The Ninteenth Night

"Where are you going?" Hikaru protested.

"On a date," Was Kaoru's only reply.

"With who?"

He didn't need to ask that question, he'd heard Haruhi and Kaoru discuss it, loud and clear. Hikaru just didn't want to believe it.

Don't let him go, please.

Kaoru had already gotten his shoes on and was about to open the door, still without reply or even a simple shrug. It's like he forgot that Hikaru was even there, and that finally made Hikaru crack.

"Is it with Haruhi? I saw you guys talking earlier and-"

"What did you hear?" Kaoru asked as he quickly spun around.

"Huh?"

"WHAT. Did... you... hear?" Kaoru asked again, calming himself down a bit.

Hikaru shook his head. "You were talking about someone and then you and Haruhi were talking and everything. The last thing I know is you're talking about cupid! Who's this that you're in love with?"

Is he for real? Kaoru wondered again and he sighed.

"Look, Haruhi and I are going out now, we have been for a couple days or so. It's just... the way things work now, I guess," Kaoru replied with a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Can I mess with the way it works?" Hikaru asked.

Kaoru shook his head.

"But she's cheating on you, so why can't you?" That irritating voice came back.

"No."

Kaoru turned to leave when their parents showed up.

"Kaoru, darling, where are you going?" Their mom asked.

"Out."

The door slammed as Kaoru left the house and walked down the street towards Haruhi's house and the city. Hikaru felt a little, annoyed? Paranoid? Well, Hikaru didn't exactly know how he felt, but he definetly didn't want Kaoru leaving. Not when he was going to Haruhi's house, it'd be different if Kaoru was walking with Hikaru down that street, going into town to have their first real date. That squished Hikaru's insides. Kaoru was going out with Haruhi. Kaoru went on a date with Haruhi. Kaoru never went on a date with Hikaru.

He pushed on the door, his mind screaming to open it and run after Kaoru, tell him that Kaoru couldn't date Haruhi, that Hikaru loved Kaoru with all his heart and he couldn't bear living without Kaoru.

More words left unsaid, Hikaru went to bed.

In Bed: Hitachiin Household

"Mom and dad were planning on giving us seperate bedrooms," Hikaru replied to Kaoru as Kaoru was taking off his shirt and pants and putting on his nightwear. "Can you believe that? Why... how could they even think of doing that to us?"

"Mom and dad said you went to sleep earlier," Kaoru retorted.

Hikaru stared at his brother, a little hurt.

"I tried to."

"Then why are you talking? People don't talk like that when they're asleep," Kaoru came back, snottily.

"I can't sleep without you," Hikaru answered.

"You did fine for the past few days!" Kaoru snapped as he turned around to look into Hikaru's eyes. Kaoru was taken back for a moment. Hikaru... looked different.

Hikaru smiled meekly and looked away, "Mom gave us her make-up skills, what can I say?"

Kaoru's heart and mind throbbed in pain. His whole body throbbed along with it. Kaoru slowly stepped closer to the bed and crawled onto it gently. He scooted closer to Hikaru and held his left hand in both of his own. Kaoru kissed Hikaru's cold fingers.

"You're sick," Kaoru answered.

Hikaru shook his head. "No I'm not."

Kaoru cackled and asked, amused, "Where's your proof for that?"

"You're not."

Kaoru held his breath and looked away with his eyes.

I'm a sick a lot, and you're not. I just don't tell you, are you lying to me or yourself in that messed up, damn, little lie? Kaoru thought, softly. He was afraid that if he thought poorly and angrily of Hikaru, he'd hate him.

I could never hate those hands.

"How was... your date with Haruhi?" Hikaru choked. He smiled at Kaoru trying to hide the pain and hurt in his features.

"It was... scary," Kaoru admitted. "Haruhi didn't care."

Hikaru laughed for real this time and pulled Kaoru into a hug.

"Don't be scared, I'll scare away all your demons!" Hikaru comforted.

What if you're my demon? I don't want you to scare yourself away from me.

The warmth of Hikaru's body began to fade as Hikaru moved away to go put a shirt on, for he was starting to get cold. Hikaru was warm on the exterior, but cold on the inside. Kaoru knew that, that's how he knew Hikaru was sick. On the outside, Hikaru's body was burning. His heart was cold, like the inside.

"Did I freeze you?" Kaoru asked, hardly kidding.

"Excuse me?" Hikaru asked as he turned around, his shirt half on.

Kaoru shook his head. "Nothing."

Hikaru's hands were suddenly on Kaoru's shoulders and he pushed Kaoru down onto the bed, himself on top.

"Don't GIVE ME THAT!" Hikaru shouted at him.

"You'll wake-"

"I don't care!"

Kaoru stared into Hikaru's sleep-deprived and angry eyes.

"Do I hurt you that much?" Kaoru asked, horror obvious in his tone. "Do... I do that to you?"

Hikaru closed his eyes and placed his head on Kaoru's bare chest. "Yes."

Kaoru wrapped his arms around Hikaru, feeling akward. He wasn't sad, he felt... kind of happy? He was happy that Hikaru hurt over him... wasn't he? Why did Kaoru get so much joy in knowing that it was him who hurt Hikaru in the first place?

"I did that to you?" Kaoru asked.

Hikaru nodded, and Kaoru blushed at the texture of Hikaru's forehead on his skin.

"Could you... move please?" Kaoru questioned, a little embrassed.

"No."

Kaoru smiled and held himself back from stroking Hikaru's back.

"You're shirt's half on, silly boy," Kaoru teased. "Let me take it off, you'll feel better."

"I'm cold!" Hikaru argued.

Kaoru whispered into Hikaru's ear, "I'll keep you warm."

Hikaru shivered and Kaoru smiled and began pulling Hikaru's shirt off and put it down on the side of the bed.

"How do you feel?" Kaoru inquired.

"Cold," Hikaru scolded.

Kaoru smiled and wrapped his arms all around Hikaru and pulled Hikaru down so he lay flat on top of Kaoru. Kaoru blew on his hair.

"You know... it would be more comfortable if YOU were on bottom," Kaoru cooed.

"No way, you SM king," Hikaru laughed.

"Don't get me started."

Hikaru laughed and tried to get off Kaoru; Kaoru wouldn't let him move.

"Maybe I want to?" Hikaru whispered.

Kaoru smiled and moved Hikaru's lips closer to his when the door opened and light flooded into the room. The two jumped and remained in their position, like they were praying that if they stayed still they'd become invisible.

"Kaoru? Hikaru?" Their mom's voice came.

We're dead, The two thought as they read the others exact same thought.

"What? Not in my house!" She scowled. "I've already told you two that!"

"What's going on now?" Their dad asked as he came into the doorway. "Hikaru, why are you on your brother, your legs around his, and your faces inches apart?"

"We both kno-!"

"Let them answer."

Their minds blanked and they said the first and only thing that they could think of, "I don't know."

"Why's your shirt on the side of the bed? Kaoru only in his boxers and Hikaru in his as well?" The voice grew stern.

They misunderstood, They both realized. They're misunderstanding! It was only going to be a kiss, not sex.

Hikaru sighed.

"Kaoru was going to put his pjs on and he came to comfort me, and then I went to put a shirt on and Kaoru took it off and-" Hikaru started to explain.

"So this is Kaoru's fault?"

The twins froze.

Way to go, Kaoru scowled. Now I'M in trouble.

I didn't mean to Kaoru! Hikaru tried to explain.

...sure you didn't.

"This is Kaoru's fault?" Their mom's voice came again, more stern like their father's was earlier.

"You don't understand!" The two replied at once.

Their mother sighed and shook her head. "Oh, I understand well you two, don't think I'm blind."

She walked over and pushed Hikaru off of Kaoru and brought Kaoru to the closet.

"Get something to keep you warm," She warned as Kaoru finished dressing in the warm garments she gave him. "We'll discuss this in the morning young man, but until then, I have to do something about you two, and I think I know what to do."

Kaoru huffed and shook his head. "I'm warm enough."

That was that.

She stuck Kaoru outside.

"What? This isn't fair!" Kaoru protested as chills ran down his spine. If he knew he was going to have to sleep outside he would've brought a pillow, a blanket, or an extra sweater or something. Or Hikaru, he'd keep me warm.

"We'll talk in the morning."

The door was shut. Kaoru was locked outside.

Kaoru was sad, cold, and furious.

"This isn't fair," Kaoru pouted and thought back to their room. "It's all Hikaru's fault!"

Anger surged through Kaoru's body and he walked over to a tree and dashed his toes into it.

"It's all HIKARU'S FAULT!" Kaoru shouted. He ran his foot into it, again and again, until he thought he felt blood oozing through his toes. Kaoru sobbed and slumped against the tree. "It's all Hikaru's fault... for everything. He started this..."

Kaoru chokes and sobs trailed off and he slumped, pitifully.

"I ran away, they'd think different," Kaoru sniffed. "They would, they all would. Mom and dad wouldn't work all the time, just to make sure that I wouldn't run away again. They'd take time off of work just to come find me, even. Hikaru would... Hikaru would..."

Kaoru tried to think of something reasonable.

"He's such a drama king, and he gets mad and furious and depressed whenever ANYONE touches me, so I don't know what he'd do... die?"

His thoughts trailed off.

"Die."

That word was so bittersweet on his tongue, so fresh on his lips. It stung his mind to think about death, it baffled even the most famous and intellegent scholars. That single syllabled word baffled everyone, yet it tasted so sweet on Kaoru's mouth and thoughts.

"Die, death, kill, suicide, they all have that ring," Kaoru whispered and smiled as he felt the way the words rolled off of his tongue. He repeated them a bit more, laughing at how they made his tongue tingle. "Those are good words, aren't they?"

"Juliet died, didn't she? Romeo died too, right?" Kaoru asked himself, his eyes a little glazed over and he looked at the moon, that was so high up in the sky. "Isn't Hades the God of the Underworld? I wish I could meet whoever ran the dead, I want to know what would happen to me if I died. Would I go through eternal suffering, like hell, or eternal bliss and happiness, like heaven?"

Kaoru closed his eyes.

"Romeo, oh romeo. Wherefore is my Romeo?" Kaoru whispered and opened his eyes and looked up at the house and felt full of anger again and shouted at the house. "Locked in his room all warm and HAPPY!"

He slammed his fist into the ground.

"All happy..." Kaoru seethed. "We're twins! So why the hell am I NOT HAPPY?"

Kaoru was getting worked up, and it hurt so bad to think about anything, the cold nipped at his nose, telling him that global warming was a lie, that it was more like global freezing. Kaoru closed his eyes and rubbed his arms. Kaoru tried to calm himself down, but the cold kept stirring up his blood.

"Sore ga bokura no love style," Kaoru whispered to himself. "That is our love style."

"It'll never change," Came that voice Kaoru hated yet loved so much. "Never ever. Well, it might get a little more passionate."

"Hikaru?"

The boy's cold body sat next to Kaoru, Kaoru stared at the constand and often amount of large shivers running down Hikaru. Hikaru didn't have a coat on or anything, just his shirts, boxers, and pants. No socks or coat.

"Hikaru!" Kaoru scowled as he pulled Hikaru close and they stretched out Kaoru's sweater and huddled under it, staring at their breath as it turned into white puffs as it respirated from their mouths. After a while, Kaoru laughed and scolded, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I can't let you sleep out here alone," Hikaru replied. "I can't sleep without you. Plus, you said you'd keep me warm, I'm not very warm."

Kaoru smiled and turned Hikaru and they sat, face to face, their body's so close they could hear the other's heart beat, and even feel it. This wasn't just because they were twins either. Kaoru smiled and wrapped his arms around Hikaru and huddled up against the tree, with Hikaru's legs entwined with his at the sudden movement Kaoru caused. Kaoru laughed as Hikaru wrapped his arms around Kaoru and Kaoru kissed Hikaru and they sat there like that until one of them needed to breath. They smiled and laughed.

"Feeling... any warmer?"

Hikaru smiled and nodded. "Definetly."

Kaoru smiled and huddled closer to Hikaru this time, instead of the tree. He loved how warm Hikaru was right now.

"I'm tempted to just push my hands up your shirt to feel your warm skin, the skin is warmer than the clothes," Kaoru teased, hoping to make Hikaru blush.

He succeeded, but got a reply unexpected. He was thinking Hikaru'd say, "You SM king!"

"If you want to, you can."

Kaoru blushed and smiled slightly and nuzzled his nose into Hikaru's arm.

"I'm cold," Kaoru admitted.

"Let love keep us warm," Hikaru replied.

Kaoru smiled. He wasn't sure Hikaru meant what Kaoru was thinking. He nodded.

"Love love?" Kaoru laughed, pretty sure Hikaru would push him away, for he didn't think his brother would ever think of him like that.

But Hikaru was.

Hikaru's POV

Ma kicked Kaoru out of the house, for I messed up on explaining why we were laying in a sexual pose on the bed with only our boxers on. They thought it was all Kaoru's fault, and they wouldn't allow us acting like that in the house. Maybe they know about our various moments of sex when they were gone? Oh god, please don't them know about THAT! They can know that we bathe together again, but don't let them know about that.

I left the house to go join Kaoru. Besides, ma said we couldn't in her house. We're not in the house anymore.

So I can do what I want... but I don't think I will. Kissing him is enough, feeling his warmth is enough. I lied to him and told him I was cold when we were outside together. I wasn't cold in the least as I felt his skin rub against my bare arms. The sweater was all he was wearing on his upper body, so I got to be with him under the sweater because he wanted to keep me warm. He didn't have to do that. I'm kind of glad he did.

I feel closer to Kaoru now for some reason.

I just love that feeling.