A/N: This fic and a number of others to come was written as part of the 17fragments challenge on LJ. It's open to all fandoms and I suggest checking it out if you're interested. This is Fragment 9; "It's a beautiful lie / It's the perfect denial / Such a beautiful lie to believe in."

Warnings: The Brotherly Love act and all it entails.

The Advent of Aberration

by Shimegami-chan

"Kaoru...dear brother...should we not serve these lovely young ladies? They've been waiting so patiently now."

Even as he said it, Hikaru's face was turning beet red. His eyes were focused somewhere between Kaoru's earlobe and left cheek, and he wished for the hundreth time today that he'd never opened the door to the god-damned Third Music Room. The lovely young ladies (two upperclassmen the twins didn't know, in drag of all things!) sat expectantly on the couch, objects of their practice for the first real Host Club meeting.

"Non, non, non, non!" Tamaki cried, almost bodily intervening. At first Hikaru had been amused by the blonde's odd speech, but he would occasionally go on tirades in French, and of the two brothers, Hikaru was the one who hadn't quite kept a grasp on the language. Kaoru would laugh from time to time at the things Tamaki said, and it made Hikaru angry knowing they were sharing something funny between them that he couldn't comprehend. He opened his mouth to protest, and then closed it again in a hurry as Tamaki positioned himself over the twins from behind the couch. "Kaoru, you need to have your hands here--"

"I'm Hikaru," he ground out, allowing the French boy to clasp his fingers around his brother's.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Undaunted, Tamaki continued to fuss over them, tilting Kaoru's head slightly to the side. The younger twin, undoubtedly the mellower of the two, looked more amused than irritated at their upperclassman's slip and it made Hikaru want to grind his teeth. Kaoru had been awarded by Tamaki the same role he'd won simply by being born three minutes later than his brother, which was the title of younger and slightly more helpless. Kaoru was to look to Hikaru for assistance with many things, acting dependant on his twin for everything from advice to help carrying heavy things. It didn't matter that in real life he tended to be the more mature of the two and they often joked that they must have been switched sometime in infancy to have fallen into these roles. But Kaoru also had the patience and the acting skill to soften his personality, and even if that foolish French boy didn't know it, he had gotten lucky with that.

The problem was that Hikaru didn't really know how to treat Kaoru as anything but his equal. What was so alluring about having a weaker younger brother anyway? If Tamaki wanted a contrast, Hikaru thought, those two second-years would be far better suited to the part. It seemed like it came naturally to them - short and tall, light and dark, loud and quiet, excited and composed. It was so much harder to be different when you were identical.

The twins would know, of course; they'd been seeing it for years.

But Tamaki insisted, and because Kaoru seemed to agree, Hikaru found himself playing along, trying to let the President direct them into poses suitably convincing for both wooing young ladies and highlighting the brotherly bond between them. Already they had practiced speaking at the same time (natural), moving opposite hands to grasp the same object (also natural), mirroring each others expressions (identical grins had blossomed on their faces when Tamaki explained this one) and finishing each others' sentences (a well-learned skill). Hikaru didn't want to admit it at first, but he'd even found himself having fun as they displayed their unique skills for the other Host Club members. Even Ootori Kyoya, the dark-haired first year Tamaki was so friendly with, seemed impressed. Kaoru had laughed first and the sound of it made geniune warmth spread through Hikaru, even though this was just the same thing they'd done all along, even though this was just the same thing they'd been teased about and hurt for so many times. It was different when someone was looking at you with admiration, and Hikaru was loving that, drinking it up like cheap wine.

Past the things that came naturally, though, the elder of the twins found himself red-faced and nervous, blundering when Kaoru was so effortlessly managing his new role. It wasn't supposed to be complicated; in fact to an outsider the act of Protective Older Brother probably looked a lot simpler to master than the twins' unison speech. But Hikaru was continually thrown by Kaoru's doe-eyed face and submissive new demeanour.

People can't change in a minute, right?

His fears were assauged by a devilish wink from his twin just as Hikaru opened his mouth to say his line, and they both dissolved into racuous laughter, to the dismay of the President. "Qu'est-ce que c'est!? What's wrong with you two? You were doing great before!"

"This is different!" Kaoru sputtered through tears of mirth. "That was nothing new, but this, this is...!"

"It's brotherly love!" Tamaki cried melodramatically, throwing his hands into the air. "You already have that! It shouldn't be something new!"

"This isn't our love style," the twins shot back, expressions darkening.

Kyoya adjusted his glasses, pushing them further up the bridge of his nose. "Tamaki, you can hardly expect miracles on the first day. Why don't you just let them act natural?"

"I can't do that," Tamaki said imperiously. "We strive to be different at this Club! Being normal, why, I haven't planned anything for a natural-type Host! No, I need you two to be as unnatural as possible! Vous pouvez le faire! Bonne chance!"

Hikaru's laughter slowed and stopped; he didn't need to look at Kaoru, he just knew his twin was thinking the same. "Okay, Tono. You want unnatural, you've got it."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Kyoya muttered. Mori and Honey looked on wearing expectant looks; Tamaki continued to stand to the side with his hands on his hips, lips pursed.

"Hikaru--" Kaoru said slowly, a bit of a mewl in his voice. He tilted his head just as Tamaki had demonstrated, but there was a bit more of an angle to it, a lowering of the chin and raising of the eyes.

"Kaoru, dear brother, should we not serve these young ladies? They've been waiting so patiently now..." He nodded towards Mori and Honey on the opposite couch.

"Oniisama..." Behind them, Tamaki was nodding his approval just as Kaoru broke from the script. "I don't want you pleasing those other girls...I want you to look only at me..."

"What!?" Tamaki sputtered.

Hikaru took his cues from the playful glint in his brother's eyes. "Is that all you're worrying about? My poor Kaoru...don't fret, I'll make it up to you...tonight."

The French boy looked as though he were having a coronary. "Tonight?!"

"You certainly were right about their acting talent," Kyoya murmured, pencilling something into the clipboard he held. "This version might sell even better than the original. But drop the 'oniisama' bit, it doesn't sound...natural."

"Yes, sir, gladly," the twins chroused, moving on as though they hadn't heard the exchange. Hikaru caught his brother's chin in his fingers and they locked gazes, he slightly above, and then Kaoru's eyes fell half-mast. "It's so hard waiting," the younger boy said, and as he swallowed thickly Hikaru felt a strange lump in his own throat and his breathing caught. "But if you promise, Hikaru..."

"Of course I promise." Hikaru let one hand snake down to the small of his brother's back and draw him closer, bringing their hips to brush together. A strange thrill shot through him and he felt Kaoru start a little in his arms and then relax again, trusting. "So for now, we'll do our duties as Hosts, okay?"

"Okay." Kaoru's needy look softened into a smile; not the coy, fake one he'd worn earlier, but something different, something whose expression was difficult to read. There was a strange pounding in Hikaru's ears, and he didn't realize until Kaoru's palm had settled on his chest that it was his heart threatening to break free of his ribcage. It abated, with his twin's palm firm against the white uniform he wore, and Kaoru raised one eyebrow, just slightly, and mouthed his name and then something else.

What is this?

"Kaoru," Hikaru started to say, but it came out hoarse, sounding not at all like himself. In tandem they broke apart and looked away, a little more red-faced than intended. Honey was clapping to himself, looking very impressed.

It seemed the younger twin gathered his wits first. "Well, Tono? Is that unnatural enough for you?" he asked playfully. Tamaki, however, seemed to be too shocked to correctly form sentences.

"That was most impressive," Kyoya replied, the light glinting ominously off his glasses. "It'll definitely sell."

"Hika-chan and Kao-chan looked so happy!" Honey declared, looking at his classmate for confirmation. "Isn't that great, Takashi?"

Mori nodded assent.

Hikaru finally pulled himself together long enough to meet his twin's gaze. Is this okay with you?

It might be...fun. Kaoru grinned and swung himself into Hikaru's lap, draping his arm over Hikaru's shoulder.

"This was not quite what I meant by brotherly love," Tamaki said sourly, but it was clear he was outvoted.

Kyoya closed his clipboard with a snap. "Then it's settled - the Host Club is officially open for business."

-end-