Chapter 4

"We can't watch that one. It's Christmas movie."

"Yeah, let's watch this one instead."

"That movie is super old. I say we watch the one with the kung fu guy."

"That one is older than the one I suggested!"

Kyoya lounged on the couch in the Hitachiin home theatre watching Tamaki and the twins bicker over their movie choices. They were sitting in a circle with dozens of DVD's scattered around them. Tamaki jumped up and strode over to Kyoya with a stack of DVD's. "What do you think, Kyoya? What do you want to watch? Do you think this one is a Christmas movie?"

Kyoya stretched out, putting his hands behind his head and crossing his ankles in a pose of causal indifference. "Tamaki, words cannot express how much I don't care about what movie we watch."

Tamaki was about to get indignant when Honey came bouncing into the room. "We're here! We brought Haru-chan! And cake!" The short boy spotted the piles of movies on the floor and wedged himself between the twins to look at them. "I want to watch the one with the animals that do karate."

"Cake?" Turning his attention to the new arrivals, Tamaki dumped his pile of forgotten DVDs into Kyoya's lap, earning him a look of annoyance from the dark-haired boy. "We're supposed to have commoner snacks. Commoners don't eat cake."

"Actually, we do," said Haruhi, coming through the door, followed by Mori.

Tamaki ignored her statement and turned to Mori. "What did you bring?"

"A charcuterie board and a fruit platter."

Kyoya smirked.

Tamaki whirled around to face the twins who were still sitting on the floor surrounded by DVDs. "What snacks do you have?"

"Our chef is making up hors d'oeuvres," replied Hikaru.

"They're going to be brought in later," added Kaoru.

Tamaki threw up his hands and hunkered down on the floor to pout. "And you?" He turned on Kyoya. "I suppose I don't even have to ask if you brought a commoner snack."

"I brought eclairs, macarons, and crème brulee," answered Kyoya, ignoring his friend's exaggerated behaviour.

Tamaki's head snapped up. "You…you brought French desserts?"

"Is that all right with you?" Kyoya's questions wasn't sincere, but Tamaki was too distracted to notice.

"Yes! Of course! I love…" Tamaki cut himself off as Haruhi moved into his line of sight. "Haruhi! Did you bring anything?" Tamaki rushed over and clasped both her hands in his. "Tell me you brought commoner snacks."

"Uh, yeah," With difficulty, Haruhi pulled her hands back and dug into her bag. "I brought Pocky." She brought out two boxes of the chocolate coated biscuit sticks.

"Pocky," breathed Tamaki, taking one of the boxes in both his hands and holding it up like a sacred icon. "The ultimate commoners' snack. Haruhi, you are amazing."

"It's just Pocky," said Haruhi, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, are we going to watch movies or what?" said the twins.

Tamaki shoved the box back into Haruhi's hands. "We have to put on our pajamas first."

"Already?" asked Honey. "It's only seven o'clock."

"Yeah," said the twins. "Let's watch a movie first and then we can –"

"No!" said Tamaki. "We must be wearing our pajamas. It's how the commoners do it."

"Actually—" Haruhi's protest was overwhelmed by Tamaki herding everyone out of the room with the enthusiasm of a sheep dog.

"Everyone, go get changed and—" Tamaki stopped and gasped at Haruhi. "You're a girl." Not knowing how to address the obviousness of Tamaki's statement, Haruhi just stared at him.

Tamaki pointed at her. "You're a girl." He made a sweeping gesture towards everyone else. "We're all boys."

"And?"

"You can't sleep in a room with a group of boys."

"I thought we weren't going to be doing any sleeping," said Kyoya.

Tamaki thought about this for a moment. They could almost see the wheels turning in his head. "Still. It would be inappropriate."

"Why?" asked Haruhi. "Are you going to do something inappropriate?"

Tamaki was shocked by the question. "No! Of course not!"

Haruhi turned to the rest of the group. "And are any of you going to do anything inappropriate?" Abashed, they all shook their heads. "Then I don't see the problem." She shouldered her bag and turned down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Deep into their second movie, the Host Club were sprawled around the darkened theatre room. Haruhi, wearing an old shirt of her fathers and pair of gym short (much to the boys' disappointment), was sitting cross-legged on the floor munching on hors d'oeuvres. The twins in matching flannel pajama pants, were lying stretched out on their stomachs on either side of her. In an armchair behind them was Mori in a t-shirt and boxers. Honey, in bunny pajamas, was squeezed in beside him. Tamaki and Kyoya were on the couch clad in silk pajamas; Kyoya in black, Tamaki in red.

On the screen a soldier was holding his best friend trying to stop the bleeding from a bullet wound. Honey had his face buried in Mori's shoulder, unable to watch. Tamaki sniffed trying to blink back tears. Haruhi brushed crumbs from her shirt.

Kyoya was too tired to follow the movie's plot, even with the subtitles. Normally he had no trouble staying up late into the night, but two consecutive nights with little sleep were catching up to him. Drowsiness overwhelmed him and he struggled to keep his eyes open. His head bobbed. He would just close his eyes for a minute.

He woke up screaming. He tried to run but he was trapped, unable to move. Something was holding him and he struggled to free himself. Light blinded his eyes. Yelling and explosions overwhelmed his ears. He choked with terror. His heart felt like a jackhammer in his chest. Suddenly Tamaki's face filled his vision.

"Kyoya, it's okay. You're okay." His voice was low and steady. "You have to be calm, Kyoya. If you're calm, Mori will let you go. Do you understand?"

The lights were on, but the movie continued to play. The sounds of the military battle on the screen filled the room. Bewildered and panting, Kyoya looked around the room. He was sitting splayed on the floor with Mori behind him holding him in a bear hug. Kyoya tried to squirm but he was pinned to Mori's chest.

Off to one side, Honey was sitting in Haruhi's lap clutching his stuffed rabbit, Usa-chan. The twins were across the room, one hunched over the other, but without his glasses Kyoya couldn't tell what they were doing.

"Kyoya?" His eyes snapped back to Tamaki hovering next to him. "Are you calm?"

His thoughts were scattered in every direction and he couldn't bring words to his mind. He gave a slow nod. Mori released him from the hug, but kept a light grip on his shoulders as if to keep him from falling over. Kyoya felt around his pajamas for his glasses but couldn't find them.

"What…" His mouth was dry and his voice raspy. He was still having trouble collecting his thoughts. "What happened?" He ran his hand over the cushions of the couch beside him searching for his glasses.

"You had a nightmare," said Haruhi. Kyoya stopped and stared at her. He was trying to focus her blurry face, but to her it looked like the Shadow King was trying to stare straight into her heart. Flustered, she looked down at the floor. "I mean… you were yelling."

"Screaming," corrected Honey.

Kyoya turned back to trying to find his glasses. He needed his glasses. He patted around on the floor, moving pillows.

"And you were thrashing around," continued Honey.

He shook out a blanket and tossed it aside. He couldn't see. He needed to see.

"Kaoru tried to wake you, but…"

His glasses suddenly appeared in front of him. Tamaki had them. Kyoya grabbed them from his friend's hand and slipped them on his face. He saw blood. It was running down Kaoru's face. Hikaru was wiping it off his brother's face with tissue. Kyoya froze and his breath hitched. It took him two tries to get the words out. "Did I…Did I hit you?"

Hikaru turned and shot daggers at him. "You damn near broke his nose!" Clenching his fists, he started to get up. Kyoya shrank back against Mori.

"Hikaru!" Holding tissues to his bloody nose with one hand, Kaoru reached out and grabbed Hikaru's arm with the other. Hikaru sat back, putting a protective arm around his brother's shoulders, but continued to glare at Kyoya.

Kyoya sat dumbfounded staring at Kaoru's bloody face. His stomach twisted. He looked to Haruhi and Honey. He wanted to explain that he hadn't meant to hurt anyone, that it was an accident, but the words wouldn't come. With his glasses on, he could see that their eyes were big as saucers. They were scared. He turned to Tamaki. There was fear in his eyes too. Kyoya felt sick. Shaking off Mori's grasp, Kyoya staggered to his feet.

Tamaki stood up too. "Kyoya, wait a minute."

Kyoya was already out the door, rushing down the hallway to the bathroom. Slamming the door shut behind him, he sagged against the vanity. The image of Kaoru's bloody face swam before him. His stomach clenched and he dropped to his knees to retch into the toilet bowl. Burning with shame, he wiped the vomit from his mouth with his silk sleeve. What was wrong with him? Having night terrors like a child was disgraceful. He could only imagine what his father would say if he knew.

Standing up to rinse the taste of bile from his mouth, he winced as he caught sight of his bruised face in the mirror. He hung his head over the sink and choked on a sob. He, Ootori Kyoya, a model of decorum and a prince of good breeding, was a total mess.

Taking a deep but shaky breath, he pulled himself together and left the bathroom. He could hear the murmur of his friends talking as he came down the hall. He came through the door and the room was suddenly silent. He stood in the doorway as everyone stared at him, then exchanged guilty glances. Kyoya didn't know what to say. How could he possibly explain what was happening to him when he didn't even understand it himself? He stepped across the room and picked up his bag from beside the couch. He pulled out a sweater and slipped it on over his pajamas.

"What are you doing?" asked Tamaki.

"I'm going home," answered Kyoya. He flipped open his phone and began tapping out a text requesting a driver to pick him up.

"But it's two in the morning," said Honey.

"Wait a minute, Kyoya," Tamaki reached out and touched Kyoya's elbow. "Just sit down for a second and we'll—"

Kyoya pulled his elbow away and glared at Tamaki who took a step back. Kyoya was surprised at his own feelings of anger. He didn't want his friends to see him like this. He had never felt so embarrassed, and for some nonsensical reason he was angry at them for witnessing his shame. He needed to get as far away from everyone as possible.

He shouldered his bag and turned to look down at Kaoru who was still sitting on the floor holding his face. Kyoya wanted to say how sorry he was, to express his mortification, but when Kaoru looked up at him, he couldn't find anything to say. Frustrated, he turned and left.

For a moment the room was silent before Hikaru spoke up. "What a prick."

"Don't be like that," said Kaoru. "It was an accident. He didn't mean it."

"He didn't even say he was sorry," replied Hikaru.

"That doesn't mean he wasn't," said Honey. "It's difficult for Kyo-chan to express his feelings."

Tamaki sat down on the couch and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, looking pensive. Haruhi sat down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder in a rare gesture of sympathy, but Tamaki was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice.