As he collapsed on the soft futon in their bedroom, Kaoru couldn't help but sigh. Hikaru heard this.
"What's wrong, Kaoru?" he asked, turning his head over his shoulder.
"Mmm, I'm just tired," the youngest twin said, closing his eyes and rocking his head back to rest on the plush top of the furniture piece.
"Don't worry, Kaoru," Hikaru said gently, smiling teasingly. "I'll help you get to sleep tonight.
This teased a tiny, half-hearted smile from Kaoru.
Hikaru could tell his brother was more tired than he let on. With a soft laugh, Hikaru sat down beside his brother. He rested his chin on the identical boy's head and sighed through his nose. He closed bright golden eyes and smirked a bit. "Hey, have you heard?"
"Heard what?" Kaoru said, turning his head and pressing his face into his brother's neck.
"There's a new girl transferring to our school tomorrow," Hikaru replied, shifting so that his brother could lean more comfortably against him. "You know the Stallion family?"
"Yeah. They're in close cahoots with the Suou and Ootori families, if I'm not mistaken, right?"
"So I've heard." Hikaru laughed a bit. "I wouldn't mind having a powerful asset like that associated with the Hitachiins."
"But anyway, about the new student." Kaoru blew out a warm breath against Hikaru's neck, his arms going around his brother's torso. He snuggled closer into the warmth of Hikaru's embrace. "What's her name?"
"I don't know." With one hand, Hikaru reached for his laptop sitting on the futon on Kaoru's other side. The youngest twin shifted and hauled himself up onto Hikaru's lap, sitting with his head against the other dusty-haired teen's shoulder. One arm still around his brother, Hikaru typed quickly with one hand, pulling up the Ouran Academy records.
Kaoru opened his eyes, drowsy, and glanced at the screen as Hikaru sat back. "Megan, is that it?" he mumbled, holding his brother closer and closing his eyes again, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep like this.
"According to this, she's the sole heir to the Stallion family business and fortune," Hikaru read, leaning his head gently against his brother's. "She's only part Stallion on her father's side."
"Part?" Kaoru said, voice drifting off, only half-listening. "What about her mother?"
"It doesn't say," Hikaru said, humming a bit as he typed some more. Kaoru felt the soft vibrations run through his brother's chest and smiled against his neck. "It just says she's Stallion on her father's side. She was home-schooled until now, and is transferring into Class 1A tomorrow."
"Mmm, that's our class," Kaoru replied, voice hardly coherent with sleep. "Is she pretty?"
"Her ID picture isn't up yet," Hikaru said, closing the windows and shutting his laptop gently. "Kaoru, come on. Let's get you into bed."
But Kaoru was already asleep.
~*~*~The Next Day~*~*~
Kaoru stretched and tugged on his Ouran Academy tie, slim lips parting in a yawn. They were in the back of their car, both twins still partially asleep, on their way to the academy for another day of classes, learning, and the Host Club.
"At least there's one good thing about today," Hikaru said tiredly, leaning his head on his brother's and letting the younger dusty-haired boy snuggle closer, holding onto his arm.
"What's that?" Kaoru questioned sleepily.
"That new girl'll show up today."
Despite his exhaustion, Kaoru smiled. He had met the head of the Stallion family, President Hunter Stallion, a few months back with his brother at a gathering the Ouran Academy had hosted. He had been seeking to do business with the Ootori family and had had to ask the twins where Kyoya had been. He'd had light brown hair and sparkling green eyes behind light-rimmed glasses, his eyes not too different from Tamaki's—if Tamaki's were green, that is. A tall, thin—almost sallow—man, Kaoru had almost laughed himself to death at thinking that this, as he had jokingly labeled the president, 'scrawny stick' could be head of one of the most successful businesses in the country.
Kaoru did laugh now, at wondering, if the father was tall, thin, and dark-haired, would his daughter be as well?
"What's gotten you so joyful all of a sudden?" Hikaru asked, lovingly tickling his brother's side. Kaoru laughed harder and tried to squirm away.
"Nothing," Kaoru said through short breaths. "H-Hikaru, quit tickling me!"
This only seemed to encourage the other boy, and Hikaru took it to his advantage to push his brother over backwards and assume a dominant position, pinning his hands to the seat with one hand and tickling him with the other.
"Something's on your mind," Hikaru taunted as Kaoru laughed, yelped, squealed, and squeaked beneath him, squirming and gasping for air. "Tell me what it is!"
"H-Hikaru, I c-can't hardly br—eathe with you—tickling—me!" Kaoru managed to gasp out, kicking his feet and laughing, attempting to no prevail to twist away, tears forming in his eyes. "Hikaruuuuuuuuuu!"
"I'll stop when you tell me what's on your mind," Hikaru promised, smirking, unable to hold back a laugh. "And quit your shrieking! You sound like you're being murdered!" he laughed.
"You kn-know I'm ticklish!" Kaoru cried through a laugh, twisting and managing to get one hand free, clutching at his brother's wrist. He took a gasp of air. "Why do you torture me like this?"
"Because it's fun," Hikaru said, pulling his hand free and preparing to tickle his brother again.
The driver suddenly slammed on his brakes and sent both twins, sprawled across the back seat, plummeting ungracefully to the floor, limbs tangled, as they knocked heads painfully.
"What's the deal?" they both shouted, struggling to sit up. Kaoru dimly noticed a red mark on the side of Hikaru's forehead. He knew he had an identical one, which would more than likely bruise before the day was out.
"Pardon me, young masters," the driver called back, "but the cars in front of the academy seem to be at a standstill."
Rolling down the window, both twins stuck their heads out.
A girl with blonde hair was standing beside the Stallion family president, who was speaking to the headmaster. A long silver limo was parked in front of the gates to the school, the back door open. Her straight blonde locks came down to her waist with her bangs twisted neatly back against her head. She held her hands tenderly behind her back, looking mortified.
A footstep sounded from behind the twins' car. "Hey, guys," Haruhi said, curious. "What's going on?"
"How the hell should we know?" they said in unison.
"Kaoru, why do you look like you've been crying?" she asked suddenly.
Face blazing crimson with heat, Kaoru ducked back into the car, cursing his brother, and scrubbed at his eyes.
"That's the new girl, I suppose," Hikaru said to Haruhi. "Her name's Megan Stallion. She transferred into our class today."
"Did she?"
"She's the sole heir to the Stallion family business and fortune," Hikaru continued as Kaoru, eyes dry and face slowly losing heat, poked his head back out the window. "She's supposed to be nice."
The door to the car in front of them opened and a tall blue-eyed blonde stepped out, briefcase held gently in one hand, as he said something to the driver and shut the door. The car, careful of the Hitachiin vehicle behind it, pulled away and drove off.
Tamaki jogged back to the twins and Haruhi, smiling. Two cars in front of where the Suou car pulled away, Kyoya stepped from his family's car, nodded to the driver, and shut the door before he left.
"This is interesting," Kyoya said as he approached the other hosts.
Hikaru opened the door and stepped out as Kaoru said to their driver, "We're fine from here. Go back to the mansion."
"Of course, sir."
Once the door had shut behind the twins, the car revved a bit and drove away. All along the line of cars, other students were getting out and dismissing their drivers. Cars pulled away for their respective mansions left and right.
"What's interesting?" Hikaru asked Kyoya as they were joined by Mori and Honey.
"That's the Stallion family head, if I'm not mistaken," Kyoya said, pushing his glasses back up his nose with his index and middle fingers of the hand that was not holding his black buckled briefcase. "I was not aware that the Stallion family had an heir."
"They didn't until about fifteen years ago," Honey said, looking up with big eyes as he clutched Usa-chan closer. "Apparently, the girl is the daughter of the Stallion head and a woman he met on one of his expeditions to Europe. Once she was born, he brought her back to Japan and raised her as the heir to his family. They never speak of her mother." He looked up at Mori. "It's sad, isn't it, Takashi? She doesn't know her mother."
"Yeah," came the noncommittal murmur.
It wasn't long before the bells began to ring, the Stallion head and the headmaster bid each other farewell, and some of the students dared begin to approach the gate. As the tall man slipped back into the white limo and it drove away, the blonde girl shyly followed the headmaster, looking around at the assembled students in embarrassment.
It wasn't until Hikaru nudged him in the ribs did Kaoru realize he was staring at her retreating figure. He looked up at his brother.
"What?" he asked.
"You're staring," Hikaru taunted. Kaoru swung his briefcase at his brother, blushing madly. Laughing, Hikaru dodged the badly aimed hit and took off toward the school, a deeply embarrassed Kaoru chasing him with shouts of empty threats.
The rest of the hosts, laughing, chased the twins with Tamaki in the lead.