Title: Brothers on a Hotel Bed
Author: flowergurl4675
Fandom: Ouran Kakou Host Club
Pairing: Hikaru/Kaoru, a hint of Haruhi/Tamaki
Genre: Romance/Drama-ish
Rating: R-ish
Word Count: 1,840
Status: Complete
Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran Host Club; if I did, I wouldn't be posting this right now.
Summary: Hikaru seems to be really into Haruhi and that troubles Kaoru.
Note: This one-shot is really based on Kaoru's point of view, solely because he's more mature and I can relate to him a lot more than I can relate to Hikaru. Hope you will forgive me for that.
They had been separate from the world their whole lives. And now she came into their lives and changed everything. She was kind, gentle, loving, mature… And best of all, she didn't even realize that she was like this. It just came with the package.
"Kaoru," Hikaru's voice interrupted his train of thoughts. "Are you listening?"
Hikaru had been talking a while now about how they should surprise Haruhi for her upcoming birthday. It's always about her, Kaoru thought bitterly.
Even though Hikaru's date with Haruhi was Kaoru's idea, he had the notion that his brother was really falling for that girl—falling hard. And although Kaoru was supposedly fine with the idea of Hikaru and Haruhi being a couple, a monster still churned inside him every time he thought about it. Although they really put up an act in Host Club for girls most of the times, the twins had been so close to each other during the years and their relationship was something that Kaoru was proud to call special. He didn't care if people pointed fingers at him and his brother while saying, "INCEST!"
He sighed heavily. "Hai, I'm listening."
"You don't look like it."
"Just not really feeling well," he answered Hikaru, burying his face in his hands.
A cloud of confusion formed across Hikaru's face. "How come?"
For a moment, Kaoru thought that he'd tell his brother how he felt, but seeing Hikaru's innocent face softened him and made him change his mind. "Just sleepy."
"Souka," his brother answered playfully. "Why couldn't you sleep? Did the thoughts of me keep you up?"
Kaoru smiled at his brother's remark and said, "Very funny. Now what were you saying about Haruhi?"
"So you were listening," Hikaru smirked. "I just said that we should throw her a surprise party. Tamaki-senpai would love the idea, don't you think?"
Kaoru nodded uncertainly. "Yeah, he would … listen, I'm gonna go sleep. You coming?"
"After I call Tamaki."
Kaoru lay back in his cool bed, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He was overwhelmed by his own feelings; he didn't know whether what he was feeling was due to obsession or actual love. Still, Kaoru tossed and turned in bed until his brother appeared in the doorway.
"Nehhh," Hikaru said, his voice revealing annoyance. "Tamaki-senpai needs to chill out. He wanted to get ready for the party tonight. You would think he would have some sense being the chairman's son. But no. No sense at all."
Kaoru didn't answer. Instead he threw the blankets over his head to conceal his face from Hikaru.
"You're sleep?" Hikaru inquired softly. Kaoru could feel him leaning over the bed, and sure enough, Hikaru was staring into Kaoru's eyes in the pitch darkness of the room.
"Kaoru, what's wrong?"
But he still didn't answer. He didn't want to give up his ego and pour out his heart. Not that there was anything to pour out. He wasn't sure if these were feelings he was having. Instead he said, "I have a headache. I don't know why. Maybe I'd feel better tomorrow."
"Yeah, you'll feel better tomorrow," Hikaru echoed hollowly and slipped next to Kaoru under the covers.
"Just fine…" Kaoru whispered as he heard his brother snoring next to him.
"What's wrong with Kaoru?" Tamaki half-whispered to Haruhi the next day. Kaoru's red-orange hair seemed to have lost its sheen; the bags developed under his eyes were so noticeable that his teacher had asked him if he needed to go see the nurse.
Yet, he wouldn't talk. He couldn't, really. He just lost a night's sleep, he explained. That was all.
The sole female of the Host Club observed the Hitachiin from the corner of her eyes. What seemed peculiar to her was that Hikaru was more lively and outgoing than usual, yet Kaoru seemed to be sinking into depression.
She frowned, "I wouldn't doubt it if they had another fight. How bothersome…"
The king of hosts started freaking out. "Fighting? No, it couldn't be. Last time it was just a joke! And besides Hikaru called me last night to—" He suddenly stopped flailing around and ate his words.
"To do what?" Haruhi asked curiously.
"Nothing, nothing," Tamaki turned a slight shade of crimson and shook his head violently.
At exactly the right moment, Honey showed up. "Haru-chan!" he said with his intentional cute intonation, dragging Bun-Bun on the ground. "What's wrong with Kauru-chan?" he dropped his voice as he said this and inched closer to where Tamaki and Haruhi were standing with Mori behind him.
Haruhi shrugged while Tamaki said, "We were just trying to figure the same thing out."
"I don't recall every seen Kaoru sulk like that," came Kyouya's cool voice from the behind, "especially with Hikaru so chipper."
"Let's just ask him," Mori's quiet voice vibrated beautifully in the air, lingering just a moment before disappearing.
Everyone started at Mori, as though he had just suggested wrestling with an alligator (although coming from Mori, even that shouldn't be strange to the ears of Host Club).
Haruhi sighed, realizing Mori's solution was more logical than anything any other member would thing of. She turned around and strode to where Kaoru was sulking.
"Kaoru-san," she said as sympathetically as she could. "Dai jo bu?"
He looked away. "Leave me alone."
"He's been like that since last night," Hikaru commented from the other side of the room.
Blood rushed to Kaoru's face, yet he remained silent. He was sure that these feelings were extremely selfish. Thus he was trapped from all sides. One the one hand, he couldn't tell Hikaru what was going on, because he didn't want to take Hikaru's happiness—his only happiness—away from him. But on the other hand, he couldn't cover up his feelings for too long; he'd go crazy.
"He'll be fine," Hikaru said, now standing next to his identical twin. "As long as you leave him alone now."
Haruhi sighed, frustrated. "I was just trying to help."
"Yeah," Hikaru smiled. "I know."
When Haruhi was out of the earshot, Kaoru muttered a "Thanks," and looked at his brother secretly.
"Kaoru," Hikaru said softly, caressing a strand of his brother's hair. "Tell me what's wrong. You've always been able to tell me everything."
Not this time. Kaoru smiled to delay his answer. He was running out of excuses. "I'll tell you when I feel it's the right time." Meaning never, Kaoru felt a deep guilt in his heart as he beamed at his brother. No, he would not need to tell anyone anything.
Hikaru's face clouded with confusion for a moment, but then he broke into a smile. "Sure thing, brother."
Kaoru hid behind a pillar as he saw his brother approaching Haruhi, who was clueless as usual.
"Haruhi," Kaoru saw Hikaru hesitated as he blocked Haruhi's path. She stopped dead in front of the boy and looked up with huge eyes, curious as always.
"What is this?" Haruhi muttered, quite annoyed with being cut off. "Get out of my way."
Kaoru's world twirled in panicked desolation; he knew what his brother was up to and he didn't know if he could take it anymore. Yet his feet were stuck to the ground as if a magnetic field was pulling him downwards, so heavy that he was not able to move.
He sighed deeply and for the first time, tears welled behind his eyes; he wanted to cry out in agony. Oh, but he knew very well that he couldn't.
"Why do you act this way, Haruhi?" Confusion was evident in Hikaru's tone. "I just want to tell you that—"
"You might want to think about what you are going to say," Haruhi's calm voice carried out throughout the empty hallway. "Your brother"—Kaoru bit his lips as she mentioned his name—"is hiding behind the pillar right now. And I bet you anything, he would want to hear what you have to say to me a lot more."
Kaoru's heart sank; he had totally forgotten about Haruhi's sixth sense—or rather her intuition. Damn, he thought as he heard footsteps approaching him, I shouldn't have come here.
"What are you doing here?" Hikaru inquired as he stood in front of Kaoru, raising an eyebrow, hands on hips.
Kaoru didn't even have the courage to tell him the truth; he just turned his face to the hall's humongous window, seeing birds chirping and flying cheerfully across Ouran's vast grounds.
"Kaoru," Hikaru said impatiently, "what's the damn matter with you? You won't talk to me anymore, you won't tell me what's wrong, and now you show up at probably the worst moment possible—"
Putting his arms around Hikaru's waist, Kaoru pulled his brother closer and kissed him on the lips tenderly, pouring his life and soul into his identical twin's body.
"I thought you liked her," Kaoru said shyly, turning a slight pinkish color as he looked into Hikaru's eyes. "Do you?"
Hikaru tugged at Kaoru's hips, pulling him even closer. "No," he said calmly as he kissed Kaoru with a gentle manner, such that Kaoru found himself hovering above the ground.
A couple of days later, for Haruhi's birthday (which was merely an excuse to get out of town), the entire cast of the Host Club ended up at Okinawa beach, in the Tamaki's family hotel. After celebrating a full-hearted birthday for Haruhi (mind you, she actually laughed at their jokes), everyone retired to their rooms. (It might be odd to note that Haruhi dragged a puppy-dog-eyed and flabbergasted Tamaki with her to her room.)
The Hitachiin brothers took the elevator to their designated room, neither of them really looking at each other.
Kaoru and Hikaru had kept silent about everything that had happened between them since the incident in the hallway. Kaoru liked to think of their love as something secret, something only the two of them would know about, something no one else had the right to know—not even the crazy fan-girls.
The elevator gave a pang of excitement as they arrived in front of their suit, hands intertwined shyly.
As Hikaru stumbled with the key to open the door, Kaoru felt a sickening rush of euphoria.
The dark hotel room smelled of fresh sheets and mint. Neither of them bothered turning on the light; after all, they knew each and every feature on each others' faces, each others' bodies.
As they both tugged at one another's clothes, Hikaru started kissing his brother wildly. In a moment, they were in bed, panting…
At midnight, Kaoru moved in closer into Hikaru's warm embrace, as though he was meant to be there.
"Kyouya-san probably has this room wired," Kaoru chuckled, his reddish hair glistening in the moonlight with sweat.
"Yeah, he'll have the girls obsess over our pictures..." Hikaru said, his voice carrying the slightest hint of irritation. "But…" he continued, holding his brother tightly against his chest. "Let's keep this a secret while it lasts," he said playfully, biting Kaoru's ear lightly.