'm not sure if you know this Hikaru, but I've got a skill in making daiquiri's that will have you wishing you were dead the morning after." Fishing through his pockets he pulled out a wallet and dug through it, smiling proudly when he pulled out the clip of cash he had stashed away. "What do you say we act a little reckless?"
Like mother always said, the rich make their own laws.
"Ah, Kaoru, you never cease to amaze me." I threw an arm round his neck and winked, "Let's have one last hurrah before Tamaki has a chance to put a damper on things." Swiftly, I grabbed the keys and we made our way out the door to the nearest store.
With my arms folded across my chest I watched Kaoru work. "We need some of this, and this. I guess this wouldn't hurt to buy." Finally, after our basket had been completely filled I said something.
"Kaoru, now you're just wasting time." He turned towards me with two different brands of high grade coffee beans in his hands, that "I'm-innocent-so-stop-picking-on-me" face completely overused at this point. "We've been in here for over an hour," I continued, brandishing my hands forward as if to make some point. He turned around and stiffened, putting one item back on the shelf and one in our overflowing cart.
"You didn't mind it when Haruhi took her time in her commoner's store, did you?" From over his shoulder Kaoru flashed a slanted eye, bright and accusatory.
"Hey, that was for a completely different reason!" My voice got higher and my face got heated. It was safe to say that Haruhi was still a bit of a sore spot for me. "You liked her commoner's store just as much Kaoru!"
"In all honesty Hikaru, I couldn't have cared less." He rolled his thin shoulder at me and sauntered off with the cart, leaving me in the middle of the aisle making fists and lost for words.
Let me make this clear. I do not have a thing for Haruhi. Did you catch that?
There was a brief moment in our first year that yeah, it would have been nice to see her hanging from my arm and doting on me for once. But it never happened and I don't have a problem. Well, that's not entirely true. Every now and then she'll flash me a look that gets me and she never hesitates to declare me by my name-never once getting it wrong. But truth be told, even I can admit she looks better with Tamaki's arm around her then mine would. Kaoru just can't understand why I let her go so easily and he thinks I've been lying to him for the past year.
He wants me to admit I still love Haruhi. I've told him a million times to not go and hold his breath and that surely he doesn't think I was ever trying to replace him. But again, the wise words of Hikaru are once more thrown to the side and overlooked.
And they call me the idiot one.
"Just say it, I won't be mad." His voice like ice came creeping in from behind me and I couldn't help but to repress a shiver. Slowly, I turned my head and looked into my reflection. Only, I wasn't wearing a cynical smirk that just screamed, 'give it up, you've got nowhere to run.'
"Kaoru," I started, smirking as his breath was sucked in and held, "I'll be in the car. Hurry and pay will you, this place makes me itch." With a wave of my slender hand I sauntered forward, for once leaving him biting his own words. A smile came over me and I laughed to think of the view he was getting.
Honestly, it's hysterical watching the back of your own head.
Once in the car I grew serious. Lately, any mention of Haruhi got him bristling with jealousy, it was so unlike him. In our first year he actually convinced me to pursue her, telling me it was bound to happen one day and that he just wanted to see me happy. Never mind, it was completely like Kaoru to go back on his word. With a tilt of the rearview mirror I watched him walking forward, stiff and angry like. To his left was the man that carried out our groceries, they don't ask they already know we won't dare to lift a finger if we don't have to. He had them put the groceries in the trunk of the car, an annoying habit he had picked from Haruhi last summer, and then followed suit and got in the passengers seat. We sat in silence for a moment until we both tried to speak, cutting the other off. "Look," Kaoru said sternly, flashing those wide eyes at me. "We've got less than three days until the group comes over. Let's enjoy it and not think of these things." I smiled at him, admiring his lying skills and nodded.
"Sounds good," I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. I looked to my left and then to my right. I wasn't a very good driver, usually someone drove for me. But this summer, since our trip had been so short notice, our maids and servants were off on another job. Meaning we had to do everything ourselves. I pulled forward and laughed as a blaring of horns filled my left side. Kaoru joined in and it was like we never had our spat. "Kaoru?" I asked after the straight line of road filled my vision and our laughing had died out. A small 'hm' was all I heard and I took that as his response. "I love you." Out of the corner of my eye I watched as he turned towards, blinked and let a soft smile grace his lips.
"I love you too."
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Behind me came the sweltering drum beats of some Swedish electronica group, annoying and overwhelming. It's safe to say he didn't get his taste in music from me. Kaoru was in the kitchen, his ingredients laid out in front of him and his eyebrows closely knitted together. I rested my head against the doorframe and leaned back, amusement dangling in my smile. He whipped towards me and waved a hand in dismissal.
"Go away Hikaru, you're being distracting. Why don't you go warm the pool up or something." He trailed off and turned away, I couldn't help but feel like a lapdog at his easy disregard. With a sigh I lifted myself up in full standing position and swung my arms around as I walked. Childishly, I mimicked his last words with a sneer on my face. Kaoru had become increasingly more annoying as the hours wore on. This was becoming more like a chore than it was a vacation.
I opened the back door and stepped onto the heated deck with a smile inlaid on my face. Behind me, the drum beat of Kaoru's music thumped through the walls, hardly hearable from where I stood. I looked up, trying to breath in the entire vast sky of France. As a child I remember sitting out on the top deck, hand in hand with my brother, just trying to understand and count the amount of stars that hung above us. We were all alone then and had only each other. But at the time that's all we needed.
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and stepped forward. Now all I had to do was remember how to work the breaker.
Kaoru stepped in front of the large, crystal window and watched his brother flick various switches on the breaker. He would shake his head and turn it off, realizing he had the wrong one. The shaker was cold in his hand and with the drainer in place he poured the daiquiris into the crystallized glasses and smiled at himself. Dipping his finger into one of the cups he popped it in his mouth and sucked. It was a little strong but nevertheless it tasted like the sweet taste of summer strawberries.
Top grade, he whipped the glasses upwards and strolled through the back door. "Hikaru, is the pool ready?"
I turned at the sound of his voice, smoldering on the warm summer air that swung around us. He was looking bright and cheerful as he wiggled a tall glass of pink drink in front of me. I cast my eyes at the pool, those small air bubbles that gathered at the bottom meant it was working, at least I think that's what it meant. I grinned and slapped the breaker door shut.
"It's done," I eyed the drink up close and lightly took it from his grip, "You know, this looks like a very girly drink. It's so…pretty." Curiously, I lifted the glass to my lips and let the flavor sweep my tongue. It was strong, like five glasses of rum too strong. Right as I was about to gripe about the flavor the strawberry flavor kicked in and I decided, where as it wasn't the best drink I've ever tasted, it was still good enough to consume. Kaoru placed his drink on a small shelf that surrounded the shallow end of the pool; I watched coyly as he pulled his shirt over his head and carelessly dropped it to the floor. His pants came next, and soon I was staring at my brother's lean stomach, eyeing the v-drop that descended under the line of his designer underwear. I cleared my throat as I pried my eyes away and took another deep swig of my drink.
"Hikaru, come on." He splashed in the water and a soft sigh left his mouth. The pool was apparently warm enough to prove I had done it right. With a sigh I stepped forward, relinquishing my drink next to his before I undressed myself. I felt curious; Kaoru didn't so much as deliver me a single glance as my pants slid off and I threw them to the side.
The water was warm as it drifted around my mid center, soothing with its therapeutic scent of mint and some other herbal leaf. I leaned my head back up against the shelf and sighed. "Why didn't we think of this sooner?" I mused, eyes adrift the starry skies. "Good idea Kaoru." When he didn't answer I looked over, taking in the far away look in my brother's eyes. I knew this look well, something was bothering him. "Did I do something?" His brass eyes countered mine and a forced smile came way of his mouth.
"Of course not, this is nice. It's not every day we get to relax like this." Regardless of what he said, he was a liar and not at all times was he a good one. My hand reached out a brushed back a damp tendril of hair, I slipped it behind his ear and let my hand drift down towards his neck till it rested against his narrow shoulder. His eyes remained glued to the water's ripple, soft looking with his long eyelashes brushing downwards. "We're changing Hikaru. Haven't you noticed?" His mouth turned downwards and suddenly his eyes blazed open. Under the water I noticed his hands had coiled into tight fists and he brought them down onto the marble step. "I feel like I'm losing you! Everything we had, everything we had gone through, it's all nothing and its happened in just a year's time!" He turned towards me, frightened almost and I couldn't do anything but recoil at his cold words.
"Kao-"His hand slapped over my chest and he had pinned me back against the poolside harshly before I could even blink. The upper shelf was cutting into my shoulder blades but he ignored my wincing.
"Don't you see? Imagine how we'll be in another year's time…" His hand slipped and fell underneath the warm water. Even his eyes refused to make contact with me.
And here I sat drinking my daiquiri like a fool, thinking everything was finally coming back together.
Go figure.
"I'm sorry, I've ruined everything." He pulled himself out of the pool and grabbed the closest towel. After drying his hair he turned towards me and gave a half hearted smile. "Who knows, maybe it's just me that's changing." And he left me with that. The air outside had suddenly turned cold, maybe it was just my imagination but I sunk deeper into the water until it overlapped my pouting lip. Our last three days and he had to throw a fit. I upturned my tilted eyes up towards the drinks and my frown deepened.
Two drinks and one Hikaru, he was an idiot if he truly thought I wasn't about to drink both.
I sat back up and grabbed a hold of the crooked stem of the glass. I choked for the first few swallows but after the third I had it down. Now, I'm not stupid, I know that these types of cocktails are meant to be enjoyed. If I had wanted to be drunk, well, I should have gone straight for the liquor cabinet, but right now all I had were these frilly pink drinks. I wiped my mouth and sat staring at the second, begging it to stop looking so appealing. If he hadn't gone off the deep end everything would have been fine, that selfish idiot. My fingers wrapped around the stem before I even realized I was pulling it towards my thirsty mouth. With every drink the water got warmer, I got heavier.
Even after I had finished the second glass, my eyes were still seeing straight and I was still able to look around without lag. Easy enough to say, it hadn't been enough. Now, I wasn't normally a heavy drinker. In fact I hardly had a drink more than twice every three months. I knew better, until now. Kaoru had a way of pushing my buttons better than anyone else could. Just feeling like he had won this argument made me livid; it made me want to show him change! I might as well give him something to whine about. I stumbled out of the pool and straightened my lean body upwards. Beads of pool water dripped down my exposed chest and lazily I wiped them away with the back of my hand.
Who needed towels? Not me.
The kitchen doors were left unlock so I took that route instead, there was no sign of Kaoru, even his annoying music had stopped swelling through the house. My eyes drifted lazily towards the counters where Kaoru had prepared the drinks. Two glasses of high grade silver rum sat on the counters, one with no cap and with still sealed shut. Unlike my brother I didn't know how to prepare mixed drinks, but hell, who needed to know when I had a perfectly good bottle here to drink from. I grabbed the bottle and let it dangle next to my hip, suddenly my morals came into the picture and I let my eyes linger on the bottle.
"I feel like I'm losing you!"
I bit back a snort and swung the bottle up happily. Kaoru could say what he wanted to, he had no idea what he was saying. Without me he'd be nothing. He really should have been thanking me. I slid down the cabinet onto the tiled floors, letting my long legs outstretch before me. Every time I shifted I felt the pull of the heavy, water laden fabric stuck to the floor. My hair had stretched the length of my neck and was dripping water down in large droplets. I was making a mess, pathetic. The bottle hit my lips and greedily I sucked it down. Well at least I thought it did before it came spewing out my mouth in a coughing fit. "This is disgusting! What the hell kind of drink is this!" I held my tongue out sadly in front of me; it burned and tasted like something that would be put on an open wound more than in my stomach. "Oh, to hell with it." I tilted the glass back up once more and took a large swig. My eyes watered and I bent over, pounding my fist on the floor until it went down my throat. I grasped at my neck and huffed, relieved that first sip was over with. Really, I can't understand how people can stomach this poison! I rolled my eyes back and set the bottle back on the floor.
How lame, I can't even drink myself stupid.
Slowly I made my way standing up, which was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Being the lightweight I was it didn't occur to me that over time it would affect me. So I stood biting my own words as the two doors turned to six. "Kaoru! You're being stupid! Just come down here already, I'm sorry!" I yelled out but got no response. He probably had his headphones on, annoying Swedish drum blasts and all. I suddenly felt myself feeling very nostalgic. With my hand outstretched like a blind man I felt my way towards the door handle, as soon as I pulled it open the warm summer air wrapped around. Fragrant like old vineyards and blooming poppies, I took a deep breath and let my head swim.
When we were younger Kaoru and I would sneak out at night, deep into the courtyard gardens and play hide and seek until we scared ourselves senseless. Every summer we spent here turned into a time spent knowing each other more and more each day. A sound behind me tore my attention away and I looked up. In the window two stories up I caught sight of my own reflection, knuckles rapping on the glass. Kaoru unlocked the glass and it slid outwards, "I'm sorry Hikaru, now please, come to bed with me!" I stepped backwards, trying to get a better look before I spoke.
"Will we do something exciting tomorrow? It's no fun getting drunk by yourself!" He said something that I couldn't understand so I made the grave mistake of stepping back once more. For a slight second time froze. I dangled over the edge of the heated pool, the deep end to be more exact. My arms swung forward, reaching out for the air in front of me, grasping at nothing before my back hit the warm water. I watched as Kaoru screamed something, then he disappeared form my sight and I opened my mouth to ask where he went.
Stupid, stupid, stupid Hikaru. Don't you know you can't breathe underwater?
Water flooded my lungs as I inhaled and I thrashed around mindlessly. I knew somewhere that I could calm down and swim to the top but the alcohol blurred my senses. I could have been floating at the bottom of the ocean, I didn't know better. Bubbles swam around my head and I reached a hand upwards, begging for something to give me air.
I always thought I'd die a much cooler death than drowning in a swimming pool. I mean, really, who saw that coming? I closed my eyes and let the feeling take me, why struggle when I knew it would get me nowhere? And as everything was fading I felt a pair of familiar fingers wrap around my wrist and soon, a slender arm wrapped around my torso. The pressure lightened and soon air flooded my lungs. "You idiot! You're lucky I saw you trying to drown yourself!" I wanted to swat him away and tell him I did no such thing but the pain in my chest was too severe to do anything but choke. I was pulled onto the heated deck and his bony hands slammed down on my ribcage. Over and over again.
"Okay, okay, I'm fine now!" I managed to get out. His hands fell to the side of me and then slowly, his head hung downwards over me, dripping wet onto my face.
"You scared me Hikaru, what were you thinking?" I sat up on my elbows and blinked at him. If I wasn't mistaken it looked like he was crying, and gently I brought a hand up to wipe them away. He brought his head back up and we locked eyes, amber drowning amber.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I didn-" he cut off my words as he threw his half naked body at me, and as we laid together on the deck, dripping wet and shivering I knew then how things were going to end.
"Don't move, don't go anywhere." My fingers drifted up his spine until they rested in his tangled hair, pulling at the threads lightly.
"If you say so."
Under the pale moonlight somewhere in France, I cradled my brother close to my chest. Every now and then I dropped a sweet kiss onto the nape of his neck, never wanting to let him slip away. His hand was wrapped around mine, tangled in my fingers that clung to his chest, we hadn't slept a wink since we had come up here. I ran my face through his hair, inhaling the sweet scent of his conditioner and admiring how soft he had brushed it. "Hikaru?" Slowly, I pulled my face away, resting it in the crook of his shoulder so that my cheek lied against his. "Do you love her?" A smile unwillingly pulled at the corners of my mouth and I nuzzled into his neck.
"No, I don't. You would know better than anyone, she's not my type." A small raspy laugh left his mouth and his thumb rubbed against my knuckles.
"To be honest, I didn't know you had a type." Again, I laid a chaste kiss on his shoulder and mumbled into his pale skin.
"It just so happens I do. Someone mischievous and witty, with a good sense of fashion and an impossibly charming face-sounds familiar doesn't it?"
He mused aloud for a second before flat lining and turning his face towards me, "You're not talking about yourself are you?"
Again, they call me the idiot one?
I gave him a sharp laugh and mussed his hair with one hand. Cradling him closer I placed the edges of my lips to the crook of his ear and whispered, "something like that."