Couldn't sleep.
"Kyouya, I want to disband the host club."
It was a cruel thing to say, but it had the desired effect: Kyouya looked at him for the first time in months. It had been so long since the two of them had a chance to truly talk. His slender hands were still resting on the notebook in front of him, but his attention was, for now, on Daddy. For a moment, the two just stared as if they were really seeing one another for the first time.
Then Kyouya cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses, and looked back to his notebook. "Why would you want to do something like that?" he asked, his tone nonchalant. It was as though they were discussing the weather, but the fluttering in Tamaki's overly romantic heart said otherwise.
For a moment, as he was trapped in his friend's gaze, he struggled to find his words. He'd forgotten what an effect the man had on him; he felt like a fish out of water, gasping for air. Then his words surged up, tumbling out of his mouth all at once, "Kyouya! I don't want to disband, I just want you to talk to me! It's been so long since Daddy has heard from Mommy." His eyes were pleading, and he was about to fall down to one knee. "You've been avoiding me," he added quietly.
Was that...surprise in the other man's eyes? Tamaki wasn't sure, for he was too busy bowing his head in shame, and by the time that he looked up, Kyouya had his blank expression on again. "What makes you think I've been avoiding you, Tamaki?" he asked lightly. To the degree of dramatic that the blonde was; Kyouya was that degree of calm. At least, on the outside. His inner struggles were and would always be a complete mystery. "We see each other at the Host Club every day," he noted, as though he was arguing with a toddler.
In some respects, Tamaki was a toddler. Especially now, as a little pout grew on his face. Moving to the empty seat in front of Kyouya (the whole classroom had emptied shortly after the final bell had rang), he sprawled over his friend's desk, obstructing the notebook that had captivated his attention. His friend gave him a dirty look, but didn't shift from his kept Kyouya playing along, but what that something was remained a mystery.
Tamaki took his friend's silence as a cue to speak. "The twins said that you had been avoiding me, and I realized they were right." His blue eyes were as large as dinner plates as he spoke, and Kyouya nearly felt himself falling head over heels into them. Nearly. "I don't know why. Do you not want to be in the Host Club anymore? Is Mommy tired of Daddy?" His voice had grown high at the last statement, as though he was on the verge of tears.
Kyouya could barely control his own expression after seeing the blonde's. Still, he was a lot more well-practiced than Tamaki, and managed what he believed to be a straight face. "You shouldn't believe everything the twins say," he said, moving to look at his notebook but realizing that Tamaki's head now occupied it. So he couldn't hide in there anymore. Dammit. A little hopeful voice in the back of his mind suggested that maybe Tamaki had figured the true reason he had been avoiding him, but Kyouya was quick to smother that voice. The man was an idiot. "Someone needs to keep your Host Club out of financial ruin, so of course I won't be quitting. You selected me, remember? An Ootori does not go back on his word." You picked me, remember?
The blonde was overjoyed; reaching across the desk to strangle his friend in a hug. Oh, how Tamaki had missed his friend! It was hard to imagine what would've happened if Kyouya had left. Surely, the blonde would be heartbroken. Daddy without Mommy. How sad. His grip on his friend tightened as much as it could considering the desk between them.
Kyouya reflexively stiffened. This is what he had been trying to avoid: the close contact. He honestly believed he could control himself in any other situation, but when this idiot came too close a feeling that Kyouya couldn't identify welled up, and made him want to act. Not just act, act impulsively. That was something Kyouya did not do, and did not like. So he had settled to avoiding his friend until the feeling (he mentally spat the word) would go away. And that was how he had successfully dealt with it until now. He had figured he could continue doing such as well. Never in a million years would he have guessed that Tamaki would grow aware of his change in habits and act on that news.
Damn those mischievous twins, though. That was a factor he had not considered.
Kyouya chewed on his lip until the blonde finally released him, then assumed his nonplussed facade. It was becoming more and more difficult to hold himself together. He was not sure how much longer he could keep it up.
Tamaki had been babbling on, but Kyouya only caught the last bit of his words. "...could even plan a celebratory party to renew the Host Club spirit! It would be fantastic!" The image of a happy host club twirled through Tamaki's thoughts.
So all was well in the Tamaki Mind Theatre again, was it? That would not do. The blonde had left Kyouya struggling with his feelings, and that did not make him happy. It wasn't fair. Tamaki would have either quell them, or pay the price. With that though, Kyouya quickly rose to his feet, a determined look on his face. Tamaki looked up in surprise.
"What is it?" he asked.
Kyouya grabbed his arm so that now, Tamaki was standing as well. They faced one another, Kyouya holding onto Tamaki a little longer than necessary before relinquishing his grip on the man.
"Kyouya, you're scaring me," he whispered. Tamaki had never seen such a look on his friend's face. Usually he was cool, calm and collected, but now a fire burned into his eyes.
"I thought you were upset with me," he finally said, eyes not leaving the blonde's face, who was starting to feel a little uneasy.
"I was, but now I've forgiven you!" His head bobbed up and down in agreement with his words. "Now we can get back to normal!"
"You're terribly easygoing about this. People will take advantage of you. I avoided you for months; don't you need to perform some test to make sure I'm still your ally?"
Confusion colored Tamaki's face. "You're not making any sense," he shook his head. The boy was so naive. "You want me to test you?"
"It's up to you, of course," Kyouya said lightly, but something in his voice suggested that it wasn't. "But when two people spend a significant amount of time apart, there may be some changes in their relationship. It's only natural to test if things have changed between us." Manipulating the blonde made Kyouya feel like he had regained an ounce of control over his life, and it felt good.
"What kind of test?" Tamaki asked, his voice small. Kyouya was still making him a little uneasy.
Now to push for the results. "A compatibility test. Would you like to try?" It was so easy to bait and trap the boy, it almost made Kyouya a bit uncomfortable that he had fallen for someone so gullible. Then the feeling roared back to life in his gut and any symptom of distress quickly flickered away. It made sense didn't it? That someone so controlling would want a free spirit, a subject easy to dominate. Of course it did. Right now, more than anything, Kyouya wanted the blonde in front of him to be his to manipulate. His to direct. His to control. His and only his. Possessive was a word for the feeling, but that was Kyouya's type of love.
Tamaki was enthusiastically nodding. If only he knew what he was getting himself into, but Kyouya didn't care anymore. He was grabbing the boy's hand, wrenching it hard to pull him close. Tamaki let out a little cry at the roughness, but was suddenly silenced by Kyouya's lips pressing against his.
It was brief, a brushing of the lips, but the lightning that electrified every bone in Tamaki's body was not. His eyes went wide at the sensation, it was unlike anything he had ever felt before. His body still buzzing, he finally managed to make eye contact with his bespectacled friend.
Who was smirking as he adjusted his glasses, seemingly unaffected. Then came that tone of nonchalance again, as Kyouya asked, "What are your findings?"
For the second time since their conversation had started, Tamaki was struggling to find his words. There came the feeling as though he was struggling for air again. What had he found? He had liked it, liked the feeling of his friend's lips on his more than anything he'd ever known. But what did that mean? He had just come to try and work Kyouya back into their little family, but this-
This even the romantic Tamaki could not prepare himself for. Reflexively, he cupped his hand over his mouth as his face turned progressively deeper shades of red. He had liked this kiss. Maybe...maybe he had liked something else too. Was it the closeness of their bodies now, to where he could just feel the warmth radiating from Kyouya? Was it the amusement sparkling in his eyes? Or maybe the way that he now moved to pull Tamaki's hand from his face, letting their fingers briefly intertwine? There was something there, surely, from the way electricity jumped up his arm from their brief contact. He just couldn't place it. "I…." he dropped off, realizing just how close Kyouya was to him. IT was overwhelming. Amazing. Imposing. Protective. Kyouya was everything, possessed every bit of the room as though he owned it all.
Which was a little ironic considering it was Tamaki's father who was superintendent.
Still, Tamaki was at a loss for words. He wanted to be closer, but also a million miles away. He yearned for warmth and the longing that developed from distance. He wanted it all, but none of it. His heart was writhing in his chest with indecision. It was all so was his friend. Kyouya was Mommy. Kyouya was-
smiling. The corners of his lips were turning up in restrained amusement, as if the entire situation tickled him pink. Tamaki's heart stilled as his eyes grew large. Nothing looked better on his friend than a smile. Feeling his heart starting to pound again, Tamaki matched Kyouya's smile with one of his own. One hand reached up to brush imaginary hairs from the bespectacled man's face, pausing on his cheek. For a moment, time held it's breath as the two just looked at one another.
Then Tamaki was moving again, wrapping his arms around Kyouya and pulling him in. His face buried into dark hair, and he could feel every sensation of their two bodies becoming one. The cool brush of Kyouya's skin as he carefully embraced the blonde. The faint smell of mint shampoo. And there, just faintly, was the beat of Kyouya's heart as it matched his own. Ba-dum.
To think, this had started because he had wanted to 'disband'.
Funny.
Now all he wanted was to never leave.
Now, to finally go to bed.