a/n: Hey guys, I'm back! After a long hiatus, I'm made my way back to ffn with the rewrite of an old story. I changed it from present to past tense and from first-person to third-person point of view.
I'd like to make a note that this story takes place a little less than a year after the end of the anime. I'd like to add that both Mori and Honey are in college, but still play a major role in the plot of this. Yuu will be a first-year with Yasuchika and Satoshi (for plot purposes). I just wanted to explain those differences from the original.
This fanfiction is crossposted on Wattpad.
disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the OHSHC characters, anime or manga. All credits to their rightful owner. Although I do have rightful ownership to Yuukou de Grantaine, a few minor OCs mentioned, unless stated otherwise. I also own the plot, idea, and setting for this fanfiction.
trigger warning: This fanfiction deals with possible triggers such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and post-self-harm actions/thoughts. Please proceed with caution.
After his mother's death, Yuukou de Grantaine is forced to move to Japan and live with his older brother, Tamaki Suoh. A lot has changed in the three years since the two had last seen each other, although Tamaki seems to be oblivious to that fact and jumps right back into the relationship they once had. But Yuukou isn't exactly willing to let his brother see the disgrace he believes he's become, so everything is bottled up once again.
But with the help of some new friends, and a few possible love interests too, maybe he can put the pieces back together and finally let Tamaki see the completed puzzle he was hiding for so long.
Chapter One | The Thing About Time
28 September 2007
Everything about the rain was calming; the soft pitter-patter sound it made as it landed on anything in its path, the oceans of puddles it created on the ground, the races each droplet would have down the windowpane, it was just relaxing.
Or at least it would have been relaxing if the tension between them wasn't so thick it could be sliced with a knife.
One teen's forehead leaned against the cooling glass of the window as an attempt to calm himself; the only thing blocking his skin from the glass was the trapped, thin curtain of bangs.
In his entire life, he'd never ridden in a limo, let alone even thought of being in one. But there he was, leaving the Bunkyo airport, sitting next to his older brother, who he hadn't seen since he was twelve.
The last three years for him had been quite a handful of an adventure, on the downside, so he wondered, had things been okay for his brother? Was he doing alright? How had their father and grandmother been treating him?
Irritation flooded his mind with thoughts of his father. The man was nothing more than someone who had left them behind when they were young, even though he came back long enough to claim his brother in his teen years.
Forgiving him was the last thing on his mind.
"Ya know, Yuukou—" He had been in Japan so long, he had developed a pretty thick accent. "—you've changed a lot since I last saw you." The words echoed through the back end of the limo, interrupting their silence.
His eyes met almost identical violet irises—one had a slightly more blueish hue than the other—as a signal for him to continue. "You look completely different; 've'really grown. And you're acting completely different, too."
Was this conversation going anywhere, Yuukou wasn't sure, so he just shrugged in response.
"And what happened to your beautiful blond hair?" Slender fingers reached for a strand of longish dark hair, only to stop when his hand is slapped away.
"I dyed it." Yuukou shook his head to allow his bangs to fall over his eyes, a tactic he used often to avoid eye contact. "Blond is such a boring color."
"Boring?!" the elder half questioned, half exclaimed over-dramatically as if his beliefs had just been insulted, or something like that. "How can blond be boring?! My hair is blond, and I like it just fine!"
"I don't, Tamaki." He said it in a stern voice, silencing the other.
Yuukou rested his hands in his lap, moving his head from the window to leaning against the back of the seat, closing his eyes and releasing a long sigh.
He could've avoided the whole social situation and taken out his headphones to ignore the world for the realm of music, but unfortunately, they recently broke, and he'd yet to get a new pair.
Music had been an escape of his for as long as he could remember. His mother was a brilliant pianist and taught both everything she knew. Yuukou had even picked up some skills of his own in different types of instruments—such as the cello, guitar, drums, and even the violin—over the years.
He kind of wondered what his brother had done with his musical talent lately.
It didn't take long for the blond to speak again.
"Hey, Yuukou—"
"I prefer Yuu." He didn't realize he'd said the words until he was called the name he had asked for.
"Okay, Yuu—" Tamaki was cut off by the sound of his—or what was assumed his—phone going off. "Pardon me, Yuu."
Yuu shrugged, letting his hair fall over his eyes once more.
Tamaki answered the call. "Hello? Yes, Father, I have Yuukou with me. Yes, Father, he's doing well..."
The window became a pillow again as Yuu's gaze drifted the passing scenery. The rain had lightened slightly, but it didn't appear to be lifting any time soon as it continued to pour down from the darkened clouds.
There was no point in him bothering to pay any attention. After all, he could only hear one end of the conversation and he didn't care much to listen to the other end, even if he could. And it wasn't long before the call ended and Yuu's attention was pulled back to Tamaki.
"Father has an unexpected meeting and will not be able to join us for dinner," Tamaki explained with a frown etching its way on his lips.
Another shrug. It was a nasty habit.
Within a few minutes, the limo came to a slow stop. The driver stepped out and walked around to the door beside Tamaki, then opened it. "Tamaki-sama," he said with a bow.
Tamaki stepped out of the limo first, smiling at the driver. "Thank you."
"Yuukou-sama." Yuu's eyes met the driver's as he spoke. "Sama" was a formal honorific generally used in Japan to establish social status; he'd never been called something so high-class before (that he could remember anyway). Before last week, he was considered, as Tamaki put it, a commoner.
The driver bows again, this time at the younger rather than the elder. "Glad you could join us."
It was a moment before Yuu stepped out of the limo, rushing after his brother, anxiety already brewing in the pit of his stomach.
"Welcome to your new home, Frère," Tamaki smiled, the Japanese accent he had made his French sound slightly off, but Yuu knew exactly what he meant.
Yuu didn't know what to say; the place was gigantic, much larger than the small house he shared with his mother back home.
Or what was his home.
He remained quiet as they walked towards the estate; it was a beautiful place, it was, but a little over-sized than he preferred.
When the doors open, Yuu couldn't help but stare in awe. It was so much bigger on the inside than it appeared—and the outside was huge.
"Whoa..." The words slipped passed his lips before Yuu could even register he spoke.
"Welcome home, Tamaki-sama," a row of people he assumed worked for their father bowed. "Welcome home, Yuukou-sama."
"I'll show you around!" Tamaki exclaimed, taking hold of his younger brother's hand and nearly causing him to trip. He only barely saved himself from kissing the floor.
They went through many, many rooms—including a home gym, a music room, and even an indoor pool. Currently, they were in Yuu's new room, as Tamaki had told him. His eyes wandered around the room. A king-sized bed smack in the middle of the room by the wall, bookshelves lining half of one wall to create a miniature library in the room, a couch in one corner, a large desk in the other, even a fireplace in the mix.
"Don't leave your mouth open so wide or you'll catch flies."
Yuu hadn't realized his mouth had slid open. "This is my room?!" he half-exclaimed, half-stated in awe.
"Um, yeah," the blond stated as if it were something obvious. "Now, let's start unpacking."
It was then that the dark-haired teen noticed the many boxes, guitar, and skateboard sitting in the corner. The two walked over to them—maybe five or six boxes total. Yuu opened one while Tamaki opened another. The box Yuu had chosen was full papers, notebooks, and posters he had picked up over the years (mainly various bands, but an anime one popped up here and there).
Emptying the box onto the desk, due to lack of thumbtacks (which he had to get soon), Yuu moved onto the box his brother was working on. It was full of mostly clothing. He reached into the box and pulled out a few graphic t-shirts.
"You sure do wear a lot of bracelets..." Tamaki broke the silence, staring down at Yuu's wrists. It wasn't a lie, he did indeed have many, many bracelets on. "You like a lot of bands, huh?"
The bracelets were mostly band related, but there are a few anime and television-related ones.
"Yeah," he muttered under his breath.
Wearing them had several different meanings behind it; it hid quite a few secrets, and frankly, he felt exposed without their comfort.
The closet had a sliding door to it, and Yuu barely managed to open it with his foot, as his (and his brother's) hands were full at the moment.
Tamaki kept aiming for a conversation to hold. "You like a lot of bands, huh?" He repeated his question from earlier, probably unsure of what exactly to say. Yuu had to admit, that was true, so he shrugged, nodding.
They had finished with the clothing and there was only one box left. Yuu told Tamaki (not in the politest tone, but he tried his best) he didn't need any more help and, even though he complained, the blond left the room.
In the last box were a few books, some pens and pencils, and many framed pictures.
Those pictures were probably Yuu's most prized possessions; Most of them were of friends, and there are a few with his mother, but his favorite one had to be the one of Tamaki and himself from before he left. Tamaki was thirteen at the time—Yuu only eleven—and they were at a pond local to their home, feeding some ducks. It was a shared favored pastime they had. Before the picture was taken, Yuu had tripped and fallen into the pond, so Tamaki—not wanting his brother to feel embarrassed—"fell" into the pond a few moments after. They sat there laughing for the longest time and their mother ended up taking the picture to share the joy
A smile tugged at his lip.
It had been a long time since then.
And that's the thing about time, it changes everything it can get its grimy hands on.
Translation: frére (brother)
Teaser: Meeting Big Brother's friends? Hope Yuu can handle the attention...