Title: Celestial Simplicity
I remember wondering if binary stars were as tightknit as Hikaru and I, and how they were affected by the influence of other outsiders. implied KaoruHikaru
AN: How ironic that astrophysics ate my brain months after class ended. Oh Hitachiin twins, how paradoxical you are – four personalities to deal with even though there are only two people. The ending scene was inspired by a piece of fanart I saw, with Haruhi squished between the twins.
Ouran High School Host Club belongs to Bisco Hatori.
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It's Monday afternoon; the days are lazy, the customers will need extra attention after the weekend absence, and we've gathered in the music room, waiting for the flocks of customers that will arrive when the Host Club officially opens for the day.
Today, it's a case of waiting for something to happen. Kyouya managed to pull enough strings to schedule us all free periods right before the Host Club began work for the day, just in case we had were putting on something festive or themed. Kyouya was deep in his account books planning the next huge Host Club extravaganza, so for now, we are stuck with plain uniforms and the ordinary hosting.
It's a trial, having to amuse ourselves for the time being. Our favorite playtoy is currently missing; Haruhi studies extra classes, so she often comes in a little while after the Club is opened for business. We're bored, it's a Monday, and we're the Hitachiin twins – a combination that bodes no good for anyone else – so maybe we'll indulge in one of our favorite activities: Tamaki-baiting. It entails luring the King into a false sense of security, riling him up and pulling the moves on Haruhi when she turns up. It's not only pure comic relief, but at times a challenge of wits and will; the King is quite intelligent when he puts his mind to it, and can on occasion turn the tables on us.
We've yet to witness such an occasion, however.
Our eyes meet and we make the decision in a flash. We'll pounce when Haruhi walks through the door; meanwhile, we'll watch, carefully marking out the King's moods and planning the best course of action.
We rarely have to communicate with each other when we hatch our devilish plans, Hikaru and I. It's a combination of eye contact and that little mischievous smile as well as being so in tuned to each other that we're both fluent in each other's body language. We were inseparable when we were young; even today, it is a rare blue moon that finds us apart from each other for any length of time. It's like a perpetual mirror – there will always be the image and its reflection waiting there with it. As indistinguishable as we are in physical appearances, however, we do have our differences.
Hikaru's the real devil in the team, willing to go to any extreme to get his share of fun. I'm like that as well, of course, but I don't come up with the ideas. Hikaru's a little eccentric like that – he's that annoying, annoying stray cat that needs to stay in control and refuses to show any sigh of weakness because pride dictates it so. He worms his way into your bed and is all soft and fuzzy and cuddly until the very moment he kicks you off the bed onto the cold, unforgiving floor.
Hikaru is the older by the span of several minutes, but that makes no difference to us. I let Hikaru lead because he needs to lead; he's the one who's fully rooted in our personal little world, the one who refuses to pull away from the addictive gravity of our close bond. And yet by absolute contrast, he reacts the greatest to outside forces. For me, the person who understands Hikaru's very soul and nature, it's blindingly obvious. Hikaru stumbles around blindly around the people he's grown attached to but cannot understand. I watch him tease Haruhi, drawing her in with his charm and pushing her equally away with his stubbornness. I can't do much about it; as much as I love and comprehend Hikaru, there are some things he has to see for himself.
There was this lesson in class, when we branched out into astronomy on a wild tangent. The subject at hand was binary stars: stars that orbit around a common point, the gravity fields of each star tugging and pulling on another. They are fairly uncommon and at a great enough distance, they are viewed as one, individual bodies rendered indistinguishable by the blaze of its brother star.
I remember wondering if binary stars were as tight-knit as Hikaru and I, and how they were affected by the influence of other outsiders. Would an outside source of gravity rip their harmony apart, or would it induce such an imbalance that the two stars fused as one?
Or will they be lucky and still manage stay together, forever spinning around each other in dance?
We inhabited our own niche in space a few years back, never quite caring what happened outside because everything inside was perfect. Our inside circle consisted of just the two of us and we had been content. Change was dangerous. Change entailed breaking what was perfect and risking what we had held on to for so long.
But then, our small personal solar system had been swamped by a host of other celestial bodies. Tamaki stormed in on us with the glory and subtlety of a golden sun combined with the dramatics of a meteor blazing across the sky. Honey-senpai was a brilliant white dwarf star, small in size, but overflowing with sunshine and enthusiasm. Kyouya and Mori-senpai were much more discreet, dark and lurking in the background like the black space backdrop to our galaxy. And Haruhi, the small pale moon amongst us all: unassuming and different but strong enough to pull the seas and storms on planets.
We chose change the moment we decided to join the Host Club. How such a monumental decision slipped past our notice, I'll never know. It seemed simpler then, merely choosing whether to spend our free time by ourselves, or by entertaining the masses.
I won't ever have to worry, however. Nothing will ever come between the two of us, not now, not ever. It's been proven time and again, and even without our long history, that fact resonates true and pure within our souls: Hikaru is my twin, and I am his. It's as simple as that – nothing will ever come between us…
"What are you two doing!" Tamaki screeches in the background. "Stop that, stop that, stop that; I won't allow you to stain Haruhi's virtue!"
... even if we have Haruhi trapped between us, caged in by our arms and partially entwined legs. Poor unsuspecting girl. She stands with heavy textbooks still in her arms, trying futilely to escape. I lock gazes with Hikaru over the small brunette's head and wonder if his brown eyes could contain any more mischief and mirth without bursting into flames of pure wickedness. Too bad. I'm afraid I have the same expression on my own face. We grin at each other – Haruhi's eyes will fall out of their sockets if they widen any further – and both lean down, each planting a kiss on her cheek and flicking a lick or nip along the way.
We each flip a hand over Haruhi's mouth to muffle her startled outburst – Tamaki should have more than made up for her enforced silence, but apparently our actions have stumped him; all he does is splutter something incoherently gargled, eyes dismayed.
"Any protests, Lord?" Hikaru and I ask innocently, I with my head leaning against Haruhi's, Hikaru going down to his knees to gaze up at her before flashing triumphant stares at a dumbstruck Tamaki. We're professional hosts, after all – double the drama and twice the dose of youthful exuberance with a good sprinkle of devilry, most lethal when wrapped around one another.
It also helps that Mori-senpai has one hand fisted calmly in Tamaki's collar, preventing the King from leaping forward and throttling one or both of us. Kyouya is in his corner ignoring all of us, although the gleam in his eyes tells us that he is already calculating another way of earning the club some money – perhaps our pose gives him some ideas. Honey-senpai merely watches us with bright eyes, looking as though he was going to fling himself into our midst and join our three-way group hug. It's at this point when Haruhi breaks free, turning on her heels before yelling at us, her usually placid voice only a little shriller than usual.
We take it all in good stride, Hikaru standing up and enfolding me in embrace, both of us buffering each other from the chaos around us and enjoying every single moment of it.
We have a strange family, this Host Club that we belong to. There's a myriad opportunities for growth and expansion here; I recognize that, even if Hikaru only grasps the concept emotionally. I don't miss the way his eyes gleam when he watches Haruhi. She's interesting, and we all know curiosity killed the cats, Cheshire grins and all. I'm still not worried, however.
It's my shoulder and neck Hikaru has his hands wrapped possessively over, after all, even though there are no customers to appease and no good reason to touch other than the simple longing to do so.
Our lives might be more complicated these days, but sometimes, it's just that simple.
end
Another fic that ran away from me and grew up. First person/present tense is interesting to write in.
Reviews are always much beloved. I hope I managed to play off the different facets to Kaoru and Hikaru's personalities. Con/crit on my characterization?