Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran high school host club.

Chapter 21: The silver rose

"Hikaru. Are you okay?"

Hikaru had just woken up, and jumped when his hazy eyes found Mori sempai's face right above his, staring down. He nodded vaguely, still collecting himself.

"There are cameras."

"…huh?" "Sorry… what?" He said, wide-eyed and pretty creeped out. He tried pulling himself further up the bed so he didn't feel quite so vulnerable lying down.

"…there are cameras. Hidden in my house."

"….uh… that's…nice?" Hikaru said hesitantly, not really understanding what the hell was going on. He checked the clock beside him. "WOAH! It's 3:45 a.m? Shouldn't you be… in bed? What happened to visitor hours?"

"…Sugimoto sensei let me in when he saw me…"

Oh god. What if that quack doctor said anything about our discussion…? Hikaru's cheeks brightened at the thought, and he hastily looked down. "Oh… did he say anything… about me?"

Mori frowned very slightly. "Do you like him?" He asked bluntly, noticing the pink hue on the younger boy's cheeks.

"HA? I'm sorry, but what?"

"…you blushed when I said his name… and he's tall, handsome, dark-haired."

"HA! No!" He snorted at the thought of having that lecherous-looking man as his object of affection. "I'd much prefer to have a small, cute girl than a big, hairy man like hi-"

Too late, he realised what he was saying. "Oh. Fuck. No. I didn't mean that, sempai." He said hastily.

"…"

"I really didn't mean it… I mean… it's just…" For some reason, he started to tear up. He didn't… couldn't look up to see what kind of face the older boy was making. "I'm sorry…" He frowned.

"…"

"And…and…" He knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the drawer, but he knew that his comments… they were… 'mean' didn't even begin to describe it. Hikaru you thoughtless, reckless, idiotic… he shouted at himself inside his head but ran out of intelligent sounding words. FUCKING SHIT. Oh god, what have I done?

"…"

As a last resort, he turned his host-club mode on. "…and if I wanted to have a tall, handsome, dark-haired man…" He gulped slightly, turning up his cute-o-meter. "I'd go for you."

Hikaru sniffed shakily as there was no oral sign from the older boy that he had understood. He finally racked up the courage to look up.

And above him was the most adorable face he had ever seen.

Mori's face was lit up like a child's on Christmas day, a mix of eager anticipation, hope and a futile attempt at patience, all completely new emotions to see on the older boy's usually stoic face.

Hikaru frowned again, slightly… no, extremely worried about the older boy's sanity. He smiled, slightly unsure of what to say.

Mori leaned in to kiss him again, but this time Hikaru's hand shot up and he pressed his palm against the older boy's lips. "NO! Not… I'm… uh…"

There was a moment's disappointment in the older boy's eyes, but it was quickly buried under his calm, patient and kind smile.

Hikaru blushed lightly but didn't look away. "I think you need to go to bed now… I need rest. Doctor's orders and all…"

Mori frowned as if returning back to reality. He followed the line of Hikaru's body under the sheets with his eyes until he reached the injured leg. "Hikaru, I'm sorry, it was all my fault."

Hikaru sighed. "This thing again? Don't worry sempai, it's not your fault. I'm not blaming you."

"But the cameras…"

"Oh yeah, you were saying something about cameras before?"

"Renge… has cameras installed in our house… Kyoya and Kaoru told me that they were sent a photograph of me kissing you…" He bit his lip. "Then… you were sad and angry and… then you came to my house again…"

Hikaru frowned… then his eyes widened. "DOESN'T THAT MEAN THEY HAVE PICTURES OF YOU ONTOP OF ME?"

Mori shook his head slowly. "It's an automatically rotating camera that turns on when it senses movement. I was waiting for it to pass us before I pushed you down. Then I had to wait again until it thought that we were gone."

"…right? And? Why couldn't you tell me that?"

"…because you were in my room… and I wanted to kiss you again."

Hikaru fought the urge to punch the boy. He struggled. "…Right? And?"

"…so I did. Because I love you."

The younger boy frowned as he remembered what happened in the room.

"And… I was selfish."

"Selfish?" Hikaru struggled to think of a time when Mori had acted selfish in any way, shape, or form.

"Selfish." Mori repeated. He seemed to go through some sort of inner turmoil, before something gave in. "I…"

Hikaru stayed silent, willing the older boy on.

"I…" Mori made a concerned face as he leant in again. "I'm sorry." He said to Hikaru as his forehead touched the younger's.

He briefly kissed Hikaru on the lips then on his cheek. "My answer… is that I love you."

Hikaru's eyes widened to the size of saucers and his heart thumped furiously in his chest. A billion thoughts rushed through his head, most of them escape plans. "Uhh.. I… a… I…"

Mori pulled back suddenly. "But… I've been selfish. I have to go now." He opened the door. "I'm sorry I couldn't offer you tea." And with that, he left.

Hikaru frowned again, staring above Mori's head to the white hospital wall. "So… what did you mean when you said you were being 'selfish'?"

"Kyoya… his father has been blackmailing me."

Hikaru's eyes turned back to face the older boy. "…what?"

"His father… Ootori-sama… he wanted me to kiss you."

Hikaru's jaw dropped. "…what?"

"…or he would close down our dojo."

"WHAT? IS THAT WHY YOU… Why you…" He looked down at his bed sheet, gripping onto it as if to ground himself. "...is that why you kissed me?" He couldn't decide if he were angrier at Yoshio for being such a bastard, or at the possibility that his first kiss was because of a stupid dojo.

Mori shook his head. "No, Hikaru. I've loved you since… I first saw you."

"But that's only… three years or something. I've barely even spoken to you before." He spat, wanting to believe, but not trusting anything anymore.

But Mori shook his head again. "The first time I saw you. When you were 6."

"SIX? …what… what are you talking about? We only met when the host club started!"

"I first saw you at one of your family's parties. I thought you were…" He blushed and looked slightly to the side. "I thought you were… the prettiest girl I'd ever seen."

"P-prettiest… GIRL?"

"…yes… you were wearing pink… and had a pink wig on… Kaoru was next to you wearing blue."

"Wh-what…" His eyes alone showed raw panic. "You… how…"

"I was told that you were Hikaru Hitachiin… I told my mother that I'd marry you when I was older."

Hikaru's jaw dropped. He could just imagine an 8-year-old Mori offering a flower to a pink haired little girl. He couldn't think whether that was what happened or if he had made it up… he tried to replay the scene, zooming into it a bit. Handsome little boy… offers a rose to cute little girl… it's a weird rose… it's a si-

"I stole a silver rose from a table decoration and gave it to you at the party…" Mori said, scratching his cheek. "But then I ran back to Mitsukuni before I could say anything."

"A…silver… rose…" Hikaru turned to his bedside table where a single, silver rose stood in a vase.

"Haha… I thought… you might've remembered." Mori said, slightly embarrassed.

"I… I actually did." Hikaru shook his head, laughing. "I actually do."

"You remember that?" Mori's eyes lit up again.

And then Hikaru was engulfed into a hug. A big, warm, and strangely fluffy hug.

A big, warm, strangely fluffy and awkwardly long hug.

The first few seconds were actually quite comfortable. I could… get used to this… Hikaru thought to himself, unnervingly at ease with the situation.

But as the seconds rolled into a minute, Hikaru frowned. "Uhh… sempai? Want to get off of me now?"

He was greeted with silence and his eye twitched. "Sempai?" He said loudly, not caring about his manners anymore. He poked the older boy hard in the ribs. "SEMPAAII?"

He rolled his eyes. Apparently, Mori-sempai was a surprisingly clingy man like Kyoya was with Kaoru. Not that he didn't like… being close and cuddly with someone… but still. This was…

A sudden thought dawned on him.

He lightly tilted the older boy's head towards him.

Then he let out a shaky laugh. "He's… actually adorable when he's asleep…" Hikaru smiled as he conjured up pictures of Mori as a sleeping Dormouse.

As he smiled again, he noticed that Mori hadn't even changed out of his costume yet. It was a beautiful outfit; a perfect design by his brother which suited the black-haired boy to a T. Mori had taken off his black, silver-buttoned tailcoat and laid it across the back of the visitor's chair, but his ruffle-collared shirt was proof enough of Gregorian era dress. Hikaru noticed that the top button of the shirt was dangerously close to strangling the older boy, so, unthinkingly, he slipped it undone. Then he undid the next one just in case.

…Then the next one.

…Then he stopped.

He took in a deep breath, fingers trembling as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

He ran his fingers through his fiery hair, then scratched his cheek, his eyes never leaving the older boy resting in his lap.

He finally let out his breath as a sigh, and he smiled. "G'night sempai…" He said, resting his left hand on the silky black hair.

His lids suddenly felt heavy and he fell asleep almost instantly.

Mori opened one eye and grinned. "Good night Hikaru" He whispered. Mori knew how to get his way.

Kyoya opened the door normally, not violently, not timidly, not wanting to show any emotion. Apart from love. He held Kaoru's hand tightly to keep him close. As soon as the door opened, they saw the man reclining on one of the sofas. Yoshio turned his head slightly, his eyes going from Kyoya's face to their connected hands, back to the window.

Kyoya sighed, not expecting much to go well in the next couple of minutes. Feeling his nervousness, Kaoru squeezed his hand reassuringly. The older boy smiled down at the younger as a thanks, and they moved into the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Father?"

Yoshio grunted in recognition, then indicated the sofa opposite him.

Kyoya and Kaoru strode towards the sofa and sat down together purposely close.

"Kyoya…" He paused, looking at his son, before turning to the redhead. "Mr. Hitachiin."

Kaoru gulped slightly. "K-Kaoru is fine."

Yoshio nodded slightly. It seemed that this one was a lot more timid that the other. He turned back to his son.

"Takashi Morinozuka has just sent me the most delightful message."

Kyoya gritted his teeth.

Kaoru looked up to Kyoya. "What kind of message?" Then he looked back at Ootori the older.

Yoshio raised an eyebrow at the younger boy. So he wasn't in on the plan? He took out his phone and adjusted his glasses slightly. "'Mr. Ootori,

I assume that you've been to visit Hikaru by now.

I would kindly appreciate it if you wouldn't hurt him anymore, unless you would like to lose the business of mine and my fellow host's families.

-Takashi Morinozuka.'" He read.

Kaoru's mouth opened a little. "Wow. Blunt as always, I guess. Ne, Kyo~" He said, looking back at Kyoya. He noticed that Kyoya was frowning. "Kyo~? Kyoya? What's wrong?"

Kyoya didn't turn to the other boy. "What about it." He asked his father.

Yoshio smiled slightly. "I also went to see Hikaru Hitachiin at the hospital."

Kaoru bristled slightly at being ignored. "Hikaru?" What has he got to do with anything? I'm so confused. He thought, but not wanting to sound whiny in front of the scary man.

"Your brother… told me off."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Told… you off?"

"Yes. It was a… well It was certainly an intriguing experience."

"'Intriguing experience'?" Kyoya and Kaoru echoed in union.

"Yes… what was it he said? Oh yes. 'Kyoya and Kaoru will surpass you, and they won't stop loving each other as they do it. So you can get off your fucking high horse and be happy for them, or die cold and fucking lonely.' What a delightful boy." Yoshio said, not sarcastic in the slightest.

Kaoru cringed at his brother's words. "That's so like him…" He muttered.

"I'm growing rather fond of him… is there any chance you could-"Yoshio stopped himself short. For the first time in his life, he thought about his son's… feelings.

"…I could… what?" Kyoya asked dubiously, clenching his fist.

"Ah… oh." His lip twitched into the nicest smile he could manage. "No… nevermind."

Kyoya stood up suddenly. He ignored Kaoru's small disgruntled protestations and took a large step towards his father. He pulled the older man up by his collar.

Then he pulled his arm back. He went to punch him.

Yoshio flinched but didn't try to stop him.

But Kyoya's fist stopped, just inches away from his father's face.

"Kyoya!" Kaoru said, surprised, jumping up and going to the older boy's side.

Kyoya dropped the cloth of the shirt, but kept looking down at his father. "You don't know how much I want to punch you right now."

"I do know, Kyoya." Yoshio said, staring right back. "I do know. And I'm sorry."

"You're… you're what?" Kyoya frowned.

"I'm sorry. For what I did to Hikaru-kun."

"What? Why?" Kyoya asked, terrified about the 'kun', and about how the answer was most likely going to be about how his father could now get revenge against Kaoru.

"Because… Because I've been a total… what's that word… 'jerk'."

"Okay. I'm really lost now. Someone please explain to this ignorant fool?" Kaoru piped up.

Both Ootori's turned towards him at the same time.

"Dear father injured your brother because he thought that I was dating him. And he blackmailed Mori-sempai."

Kaoru's jaw dropped. "Injured… blackmailed?"

"But I am sorry. I truly am."

Kaoru turned from father to son, back and forth, back and forth, trying to analyse their emotions. But then he gave up.

"Kyo, I'd say we should just ignore him."

"…but…"

"No buts. If Hikaru's fine, Mori's fine and your father is apologizing, we should just let it go."

"Bu-" He frowned. "…okay…"

Yoshio raised an eyebrow at his son's submissive behaviour. All of his life, Kyoya had strived to be a dominating force, and Yoshio's eye twitched as he remembered the time Kyoya had actually given him back his company. He let out a small laugh, which made both boys turn to him, giving him a questioning look. For both of them it was the first time they had seen Yoshio look genuinely happy.

"What?" Kyoya demanded, still not trusting the man.

Yoshio shook his head, then ruffled the younger boy's red hair. "I think you'll fit in perfectly as an Ootori. Yes. Kaoru Ootori. I like it." He laughed again then walked out of the room.

Kyoya and Kaoru both stared at the door.

"What… was… that?" Kyoya said quietly.

Kaoru put his hand to his head. "I think… your father… just made me your bride…"

A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR MISSING A WEEK GUYS ;_; *cry cry* So much school work+ STILL ILL= TT^TT And I have exams and crap coming up too… Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah ;_; I don't wanna have exams :/ But yeah… hopefully I've made up for it with this megalong chapter?

XD I… I didn't know I'd enjoy HikaxMori so much… MoriHika? MOKA? MOHI? HIMO? HIRI? XDD Me will stop it if you no like… but it's growing on meh…