Disclaimer: I do not own any Ouran characters.


"What's up, Kaoru?"

I just opened the doors into the outside courtyard to where Kaoru asked me to meet him. I was a little surprised when he came up to me before class and asked, mostly because he came without Hikaru this time. I guess "surprised" isn't the correct terminology I'm looking for then, I'd say more… worried? Slightly intimidated? Anyways, what he added before he walked away was,

"Let's just keep this between you and me though, okay?"

… Now I'm thinking either he's playing some kind of prank on me, or he's hiding a chainsaw behind his back and I need to run for it… now…

"Hey, hey! I was beginning to worry you wouldn't come!" Kaoru laughs and waves at me with a goofy grin on his face.

"You were worried, huh?" I tease as I sit down next to him on the bench.

He turns his head to look at me,

"Oh don't get so cocky, it's merely a common phrase." then answers matter-of-factly and shrugs his shoulders with his hands up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry; I'll have to keep my attitude in check next time." I play along, trying to keep a straight face, but I can't help smiling back.

"It's alright; I'm use to girls losing their manners when they're around handsome people like myself." He says looking away, casually waving it off.

This time, my face gets a little red from annoyance. Now he's taking it a little far.

I huffed loudly and continued.

"So, did you call me out here to look at the flowers, or did you finally plan our next adventure?"

(By adventure, I mean that the twins and I will take trips over the weekend, once in a while, and explore random places across the country +).

"Nah, I've got something else in mind." He answers calmly, still not looking at me.

I gasp,

"Is this something better than an adventure?" My eyes open wide and I start to become all giddy in my seat.

He's holding up his head with his thumb, and his elbow resting on the arm rest of the bench. His eyes are the only thing that turn towards me, and then a devilish grin spreads across his face.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that…"

I think my insides just froze up. I think he also read that on my face, because his smile just got wider.

An uneasy feeling starts trickling inside my head, and I really hope this conversation isn't going where I think it's going…

"O-o-o-h, no. You and your brother aren't planning another one of your pranks, are you? I swear, if you end up making green slime come out of the vents and pipes again, I am NOT bailing you this time!" My face is red with the memory of slime covering every inch of the school and the stench not leaving it for months!

Try concentrating on exams when all you smell is rotting chemicals and your paper sticking to the desk. It's awful. Unfortunately, this isn't the uncomfortable topic I'm talking about, believe it or not.

"No, but that only happened because there was a minor technicality problem that happened. It would've been a lot better if it went like it was supposed to." He closes his eyes and shakes his head.

Rats.

"Alright, then what are you scheming?" I ask, looking away from him now. The flowers really are beautiful out here. I guess I just never had time to look at them until right now.

"Rin…"

I turn my head to see Kaoru facing me completely now. Uh oh…

"What's up?" I turn and face him now.

He stays silent and stares at me, which judging by the warmth on my cheeks, is making my blush from the uncomfortable-ness. He definitely knows…

"Come on, Kaoru. If you have something to say, just say it." I think I sounded like Hikaru for a minute, because his eyes spark entertainment behind them and his smile grows slowly.

"Rin, can we be serious for a minute?" His obnoxious attitude drops as he says it, and all I see in front of me is literally just, well, Kaoru.

Shocked and puzzled, I answer,

"Sure." And my posture relaxes a little. We're actually having a conversation now.

"Rin… how do you feel about me and Hikaru?"

"… what?"

"I mean," he gets up and stands in front of me, "what do you think about us?"

"Kaoru…" I stand up for him and touch his arm.

"Well I love you guys! What else can I say?"

He looks crestfallen, and I'm freaking out.

"Did I say something wrong? Should I elaborate more?"

Kaoru continues to stare at me.

"Well, I mean, I think you guys complete each other, you know? He takes on science while you do history and art. You fall and he picks you up. He rampages through the streets and you are the one to hold him back. It's who you guys are…" I stare at him, trying to make him feel better.

His eyes grow wider and we look at each other, him looking shocked and me feeling terrible and wanting him to be happy. Then…

"Kaoru, are you laughing?"

That jerk starts laughing, like, side cluthing/doubled over laughing hysterics!

He puts a hand behind his head and says,

"I meant what you thought of us as people, not us together."

I'm paralyzed to the spot, but then that quickly changes.

"Well you said you wanted to be serious, and I tried being as serious as I could! You could have said something!"

I push Kaoru away from me and begin to storm off when I feel a hand clasp around my wrist.

"Aww, come on, Rin. It was funny!"

"Kaoru, you're so mean to me!"

Kaoru pulls me backwards until my back collides into his chest and he hugs me from behind. My face is burning from embarrassment and his sudden gesture of... sympathy?

We stand there for a few moments, me huffing, and I can't see his expression, so I can't tell you exactly what he's thinking. Just then, he turns me around and lifts my chin, so I'm looking straight into his eyes.

He smiles and says,

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed, Rin."

Does my face go totally red? Let's just say I made apples jealous of my color.

He smiles real cute now and I make myself look away. He's playing with me…

"Do you really want to know what I think about you guys?"

His attitude before changes, and he now looks puzzled. I continue.

"I think you guys can be a big pain in the ass sometimes, and sometimes take your jokes to far…"

Kaoru appears to be taken aback, and he almost looks hurt.

"But!..."

I smile.

"You guys are always there for me, and can make me laugh, even when I feel like killing you. You guys are like… my extended family."

I'm not looking at him now, his hand had dropped and my head is bowed. Looking at him though, he seems…

"You really think we're that close?"

I raise an eyebrow to him before I answer,

"Kaoru, you and Hikaru come into the bathroom while I'm showering, and no matter how many times I tell you to get out, you still have conversations with me through the curtains. Trust me, we're there!"

I expect laughing or something that would say he's amused. But instead, a sweet smile appears on his face, which I can only smile back to.

After a little time passes, I pull away and start to make towards the bench again, but Kaoru grabs my hand. I hear him whisper, "Rin…" before he pulls me back a final time… and kisses me.

I'm surprised, and Kaoru pulls back quickly. Wide-eyed, he smiles his best smile and finishes,

"I really like you."

I put my hand behind his neck and pull him right back to me.

I like you too.

Minutes go by before we break apart. I'm grateful because I was running low on air, but I didn't want it to end either.

"Rin? How long have you been able to tell me and Hikaur apart?"

My head is pressed against his chest, so he doesn't hear me (clearly) mumble to myself,

"We finally tell each other how we feel and he decides to bring up his brother?..."

"What?"

"Nothing!" I smile up at him. "Just thinking aloud!" He smiles, he didn't hear me.

"I've been able to for a long time now, I guess."

"Since when?" He sneers like he doesn't believe me.

I stare at him.

"Cairo…"

I'll leave it up to your imaginations how our trip to Cairo resulted in me being able to distinct which twin was which, but it dawns on him at that second and he laughs awkwardly,

"Oh yeah, I guess that would make sense…"

"That's also when I started to like you, Kaoru."

His cheeks become bright red and I smile deviously at him.

"Kaoru."

"Huh?"

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed."


A/N: One-shot! I hope you enjoyed that, it took me a long time to write, but it's all for you guys. :) Reviews are always welcome, and criticism is greatly appreciated.