Notes: 1:30 am plot bunnies! And I couldn't just scribble the idea down and get back to bed, either. Oh, no, I had to stay up until 3 to write it all up... and I realize I can't draw when sleep-deprived... (sighs) poor oddball excuses for young versions of Hikaru and Kaoru.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, and I do not own Hikaru and Kaoru. I just use them.
\HK/HK\ Sharing Watermelon /HK\HK/
It started with a watermelon. Well, actually, a slice of watermelon. A particularly juicy watermelon at that. Okay, it didn't start with the melon, it actually started with a humid-ish, kinda-hot summer's eavening. Well, hot afternoon - okay, lunch - and the twins were only four at the time. And lunchtime meant picnics - the one very special event over summer when the twin's parents were both actually with them. Well, at least this time.
The traditional picnic basket - western style, woven golden wood-looking like strands - hid an assortment of yummy lunch items; and hidden as in, the twins had to look through it. The main attraction? The overly-ripe, stripedy green watermelon that took up more than half the basket space. Their mother explained to them that the seeds were the fun part (and also a very commoner approach) where competition would ensue.
The twins didn't know at the time that single slice of fruit could mean anything to their relationship. The only 'relationship' the brothers even realized (for they were only four) was that they were twins; together forever. And that meant sharing.
Mr. Hitachiin didn't think much about it when he handed out two separate plates with a separate slice of watermelon resting on each, and the twins - being them - their immediate thought was to share both slices.
"Oh Kaoru, don't eat your brother's watermellon." Mrs. Hitachiin admonished, "You have your own piece."
"This is our piece." The twins chorused confusedly, both hanging onto the first slice of their watermelon with identical hands.
Being parents who didn't want to scold their twin sons for sharing, they just smiled an agreed. But a sudden, childish thought had entered the twins' minds. A childish and ...selfish thought.
"My own piece. Not ours." and because they both thought the same and looked at eachother and knew what the other was thinking, it didn't seem so bad when Kaoru went back to his own watermelon slice and Hikaru had the other one.
The slices didn't seem to be as juicy as it had seemed before. Nor was the seed-spitting contest as fun. But it was only one watermelon.
\Hikaoru/Hikaoru\Hikaoru/Hikaoru\Hikaoru/
Mrs. Hitachiin, anticipating co-dependance between her two sons very early on, decided to try and gently settle them apart from one another (if at the very least to be able to tell them apart). And this meant getting the Hitachiin heirs separate beds.
"Separate?" The five-year-olds Hikaru and Kaoru chorused, as if the meaning of the word was not applicable to them.
"Yes. Separate beds." behind the twins' mom, worker men and servants were carrying a bed identical to the one they used the night before into the back rooms where the brothers slept. "You'll each have your own place to sleep."
"We don't want our own place." they took hands to emphazise this, faces scrunched up unpleasantly.
"I want to sleep with Kaoru."
"and I want to sleep with Hikaru."
"I know, sweetums," Mrs. Hitachiin ruffled the boys' hair and they pouted. "But at least you'll both stay in the same room. Okay?"
The twins thought the idea was unfair, but they had already created a plan in their minds to just sneak into eachother's bed when their mom was asleep (and dad was not a variable to worry about because he was away on business, as usual). But such was not the easiest plan. Mrs. Hitachiin repeatedly checked into their room and each time she saw the brothers cuddled together she gently took one or the other and placed them in the opposite bed that lay all the way on the other side of the room (and she did all this with a heavy heart, too).
"Look, you're both in the same room, even close enough to talk. There is no need to share bedbugs." Mrs. Hitachiin said affectionately, but this kind of treatment to the twins was nothing but affectionate - more like cruel torture.
"But 'kaa-san, I want to sleep in the same bed as Hikaru." Kaoru pouted, a mirror image reflected on Hikaru's face (the elder twin having sat up on his bed to watch the sad event of Kaoru being taken away). Their mother only patted the younger's nose with the tip of her finger.
"And if I find you there one more time, I'll put you in separate rooms. Now be happy and go to sleep."
With the covers tucked under Kaoru's chin and Hikaru's hair mussed from a pat, the lights were off and the door shut almost-all-the-way. Breaths laid in wait until the footsteps coldn't be heard, then disregarding their mother, Kaoru slid back out of "his" bed (the "not-ours" bed) and started to shuffle over with an extra pillow to share. But then Hikaru spoke.
"Kao-chan, maybe we should have our own bed." the elder twin didn't like the idea of his Kaoru being in a whole other room, and with the recent image of his younger brother being taken away still fresh and scary, this was his only plan he could think of.
"...separate?" Kaoru's feet had stopped shuffling, but he wished more than ever that he was close enough to grasp his brother's hand. In response to his unconscious thoughts, his grip increased around the pillow, his eyes glued to his mirror image's.
"I don't like it, neither." Hikaru sounded genuinly miserable and Kaoru was thankful that he wasn't the only one.
"I don't want to sleep in separate beds."
"I don't want to sleep in separate rooms."
"Me neither." and so Kaoru returned to his own bed and said goodnight, Hikaru echoing. The beds weren't as comforting that night as it had been before. Nor did either twin sleep very good at all. But it was only one night. And the problem was quickly resolved by pushing th beds together, and of course, their mother just couldn't object.
A while after that incident, their nee-san came around and left. And a long while after that, they were invited into the host club. Then it was a little while after that when Kaoru remembered.
He envied their childhood together - their twin philosophy that they were never separate. How their relationship was twin brothers, together forever, sharing all they had with one another.
Now days, the 'us' of the twins was now singled out to 'you' and 'me' and "whatever is not Hikaru is me" and visa-versa. And all that childish selfishness that they never really had before was now back to haunt them.
"Kaoru, you're on my side of the bed." Hikaru grumbled, shifting slightly so that his pillow was more snug within his embrace.
"That's because my side is so limited, it's been reduced to the floor." Kaoru grumbled back, pulling his arms in just a little closer. He noticed that if Hikaru would have been holding him instead of the pillow, they'd fit together perfectly.
"You can have the floor to sleep on, for all I care." But they bother knew that Hikaru did care. He always cared.
"Hmph." the older twin smirked at the pout he imagined his brother to be wearing. "I don't want the floor. Hikaru!"
"Then stay off my side of the bed."
"Fine." Triumphant smirk. "If I can't have the bed, then I'll just have you." The smirk on Hikaru's face fell to be replaced for open eyes and a confused pout just as Kaoru ripped the elder brother from his pillow and climbed on top of him.
"Kaoru! Wha!?"
"I'd give up a million watermelon slices for you any day."
Hikaru sighed, but nodded, and with that the twins got comfortable and fell asleep together - dreaming of picnic baskets and pumpkin carriages.
\HK/HK\ Owari /HK\HK/
Excuse the odd /HK\ borders, but I just couldn't think of how to put in a break. Hope it wasn't too annoying!
Like I mentioned in the Notes before, I did draw a crappy sample of Hikaru and Kaoru (age four, sharing melon) that turned out sadly. If anyone is interested, I could get it into shape and put it up on my diviantArt account. I do need to practice more with pagemaker and I do need some Hitachiin love on my profile (right now, It's mostly the Koukou twins). So tell what you think? Arigato!