Summary: The one thing Kyouya can't afford to lose is Tamaki. [Oneshot
Warnings: Shounen-ai feelings, though nothing actually transpires. Just a realization of feelings.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran. Woe to me. But this story is mine, and you can't have it. XD
OOOO
Prologue
"--so I really think that we should do a sort of Russian theme next time. It could be really cool! We can have those cool fuzzy hats and everything! And maybe we could remodel the garden to be a sort of Siberian desert, what do you think?"
"Tamaki, remember the budget…"
"I know, I know, Kyouya. But think about it, wouldn't it be cool?"
The driver was new.
The driver had chauffeured rich people before, and he had chauffeured famous people before. He had not, however, chauffeured people who were quite as rich or famous as these two. Besides, he had never seen anyone as beautiful as Suoh Tamaki-sama and Ootori Kyouya-sama, not even in the most charming of ladies. So this new driver had a tendency to stare just a little two long in the rearview mirror at the two beautiful boys talking about themes.
That was why he ran the red light.
It happened in a split second.
There was a squeal of tires, both from the limousine and the oncoming car. The driver jerked the wheel, in a mindless attempt to somehow swerve out of the way, but only succeeded in bringing the back end of the limo all the closer to the approaching vehicle. And in that mindless, split second, Kyouya leaned over, wrapping his arms around Tamaki's head and protecting the blond with everything he had.
Collision.
And then there was black.
OOOO
Chorizo
Kyouya awoke to his cacophony of alarms with a dull, throbbing pain in his right arm. Perplexed, the teen glanced down at his arm, staring in puzzlement at the white cast encasing his arm.
Three maids helping him into his uniform and a piece of bread later, the youngest Ootori was in his car in the way to school, carefully being driven by Tachibana, with Hotta and Aijima in the seat behind him. After staring down at the cast in silence for several minutes, the teen looked up and, to no one in particular, asked, "What happened to my arm?"
Because they were sitting behind him, he didn't see the Look Hotta and Aijima shared amongst themselves. After a moment, Hotta said, "Sir, you were in a car accident yesterday. You broke three bones in your arm and two in your wrist."
Kyouya remembered that. The crash, the horrible tearing sound, and then…nothing. Apparently, though, he was supposed to be remembering getting a cast on his broken arm as well. It would probably be a bad sign to mention that he had no much memory. So, he just kept quiet, nodding a curt thank you, and settled back in his seat.
But since he couldn't remember what happened, he hoped Tamaki was alright.
XXXX"I'll be here to pick you up after school," Tachibana said, holding the door open for his charge. Kyouya wouldn't have accepted help getting out of the car, but he could at least do this.
Kyouya gave him a strange look, then nodded. He supposed he couldn't go to club like this, with his writing hand out of commission. Then again, he wasn't sure why he was at school if he couldn't write anything, but oh well. He wasn't going to worry about that.
Turning his back on the car, the bespectacled teen carefully made his way into the school building, being careful not to bump anyone. With this arm, it wouldn't be good to bump into someone and drop all of his stuff. It would suck to have to have help to gather his things up again.
And there was an annoying lack of bright Suoh cheer, but he figured it was nothing and kept walking.
The moment he walked into the classroom, though, he knew something felt off.
It was probably the guy sitting in Tamaki's seat that did it.
Frowning, Kyouya looked around at his other classmates. Had they changed seats…?
But no, everyone else was in their own seats. Just the one person… Still frowning, he wound his way between desks to his own seat, setting his bag down and staring at the back of the guy's head. Why was he there if they hadn't changed seats…?
Catching the sleeve of another classmate, Kyouya asked, quite calmly despite what he was feeling, "Is Suoh absent today?"
Had he been looking, he would have seen his classmate's face flicker with confusion, but because he was still staring at the stranger, he missed it.
"Suoh…?"
At the puzzled tone, Kyouya looked over, getting a worried, sinking sort of feeling at the look on the other teen's face, but before he could comment on it, the teacher walked in, and everyone made for their seats.
Kyouya levered himself into his seat, still staring at the teen in Tamaki's seat. Just what was going on…?
XXXXBy lunchtime, the sinking feeling had transformed into full-blown dread. Something was very wrong. The Tamaki-fangirls, who would normally have been worrying and cooing over Tamaki's absence, were indifferent, and had in fact not mentioned Tamaki once. None of the teachers had said anyone was missing from roll, and that one person was still sitting in Tamaki's seat.
Not to mention, when Kyouya had asked about Tamakiat break, he'd gotten more than one blank look.
When he'd said Tamaki was the Chairman's son, the boy he'd asked had broken into a grin and laughed. "Chairman's son? That's a good one, Ootori-san. Everyone knows the Chairman doesn't have a son."
It was the same thing with the Host Club. When he'd asked one of the girls if club was cancelled because the king was gone, she'd just given him an odd look and said, "You're funny, Ootori." Then she'd gone off without another word.
So now he was going to find some answers.
Pushing himself carefully through the people in the hall --amazing how off-balance he felt with only one operable arm-- he made his way to 1-A. From what everyone was saying, it was like Tamaki had never existed. But a prank this elaborate --because what else could it be but a prank?-- could only be orchestrated by two people. And even if the twins were stubborn and didn't answer, he could ask Haruhi. The twins would never have been able to get her to go along with this.
The Ootori came to door of 1-A…
…and stopped dead in his tracks.
It wasn't any different from normal. All the usual characters were there, and the two culprits he was looking for were in the back of the room. Only…
Only he didn't see how Hikaru and Kaoru could ever have faked the air of bored dislike surrounding them, or the tense sort of energy the rest of the class carried. No one could have produced the cold look in their eyes, and there was no way they'd go so far as to shun other classmates they way they were for a joke. Theirs was a world of two, and as wrong as it was, Kyouya didn't know how to break it.
And Haruhi…
Another shock that was like a slap in the face.
Haruhi was in one corner, reading quietly, ignored by most and ignoring everyone for her book. Her hair was as messy as the first time they'd met, that too-big sweater tossed over her clothes, those horrible thick glasses on instead of contacts. She looked the part of the messy, could-care-less boy Tamaki had mistaken her for that first day.
The class president –Souga or something-- turned and noticed him for the first time in the doorway. Smiling brightly, he came over. "Ootori-san, is there something I can do for you?"
Kyouya shook himself out of his thoughts, looking down at the brightly eager face of the freshman. "…no, I'm fine. Thank you." Before the other boy could respond, he turned away, walking down the hall without noticing anything around him.
What was happening here?
XXXXThe rest of the day passed in a blur of faces and words and meaningless things. There was no way the twins would go that far for a joke, and he had been positive that they couldn't drag Haruhi into this. Which meant…
What did it mean?
That Tamaki had never existed? That he did exist, only he'd never been brought over from France? How was that possible? You couldn't just erase someone from the world. Even if Tamaki had simply vanished, that shouldn't mean he had never existed. What about the Host Club? What about all the people Tamaki had influenced, all the people who cared for the teen?
How do you erase a person from everyone else's memories?
It was with a sigh of relief that Kyouya took the last bell, and, ignoring the fact that Tachibana was waiting outside with the car, the Ootori pushed himself up from his desk, grabbed his bag with his good hand, and strode to the dojo. One last loose end to check, before he would have to admit that Tamaki really wasn't there.
And it was true.
There was Hunny, doing karate with his teammates, no signs of the flowery, cake-loving senior Kyouya knew.
So it was true.
Somehow…some impossible way…Tamaki had never existed here.
And Kyouya was the only one who knew it.
XXXX"I'm going to stay a few hours after school to study."
"But…Sir, your father told me you bring you straight home."
"I'm not going to get into a car accident at school. I will be fine. And I'll be sure to call you when I'm ready to go home."
Tachibana had a dilemma.
Kyouya-sama was telling him to go and wait while he stayed at school and studied. On the other hand, Ootori-sama had laid out specific instructions to bring Kyouya-sama home immediately after school with no delays. And Tachibana had been trained to follow Kyoya-sama's orders to the letter…unless they were superceded by Ootori-sama.
But…
Kyouya-sama was here, now.
And he glared darker.
Knowing he was probably going to be fired for this, Tachibana nodded, taking a step back towards the car to show he was following Kyouya-sama's orders.
The teen smiled charmingly. "Thank you, Tachibana. I'll be sure to tell my father not to fire you. You don't have to worry about that." Still smiling winningly, the teen turned on his heel, gathered his balance, and walked back into the school building.
Tachibana waited until Kyouya-sama was out of sight before he sighed tiredly. Oh, he sincerely hoped he'd be able to keep his job after this…
XXXXHaruhi Fujioka had found the perfect place to study. The libraries --all four of them-- were always so crowded and noisy with students that it had been impossible to find a decent, quiet place to work, but she had happened to stumble upon a quiet Music Room that no one was using after school. It was the quietest place she'd found in ages, and she relished the thought of a nice, quiet place to study.
On this particular day, however, she happened to be held up after class by her homeroom teacher, who wanted to discuss her latest test grades with her, so she was a little late in reaching the Third Music Room.
She was so used to having the place all to herself that she was quite surprised to walk in and see someone else there.
Letting out a small sound, she backed up a step as the older student turned his head towards her. Squeaking out a small, "Sorry, didn't know anyone was in here," she turned and made for the door.
"Fujioka."
The sound of her name from a complete stranger made her stop, and she turned towards the sempai, blinking owlishly behind her glasses. Then she decided he wasn't a bad guy, and even if he was his arm was broken so he couldn't do anything, so she wandered over and took a chair opposite him.
She really wasn't expecting anything to happen, but she was a little curious to know why this second-year knew her name while she didn't know his. Sure, she didn't pay much attention to people, but that didn't mean others should go around knowing her name. So, instead of pulling out a textbook and working on homework, she just sat there, patiently waiting.
For a few long minutes, there was silence, while Kyouya studied the Haruhi in front of him, then let his eyes wander around the abandoned music room. So strange to see it without its usual decorations for whatever cosplay they were doing…
"Fujioka, do you know a Suoh Tamaki?"
The girl blinked. "No. The name's not familiar…"
Kyouya sighed, nodding. "Thought so." So, either he had sustained some sort of head injury from the car crash, or he was stuck in a parallel universe where Tamaki had never existed at Ouran.
If those were his two choices, he hoped it was the first one. He needed Tamaki…
"Sempai?" In a strange twist of abnormality, for once Haruhi took notice that someone else was miserable and acted on it. "Are you alright? Can I…help?"
The Ootori just gave her a look. "…what would you do if someone you loved vanished off the face of the earth?"
While that wasn't what she had been expecting, she did her best to answer. "I would do everything in my power to find that person, and I'd never stop looking. Even if everyone else told me it was useless."
And this was where it got a little crazy… "But what if you were the only one who remembered that person?"
"Sempai?"
Kyouya sighed. "Never mind. Just forget it." She wouldn't have any idea what he was talking about. Tamaki had never been here. But…still…
"…if that were the case, Sempai, I'd have to ask myself if it was worth remembering." Kyouya glanced at her, wondering just what she was going on about, and wondering why she didn't quite sound like herself. "I mean, if I was the only one who remembered my precious person, would I want to keep remembering them and know that no one else knew them? Or would I want to just forget and never look for them?"
"That…" That actually made sense, in a strange way. Sure, it was possible this was all some sort of strange hallucination from a massive head injury. But even if it was, it was real, for right now, so Kyouya had to deal with it right now. And the problem was whether he wanted to stay here, like this, remembering Tamaki and living with the fact that he'd never see the blond ever again, or if he wanted to just put it all behind him and forget.
"What would you do?"
Haruhi hesitated a moment, then gave him a look he couldn't interpret. "I wouldn't want to forget. Even if I stopped looking, I'd remember my precious person, and I'd rather have that than no memories at all."
He nodded in understanding.
There was no way he could live without Tamaki, even if it was just a memory. Tamaki was the one who let him out of his box. If he forgot everything, he'd just be back in that cage again, standing behind his brothers and never pushing himself.
Even if Tamaki wasn't real here, Kyouya couldn't just forget him.
"I…thank you."
Haruhi smiled slightly, though she didn't know why he was thanking her, and nodded. "Of course, no problem."
And since their conversation appeared to now be over, she quietly pulled out her textbook and started on her homework, while Kyouya just leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling.
XXXX"…ya. Kyouya! Wake up! Please…"
Gasping, the raven-haired teen jerked upright, startling Haruhi. Pressing his hand to his forehead, Kyouya took several deep, shuddering breaths, eyes darting around the room. That had…that had been Tamaki, hadn't it? Tamaki had been calling him. Only…
Only Haruhi was still messy, glasses and all, which could only mean that he was still trapped in this Tamaki-less place.
Then who had been calling him?
"Are you alright, Sempai?" Haruhi asked, blinking at the older teen. "You fell asleep, but you wouldn't wake up and you looked like you were having a nightmare…"
"I…I'm fine. Was…was there anyone else in here?"
The girl shook her head, frowning slightly. "No, just you and me. Why?"
Kyouys shook his head. "No, it's nothing. I just…it's nothing."
She nodded, carefully packing all of her things together. "Well, I have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Sempai." Bowing slightly, she stood, padding off to and through the door.
Kyouya laughed bitterly. "Meeting me? Yeah…"
He didn't want this.
Letting out a shaky sigh, he bent forward, hair falling over his eyes, his good arm gripping his elbow.
He didn't want to be in a world where there wasn't Tamaki. Tamaki was…
Tamaki was an idiot.
But he was everything.
He was everything Kyouya needed and wanted, and even if Kyouya couldn't have him, even if what Kyouya felt for the blond was wrong, at least it was something. At least he knew Tamaki wouldn't ever be taken away by a girl. All those girls at school, all the girl in club, they weren't real. Haruhi…Haruhi was real, but she was oblivious. Besides, Kyouya wouldn't have minded if Tamaki was taken away by Haruhi. Kyouya could trust Haruhi.
But when Tamaki wasn't here, when Tamaki had never existed in the first place, he couldn't take it. It was like being trapped in that box all over again. He'd never noticed until he was out how stifling the box was, but he had been free for so long now that he didn't want to go back to that suffocating darkness where he wasn't allowed outside the lines. He wanted…
He just wanted Tamaki back.
He just wanted to be with Tamaki.
Gritting his teeth, the teen let out a sound that was more like a choked off sob than anything else.
What was the point if Tamaki wasn't there? He'd only excelled because he could show the blond that he was exceeding everyone else's expectations, that he wasn't giving up. If Tamaki wasn't there…what was the point?
"…ya…"
The Ootori stood, eyes darting around at the sound. Just like before. The person who sounded like Tamaki but couldn't be because Tamaki wasn't there.
"…ouya, ple…"
"Tamaki…"
He took a stumbling step forward, eyes darting. Even if this was some delusion, there was no one around to point it out. And he heard Tamaki, he did, and he…he needed Tamaki.
He loved Tamaki.
He'd known it for a long time, but knowing it and admitting it were two different things.
"…youa…"
And right now, if it was going to help him find him, Kyouya was willing to lay all his cards on the table.
Anything to not go back in that suffocating dark box.
"…Kyouya…"
"I'm here…"
"…Kyouya, please, Kyouya…"
"TAMAKI!"
And everything went dark.
OOOO
Epilogue
Dark eyes blinked open to an onslaught of white walls and bright lights.
The first thing he noticed was the dull, throbbing pain in his head and his right arm -which turned out to really be in a cast. Well, that explained the dream cast.
The next thing he noticed was the gentle pressure on his left hand, and the soft, desperate whisper of his name. Kyouya wasn't sure what surprised him more; the terrified cadence to Tamaki's words or the fact that Kyouya could feel the king's tears on the back of his hand.
Letting out a breath, the Ootori shifted, looking at his friend.
Tamaki hadn't noticed he was awake yet, just kept clutching Kyouya's hand and whispering his name. A small smile slipped over pale lips, before Kyouya rasped, "You called?"
The blond's head snapped up, those beautiful blue-purple orbs water-filled. "Kyouya!" Ignoring his friend's injuries, he threw himself on the darker teen, hugging him. "Thank god! You wouldn't wake up and they said they didn't know if you ever would because you'd hit your head and I'm so sorry, so so sorry, thank god you're awake, thank god…"
Another small smile flitted across his lips, and Kyouya carefully maneuvered his good arm around the crying blond. "I'm here, Tamaki. I'm here. It's alright…"
Funny. He was the one with the broken arm and the head injury, and Tamaki --who didn't seem to have suffered more than a few scrapes-- was the one who needed comforting. That was ironic.
But Kyouya was awake.
And Tamaki was here.
Kyouya wasn't going to lose him again.
OOOOA/N: And there you have it. My first wonderful fanfic of the new school year. XD
So basically, in case you didn't get it, there was a car crash (the prologue) and the main part of the story was all about how Kyouya was in a coma and stuck in this dream world where Tamaki never existed. And the only way he could get out was if he admitted that he needed and loved Tama-chan and viola, he was awake!
Oh, and 'Chorizo' is Greek for 'separate, divide, divorce.' Or so says the Greek-English dictionary on Google (not mine either). So don't get mad at me if I'm wrong.
I kind of feel like I ended it a little too abruptly, but since I didn't know where else I could have taken it, I figured ending it now was better than having a lot of pointless dribble no one would want to read.
I was also thinking of doing some sort of companion fic, from Tama's point of view, but I don't know about that…it depends on how people like this story…plus, this might be better as a stand-alone…
Tell me what you think! Reviews are good!
I'll give you a cookie if you review!