Hikaru was moving fast, his feet pounding the tiled floors of the school hallway, and Kaoru followed the echoing sounds of his footsteps, his twin already too far ahead for Kaoru to see him. The slam of a door caught his attention and he forced himself to move faster, desperate to catch up to Hikaru and calm him down. Outside the window, a flock of doves flapped in front of the clock tower which overlooked the courtyard, and their wings caused stuttered shadows to dance across the floor at his feet.

He didn't spare the scene a glance, however, his sole focus on finding Hikaru.

Skidding abruptly to a halt, Kaoru almost lost his footing as he came level with the door Hikaru must have gone through. There were none other nearby. Cautiously, he turned the handle and opened the door to find an empty classroom, the desks and chairs lined neatly, patiently waiting for the next school day and the next group of students to occupy them.

All that is, except for one in the back corner, where Kaoru observed his brother, arms crossed on the desk with his chin resting on them. His expression was stormy, even with his eyes closed.

Silently Kaoru shut the door behind him, leaning on it briefly, and steadily made his way across the room, stopping beside Hikaru.

"What's got you so bent out of shape then, Hikaru?" Kaoru asked, slouching down on to the floor beside the chair his brother occupied, resting his head on Hikaru's leg and looking up at the older twin. "You really need to learn to control that temper of yours. If you can't keep a handle on your emotions, you'll push everyone away, and I don't know about you, but I've quite enjoyed making some friends. I don't want to lose them now."

Hikaru had opened his eyes when Kaoru had rested his head and as the younger twin spoke, his brows had become more furrowed. By the end his lips were pursed in an obstinate pout, his chin still on his crossed arms, his eyes trained straight ahead and avoiding his brothers accusing gaze.

"I don't know what you having friends has to do with me," he muttered and Kaoru huffed.

"Don't be ridiculous. If you don't have friends, I don't have friends." He made no elaborations but he knew Hikaru would understand what he was trying to say. He'd feel exactly the same way. Neither said anything for a few minutes. Outside the room they heard voices getting nearer and then fading away again as whoever it was passed by the door. Finally, Kaoru moved from where he was sat, the cold of the tile making him numb, the slight pricking of pins and needles travelling down his legs. He pulled a chair over from another desk and sat next to his brother, resting one elbow on the wood and cradling his cheek with his hand.

"Look, Hikaru. If she's made her choice we have to respect that. It's probably for the best anyway."

Hikaru stood up so forcibly he knocked his chair over. The crash rang loud in the mostly empty classroom and Kaoru's arm slipped in his surprise. He looked warily up at his brother, expecting him to look angry and was taken aback by the look of abject desolation painted across his features. His heart nearly broke inside his chest at seeing Hikaru look so lost.

"No! How could it be for the best? She shouldn't be with him. She should be-" Hikaru's outburst ended as abruptly as it started, his mouth clamped shut against the words which had almost slipped out. His cheeks flushed red.

"With you?" It came out as a question but Kaoru already knew where this was going. Of course he knew Hikaru was in love with Haruhi, he had known that before even Hikaru had known himself. Hikaru was a little more selfish than Kaoru though, too involved with his own feelings that he didn't notice others'. "That's what you were thinking, wasn't it? You're not the only one, you know."

Hikaru's head snapped up and his mouth opened in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"You're not the only one who is in love with her. His majesty is, although I think we can both agree that it's better that she didn't end up with him. I think even Honey and Mori have feelings for her, although maybe that's not quite the same." Kaoru stood up again, standing face to face with his brother and looking him dead in the eye. "And I've been in love with her probably for as long as you have."

Hikaru took a step back at Kaoru's words, his face a mask of emotion. Shock, anger, confusion, sadness, disbelief. He gaped wordlessly at his younger twin. Kaoru sighed in resignation, rubbing his hand across his face and slumping back down into his chair. "Honestly, I don't know what I would have done if you had ended up with her. I love you, and I'd've been happy for you but... I don't know..." He looked back up to where Hikaru still stood, his expression turning stony as he took in Kaoru's words. "I just think maybe it's better this way."

Having said his piece, Kaoru fell silent, giving Hikaru the time he needed to process the information.

Hikaru had been so set in his own jealousy over losing Haruhi to Kyoya, he hadn't spared a thought for anybody else. In truth, he hadn't realised that there had been anyone else to spare a thought for. And that in itself made him feel sick. How had it gone so long that he hadn't noticed that his twin brother was in love, and with the same girl as he was no less? Really, sometimes their tastes ran a little too similar.

He sunk back down onto his own chair, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning towards Kaoru.

"You're right," Hikaru agreed, and for the first time since the whole mess had started, when Kyoya had announced to them all that he and Haruhi were dating, Hikaru looked like maybe his world wasn't completely falling apart, that maybe everything would work out okay.

Already the sun was starting to set. School had finished some two hours ago now and the classroom where they sat was starting to get dark. Hikaru pulled his phone out of his pocket, noticing a few missed calls and unread messages before ignoring them and tucking it away again. He stood up and offered his hand to Kaoru, pulling him to his feet. "Let's go home."

Kaoru gave his brother a reassuring smile, wrapping one arm around Hikaru's waist. Hikaru reciprocated, his arm coming around Kaoru's shoulders. As they walked back out of the classroom together, Kaoru's smile turned sad. Despite everything, all the earnest words he had spoken to his brother, not all of them had quite rung with truth. It was true that he was glad Haruhi hadn't ended up with Hikaru, that really would have broken his heart in two, but did he really think it was all for the best...? Did it really matter? Maybe that carriage had finally turned into a pumpkin.

Now, I'm really sorry this took so long. I don't really have a defence. On the plus side, the next chapter is also nearly finished as I started writing that first and then decided I needed to put this confrontation out there. Hopefully have the next posted soon.