A/N: Just posting in between 'working' on my thesis. Or pretending to, anyway. I should be at school... but I'm not. Anyway, thank you to all who reviewed. Wish me luck on my Physics exam later. I'm totally screwed because I spent the night watching anime and typing this instead of studying for it. But then again, who wouldn't? Oh yeah, the responsible people...

I waffled between the phone call and the commoner baking and then I finally hit on a bright idea! I did both. Haha. It was a bit difficult, but nothing TOO hard.

Anyway, without further ado, I present to you all Chapter Three.

Chapter Three: Sweet Things

"It was psychosomatic," Kyouya pronounced, taking off his glasses and pronouncing his diagnosis. As an Ootori, of course he had to have the best medical training as well; he couldn't just be someone on the sidelines like his brothers. He took the time to learn it himself.

He had just given Kaoru a mild sedative, and the young Hitachiin had been asleep for twenty minutes now. "But there were also signs of fatigue and overexertion. Hasn't he been sleeping properly?"

"Um…" Hikaru thought about it. "I think that he has, but… you know, it would be better if you just talked to Kaoru about this. I don't really get what to say."

Kyouya gave a frustrated growl. Hikaru didn't know his own brother's sleeping habits, even though they slept in the same room. "You haven't been kicking him off the bed again, have you?"

"Nah, we haven't slept in the same bed since that night."

The Shadow King frowned. "So he's been sleeping in another room. Well, I suppose that explains your lack of knowledge about his current—"

"Uh, he's not sleeping in another room," Hikaru confessed. "He stays on the floor, most nights… sometimes he stays awake the whole night instead…"

Kyouya took a deep breath. "I see," he said, as calmly as possible. But honestly, he wanted to yank out Hikaru's lungs and make a hat out of them. "I think that's mostly why he's so exhausted. You should take better care of your brother, Hikaru."

"O… okay," Hikaru said nervously. "I'll just wait with Haruhi and milord. Could you call me when he wakes up?"

"Of course," Kyouya said as he left. He seethed inside. He hated seeing that. Kaoru lavished all his attention on an imbecile of a brother who didn't give a damn about him at all. He checked his watch. The sedative was only supposed to stay in effect for half an hour. Kaoru would be waking up soon. He contemplated recalling Hikaru, but decided that the older Hitachiin wasn't worth it.

When he opened the door to the dressing rooms where Kaoru was stretched out on the couch, he saw that the redhead was already awake and blinking.

"How did I get here?" Kaoru asked.

"You were with Hikaru," Kyouya explained. "Then you started hyperventilating, and finally fainted. You woke up at some point after that, but I gave you a sedative to calm you down since you were still panicking. We didn't want what happened to be publicized any more than it already had, so they had me look at you instead of taking you to the infirmary. It wasn't exactly life-threatening anyway." He looked down at Kaoru without a trace of humor in his dark eyes. "You've been wearing yourself out, Kaoru."

Kaoru let out a little laugh. "Yeah, but from now on I'm going to stop sleeping on the floor," he said quietly.

"I see," Kyouya said. "So… what exactly did he say? Or did you ask him?"

He shrugged. "I asked him. He admitted it. End of story."

"Kaoru… your illness was partly caused by your emotional and mental state." Kyouya looked him squarely in the eye. To Kaoru's credit, he met the gaze unflinchingly. "The feelings that you have for your brother are destroying you. You can't let them consume you."

"I won't," Kaoru promised, his voice heavy. Kyouya was stronger than he was. He had dealt with Tamaki's easy admission so easily. True, he had engaged in a mindless act of masochism, but on the other hand, that was the only way he lost control. At least Kyouya hadn't done something like freak out and lose consciousness because of the incident. "I already decided to give him up." He tipped back his head to stop the tears from releasing themselves from his eyes.

If Kyouya could bear it, so could he.

Kyouya sighed. The boy was being a heroic fool, and he detested it. "Kaoru, you aren't me," he said, as though reading the young Hitachiin's mind. "If you want to cry, do so. I'm here. I will hear you out, just as you heard me out that day."

The floodgates opened. "I can't hate him!" he said, leaning his head on Kyouya's shoulder. "Damn him! I'm his twin. It was always just the two of us against the world. Doesn't that count for something? It should!" He choked back a sob. "If I had fallen in love with Haruhi, I wouldn't have ignored him. Even if I found someone else, I would never have neglected him the way he neglects me."

The Shadow King nodded, letting the redhead soak through his jacket. It would have to be dry-cleaned later, but when he weighed the option of charging Hikaru for it, he decided against it. Better to keep this a private matter. "I know," he said gently. It was the first time his tone had been so understanding. "You can cry all you want, Kaoru. It hurts, and maybe it'll be a little better this way."

"But you don't cry, Kyouya-sempai," he said, pushing himself away and looking mildly embarrassed at how he had behaved. "I just… I don't want to be weak." He gave a watery chuckle. "I don't know. I thought that I was the more mature one, emotionally. But it turns out that I'm the one who doesn't want to let go."

"Do you really think that you can?" Kyouya asked seriously.

"Yes," Kaoru confirmed. "I can." Then he quailed, his own strength and resolve failing him. "I…"

"Don't worry, I'll be here to help you," Kyouya assured him. Mentally, he reminded himself that it was also for benefits and not out of a silly, moral need to reach out and aid someone in distress.

"Really?" Kaoru asked.

Kyouya looked away. "Well, you did help me too. I would never have skipped club activities if it wasn't for you. Actually, now that I think about it, how does that constitute as help? We lost money because of our absence," he said thoughtfully.

Kaoru began to laugh. "Sempai! You think too much." He wiped at his face. "There are benefits that aren't necessarily about connections or money. There's also your own happiness to think of, and the happiness of those you care about." He looked up at Kyouya. "And I would prefer to think that that's really why you're doing this for me, instead of just because you want to get closer to the Hitachiin family."

"If I wanted just that, I wouldn't have antagonized Hikaru," Kyouya pointed out calmly. "I think that my unrequited love for Tamaki has already proved that I am not a heartless calculating machine."

"True," Kaoru said. He yawned. Stealthily, Kyouya injected him with another sedative. "Ouch! Kyouya… sempai…"

"Sleep a little longer," the Shadow King said softly as the redhead's eyes began to droop.

Kaoru was as good as his word. That evening he had his maids move all his things to another room, one that was a good distance away from Hikaru's. At first he was tempted to just take the room beside his twin's, but then he realized how absolutely pointless that would be.

"You don't have to move that far away," Hikaru said, annoyed. They were having dinner alone together; their parents were both away at business meetings. At first, Kaoru had tried to say that he wasn't hungry, but then Hikaru informed him that Kyouya had threatened him with bodily harm if he didn't see to it that Kaoru ate and slept well from now on. Apparently Kyouya had phrased it in such a way that Hikaru actually took it seriously. "I mean, the room beside ours—mine, I mean—is still empty."

"Hikaru… look, I want to sleep soundly at night, and I also want a bit of distance." He gave his brother a small smile. "I don't want it to be like what happened in club today—always being kept right there with you but it's still useless."

"Useless?" Hikaru echoed. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

Kaoru sighed. "Nothing." He forced down some of the food. "I'm really not hungry, Hikaru…" he whined. "I already ate a little."

"Kaoru-sama," one of the maids said timidly, interrupting their conversation.

He turned to look at her with a steely look in his eye. "Yeah?" The way he tossed out the word reminded them all of the time they had done something to one of the servants to place her in an insane asylum.

She gulped and took a few steps back. "Ah, Ootori-sama sent something. He said that you should eat, but if you didn't, he offered…" She trailed off. "He sent ice cream," she finished lamely.

Kaoru's angry expression vanished. "Really?" he asked hopefully. She nodded, relieved that he seemed to be getting back to his normal lovable self. "Then please send a dish of it up to my room. I'll eat it there."

"What's he doing sending ice cream to you for?" Hikaru asked. "You can just buy ice cream yourself."

The younger twin was about to say something about how he couldn't buy that, Kyouya made it especially that way, but he checked himself. He had promised Kyouya he wouldn't tell anyone. Hikaru caught the hastily swallowed retort. "What're you hiding?" he asked Kaoru, eyes narrowing.

"It's nothing, idiot," Kaoru said, getting to his feet. "And don't worry, Kyouya-sempai won't kill you just because I didn't finish all of my dinner. For all I know, he probably put in multivitamins into that ice cream." Actually, now that he thought about it, it was a very Kyouya thing to do. He smiled faintly.

"Look, it's not just that. I don't like it that Kyouya-sempai is paying so much attention to you," Hikaru said, balling up the linen napkin on his lap and tossing it onto the table angrily. "Kaoru… that guy doesn't do anything for no reason. You know that, right? I don't want him to use you."

Kaoru flushed. "He's not using me. See, that's just the thing, okay? He gets it; you don't."

"What?" Hikaru's brow furrowed. "But I thought that I was your twin. We tell each other everything."

The younger redhead let out a derisive snort. "You didn't even tell me about Haruhi until I flat-out asked you. I don't think you ever intended to tell me unless I pried your secret out of you—or until I had to find out with all the others. We don't tell each other everything anymore, Hikaru."

"But you tell it to Kyouya-sempai?" he demanded.

Kaoru inhaled sharply. "I didn't even have to tell him," he said coolly. "He already knew. I guess it's because he pays attention."

Hikaru didn't even clue in to the fact that Kaoru was implying that he didn't pay attention. Then again, subtlety wasn't exactly Hikaru's strong point. "It's all because he could tell us apart, wasn't it?" Hikaru asked, clenching his fists. "After that, you got all weird."

"Stop trying to justify it that way!" Kaoru hurled back. "Look, Hikaru—you can't have it both ways!" The atmosphere had grown unbearably tense; he realized that their servants had scattered, fleeing their battle for the sanctuary of their cleaning and cooking duties. Lucky them, he thought wryly. "Look, I don't want to fight," he said. "So could we just let this stop here?"

"I'm not going to let you go for him," Hikaru said. Kaoru closed his eyes briefly, wondering whether Hikaru knew just what he was saying.

"You already let me go, Hikaru," Kaoru said quietly. "And now it's not up to you anymore."

Fuyumi poked her head into Kyouya's room. "Kyouya, phone for you." She kept doing that, even though her brothers (including Kyouya) repeatedly told her to leave that task to the servants.

Kyouya raised his eyebrows. It was rare that someone called for him specifically, and on the house phone. Normally if it was a business matter, people called him on the silver cellphone. Of course he also had a navy cellphone for everyday, but it was usually just Tamaki who called him on it. He didn't really give the number away to many people (well actually, he had just given it to Tamaki and his sister). "Who is it? If it's that idiot again—"

"No, it isn't Tamaki," Fuyumi said. "It's one of the Hitachiin family. Is it a business thing?"

He shook his head. "No," he said, not caring to elaborate further. He ignored the spark of curiosity in her eyes as he took the receiver from her before slamming the door shut and locking it. He had soundproofed his room long ago, and he knew that she wouldn't be able to eavesdrop. "Hello?"

"Kyouya-sempai…"

"Kaoru." He smiled. Kaoru sounded a lot more upbeat right now, although he could still detect a hint of sadness in the tone. It was strange; how he could tell how a person was feeling just from the way they said his name. "How are you?"

"Much better, thanks. And thanks for the ice cream. It's definitely just what I needed."

Kyouya smirked. He had actually bought in to the cliché of ice cream helping to mend a broken heart. After all, he had a debt to Kaoru—and he wasn't about to let it slide; he preferred having all accounts settled, whether it was a financial debt or one of honor. Besides, he couldn't have the freshman have any dirt on him. It would be prudent to cultivate his friendship, just in case he decided to tell Tamaki about his little outburst… "I didn't really think that you would feel like eating much right now," he explained. "I'm glad that you like it. And by the way, how come you're calling my home number?"

"I didn't want to call your business cell," Kaoru said. "That would have been weird. I've called it before about club stuff, so I know from experience."

The Shadow King chuckled. It was ingrained for him to immediately become sharper, more impersonal and ruthless when he answered the phone. It was said that the very way he said 'hello' while answering it was enough to make anyone quake in their shoes. "True," he said. Then, on impulse, he decided to make an offer. "But I do have another cellphone that I always carry with me. Perhaps it would be more convenient if you called that in the future." And that way, Fuyumi won't pester me about the calls—and he's certain to be under my thumb a little more. I can't let him escape with information on me.

On the other line, Kaoru smiled. It was an open invitation for him to contact Kyouya in the future, although Kyouya didn't say so directly. "Okay, sempai," he said, scribbling down the number as Kyouya rattled it off. "Thanks."

"It's just that the house line has to go through my sister or the servants first," Kyouya said. "And my sister is a shameless eavesdropper."

Kaoru laughed. "Am I hearing the true Kyouya Ootori?" he teased.

"Perhaps," Kyouya said, smiling too. "But I neither deny nor confirm your suspicions."

"Oh yeah, how's your hand?"

"Much better. Remind me next time never to take my anger out on innocent walls. It costs too much."

"What, you had to fix the walls?"

"Yes, and my efficiency was impaired by thirty-two percent."

Suddenly their cellphones began ringing at the same time, on opposite ends of the line. "Hold on," they said simultaneously. Kyouya frowned as he scrolled down a text message.

"That idiot," he muttered while Kaoru grinned.

"Milord sure likes to give advance notice, doesn't he?" Kaoru asked him. "But I don't know, going to your house might be fun."

Kyouya snorted. "It would have been better if I had been the one to extend the invitation, not him. He is not the master of this place."

Kaoru smiled. "But we're only meeting at your house, sempai," he said mildly. "After that, we're all supposed to be heading to our house for snacks and things." He smirked. "I wonder whether Hikaru knows about this."

"Ask him," Kyouya dared.

"Too far to walk," Kaoru said. "I'm on the opposite wing of the house now." He sent a quick text message to his brother, asking him whether he had gotten Tamaki's message.

"That's a big leap for you," Kyouya noted. "I'm surprised."

"Yeah, well, I thought that if I was going to go, I might as well do it right," Kaoru explained. His brother replied. "Hikaru knew. He was the one who actually suggested it to milord."

Kyouya gritted his teeth. "I will yank out your brother's ribcage and use it as a doorstopper."

"That's not very nice," Kaoru said, but he was also mildly irritated. "That idiot didn't even tell me."

"Worse, he encouraged Tamaki," Kyouya said. "It's an open invitation to death. What are we supposed to be doing anyway?"

Kaoru scrolled down Hikaru's message. "Haruhi's going to be teaching us some commoner baking."

Kyouya let out a growl of frustration. "If we're all going to your house, why do we have to meet at mine?"

"I thought that would be obvious, sempai," Kaoru said. "You don't like waking up in the mornings, and they set this at seven."

"Seven?" Kyouya said in a dangerous tone. "Forget yanking out your brother's ribcage… by the time I'm done with him, he won't have any bones left."

"I still think that you two are making too big a deal out of this," Haruhi said. She was grumpy, having been dragged around by the two hyperactive hosts who had shown up on her doorstep at six o'clock. She tugged at the worn sleeves of her sweater. "And why does the excuse have to be commoner baking?"

"I have no idea," Hikaru said. "If you ask me, milord's plan makes minimum sense—and that's at best. But since I couldn't come up with a better plan, I had to give in."

"Because your love-filled goodies will cause them to admit the truth!" Tamaki declared as the car brought them up the Ootori driveway. "I'm sure of it, my precious daughter! Mother should not be keeping secrets from daddy!"

"My goodies are not love-filled," Haruhi said.

Hikaru stifled a laugh. "You know… I have about ten different innuendos going through my head right now."

Haruhi flushed and said nothing more, concentrating instead on Hunny and Mori's car beside Tamaki's. Why couldn't she have gone with them instead? She offered Mori a small smile and was gratified to see that he smiled back, looking at her through the window.

Kaoru had woken up to be informed by the maids that Hikaru had already left, accompanied by Tamaki. Hikaru had told them not to wake Kaoru up and to say that he had gone with milord to pick up Haruhi. Needless to say, he didn't take it in a good way.

Yeah, sure, I'm your twin and best friend and all that crap, he thought, rolling his eyes as he yanked a green shirt over his head. Thanks so much for bringing me along, then.

Kyouya wasn't having much of a better day. "Tamaki-sempai…" Haruhi ventured. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Maybe it was the smashed remains of an alarm clock from yesterday lying on the floor beside the doorway that made her wary, but something told her that it was more than that.

"Of course he's not sure," Hikaru breathed. "I am not going to risk my neck just to wake up the Low-Blood Pressure Evil Lord."

But Tamaki had already bounced on Kyouya's bed, throwing caution and sanity to the wind. "KYOOOOOOOUUUUUUYAAAA! WAKE UP!" he screeched, making the others take cover a short distance away. Apparently the host club's president was either suicidal or very, very stupid. The next thing they knew, Tamaki was flying over to the other side of the room. The Low-Blood Pressure Evil Lord had been awakened.

"I was up all night balancing the Berlin accounts and I have only been asleep for two hours," Kyouya said, emanating an evil purple aura. "If you want to live, I suggest you get away."

His eyes scanned the group and his brain sleepily registered that someone was missing. Immediately he glared at Hikaru. Hadn't he just told the redhead to take better care of his twin? He perceived that the older Hitachiin had probably left Kaoru behind. "Get the hell out of here. All of you."

"But—but Kyouya, we're going to do commoner baking today, remember?" Tamaki said with a timid smile.

Without even bothering to plaster his usually evil smile on his face, Kyouya told him exactly what he could do with his commoner baking.

"Mother! How could you say that in front of our precious children?" Tamaki wailed as Mori covered Hunny's ears. Haruhi winced, while Hikaru looked in awe as he mumbled, "I didn't even think that Kyouya-sempai knew that word."

Kaoru ran up the stairs, having been informed by the Ootori servants that the rest of the host club was already in Kyouya's room. It was actually pretty easy to find Kyouya's room; he just had to follow the sound of Tamaki's incessant howling. He was barely awake himself, and was still clutching at the twin cups of coffee that he had thought to buy before racing to Kyouya's house. Maybe someone in the host club would want some—or maybe he was just so used to buying two coffees that he did it out of habit.

"Uh… what did I miss?" he asked, as he saw that the host club was huddled in a corner while Kyouya was sitting up in bed, looking as threatening as ever and ready to flop back against his pillows. "Oh." One glance in Tamaki's direction confirmed what he needed to know. He walked over to Kyouya and handed him the other cup of coffee. "Here."

The purple aura vanished as Kyouya took it and put his glasses on. "Thanks," he said, taking a sip and enjoying the jolt of caffeine running through his veins. He only ever became human before noon if he consumed copious amounts of coffee. Otherwise, he staggered through the morning in a furious, zombie-like state. "It's much appreciated, Kaoru."

"No problem, sempai." Kaoru felt a bit sheepish, realizing that the rest of the host club members were looking at him as though he had just tamed a wild beast. In a way, he kind of had.

"MOTHER, HOW COME YOU TOLERATE THAT DEVILISH TWIN AND NOT ME?" Tamaki whined.

Kyouya winced. Even with the coffee, his ears weren't yet equipped to deal with Tamaki's irritating voice. "Tamaki," he said calmly. "I am giving you ten seconds to get out of the room before I call my private guards." He checked his watch. He had only counted to two before the rest of the host club had raced out the door as well. Kaoru remained in the room, laughing.

"Those fools," Kyouya muttered as continued sipping the coffee. He got up and padded over to his chest of drawers, sifting through his clothing. He pulled out a jade-colored sweater and black pants and tossed them onto the bed.

"Hey, we'll match," Kaoru said, looking down at his green shirt.

"I can think of worse people to match with." He nodded at Kaoru. "Thank you for the coffee."

"So that's what it takes to soften up the Low-Blood Pressure Evil Lord in the mornings," Kaoru said with a smile as Kyouya headed to the shower. Kyouya glanced back and finally surrendered himself to a rueful grin.

"Just don't let that fact get out," Kyouya said as he closed the bathroom door with a slam.

"Nice apron," Kyouya remarked.

Kaoru flushed. "Oh, shut up," he grumbled. He was the last one to grab an apron, and he was stuck wearing a frilly pink one. Kyouya wasn't even wearing one. He started to pull it off, but Kyouya stopped him.

"No, leave it. It suits you," Kyouya said, smiling. There was something amusing about the way Kaoru reacted to his careless comments. Perhaps he could use it to his advantage… Kaoru grinned back and rolled his eyes.

"Ow!" Hikaru said as he put down the tray of cookies. He sucked on his thumb, looking for all the world like a little boy. Kaoru sneaked a glance at him but said nothing, merely concentrated on mixing more batter.

Haruhi materialized at Hikaru's side. "I told you to use those mitts," she said, exasperated. "Of course you'll get burned if you don't. It's still hot." She took his hand and ran it under some cold water.

"I was distracted," Hikaru said grumpily, glancing at his brother before shooting a venomous look at Kyouya.

Kaoru sensed Kyouya's chest vibrating with suppressed laughter at his side, and he turned to look at the Shadow King. "You think Hikaru's injury is funny?" he asked.

"No," Kyouya said, a secretive smile blooming on his face. "But I can't help laughing at the irony of it all." He shook his head, still smirking, as he tasted the batter. He made a face. "They'll love this. It's really sweet."

"Oh yeah, you don't like sweet things," Kaoru remembered. "So what are you making, then?"

"Well, Tamaki did insist that I try my hand at something, and it never pays to ignore him," Kyouya sighed. "But I refused to do any baking, so now he's sulking in the corner." A quick glance in Tamaki's direction confirmed that the host club king was indeed at the far end of the room, drawing circles on the ground while emitting a depressed aura. "But I made some popsicles."

"KYOOOOOOOOUUUUUYAAAAAA!" Tamaki wailed. "Popsicles are not part of the beautiful bonding of commoner baking! You just FREEEEEZZZZZZEEEEE those things in the freezer! What about the warmth of commoner baking?"

Kyouya sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. There were times that he wondered why he even listened to Tamaki. Oh yes. Firstly, he was the Suoh heir. Secondly, he was still sort of in love with him. The Shadow King was annoyed. He couldn't wait until he got over his adolescent crush.

"What are you going to make, then?" Kaoru asked.

"I suppose that a cake would be easy," Kyouya said. "And I've made coffee cake before—so at least I know what to do," he added in an undertone. "But don't let the others catch on; otherwise they'll want me to help them, like Haruhi."

Kaoru smirked. "True," he said as he popped his own cookie mix into the oven.

"Hey, milord," Hikaru whispered. "Have you forgotten about the objective of this mission?"

Hunny frowned at them. "I think that we should leave Kyou-chan and Kao-chan alone," he said.

Mori nodded in agreement. "They're doing okay," he said. It was rare that he even spoke, but now his eyes were trained on the two hosts and he had obviously been observing them for some time. "Let them work it out."

"No way! I'm not letting my brother be the Shadow King's victim," Hikaru said.

"And there's no way that mother would actually be in love with that devilish twin! He isn't good enough for Kyouya!" Tamaki added.

Hikaru glared at him. "What did you say?"

Haruhi held up her hands to make peace. "If you guys fight, they'll overhear you." That shut the other two up.

Twenty minutes later, Kyouya was already done with his coffee cake. "That was quick," Kaoru said, eyeing the chocolate-coffee icing.

"Yes, well, it was an absurdly simple recipe," Kyouya said. He cut into it for a taste test. "Want some?" he asked, holding out a forkful.

"What, I'm your guinea pig?" Kaoru asked jokingly. "Better put the paramedics on standby." Kyouya smirked and put the cake into his mouth to shut him up.

"See! Things like that!" Hikaru hissed. Haruhi shushed him and told him to concentrate on his own cookies.

"Amazing, sempai!" Kaoru said, chewing. "Ever considered giving up the business to run your own patisserie?"

"Not on your life; it isn't fun enough," Kyouya said, taking a bite of it himself. Hmm. It was pretty good, although it had been a while since he'd last baked. "I find nothing more exhilarating than being in head-to-head competition in business. It takes a lot of skill and slyness… it keeps me on my toes."

Kaoru chuckled. "That sounds just like you, sempai." He offered Kyouya some of his cookies. "Would you like to taste my cookies?"

"Kaoru… did anyone ever tell you how very wrong that sounded?"

The redhead blushed. "Just try them?"

Kyouya took one and bit into it thoughtfully. "Somehow the taste reminds me of you," he commented and dabbed at his mouth with the napkin.

The redhead blushed. "That sounded like an innuendo, sempai. You've got a really perverted mind underneath the whole I'm-so-proper-act, don't you?"

Kyouya smirked. "Believe what you want."

"If anyone wants some, they can help themselves," he said, putting the cake out on the counter. Hunny attacked immediately, much to Kyouya's amusement. Perhaps his baking skills could serve some use in strengthening his connections after all. He smiled as the others heaped praise on him, except for Hikaru, who refused to try it.

Come to think of it, Tamaki didn't try Kaoru's cookies either.

"Hey… what were you saying was so ironic earlier?" Kaoru asked Kyouya.

"It's simple. When we're together, Hikaru and Tamaki both get mad." Kyouya shrugged as he helped himself to another one of Kaoru's cookies, even though he had told Kaoru earlier that he thought they were too sweet. "It's odd—unfair, even. When we're around for just them, they ignore us. When we leave them for other things, they cling onto us. It's a paradox. And it's selfish."

"Ah," Kaoru said. Then he paused, watching Kyouya nibble at the cookie. "I thought you didn't like sweet things, sempai."

Kyouya smirked. "If I didn't, why would I still be around you?"

Hikaru was furious. He hadn't heard all of their conversation—okay, he'd basically heard nothing that Kyouya said—but he at least heard the Shadow King's last comment. And he was furious at the way that Kaoru was blushing like some innocent schoolgirl when his brother had laughed off some of the worst innuendos that he had come up with without even blinking. Why couldn't Kaoru just wake up and see that Kyouya was manipulating him?

"Kaoru, want some?" Hikaru asked, slamming his tray of cookies between his twin and the Shadow King, startling the younger redhead badly. Kyouya didn't seem the least bit surprised.

"Uh… okay?" Kaoru ventured, taking one of the cookies. They were slightly burnt, but he took a bite anyway. For Hikaru, he would probably scarf down a bucket of dead bugs and say, "Delicious" with a completely straight face.

His eyes bugged out when the morsel hit his tongue. Compared to this, he would take a bucket of dead bugs any day. "It's… unique." He chewed it manfully, swallowing the small mouthful that he consumed. He put the rest of the cookie down on the counter. "No one could ever accuse you of being unoriginal, Hikaru."

Hunny tried it and was more candid.

He spat it out and ran for a glass of chocolate milk.

"Is it that bad?" Hikaru asked, heart sinking.

Haruhi took the smallest nibble possible. She looked Hikaru straight in the eyes. "I hate to say it, but yeah, it's that bad. Don't worry; you'll do better next time. I nearly burnt down the house the first time I tried cooking. I think you mixed up some of the ingredients or something."

Hikaru looked sheepish. "I kind of just tossed in whatever I felt like after a while."

"Yes, that would explain it," Haruhi said seriously. Kaoru was struggling not to give in to the urge to gag repeatedly until the horrible taste got out of his mouth. A popsicle appeared in front of his face. "Here," said Kyouya. "Want one?"

"Thanks," Kaoru said gratefully. He saw that Kyouya had his own and was offering some to the others, all of whom declined. Haruhi, Mori and Hunny just didn't want any. Hikaru was still pissed off at the Shadow King. And Tamaki refused to eat 'the cold product of an insensitive freezer, when there are so many warm, love-filled goodies like your beautiful cake for a king to consume!'

He watched Kyouya lick the popsicle. There was something decidedly sexy about it, he though, tearing his eyes away from the pink tongue running down the frozen surface. It was almost a private thing. He saw Hikaru glowering at him when he dropped his gaze, flushed, and he realized that his brother was angry again. What was wrong with him, anyway? That was Kyouya-sempai, not Hikaru, which he was looking at. He never thought that hearts could skip beats—it sounded so corny and clichéd, like something that only happened in movies and stories—but they did, apparently.

"Hey, Hikaru, do you want a taste?" Kaoru asked, licking at the popsicle too. It was good, as was everything edible that Kyouya made, even though, as Tamaki said, it was just frozen stuff. Apparently the host king didn't appreciate how difficult it was to come up with these sorts of flavors—vanilla and chocolate and something slightly spicy, with just a hint of lemon. It was a weird combination, but it worked. And at least it got the taste of Hikaru's cookies out of his mouth.

"No, I don't want any," Hikaru grumbled, storming away.

"He's so sensitive," Haruhi sighed, starting to go after him, but Mori stopped her with a shake of his head. It was better to let the Hitachiin sulk in peace until he got over it.

Kyouya shrugged at Kaoru. "Just let him go," he said softly, knowing that the younger boy was about to bolt after his brother. Kaoru seemed to wilt, stopping in his tracks. "He has to learn how to deal."

"Of course," Kaoru said, but his eyes were still sad.

Kyouya leaned forward. "Don't let it get to you, Kaoru." He shrugged. "If you can do it, he can do it too."

Kaoru bristled. "But he's sensitive—"

The Shadow King nodded. "That's why it's best to start early."

"What about the way you look at—"

"Do not mention that here," Kyouya said in a low voice. Apparently Kyouya was a bit sensitive too. "I don't want to risk anyone overhearing us." He sucked on the popsicle, seeming to think something over—not exactly seeing that Kaoru was watching his movements with a light blush tingeing his cheeks. "It's only a matter of time until that person is out of my mind."

"Man, that's cold," Kaoru said.

"No," Kyouya said. "That's life."

A/N: So there. Both the phone call and commoner baking. Man, I kinda feel sorry for Hikaru... I am so evil. What did you guys think? I'd love to get your feedback. Anyway, I'll try to update soon. As always, more reviews equals faster updates!