Chapter Ten: Damage Control
The shock that Kaoru and I were now a couple hadn't worn off by the next evening, but it was the good kind of shock and I didn't mind. Everyone in the club knew by now because Kaoru had announced it before we all turned in for the night. They were all thrilled about it, except for Hikaru. He seemed to have this hurt look on his face for the rest of the time I saw him that night, but he seemed even more upset when I saw him on the way to my room. He was walking out of the twins' room while pulling a carry-on suitcase behind him, with a shocked Kaoru standing in their doorframe watching him.
"Hikaru, what are you doing?" Kaoru asked, looking like he wanted to cry.
"If you must know, I'm going to spend the night without you for once!" Hikaru yelled before he slammed the door on the other side of the hall shut. Kaoru sighed before putting his face in his hands.
"Kaoru, what happened?" I asked quietly.
"I just talked to Hikaru about how you and I are going out now. I admitted that I'd liked you for a while, but also that I was scared to admit it to him because I wasn't sure if he'd be able to accept it." Kaoru explained. "He decided that he couldn't accept it, so he moved himself to another bedroom for the night."
"Maybe he just needs time to get used to this." I suggested. "He might feel better in the morning."
"I don't know; Hikaru's the more childish one out of the two of us, so if something gets to him he usually stays angry for a while until someone gets him to snap out of it."
"I see." The two of us were silent for a couple of minutes. "How about we talk to him about this tomorrow?"
Kaoru pondered this and nodded. "I don't know how well it'll work, but it's worth a try. We should get some sleep, though."
"Yeah, sleep's probably a good idea." I went into Kaoru's outstretched arms and was enfolded in a hug. "Goodnight, Kaoru."
"Sleep well, Valerie." He smiled and hugged me again before we went to our respective rooms.
As I lay in bed I couldn't help but worry about Hikaru. Accepting a change like this was hard for anyone, but it seemed to be impossible for him. Hikaru probably thinks that Kaoru's going to distance himself from him because of this relationship, I thought. But Kaoru would never do that, he cares about Hikaru too much to do that. Hikaru will come around, he just has to.
0000
The next evening had come, and Hikaru hadn't shown any signs of progress. Kaoru and I had agreed that we'd talk this over with Hikaru after dinner, and I was getting really nervous about it. What if it didn't go well?
I met Kaoru at the doors to the dining room wearing a white halter dress with a vintage pink floral pattern on it, just one of the many outfits that had been put in my closet by the twins. Why they wanted to dress me up in stuff like this I had no idea, but I had to admit that they had really good taste for the most part.
"You look beautiful as always." Kaoru smiled when he saw me in the dress, kissing my cheek with Hikaru glaring at us a few feet away. Kaoru and I looked at each other and he nodded. Talking to Hikaru couldn't wait until later. We cautiously walked over to Hikaru, who was sulking in an overstuffed chair.
"Hikaru, what's wrong?" I asked. "You haven't been acting like yourself today."
"I'd be in a better mood if someone hadn't informed me that he'd replaced me with a girl. I thought I was the one that mattered the most to you, Kaoru." Hikaru glared at his brother, and I was a little shocked to see that because I'd never seen him angry at Kaoru before. "Obviously that's not the case anymore." He angrily stormed off to another part of the house, but Kaoru ran right after him. Five minutes later they came back, and I noticed Hikaru was crying a little.
"Kaoru told me about what happened last night." I informed him.
"It's like I said, Hikaru, I just wasn't sure how to tell you because I knew there was a chance you'd react like this." Kaoru added. "That's why I was so hesitant to tell you."
"Yeah, well, I guess my feelings don't matter to you if you disregard them the way you did, Kaoru." Hikaru muttered angrily, roughly wiping a couple of tears away. I wasn't sure what he was more upset about: the fact that the person he was closest to was now in a relationship, or that Kaoru had left him in the dark about what was going on.
"Of course your feelings matter to me, why wouldn't they?" Kaoru insisted.
"And what's this about a 'replacement'? Hikaru, I'm not trying to destroy the relationship you have with your brother." I took his hand and he looked up at me. "Listen to me. I might be the first girlfriend Kaoru's ever had, but there is no way I could ever take your brother's place in your life. Kaoru's not going to stop caring about you just because he has a girlfriend. It's okay to be close to more than one person."
"She's right, Hikaru." Kaoru nodded. "You and Valerie are the two most important people in my life right now. I'm not going to distance myself from you because the way I feel about you and the way I feel about her are different."
Hikaru looked confused. "How are they different? I don't understand."
I managed to come up with an explanation that would clear things up for Hikaru. "Okay, you grew up with Kaoru by your side twenty-four seven, so the more time you spent together the closer the two of you became. Since you guys are so close, you have the kind of love shared between two very close brothers. The love that Kaoru and I have is different because the love felt between a couple is different from the kind felt between siblings."
"I think I understand."
Kaoru looked into his twin's eyes. "Hikaru, this isn't going to change anything between us. We'll still be close, and I'll still be here for you. I promise."
Hikaru was silent for a minute as he took it all in, and finally he nodded. "I guess I was being selfish, huh?" He grinned apologetically. "I'm sorry for flipping out like that. It was pretty childish of me to do that in retrospect."
"So…are we forgiven?" Kaoru asked.
Hikaru grinned and playfully messed up his twins' hair. "Of course you are."
As we all enjoyed the seafood dinner that had been prepared for us that night, I noticed that things had definitely improved. Hikaru was obviously feeling better; he even insisted that I sit with Kaoru at the table. With the earlier conflict resolved, I was actually able to have an enjoyable evening filled with talking and laughing with Haruhi and the boys. Maybe things were going to be okay after all.
0000
"I really shouldn't have eaten that brownie sundae." I muttered. "But it was so good, though…" Rolling onto my side I looked at the clock illuminated in the darkened room and moaned. It was one in the morning and I still showed no signs of being able to fall asleep. It really wasn't a good idea for me to eat anything with an excessive amount of chocolate close to the time I went to bed, because doing that made it impossible for me to fall asleep at a decent time. This was one of those times when I'd chosen to disregard that tendency, and I was deeply regretting it.
I decided to go pace the hallway to see if walking around a little would help tire me out a little. Walking down the long hallway I tried to be as quiet as I could, and I managed to make it to the end of the hallway and back without making any noise. Just as I was about to go into my room try to go back to bed, I felt two arms wrap around my shoulders.
"Valerie, what are you doing up? You're supposed to be asleep." Hikaru said.
"Yeah, it's one in the morning." Kaoru added.
"I couldn't sleep…it's probably because I ate that sundae. Chocolate has been known to keep me awake sometimes." I admitted. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the twins say what they said next.
"Would you sleep better if you slept next to us?"
As surprised as I was to be asked that, I nodded. "It might help. You sure it'll be okay?"
"Of course it will, it always helps us if one of us is having trouble sleeping." Kaoru replied.
The twins' room was quite similar to the room I had, only the color scheme was different. Kaoru climbed into the large bed and he patted the empty space next to him. I hesitated for a fraction of a second, then followed suit and Hikaru got in last.
I was lying on my back with each twin on either side of me. Kaoru was lying on his side with his arm gently wrapped around my waist, and Hikaru was stroking my hair. Good thing none of the twins' fangirls can see me right now, I thought, because they'd beat me to a pulp if they saw me getting cozy with them.
"Mmm, you guys sure are nice to cuddle with." I murmured.
Kaoru smiled. "Good. You think you'll be able to sleep now?"
"Mmm-hmm…"
"Promise?" Hikaru asked, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
"I promise." I said sleepily. Soon my breathing was deep and even as I fell deeper into a content sleep.
Kaoru smiled down at me and kissed my forehead. "Sweet dreams, princess." That was the last thing I saw before falling asleep.