a/n: warning, the f-bomb is dropped in the first sentence.
disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.
Chapter Two | Home's Not Home
28 September 2007
"What the fucking shit?"
Yuu's personal bathroom was nothing special, aside from the fact that it was literally half the square footage of his bedroom, had both an extremely over-sized shower and a bathtub the size of a large hot tub, a vanity big enough to have two full-sized sinks with more room than he could imagine, the most beautiful (and extremely expensive-looking) toilet he'd ever seen. There wasn't a spot in the room—no dust, grime, mildew, stains anywhere. It was the kind of bathroom that would make his clean-freak friend, Fletcher, proud.
"Fletch, you'd fucking love this place, dude..." He hadn't gotten over the initial awe of this being his bathroom.
The theme was gray, which was okay with him. Gray happened to be one of his favorite colors. The walls were a calming blue-gray and the tiled floor was darker, more like slate. The accenting items were a tarnished shade, not too dark to overpower anything, they were just the right hue to make everything flow. Even the towels were a dark gray.
There were a few boxes marked "bathroom" sitting on the floor beside the sink.
He started with the first box. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, sensitive skin body wash... all the simple bathroom supplies.
He moved onto the second box after putting everything in its new home. It was full of more random stuff, like the dirty clothes from the day before that he'd put in the box because it still had space in it and the pajama pants he'd slept in two nights before. He threw them in the laundry hamper, shrugging them off. There were a few items left in the box; some medicine bottles, a couple of other hygienic products, and a package of razors.
After everything was put away, Yuu walked over to the bathtub.
Unpacking everything could sure make a guy feel icky and sweaty. A relaxing bath did sound good at the moment.
He stripped off his graphic tee—only to remember he needed a change of clothes. Walking out to his bathroom, he headed back into the walk-in closet to grab a pair of sweatpants and a random t-shirt.
There was a knocking sound on his bedroom door. Yuu sighed. "Come in," he said in a dreaded tone.
Tamaki poked his head in, saying, "Just seeing how you're settling in." He opened the door fully, allowing his brother to see the sweats and t-shirt he was in. "You doing alright?" Yuu nodded and Tamaki continued. "Do you need anything?"
Thinking for a moment, he decided his room felt empty. After all, it was rather bland. "Can we go to the store tomorrow?" he asked.
A smile plastered on Tamaki's face almost instantly. "Shopping with mon frère cadet?! Oh, I can't wait! We can go to the department store—it's a place where commoners go shopping and it's cheap! Can I bring mes amies? We can make a club activity out of it! Oh, you'll love everyone—!"
This! Guy! Liked! Exclamation! Marks!
"—The club is a great place! Oh! Je sais! You can join the club! It's lots of fun and can spend more time together that way—!"
Yuu shut the bathroom door on him, locking it quickly, and released a sigh he wasn't aware he was holding in.
Tamaki talked a lot; just as much as he remembered.
There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Oh, I came in here to tell you the dinner is in an hour!"
"Alright," Yuu called back.
When he thought the blond was gone, he undid his belt, allowing himself to strip out of his black skinny jeans and boxers and throw them into the hamper. He decided to take off his bracelets too, setting them on the vanity by one of the sinks.
Turning off the water so it didn't overflow, he stepped into the tub. The water felt just perfect; not too hot, not too cold. Just right.
In there, he was able to relax. He always did find a shower or bath to be a safe place. Not a thing or person could hurt him in there. He was alone, just the way he liked it.
He stared up at the light gray ceiling. This place will forever be his haven.
He's safe here.
His eyes drifted to his bare wrists. What was once clean were now tattered and scarred.
God, why did he have to do that?
Why did he ever stoop so low as finding comfort from a blade?
The dark-haired teen shook the thoughts from his head. He was clean now, that's all that mattered. His mother would be proud.
That was only one of the things his bracelets hid.
He had made a stupid mistake when he was younger, and now he lived with the scars, literally.
The water started to feel cool, so he stepped out. He didn't know how long he was in there.
Quickly getting dressed and brushing his hair, he rested against the countertop of the sink and stared into the mirror. Violet-blue eyes gaze back at him through his reflection. They were dull, lacking the spark they once held brightly.
Sighing, he decided to head down to dinner.
29 September 2007
Social situations had never been Yuu's thing, even as a child. He struggled to get along with others his age, and up until his brother left, he had practically followed him everywhere. Just the thought of being in situations involving other people was immensely terrifying.
"Okay, gentlemen, Haruhi, this is my younger brother, Yuukou," Tamaki introduced the dark-haired teen.
Yuu could only awkwardly wave at them. He couldn't help it; the whole situation was awkward to him. But he didn't want to disappoint Tamaki, so he had to push through it, no matter how terrifying it truly was.
The group included a tall, dark-haired teen who seemed even quieter than Yuu did, a short—really, really short—blond boy who was actually, believe it or not, a first-year in college, a set of mischievous-looking auburn-haired twins, another dark-haired teen who was carrying a small black book with him, and a short, brown-haired girl dressed in knee-length shorts and a t-shirt.
Yuu looked down at his attire, it was different from everyone else's (mostly); they were all wearing fancier "rich kid" clothing, whereas he had on a red graphic tee, black skinny jeans, a pair of red beat up converses, and his very own trusty bracelets.
"Yuu, this is Kyouya, Haruhi, Hikaru, Kaoru, Mori-sempai, and Honey-sempai." Tamaki gestured to each respective person as he said their name.
"I didn't know you had a brother, Tama-chan," the smallest member there—Honey-sempai—said. "Yuu-chan this is Usa-chan." He held up a pink stuffed bunny and Yuu just stared at it in disbelief. He swore to heaven above it was blushing. "You wanna hold him?"
Before he had any time to object, he was holding a stuffed pink bunny.
And he was mentally groaning.
"Aw~!" Honey-sempai sing-songed. "You look so cute, Yuu-chan~! Doesn't he look cute Takashi?"
"Yeah," the tallest one—Mori-sempai—said in a monotone.
He, for one, did not find it cute.
Or at least that what he kept telling himself.
Yuu could feel his cheeks heat up massively.
"Hey, boss—" one of the twins started.
The other finished. "—Why have you never told us you had a brother."
Kyouya, the raven-haired teen with the book, said, "Yes, Tamaki, why have you never mentioned this to us before?"
"I just didn't know how to bring it up," the blond admitted.
Yuu could feel the tension forming between himself and his brother. He almost wanted to take a step away from him but decided that would have been very obvious and he didn't want the extra attention right then.
"I see," the only female present commented, "It must not have been easy to talk about him, being separated and all."
Violet-blue irises quickly found the ground. She was right. Yuu very rarely spoke about Tamaki after he had left France, the only exceptions being to his best friend (who had never met him, but heard all the stories Yuu would tell about him) and his ex-girlfriend. But now he was there with him, that was all that mattered.
29 September 2007
Yuu let himself fall back onto his bed with an exaggerated sigh. He was finally back after the afternoon of non-stop chatter and socialization, not to mention the constant questions about himself. He was put on the spot. A lot. And boy was he ready for a nap.
It was an exhausting day.
Tamaki had trekked off to his own room, thankfully. Yuu loved the guy, he really did, but sometimes he could be a little too much.
He released another sigh (also exaggerated) and stared blankly up at the ceiling.
His walls were still empty, even though he had gotten everything he needed to fix that. He just hadn't done it yet.
A home's not home until it's made one. That's something his mother used to always say.
He didn't always listen when she would tell him those kinds of sayings, but he knew she would repeat them several times over.
Another sigh.
He might as well make this place home, after all, he was going to be living there for a long while.
Translation: mon frére cadet (my younger brother), mes amies (my friends), Je sais! (I know!)
Teaser: First day at a new school? It seems like a bundle of anxiety actually...