Ack, I know. Over a month since the last update. Shame on me~ But at least I'm updating now! Consider this as your Christmas present since Christmas wasn't that long ago. *evil smirk*

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Disclaimer: I DO NOT own OHSHC!

Chapter 9

Kaoru

The following weeks continued to prove themselves interesting - entertaining, some would say. His usual schedule carried out the same as usual. His morning classes took place every Monday and Wednesday like normal; his afternoon classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving him free on Fridays, which he spent either studying or reading or working at the diner.

Of course, those Fridays were also days Honey-senpai would drag him to the Host club downtown. Once they were there, Honey would then ditch him to accompany Mori-senpai at his booth. After being there a few times, Kaoru was quite familiar with the other hosts. Tamaki had finally confronted him his second time there, demanding ridiculous questions such as, "Are you as shady as your doppelganger over there?!" or "You won't do wicked things with our guests, too, right?!"

Sometimes he would even go as far as shouting at him whenever he decided to go talk to Haruhi. "Stay away from my daughter! How do I know you aren't as evil as your twin?!"

However, aside from the unnecessary yelling, Kaoru didn't mind Tamaki. He was funny, and Kyoya had explained to him beforehand all of his silly antics, anyway. The others were just as pleasant. Kyoya was good to talk to whenever he needed to have an intelligent conversation; Mori and Honey were nice to go to when he needed to vent; Haruhi was there when he needed advice; and Hikaru was always ready with a bottle in one hand, a glass in another, and a few cat jokes to annoy him and bring a smile to his face. Not to mention that the girls were also there to fawn over him and Hikaru and how identical they looked and how "cute" they both were.

But along with the trips to the Host club, Kaoru found himself spending a lot of time with the bartender outside of the club as well. More often than not, Kaoru would find him going through his stack of movies or collection of books or his closet when he returned home after his shift at the diner. He didn't know how Hikaru came to know where he lived, but he had a feeling Honey was involved, even though the blonde neko was never around during those times. And on weekends Hikaru always managed to convince him to join him for lunch, usually to some expensive restraurant.

Speaking of which, that brings us to their current situation.

"Well, I really have to get going, Hikaru," Kaoru said, standing up. He slid his arms through the sleeves of his coat.

Hikaru pouted, leaning back in his chair. "Now? But we were having such a fun time. Do you really have to go?"

He zipped up his coat. "You know I have things that need to get done. There's no point in asking every time we go out, Hikaru."

"I know, but there's no harm in hoping you could stay longer, is there?" Hikaru shook his head and stood.

"No," Kaoru answered, fumbling with his gloves, "I suppose there isn't. How much do I owe you now?"

Hikaru sighed in annoyance. "You don't owe me anything, Kaoru. Can't you just drop this whole 'paying-me-back' issue? I don't need your money."

"No, because when I get out of college and get a better job, I plan on paying every cent I owe you. You may not need it, but I'm doing it anyway, whether you like it or not. It's just a principle of mine, so leave it alone and let me do this."

"You don't need to pay me back, principle or not. Just think of this as some sort of gift."

Kaoru just rolled his eyes. "Then I would have to get you a gift, too."

"No, you wouldn't; I wouldn't take it. Besides, friends get each other gifts all the time for no reason, anyway." Hikaru shrugged, leading the way out of the restaurant like normal. He stopped at the podium by the front doors and paid, much to Kaoru's dismay, before stepping outside.

A cold wind sliced through them, freezing them to the bone. Kaoru shuddered, burying his face into his scarf and flattening his ears against his hair. A few snow flakes clung to them as they walked down sidewalk, side by side.

I should've brought a hat, he thought, teeth chattering.

"Friends don't just randomly get each other gifts, Hikaru," Kaoru spoke up again. For some reason unknown to him, the little voice in the back of his mind added, Couples do!

"Huh? Well, Christmas wasn't that long ago, so consider these lunches as an on going Christmas present."

"Weird present," he mumbled, defeated. He knew he wasn't going to win this argument anytime soon.

"Aw, does that mean you don't like going out with me?" Hikaru smirked, leaning into him. "Because, correct me if I'm wrong, I thought we had something, Kaoru."

"Eh?! W-what?!" He could feel his cheeks heating up and ducked his head, wiggling away from his twin. "Knock it off, Hikaru. That's not funny!" He tried to sound mad, but if anything, his scolding sounded more like whining.

"Oh, I think so," chuckled Hikaru, grinning. He even had the nerve to reach over and give his still-pink cheek a tiny pinch. "You're so cute when you blush."

Instinctively, Kaoru brushed his hand away, shielding his face with his coat. He could feel the fluttering and twirling of butterflies in his stomach. It didn't sit well with the rich food he just ate, and he felt sick.

"Mm," Hikaru hummed, still smiling, "what are you gonna do now?" He didn't seem to notice Kaoru's sudden quietness, which helped calm the heat in his face.

Thankful for the shift in topic, he relaxed his posture some. "Hm, well, I do have some laundry to do. Normally I would just do it with the washing and drying machines in my building, but the washer isn't working."

"So you're gonna go to the Laundromat across the street?" he heard his look-alike ask.

"Yeah, why?"

His smile turned playful as he shot Kaoru a sideways glance. Crossing his arms behind his head, he said, "I'm trying to see if what you're doing is fun enough for me to tag along or not. At the moment, I'm doubting it."

Frowning, Kaoru huffed, "Go do whatever you want. I'm not stopping you." And with that, he picked up his casual walking pace, swishing his tail in annoyance. If Hikaru didn't think he was any fun then he didn't have to stick around and complain about it. Kaoru had enough on his plate as it was; he didn't need a whining bartender of all things to add to it.

"Don't mind if I do," Hikaru sang. It sent chills down his spine, and he barely felt the beginnings of dread before he was snatched up. "Hello? Asao? Yeah, could you come pick me up? We're at-"

"Hikaru! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Kaoru squirmed. "Put me down!"

"-and could you drop us off at the mall? Oh, and we're having a guest," Hikaru finished, hanging up.

"The mall?! Why on earth are we going to the mall? I have laundry to do, Hikaru, and you know I don't have enough money to go shopping!"

"No, you don't, but I do. So hush and deal with it. I thought you said you weren't stopping me from doing whatever I want?" he asked innocently. But that question was far from innocent, as was the glint in his eyes.

Okay, okay. Not the longest chapter of all time, but at least I tried. This was written in maybe 5 hours? I know. I'm a tad sad that it took me that long, but I kept getting distracted. I was talking to friends and taking a shower and eating and stuff like that. Plus, I have kitties that needed to be tended to. So I hope this chapter was enough for now:) I hope you guys liked it! Please review~

-For My Personal Pleasure