I don't own Ouran High School Host Club.


The glasses came off in tandem with the closing of a text book, his hands mindlessly sliding a notebook away as he stood up from the desk. Without fail, the second check was full of tedium. The soundness of mind the task bought him, however, was more than worth it, as it allotted him a mind clear of distraction from certain people or matters of import.

Glancing upward, there was an absence of light within the loft. No bedside lamp emanating downward. Not even a faint blue glow to indicate that a laptop had recently been in use.

Entrenched in his work, it was not uncommon for Kyoya to lose track of the hours whilst alone. What caught him by surprise was the ease with which it had happened while Kaoru sat atop Kyoya's bed, saying nothing as he tended to studies of his own.

Massaging the knot forming in the back of his neck, Kyoya headed up the stairs toward the enormous bed, himself more than ready to succumb to fatigue.

Eclipsing the landing, he smiled. Sure enough, there laid Kaoru, his shock of copper hair catching off the moonlight that filtered in through the bedroom window. Turning in for the night seemed to have occurred voluntarily, as a stack of notes, texts, and laptop sat neatly on the floor.

Kyoya made quick work of sliding beneath the covers, endeavoring to not disturb his boyfriend, who now slept on his side, one end of the comforter wrapped snug around his shoulder.

Running fingers through the auburn fringe playing at Kaoru's eyes, Kyoya became immersed in the experience of this force of nature resting so peacefully. Granting himself the private luxury of sentimentality and admiration, acknowledging the warmth that now filled his chest, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear.

It had taken nothing more than the ghosting touch of his fingers to jostle Kaoru from sleep. Nestling further into the comforter, it took only seconds for him to settle once again. Removing his hand, Kyoya turned onto his side in search of his own path toward sleep.

"Goodnight, dove."

Moments passed by, with Kyoya bathed in the sedate quiet of oncoming slumber, while Kaoru no longer stirred at the presence of a body now laid beside him.

The newness of this occasional arrangement—the novel, accidental overnight study session-had begun to wear off, leaving a filling sense of contentment in its wake. It was a new kind of comfort; an emotionally-confirming one for Kyoya, who up until Kaoru, had mostly resigned himself to the notion that whatever will be, will be.

Thus far, it had been a few months. A stretch of time significant enough to have caused Kyoya to refer to certain events, attitudes, and motivations as being either pre-Kaoru or because-of-Kaoru. While not naïve enough to imagine serendipity in itself would last forever, neither did Kyoya foresee a point in time which could ever be called post-Kaoru.

And so he worked ahead. And he planned. For now, however, he would just sleep.

Unconscious respite hovered above him. Sighing, Kyoya gave one last adjustment to the pillow as he neared—

"Dove?"

Dammit.

He would not deign to turn around, for fear that moving from his current position would ruin any and all prospects of achieving that covetous place called sleep.

"What is it?"

"You call me dove?" Although tired, Kaoru's inflection was nothing less than charmed.

"Ngh."

"I know, you're tired. Are you ever going to tell me why?"

"No. Go to sleep."

The entirety of Kaoru's person beamed. Ignoring all those possibilities of feux consequences, he hazarded a few inches closer. Grabbing one hand, he rubbed the palm in an effort to lull Kyoya into his best ever night of sleep.


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'Allo!

Just a small oneshot to tide me over during this summer semester. :)

If you're reading Team (and thank you so much if you are!), that next chapter is shaping up pretty well. It's just a very busy time right now, and this little thing was basically just a fun little break from everything.

I hope you're all doing well!