A/N: Are you ready?

Thursday morning dawned clear and sunny, as if in a scene from a movie. The Hitachiin twins awoke peacefully. Kaoru had seemed to be fully recovered yesterday, and in turn had returned to school and Host Club activities.

I still haven't told Kaoru that we're going on that trip this weekend, Hikaru thought, staring at the ceiling, and today's Friday. That also means that I have to make my move today. No more procrastinating.

As the two boys rolled out of bed and went about their morning routines, Hikaru brainstormed ways he could instigate a kiss with his brother. Even though he'd been thinking about it for almost a week now, he was still drawing a blank. And, now that the moment was nearly upon him, Hikaru suddenly felt more panicked than the times before, but in an entirely different way.

Now it wasn't so much of how to go about the kiss, but more how it would affect the twins' relationship. A kiss was a big step, even if said kiss was small and hardly worth remembering. Am I even close enough with my brother to make wanting to kiss him seem anything less than preposterous?

Kaoru, meanwhile, had noticed that, for the umpteenth time this week, his twin had slipped into one of his silent states of panic. Hikaru's definitely not stressed about an upcoming test; we don't have any coming up. So then, what is he so worried about?

When he'd finished buttoning up his Ouran uniform, Kaoru grabbed Hikaru by the crook of the arm and pulled him into sitting beside him on their bed. "Hikaru," Kaoru said, meeting his brother's luminous golden gaze with his own, "what's bothering you?"

Hikaru looked at his hands, which were folded in his lap. I can't tell him… I want to, but I can't.

Kaoru took this breach of eye contact as a response, and went on, "You can't pass it off as nothing. You've been worried about something all week, and I want to help."

Should I just kiss him now? Hikaru wondered, studying Kaoru's lips for a second before returning his gaze to his lap. No… I know I'm procrastinating even more, but I want our kiss to be special.

"Could we talk about it after school, Kaoru?" Hikaru asked, then added after a glance at the clock, "There's not enough time now, since we're nearly running late."

Kaoru saw the time and sighed, "Fine. But don't think you're getting out of this."

Hikaru smiled, concealing most of the turmoil inside. "I know. Come on, let's go."

It was as the two boys walked out the front of the Hitachiin mansion that an idea struck Hikaru. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the potted flowers by the front door. Kaoru, noticing that his twin was no longer beside him, stopped and asked, "Is everything alright, Hika?"

Everything is more than alright. "Yeah, I just had an idea for a new trick to try in Host Club today."

It was the last class before lunch at Ouran Academy. The entirety of Class 1-A was restless. All around the classroom, students were doodling, daydreaming, and a few were even asleep. Their biology teacher wasn't helping matters any; today was just another uneventful lecture on the components of a cell.

Haruhi was quite possibly the only student paying even a remote level of attention to the teacher's slideshow. Glancing at the Hitachiins, who sat on either side of her, she wondered how long it would be until they asked to copy down her notes. Although, in all honesty, she rather doubted they would need to. Today's lesson was unusually easy.

When the students were released to their lunch break, Hikaru and Kaoru immediately disappeared to the cafeteria to purchase lunches for themselves. Haruhi followed them, since she'd be able to meet Tamaki in the cafeteria.

It's almost time. I just have to convince him to eat faster than usual so that we have time, Hikaru thought. The Hitachiins joined the line of students waiting to purchase lunch; it was short today, thank goodness.

The rest of the Host Club arrived together, four handsome boys from the upper classes with impeccable looks and charisma. Haruhi was waiting for them at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, already nibbling on her lunch as she read through the notes she'd taken in class that morning.

"Haruhi! Daddy's back!" Tamaki shouted, sprinting across the cafeteria to wrap Haruhi in a tight hug. The Host Club's King was too distracted by his girlfriend to notice the disappointed sighs that fell from the lips of a multitude of girls throughout the cafeteria at the blatant reminder that Tamaki Suoh had a partner, and it wasn't them. None of them realized Tamaki wasn't gay.

"Senpai, I don't understand why you still insist on calling me your daughter. It was weird before, but now it's kind of creepy," Haruhi said around a mouthful of sushi.

"I'm sorry Haruhi!" Tamaki apologized, releasing the brunette from a hug so that he could sit down beside her. Kyoya, Hunny, and Mori sat down across from the couple. A minute or so later, they were joined by the twins, who had made it through the lunch line.

Under normal circumstances, I'd be annoyed. I still am, but he's providing a handy incentive to eat faster, Hikaru thought, watching Haruhi and Tamaki discreetly. Kaoru, who sat between Hikaru and Tamaki, was chewing rapidly, shoulders tense and eyes obviously averted.

"So Haruhi, how were your classes?" Tamaki asked, shoveling a few bites of food into his mouth.

"Fine. Pretty easy today, actually," Haruhi admitted. She scanned the pages of her notebook one more time before closing it and returning the notebook to her bag.

Kaoru glanced around at the rest of the table. Kyoya was working on his laptop, Honey was too distracted by his cake to notice anything, Mori was… Well, Mori was Mori. And Hikaru was silent. From the rigidity of his twin's shoulders and jerky movement with which he scarfed down the school lunch, Kaoru guessed that he was either just as bothered by Tamaki and Haruhi's display or that whatever he was worried about was haunting him again.

Swallowing the last of his lunch, Hikaru smiled internally. It's go time.

Kaoru watched, perplexed, as his twin stood up and pulled Kyoya aside for a moment. The two conversed quietly enough that none of the others at the table could hear them; although, Kaoru was the only one paying attention. Kyoya was unreadable, but Hikaru grimaced. Does whatever's bothering him have to do with Kyoya?

"Okay, fine. We'll do it," Hikaru sighed with defeat. He glanced back at the table. Kaoru looked away quickly, shoveling the last of his meal into his mouth; it was obvious he'd been staring. Fortunately, Kaoru was now finished with his lunch, and the operation could begin.

Hikaru walked around the table and whispered into Kaoru's ear, "We need to talk."

The younger Hitachiin stood up abruptly. "Okay."

The twins departed the cafeteria wordlessly. Once they were in the hallway, Kaoru turned expectantly to his brother, but Hikaru was already walking away, heading down the hall. Curious as to what his twin was up to, Kaoru trotted after Hikaru.

Only a few other students were in the hallways now. Nonetheless, the elder Hitachiin pressed on, making his way through the hallways until he reached a door leading to the gardens behind the Ouran high school building.

Hedgerows and flower arrangements passed with increasing speed. Whatever he wants to talk about, it must be really serious if Hikaru's dragging me all the way out here. Maybe he wants to talk about what's been bothering him, Kaoru thought. Although, I hope he remembers what happened last time we were in these gardens…

They were in the very backmost corner of the high school gardens when Hikaru finally slid onto a bench. It was hard to get any more privacy than this at Ouran; this spot was nearly impossible to get to unless you knew exactly where you were going.

"Why'd we come all the way out here, Hikaru?" The younger Hitachiin asked, somewhat crossly. Really, from the amount of care Hikaru had put into getting them as far away from the other students as possible, Kaoru would've thought his twin was going to confess to a murder.

It's now or never, the elder boy sighed. "I wanted to talk about what's been bothering me…"

Thank goodness! The younger twin cheered internally. Kaoru placed a hand on his brother's arm and said, "You know you can trust me, Hika."

"Can you really?"

Kaoru's eyes widened. "What?"

Hikaru looked his brother in the eyes. "I said, can you really trust me? We're called the 'twin devils' for a reason."

"True, but I've known you my whole life, Hikaru. No matter what pranks we may pull, I'll always trust you." Kaoru's liquid amber eyes glittered sadly. Is Hikaru really upset because he thinks I can't trust him?

Hikaru turned toward his twin. His heart was hammering in his chest; it was a wonder Kaoru hadn't commented on it. Maybe Kaoru was just being- No. Kaoru was a Hitachiin too, and his identical twin, at that. Hitachiin twins were rarely "just being nice." It wasn't in their nature.

"Good. I couldn't wait any longer, so I had to make sure. Because if you didn't trust me, I couldn't do this."

Finally.

Hikaru grabbed a fistful of his brother's Ouran uniform and pulled his younger brother forward until their lips crashed against each other. The thundering of his heart in his chest froze, as if too stunned to remember how to beat.

The kiss wasn't soft; instead, it was a perfectly Hitachiin kiss: forceful, a little commanding, but more than anything, playful and teasing. A bit more pressure here, a little bite here, a teasing flash of tongue. And before either Hitachiin could fully process what was going on, it was over.

Did he just… Hikaru… He… Kaoru could form neither a coherent thought nor coherent words to relay the supernova inside. He was supposed to be the one who was good with thoughts and emotions and that kind of thing. And yet somehow Hikaru had recognized his own feelings enough to put them in action, without Kaoru's help.

Hikaru was just as badly off. Though he had rendered himself utterly speechless, the elder Hitachiin felt an overwhelming sense of calm, as if a cloud that had been hanging over him for some time had suddenly cleared away. To his surprise, it was more than the weight of fulfilling his promise to Renge that had been lifted from his shoulders.

"That's why we're the little devils, isn't it?" Kaoru's voice sounded far away.

Hikaru finally snapped back into reality. His attention was drawn to Kaoru's off-kilter tie and slightly wrinkled uniform from where Hikaru had grabbed him. The younger boy's eyes were wide and wonder-filled, and his lips slightly parted.

"Yes, it is," Hikaru admitted.

Had any of the other Hosts been in this situation, it would've been different. That's why we're all assigned different types. They're not just stereotypes; not roles we have to fill. They're really who we are. We are the twin devils not just because of pranks and mayhem, but also because of something within that tells us to break the mold, stand out, and turn heads. My brother and I, we're like the wind: restless, uncontrollable, and unable to be ignored.

"Hikaru, I," Kaoru was, once more, unable to produce the appropriate words. The feeling of Hikaru's lips against his played through his mind again. Nothing could ever be as exhilarating as the real thing, but Kaoru would take what he could get… For now, at least…

"I know. And I convinced Kyoya to turn off the cameras and microphones he had back here. There's no footage of any of this," Hikaru informed his twin.

Kaoru couldn't help a laugh. "How did you manage that?"

"We owe him a favor. But that's for later; I have something else for you," Hikaru said, one of his trademark mischievous grins surfacing on his face.

Kaoru looked on with interest as Hikaru reached into one of the pockets in his uniform and produced two small pieces of paper. The younger twin took the tickets from his brother's hand and studied them intently.

"These are tickets to a new resort built by Kyoya's family. Did Kyoya give you these?" Kaoru asked, his voice betraying his excitement. Hikaru smiled at the obvious joy this had brought his twin. I guess all that worrying was for nothing. This didn't hurt things between us at all.

"Yeah. We're going this weekend," Hikaru admitted. Kaoru handed the tickets back to his twin, who in turn restored them to the pocket they'd come from.

"So, about-" Hikaru received no chance to finish his sentence.

"I'm not upset, Hika," Kaoru reassured his brother. A gentle breeze stirred the garden around them, temporarily reminding the two boys that there was more than just them in the world.

Hikaru swallowed. Kaoru, noticing this, asked, "So that's what you were worried about all of this week?"

The elder Hitachiin nodded. He could think of no words with which to express himself at present. Words weren't Hikaru's strong point, though. Innuendos, jokes, teasing, those were things he could do. Moments like this were where his little brother had all the power.

"Well…" It was something in his brother's tone that brought Hikaru's eyes back to the golden orbs of his twin.

"It's my turn to pitch." Kaoru grabbed Hikaru's chin, pulling it towards his own, and, for the second time that day, the Hitachiin twins' lips crashed together.

A/N: Hopefully, that was as much fun to read as it was to write. I didn't think this chapter would be this long, but the characters started to write themselves. I wasn't expecting Kaoru to kiss him back just yet. But there you go. Thanks for reading, and be sure to follow, favorite, and review if you haven't done so already and you're enjoying the story!