DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Ouran High School Host Club

"I won't take too long this time!" I said.

To compensate the fact that it's been nearly two years, it's a long one.

Enjoy chapter thirty-six!

Chapter 36

Despite the sun being high up in the sky the air was chilling to the bone, not quite as much with the nearing end of the winter season, but cold nonetheless. Izumi despised how he had to walk every day back from school even during this time of the year. With his house so close by there is no reason for him to be wasting gasoline. He knew that, of course, but that didn't stop him from muttering curses as the rough winds had him hunched over with his arms crossed tightly around himself in an attempt to keep steady and warm.

"Stupid fucking wind." Izumi grit his teeth together to stop them from chattering. It didn't help too much. "Can't stop for one second."

As if giving him a response, the wind picked up even more. Dirt and dry leaves smacked right into his face. "Fuck!" Izumi spluttered, shaking his head harshly and trying to rub the grime out of his eyes.

"Give me a break!" Izumi shouted, having just about lost his mind. "I've already had a shitty day as it is!"

The air became still suddenly. Izumi huffed and continued walking, though not looking where he was stepping. His shoe hit an overgrown root causing him to stumble and nearly trip.

"Oh, not you too!" he snarled as he kicked the offensive thing on impulse. Izumi immediately regretted it as his shoe got caught under the arch of the root, making him flail his arms in a panic as he fell backwards on his ass. The impact had him scrapping the palms of his hands. "Shit," Izumi hissed and held up his hands to examine the damage.

The edges of his palms had bloomed an angry red at the rubbed off skin flakes. There was light bleeding in the area near his wrist. Izumi cursed at the unfortunate events and gave the overgrown root, which still had his shoe trapped, a glare. He momentarily decided he hated all of nature.

Izumi glared at the cackling boy in front of him. Luke's hands were clutched over his stomach, tears started to form at the corners of his eyes from how hard he was laughing.

"Stop laughing at me!" he demanded with a snarl on his face.

Luke shook his head and managed to calm down slightly, still letting out a few giggles. "I'm not, I swear!" he said with grin as he wiped his eyes.

Izumi continued his death stare hoping it would be enough to end the humiliation he was feeling. "Then what the hell are you laughing at?"

The boy's grin widened, giggles pouring out again.

"What?!" Izumi snapped.

Luke shook his head again and held his hand out. "Come on, get out of the water."

"Oh, so now you want to help me. After laughing and watching me fall!"

"Hey, it was funny. You flailed and screamed!" Luke defended. Izumi's expression didn't change, though, and neither did his body. He was very much still sitting down in the lake he fell in. Luke sighed and reached his hand further towards Izumi. "Okay, I'm sorry. Can you just get up already?"

"Fuck you," Izumi muttered before grabbing the offered hand and picking himself up from the water.

Luke glanced down at their hands. Immediately his face twisted into absolute disgust. "There's—"

Before he could say any more Izumi already saw the black parasite sucking on the skin of his wrist. Izumi jerked back. "Get off!" he shrieked, waving his arm frantically.

"Izumi, wait! That's not—" There was a splash as Izumi fell into the lake again, having tripped over a rock. He was now soaking wet from head to toe. Luke was hysterically laughing at him again.

"God dammit, I officially hate nature!" Izumi growled, waddling over to get out of the lake before he fell in again.

"Hey!" Luke giggled, "You can't hate nature just because you have bad luck. Besides, I thought you said the outdoors were calming and relaxing."

"I hate it!"

Luke took in deep breaths to stop his laughter and walked over to him. "Let me see your arm. I'll get the leech off because clearly you don't know how to." Izumi slowly held out his arm with a pout. "Waving your arm like that won't get them off. You have to slide your thumb under their mouth to disconnect them," Luke explained as he did it himself and the leech came off. "Just like that," he said while grabbing it and tossing it back in the water.

"It's bleeding a lot!" Izumi whined.

"Yeah, that's because of their saliva. Just put pressure on it for now," Luke said as he headed for his car.

"It's bleeding!" Izumi continued.

"Oh, stop complaining!"

Izumi exhaled suddenly, not knowing when he even started holding it. He let out another string of curses. Why was this making him remember Luke?

"Hey, are you okay?"

Izumi turned his head and saw some guy with short dark brown hair wearing the same school uniform. How much did this guy see?

"That looked like it hurt."

So, the guy saw him fall. He was suddenly feeling very embarrassed and flustered. "I'm okay," he mumbled as he freed himself from the overgrown root and began to stand up.

The guy moved towards him and grabbed his arm to steady him. "Are you sure? You seemed a bit fed up just now," the guy said with a slight laugh.

Izumi frowned, "You saw?"

"It was kind of hard not to when I'm right behind you." Great, he probably thinks I'm crazy or something. The guy only smiled at him, though. Surprisingly, not looking at him like he was crazy. "You know, the angrier you get the more bad luck you're going to have."

Izumi scoffed, "Clearly." He adjusted his bag on his shoulder, wincing as the strap brushed against the wounded area in his palms.

Izumi wasn't sure what else he could say. They didn't know each other and Izumi was pretty sure they weren't in the same class. "Um, thank you," he said lowly with uncertainty. "I need to go home now. Nice talking to you." With that he turned away and was about to walk off when the guy called him back.

"Ah, wait!" Izumi turned his head at him. "I'm headed the same way actually. So," The guy scratched the back of his head. "We can walk together?"

"Oh," Izumi wasn't expecting that. "Yeah, sure! I don't mind." The guy gave him a grin.

The two boys walked down the sidewalk talking about whatever came to mind. They got to know each other a bit. The guy's name was Yasushi. Izumi joked about his name, calling him Sushi instead. The guy rolled his eyes at that, having heard that nickname many times before, but smiled nonetheless as it didn't bother him. That's something Izumi noticed. The guy smiled a lot. He was the type of person that always looked happy and cheerful. Not quite like Honey, though. It was a more of a calm happiness.

Yasushi is extremely friendly and easy to get along with. He was also in the same year as Izumi, but he was a B student so that explained why they weren't in the same class.

"You're in a club?" Izumi asked, when Yasushi had mentioned something about after school.

"I'm in culinary," he answered with the smile still there. Was there ever a moment he wasn't?

"That's cool! I'm in the host club."

"Yeah, I know."

Izumi frowned at him. "You do?" He's pretty sure they've never talked to each other before today.

"Everyone knows who the host club is. Especially the new transfer student."

"Huh, so I'm popular?"

"Very," Yasushi said with a scoff. "Everyone talks about you guys. Even my own girlfriend."

Izumi let out a laugh. "She goes to the club too?"

Yasushi groaned, "All the time. I'm not too fond of it, but whatever. She wouldn't listen to me anyway."

They eventually reached the neighborhood. Izumi was pretty surprised when they both continued on walking. He knew there might have been other students living in the same neighborhood, but he never saw anyone walking the same way. He wondered if they lived close to each other all this time. Did Yasushi know he lived here?

"That's my house," Izumi said as he nodded over the light brown and white house they were approaching.

"Really?" Yasushi asked while rubbing his arms. Probably cold. "My house is two down from that one."

Izumi couldn't help but laugh. "So, we practically live next to each other. I never noticed."

"Neither did I. I remember seeing a moving truck a while ago," Yasushi looked at him and smiled, "but I never would have guessed it to be someone from school."

They reached the driveway in Izumi's house. "Do you walk to school too?" Izumi asked.

Yasushi shook his head. "Nah, my parents drive me on their way to work."

"Aw," Izumi pouted. "Lucky."

The guy laughed. "What time do you leave?"

Izumi frowned. "7:30?"

Yasushi grinned at him. "I'll walk with you tomorrow."

"Oh, uh, yeah, okay!" Izumi didn't know what else to say. He was pretty surprised.

"See you." Yasushi said as he waved and continued walking.

"Yeah, see you," Izumi said slowly, not even sure if the other could hear, but he smiled either way and turned to head inside his house.

Today was a very interesting day. He wasn't even sure if it was a good day or a bad day. The events had shifted from bad to good and back to bad and good again. Basically, it was a continuous loop all day. Izumi needed a rest. Though, as Izumi approached his front door, he doubted he would be able to get peace. Today was unpredictable after all.

The house was awfully quiet. Not a strange thing when there are only two other people living here, but it did make Izumi feel a bit uneasy. He got into a fight, had a bruise on his chin, was abused by the wind, attacked by the root of a tree, and scraped his palms on the concrete. He wasn't exactly presentable at the moment. Ryuu and Liviya were going to be worried when they saw him in this state. Possibly even get angry. He was well aware of the lecture bound to happen about getting into a fight again. It wasn't the first time. Nor the second. Or the third.

Who knows how many he's been in? He used to fight all the time back in his old school.

He used to get detention and suspension way too often to deem acceptable. Then he got expelled at one point, but the fighting didn't stop. It got to a point where he was rarely allowed to attend the new school. It was extremely strict and the authorities called his father all the time about every little thing he did. He couldn't so much as frown without the teachers sending him to the office. His father attempted to "get it through his head" to stop. Not that that helped very much.

You would think Izumi learned his lesson from the countless warnings and beatings, but it honestly made him worse. Worse to the point where he began to look for trouble. Instinctively arguing with anyone that dared to give him the wrong look, always being the first to throw a punch. Then everything spiraled downward when Luke left him. He barely attended class on the days he could go, barely listened to Ryuu and Liviya. Purposefully getting his father mad. Purposefully making everyone in school hate him. He was a mess.

Eventually the police tried to get involved. His father, obviously knowing the danger in their family name and to that one room, bought a house in Japan and planned to move. Everything was prepared for them to go back until that unfortunate day happened and his father died.

Was it unfortunate? As crazy as it sounds, Izumi wasn't sure. He feels like he should be happy, but strangely he couldn't be. He couldn't find it in himself to feel happy for the death of his own family member. Ryuu and Liviya were relieved, shocked at first, but relieved nonetheless. And Izumi? He couldn't believe it at first. Still can't. He doesn't feel like he's free of his father. Not yet. Not when he felt like there was still a barrier there. A cage. Something that wasn't allowing him to be... free.

As much as Izumi wanted to know what this was he snapped back to reality. The mind was a dangerous place. He didn't know what the hell was going on inside of him, but he knew he shouldn't linger there for too long. Afraid of it, he supposed, and not ready to know the truth.

"Hey, Izumi!" Ryuu poked his head out from the kitchen's entrance. He had a very cheerful expression that made Izumi smile back, forgetting about the weight in his mind. "How was school?"

"Interesting," Izumi said as he placed his bag down on the dining table and hanged his school jacket on a chair.

"A good interesting or a bad interesting?" Ryuu questioned and leaned against the arch separating the kitchen and dining room. "Hey, you better take that upstairs later."

Izumi ignored the last bit. "Not sure. It was just interesting. Very tiring too." Izumi walked over to the kitchen to see if there were any snacks. "I met one of our neighbors."

"Oh, who's that?"

"Some guy. He goes to my school," Izumi explained as he opened a cabinet to peer inside. "I bumped into him while I was walking back."

Ryuu walked up to him and grabbed his hands, having noticed the scraped area. Izumi tensed up, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Here comes the lecture.

It never did, though. "Was he nice?" Ryuu asked as he walked inside the kitchen pantry to grab the first aid kit.

"Y-yeah, he was friendly." He was confused. Wasn't Ryuu going to ask him what happened? Did he not notice the bruise or his ragged up dirty clothes?

"That's good. I'm glad you're making new friends." Ryuu cleaned the wound with a cotton filled with hydrogen peroxide. "So, what happened here?" Ryuu looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Did you fall?"

He spoke too soon apparently. Of course Ryuu would ask. "Um, yeah I fell," he mumbled.

Ryuu stopped cleaning the wound. He placed the cotton down on the counter and lightly moved Izumi's head to the side with the knuckle of his index finger. "What about here? Is this from the fall too?"

Izumi looked down at his feet, "No."

"Then where's it from? Did you get in a fight?"

"Yes," Izumi said, still mumbling.

There was a silent second that had Izumi holding his breath. Lectures and scolding have never been fun to receive and he expected this time to be no different, but then Ryuu surprised him by instead asking, "are you okay?"

Izumi picked up his head at the unexpected tone. Ryuu was frowning at him in sincere concern and worry. Why wasn't he getting mad?

With the lack of response, Ryuu's expression turned a bit panicked. "Izumi, answer me. Are you hurt badly?"

"No, no I'm okay," Izumi said immediately while shaking his head. The fake blonde's expression softened as let out a sigh of relief.

"You scared me for a second."

"Sorry."

Ryuu went back to cleaning his scraped up palms. Izumi watched him cautiously, still uncertain as to why he wasn't getting that lecture. "You're," Izumi started, emerald eyes glanced at him, "not mad?"

"Not really." Ryuu frowned again. "Should I be?"

Izumi huffed and mumbled out, "You always get mad when I get in a fight."

"Yeah, back then when you fought all the time and got in trouble with... you know."

Izumi furrowed his brows together. "So, you're not mad."

"I mean, I'm not happy." Ryuu worked on his palms again. "But mad? No, not as long as you don't get seriously hurt." He then gave Izumi a sharp look. "Don't be getting yourself into more fights, though. You don't want to ruin the privilege the chairman's giving you," he warned.

"I know that!" Izumi snapped. "This just happened."

"No more fights," Ryuu said sternly.

Izumi rolled his eyes. "I got it."

Ryuu nodded in acceptance to his response and went back to Izumi's hands. There wasn't much he could do except put on some ointment to the cuts, but Ryuu was a complete mother hen when it came to injuries. He fussed and tended the wounds with extra precaution, leaving no scrap infected and no bruise without a layer of creamy salve.

Izumi muttered a thanks and got a grunt in response. Ryuu wasn't happy, but he also wasn't angry either. Not like he used to be back then. I guess they only got mad because of how much trouble I would get into. With his father, that is. In other words, they were like that because they were trying to protect them. Izumi should've realized that before. Not now when there is no father to be wary of. He realizes how lucky he was to have them by his side all that time, to have someone there to care for him when his own blood wasn't. He's never felt so much appreciation for Ryuu and Liviya before. He doesn't give them enough credit. Speaking of...

"Ryuu," the fake blonde glanced over, "Where's Liviya?"

"The store."

"Hm," Izumi smirked. "Like a housewife."

"Yeah, like a—" Ryuu snapped a glare to the raven haired, immediately catching on. "What?"

"Housewife." Izumi repeated. "Yours."

Ryuu blushed immensely. "Why would you say that? Why mine?!"

Izumi snorted and walked out of the kitchen. "I'm gay, remember?"

"You're not gay!" Ryuu squawked, "You're bi!"

"I'm gay for Kaoru!"

"That's not—Izumi, get back here!"

Over the course of two weeks Yasushi and Izumi became close friends. One day of walking together to school followed by walking back home on the same day soon became a daily routine for them. Izumi found that walking to the campus was a lot more entertaining when you had someone else there to fool around with.

It was surprising how fast they had clicked. They certainly got along faster than Izumi did with the host club. They even started having lunch together. Sometimes they joined the host club, sometimes Yasushi's own club members, and sometimes they stayed by themselves. Tamaki, unsurprisingly, wasn't at all happy with the change. He claimed Yasushi wasn't proper, whatever that meant, but Izumi just brushed him off until eventually Tamaki left them alone. Honestly, Izumi preferred hanging out with Yasushi than with the others. Not that they weren't fun to be with, but there was a type of fresh air whenever he was with Yasushi. The host club got to be too much to handle at times. They were always trying to get Izumi to go everywhere with them and stuck to him at every given chance. So it was nice to be able to talk to someone outside of the crew. Yasushi allowed him to take a breather.

Like now, even though Yasushi was currently being a prick and blasting "Believer" so loudly that it made his car shake and pulse. He certainly wasn't making it better by singing—although it sounded more like screaming—along with the song in his terrible voice.

"You made me a, you made me a believer!" Yasushi leaned in closer to Izumi, "Believer!"

Izumi winced and pushed him away. Yasushi cackled and moved his body along with the song, "You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer!"

After the chorus, though, he started to hum the rest of the song. Izumi snorted, so he doesn't know all of the lyrics. Still, it was pretty impressive that Yasushi even knew parts of the chorus considering it's all in English.

A couple of minutes passed by, rather painfully with Yasushi's awful singing, before they finally got on the expressway. Izumi was momentarily relieved as he did. Expressways were fast and offered wide lanes. There was less worrying to do with the lack of traffic lights, car horns, crossing pedestrians, and the uncomfortable distance between the opposite traffic.

Izumi lived the majority of his life in America. He learned how to drive there; on the right side of the road. So using his imported right-hand drive car, meant for the right side, on the streets of a country, so different from America, that drives on the left side of the road... well, it certainly wasn't easy nor was Izumi comfortable yet, even if he has been living here for a few months already.

Of course, Izumi could always get another car with a left-hand drive system to make his life easier. It would be difficult—being underage and parentless—but not impossible. Still, he loved his electric blue Corvette Stingray and wasn't about to start using a different car. Although, he could always convert it to a left-hand drive, but that meant wasting money and he didn't have an infinite amount of it.

The point is, they were on the expressway and Izumi's nerves were a bit more relieved. He already gets anxious by himself as it is. Having someone blast music, sing at the top of their lungs, and constantly jump around in their seat as they attempt to dance really puts a strain on him. Plus panic, stress, and increasing heart rates. Yasushi, the fucking prick, couldn't care less about Izumi's distress and strived to make it worse for him.

Though, Izumi had to admit, regardless of the how worked up he was, he wasn't mad or frustrated with Yasushi's actions. It was sort of fun and exciting actually. There was never a dull moment with Yasushi. They could be sitting outside having lunch together and not speaking a word or they could be doing dangerously stupid stuff like this. Either way it wouldn't matter because it was fun just being with the guy.

Yasushi was in the middle of rapping when the music cut off and Izumi's ringtone boomed through the speakers. "Ah man! That was the best part!" he whined.

"Who is it?" Izumi asked. He did not want to risk taking his eyes off the road to read the name on the screen.

"It's—" Yasushi cut off as he snickered. He grabbed Izumi's phone and detached it from the car's system.

Izumi narrowed his eyes, seeing the movements from his peripheral vision. "What are you doing?"

"Answering it," the guy said plainly before holding it up against his ear.

"Wait! But who—"

"Yo Kaoru!" Yasushi exclaimed, the shit-eating grin clear in his voice, and slapped Izumi's urgent hand that was trying to take the phone away. "Yasushi here!"

"Dude!" Izumi whispered hastily, taking his eyes away for a moment to glare at him. Normally he wouldn't care, but Kaoru did NOT like Yasushi. He didn't know why. Kaoru never gave him a reason. Just said he didn't.

"Hello? You there man?"

Izumi strained to hear Kaoru's voice. It was hard and he only managed to hear choppy parts. "Uh... sorry I... expecting... well..."

"Ouch. Can you at least pretend to be a little excited?" Izumi hit Yasushi's shoulder as a warning. The damn guy knew very well Kaoru didn't like him and he enjoyed messing around with it.

"Where's..." Izumi didn't get to hear the rest, but he could figure it out.

"Oh," Yasushi chuckled. Fucking prick. "He's driving right now. I can recite the message."

Kaoru said something else Izumi couldn't catch and Yasushi laughed. "Aw, you don't trust me? I'm hurt."

"Can... put it..." Whatever he said clearly made a point that he was not up for Yasushi's teasing. He sounded irritated and upset.

"Alright, alright!" Yasushi pressed something on the screen and Kaoru was put on speakers. He held the phone closer to Izumi. "You're on."

"Izumi," Kaoru's voice came out, loud and clear. And yup. He wasn't happy.

"I'm here." Izumi breathed out.

"Where are you going? It's 9pm. Isn't it too late to be out and driving?"

Yasushi snorted and Izumi hit his shoulder again. "We're going to stay at Shinjuku for the weekend."

"What?" Kaoru sounded a bit concerned. "But—Izumi, did you forget?"

Izumi scrunched up his brows. "What are you talking about?" What did he forget?

"Wha—our plans! Tomorrow's plans!" Oh shit. Izumi cursed. Fuck! "We've been planning this since last week! How could you forget?"

"Ah, shit. I don't know. I'm sorry! It just—"

"I can't believe it! This is the third time Izumi," Kaoru said angrily. It was worse that he mentioned it being the third time Izumi cancels their plans.

"I know, I know!" Izumi didn't know how to get himself out of this one. "Look, I'm really sorry. It's just that Yasu—"

"Of course, it's fucking Yasushi!" Kaoru snarled. "It's always him!"

"Hey, I'm still here." Yasushi intervened, clearly not liking where this was going.

"That's the problem! You're always there. Always with Izumi. Always in the fucking way!"

Yasushi bristles at that and Izumi speaks up before something could break out. "Kaoru, look. I get that you're mad and it's completely my fault, but don't take it out of Yasushi. He's got nothing to do with this."

"Apparently he has everything to do with this because you can never find the time to do anything with anyone other than with him!"

"Oh, don't say that Kaoru! It's—"

The line went dead and silence filled the space. Izumi cursed and let out a heavy sigh. He would have to call him again later, when he's calmed down a bit.

"What's his problem?" Yasushi muttered as he shifted around in his seat. "It's not that big of a deal. Besides, we're already here."

Izumi frowned. Yasushi had a point, but he didn't know about Kaoru and him. The situation was way too complicated and he preferred the guy thinking they were just friends. There was no point in telling him when no one in school knew about their relationship, other than Hikaru and Haruhi. And then there was the fact that Izumi and Kaoru mainly just acted like friends because of the whole 'break' thing. Close friends to some. Courting to few with the subtle flirting and teasing. But to Yasushi they were just friends.

Although, since he met Yasushi it's been different. He still talked and tried to hang out with Kaoru, but not as much as before. Kaoru didn't like the change at all and now whenever he finds out Izumi was with the other guy he gets mad. A type of mad formed from jealousy. Which was reasonable, but Izumi got annoyed with it at times. A time like right now where Kaoru starts blaming it on Yasushi. Izumi's the one who decided to hang out with him. It's not the guy's fault.

Yasushi huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "How can you be friends with someone like him?"

Izumi laughed despite the mood. "He once asked me the same thing about you."

"How could you not? I'm amazing!" the guy scoffed out. "As for him, he's a spoiled brat."

"Can't argue with you there," Izumi chuckled. "He's a little shit."

Yasushi hummed in agreement.

By the time Izumi pulled up to their hotel it was past 10 and the sky was pitch black. The hotel, however, was illuminated beautifully, shining golden and white through the clear glass doors. The words "Hilton Tokyo" were scripted in bronze at the top of the driveway's overhanging ledge. As expected from a five star hotel. Yasushi had told him Shinjuku was the most popular ward in Tokyo, and it was obvious he didn't lie. Unlike Bunkyo, the ward they lived in, this place was crowded with pedestrians, heavy traffic, and tall buildings. Shinjuku was the center of attraction for tourists. It hosted numerous restaurants, malls, hotels, entertainment centers, and beautiful scenery. Bunkyo also had its own side, but didn't come close to this area. The ward was mainly an education and business center.

Yasushi had been shocked when he found out how little of Tokyo Izumi had explored and insisted on them taking a whole weekend to explore Shinjuku, the ward he grew up in. His family owns a restaurant here too, which he said he was going to take Izumi to before they leave.

Parking the car by the desk at the start of the driveway an older man dressed in a fine suit turns his attention to the boys as they get out and walk over with their bags. Yasushi says his name and hands the man his I.D.—since he was the only one able to check-in, being eighteen already. The man explains their room, two fulls and one bathroom. Yasushi confirms it and the man begins to talk about the hotel amenities: assisted parking, 24-hour front desk, luggage storage, room service, restaurants, indoor pool, two outdoor tennis courts, coffee shops, gift shops, a ballroom, gym, etc. And geez, no wonder this place was so damn big. Not to mention expensive, but that was on Yasushi thankfully.

Once Izumi's car was driven off to the parking garage by a younger man, they were given the keys to their room and escorted by a bellhop. Yasushi tipped the guy and as soon as he was gone tossed himself on the closest bed.

"I'm exhausted!"

"Seriously? I'm the one who drove here," Izumi retorted as he set his bag on the floor and sat down on the other bed, exhaling in relief.

"Yeah, but I was jamming the whole way. I'm thoroughly drained."

Izumi snorted, "I'm the one who should be drained. Do you realize how many times you almost gave me a heart attack?"

"Shame I couldn't accomplish it." Izumi threw one of the decorative cylinder-shaped pillows at him. Yasushi chuckled lightly and kicked off his shoes. "No, but seriously I'm going to sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open."

Izumi rolled his eyes and stood up. "Well, you go do that. I'm going to go make a call."

"Okay, goodnight man." Yasushi yawned and crawled inside the covers and sheets, clothes and all. Izumi smiled and shook his head.

"Night." He turned off the lights before heading out to the balcony at the far side of their room, phone in hand.

He looked around and took in the view of the city. They were pretty high up, on the 15th floor, and the streets below were a blur of red, yellow, and white. Tall buildings surrounded the hotel, and from their spot Izumi could see one of the tennis courts. It was pretty insane—seeing a court on the roof of one of the lower floors.

It was a bit windy, giving the air a slight chill. Tolerable at least, Izumi thought as he leaned over the barrier wall surrounding the balcony. He glanced down and immediately felt the need to look away. He wasn't afraid of heights, but even at this distance he got wary. He turned his attention to his phone, unlocking it and going to his recent calls. The first one being the icon he had as Kaoru's contact—which was a selfie of the auburn haired.

Last week Kaoru decided to yank Izumi's phone from his hands and take off down the hallway. He took a picture while running. That stupidly smug grin of his was wide, taking joy in the obvious fury Izumi was in as he cursed and chased him. Then, after the contact was updated and his clothes were bunched up from being forcibly grabbed by Izumi's hands, Kaoru attempted to take one of him with his own phone. Only it turned out to be an unsuccessful, blurred out picture of half of Izumi's face and half of a hand that was slapping the device away. Kaoru had flailed, managing to catch his phone before it hit the floor. He then whined when he saw the outcome and begged Izumi to let him take another one. Izumi had refused, though. So Kaoru, rather reluctantly, put it as Izumi's icon.

Now that he thought about it, Izumi recalls how he had been trying to show Yasushi something from his phone when Kaoru decided to snatch it away. Then when the wild goose chase was over Yasushi teased the younger boy. Stop trying to seek my friend's attention, he had said with a smirk. Izumi remembers how irritated Kaoru got with the comment, but didn't think much of it. He just figured it was related to the way everything about the guy bothered Kaoru, but now Izumi wasn't so sure that was the only reason why Kaoru's mood immediately flipped as he stomped away from them.

Was he really hanging out with Yasushi too much? Was there some type of unspoken rule specifying how many times you're supposed to hang with a friend? Like he said before, Yasushi and him got along so well. Izumi's never had a close friend like this. He didn't want to lose him. Not over something like this.

Okay no, focus. Focus. Izumi willed himself to finally press that phone icon, and as it rang and rang he resisted the urge to hang up and deal with it tomorrow. He held his breath when the ringing stopped. There was a pause before Kaoru's voice came through.

"Hey." Izumi's heart ached at his tone. It was small and quiet and . . . disheartened in a way. Izumi felt just a bit guiltier then.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, "Hey how—"

"I'm sorry."

Izumi sucked in a breath at that.

"I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you," Kaoru said, his voice wavering and barely above a whisper.

God, Izumi could not handle the way he sounded. "To be fair, I did forget about tomorrow." Completely at fault just as Kaoru really.

An exhausted sigh came from the other line. "No, no. I was the one being an asshole."

"You're not an asshole," Izumi muttered. "You're just, you know, mad that I left and didn't even bother messaging you about it."

There was a moment of silence that followed. Then, with a very firm and clear voice, Kaoru said, "Don't you dare put the blame on yourself. Not after the way I acted. Sure I was mad, but it doesn't excuse the way I yelled at you and Yasushi. Especially him."

"Well, yeah. I agree with that, but it was still a dick move to just not remember our plans."

There was another sigh. "Izumi, I might not like him, but he is your friend. If you want to hang out with him then I have no reason to be upset about that. You're allowed to have different friends and you're allowed to decide who you want to hang out with. It's not with me and I understand—"

"It's not that!" Izumi exasperated. He did not want Kaoru thinking so otherwise. "I do want to do stuff with you, but I just—I just forgot and I feel really bad about it—"

"You have no reason to," Kaoru said, effectively cutting him off. Izumi looked down at the ground with a frown. He literally felt like he was being scolded right now. "Listen Izumi, it's been about two—not even—maybe one hour since we last talked and in that time I've been upset and mad and pretty damn frustrated. I was, you know, thinking about everything that happened and trying to figure out why it did. And it got me thinking... back to previous days and to the way I've been acting recently. When it hit me that it's not fair. I should be happy that you have a new friend and that you get along with him as well as you do. I shouldn't be jealous and trying to pick a fight with him all the time. I can't," Kaoru left out a frustrated sigh. "I can't be expecting you to treat me differently or in a special way when I'm also just your friend like he is."

Izumi's breath hitched at that. In a very quiet and unsure voice he said, "You wanted that?" While it's true that they are "just friends" now because of their break, they have also been courting each other. You know, buying each other little things, going out after school, subtle flirting. It's been quite obvious to both them and the host club. But after Yasushi came in, Izumi hasn't been doing anything of that sort. A wave of guilt came over him.

"In a way, yes. I guess I just got too used to your attention that when you and Yasushi became friends I... I don't know," Kaoru admitted softly. "I missed it."

His heart ached and he wished for nothing more than to be there and hug Kaoru right now. Actually scratch that, he wanted to be there and kiss him. But for now all he could do was reassure him. "Hey, my attention didn't go anywhere. I still very much like you," he said sincerely. "Besides it's a dead end with Yasushi, the guy's completely straight. You're my only choice right now." Kaoru laughed. It was such a sweet and genuine sound that it warmed his cheeks and had him smiling so wide.

"Hey, don't think I'm easy or anything. You still got work to do with me," Kaoru teased.

"Oh sweetie, don't you worry. I'm going to woo you so hard from now on."

"Sweetie?" Kaoru scoffed. "You didn't call me that when we were together."

Izumi could practically hear the pout in his voice and it caused his cheeks to grow even warmer. "Yeah, well you never asked!" he defended.

"From now on you shall address me as sweetie and honey and baby and babe and sweet cheeks—"

"I am not calling you sweet cheeks! It's embarrassing!" Izumi choked out.

Kaoru snorted, "Oh, don't pretend like you don't think my ass is sweet."

His mind immediately went to a dirty place at that and he smirked as he said, "I mean, we haven't tried rimming so I don't know about that yet."

By "rimming" Kaoru let out a sound that sounded like a shriek and a squawk. "You nasty, motherfucker!"

Izumi laughed loudly as Kaoru continued to curse him out using creative words and phrases he's never heard of. And yeah, he missed this too.

"I can't believe you!" Kaoru huffed.

There was a quiet moment after that as both boys just smiled and blushed. Then Izumi broke the silence using a soft voice, "Kaoru?" The other hummed in response. "Are we good now?"

A pause.

"Yeah, we're good."

The situation obviously didn't fix itself just like that—nothing in life is ever that easy—but that doesn't mean it didn't get better. Yes, Kaoru still got annoyed with Yasushi's very presence, but he watched himself now. He made sure he didn't go out of line or too far. He apologized, albeit very grouchy, if he ever did. And he respected when Izumi decided to hang with Yasushi instead.

In turn, Izumi divided his attention better now. He found it wasn't even hard. In fact, he was feeling a bit guilty when he realized how much he did actually enjoy hanging with his other friends. He never realized how much he missed their company. Izumi was forgetting about them when they were the ones who were the first to accept him for who he was. They were the first who didn't judge him.

And Kaoru. Oh god, Kaoru. It's been a mission.

After that day, he's been so irritated and frustrated around the boy. Not in a "I'm started to get annoyed with you" way, but rather in a "every time I'm around you I want to kiss your stupid face" way. Not that Izumi wasn't like this before, but the urge is stronger now. It certainly doesn't help that Kaoru himself is beginning to act like this too. After all, Izumi's the one who moves too fast, not Kaoru. It was one of the major reasons why they were on a so called 'break.' But recently Kaoru has been giving him some... mixed messages.

There are times when they would be sitting on a couch during club hours just chatting with some guests. Izumi is trying really hard to ignore the fluttering in his stomach from being next to the boy, but other than that everything is going well. Until Kaoru starts squirming around in his seat. It started out with only a slight shift to the side or occasional repositioning of his legs, which Izumi didn't pay mind to, but then the shifts happened so often it was obvious the boy was getting either distressed or uncomfortable. As for why Izumi didn't know, but he decided to not question it and continued his conversation with the guests. Then at one point it got hard to ignore as the boy kept scooting closer and closer to him. It wasn't until Kaoru was leaning against his side with their thighs and shoulders brushing against each other, that he stopped. And like a content little kitty Kaoru melted against him so fast it left Izumi spluttering and bright red.

It didn't help that the guests starting teasing him. And it definitely didn't help when Kaoru moved even closer so he was cuddling the raven haired more openly.

Kaoru had shrugged it off when Izumi questioned his behavior afterwards. He claimed he was only "keeping the act up" which Izumi accepted very easily, still a bit winded and flustered. It wasn't until he settled down for the night later that evening that he realized it didn't add up.

What act? There wasn't a theme!

That wasn't even the worst of it! As a result of Izumi's insistence, Kaoru has been regularly going over Izumi's house for judo practice. Albeit he doesn't go over as much as he used to, they still maintain practice two days a week.

True to his words, Izumi doesn't try anything. He'll respectfully control himself even when he swears Kaoru is purposely teasing him.

They're doing their normal routine of sparring and trying out certain holds. Practice has gone by without a fault and they're nearing the closing of their session. This usually consists of a full out, no holding back, final spar which Izumi almost always wins. Or at least he used to considering Kaoru has been getting the victory every time for the past two weeks. And no, this is not Kaoru magically getting better. This is the result of him teasing Izumi like the little shit he is.

You see, the first time this happened Izumi had him in a hold against the mat that should've been impossibly hard to get out of. He knew that Kaoru was seconds away from giving in so he kept his hold firm and tight. One wrong move and Kaoru would take it and break out—Izumi taught him that. But he was certain he would win. He didn't make mistakes or wrong moves like that.

Until Kaoru let out a moan.

Well, okay, so it wasn't actually a moan but rather a sound of distress, but it fucking sounded like one. It caught Izumi so off guard, having not heard something like that from the auburn haired in a long time, that he loosened his grip. Kaoru immediately took advantage and switched their positions to slam Izumi down on his back.

Izumi could've kept going, it was a weak hold, but with the way his mind was baffled up, the spar ended with him losing.

After that day, having caught on to his reaction, Kaoru started doing shit on purpose. Izumi knows he is. Regardless of his denial whenever Izumi asks. He fucking knows Kaoru's doing it on purpose.

There's no way he's accidentally giving Izumi heated looks while squirming in his hold. No way he's casually biting his lip and arching his back. Or baring his neck to the side while letting out a soft whine. There's just no way.

While these things get Kaoru the upper hand that doesn't mean the spar is over just yet. Izumi can still win. He's better than Kaoru and the position they're in is easy to get out of. It's laughable really because of the way Kaoru is only straddling his hips, not even bothering to hold down his arms properly.

The boy wears a smug look on his face as if he's won already and Izumi wants to wipe it right off and prove him wrong. But before he can do anything, as if sensing Izumi's determination to continue, Kaoru sensually swirls his hips. The movement is subtle but with clear intent. It leaves Izumi frozen in his place. Then the fucker has nerve to smirk before getting off Izumi to drink some water.

Now it always ends with the same result: Izumi sprawled out on the mat, feeling very confused with an equally confused dick.

Should he be taking this as some sort of sign? Is he supposed to react in a certain way when Kaoru does these things? It's like he's testing Izumi or something. Poking and prodding to see how far he can go before the raven haired snaps.

At least, that's what it feels like.

Apparently it's not just Izumi either. The other club members have noticed the change in Kaoru's behavior. Tamaki, more than the rest, has been constantly cheering them on, which Izumi is usually the one on the receiving end of. The blonde keeps advising him to make a move, to take him out somewhere nice, or to at least return the signs to let Kaoru know he's interested. It all falls on deaf ears as Izumi doesn't have the nerve to try any of these things in fear it's all a misunderstanding. Which misunderstandings tend to happen a lot when concerning Izumi, so he might as well not act out on impulse just in case.

The others have also been pretty supportive. Haruhi seems happy for them, which is apparent as she always shoves Izumi in Kaoru's general direction whenever he contemplates whether or not he should go up to the boy. Hikaru has gotten better with Izumi but it was still pretty obvious how he was still a bit iffy towards their relationship. Izumi can't blame him honestly. It's messy and complicated, but the break they decided on will hopefully help them have a fresh start. And even if not everything gets fixed, Izumi wasn't going to give up.

Putting that aside, their interactions are more playful than anything. There are times where the twins had some family business to attend to right after club hours, so Hikaru would be gathering all of his belongings immediately after the guests leave, telling Kaoru to do the same. But Kaoru was a little shit to even his brother, and so he would stubbornly refuse to get ready. No matter how much Hikaru would try, Kaoru claimed that nothing would happen if they were a little late to the meeting. Then he would plop himself next to wherever Izumi was sitting and get all cuddly and soft. And all the raven haired could do was turn to Hikaru with an alarmed expression.

There certainly weren't any guests around so Kaoru being like this was strange. Outside of theme-related actions, Kaoru wasn't much of a touchy feely guy with anyone that wasn't his brother. So yes, Izumi gets very alarmed and very confused when Kaoru all of sudden snuggles up to him.

Hikaru would just scoff at the two of them and roll his eyes. Then he leaves the room, completely ignoring Izumi's pleading eyes, to wait until Kaoru finishes whatever it is he's doing. Once the door to the clubroom shuts, Kaoru snickers and pulls away from Izumi, gathers his things quickly and bids everyone goodbye before leaving too.

There was this one time, though, where Kaoru walks up to the door, ready to catch up with his brother when he suddenly turns back around. He stares at Izumi for a few seconds with pursed lips as if he's trying to decide on something. Then with a slight nod to himself, he walks over to Izumi with a determined look. Izumi not knowing what was going on, frowns at him.

It all happens so fast.

With absolutely no hesitation Kaoru bends down to his level and places a quick kiss on his cheek. Then immediately straightens himself, blushing so hard the tips of his ears are red, and leaves without a word. It still takes a couple of minutes before Izumi was able to react, but what just happened leaves him as a literal mess. He's stammering and steaming up, frantically looking at his friends who are still there for some type of help. But even they are shocked and just as lost as he is.

Tamaki is the first to recover, but he's of no help, only patting Izumi on the back and continuing to advise him that he should be making his move soon.

Later that night, he's unable to stop the wheels in his head from spinning. So Izumi decides to think about all of this seriously for once. He's been brushing it off and not going through all the events thoroughly enough. It's time to get to the bottom of this and find a solution on how to counteract all that's been happening with Kaoru.

It's very probable that Kaoru is giving him signs like Tamaki says. The only problem with that is, why is he doing it? If he wants to end the break already then wouldn't he tell Izumi directly instead of doing these things? So of course, Izumi gets where Tamaki is coming from, but it just doesn't add up.

Then there's an option where Kaoru is doing this to tease him. This is very possible considering it's Kaoru we're talking about. But again why? One of the 'rules' or whatever of their break was to not do anything romantic or dating related things. Courting is the only thing they accepted after a talk they had together, but cheek kissing and all that suggestive shit he does during practice? Kaoru hasn't talked to him about any of this. In fact, he flat out refuses to acknowledge that they happen in the first place. Whether it's from embarrassment or what, Izumi doesn't know.

Last option he can think of is if Kaoru is just unable to control himself. Which is, again, very possible too.

So as for what Izumi is going to do, it's nothing.

It might not be the best choice of action honestly, but it is the safest. And after everything that's happened between Kaoru and him, the safe route it is. He doesn't want anything going wrong just because he interrupted Kaoru's actions incorrectly. He cares way too much about the auburn haired to do anything risky. So while this is all confusing the heck out of him, he's not going to do anything. He firmly believes that Kaoru will talk to him when the time comes. So until then, he's sticking with his decision to continue controlling himself and waiting this whole thing out.

Uhhh, hope you enjoyed this. It's been in development for nearly two years after all. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Sooo, let's pray it doesn't take another two years for chapter 37...

PLEASE REVIEW, FOLLOW, AND FAVORITE \(^.^)/