Chapter 12: Playing to Win
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"Everything is a game to you."
Their golden orbs were full of shock. She had been standing there the entire time they had been playing out the latest phase of the plan.
Her face was expressionless. It was the characteristic Haruhi impression of not caring but her eyes—had they made her cry?
"Haruhi, you don't understand," Hikaru said.
"I understand enough. I'm just a toy, a game," Haruhi said calmly.
"It's more than that," Kaoru said quickly.
"What am I then?" she demanded.
"The other piece of us," they answered simultaneously.
"That's ridiculous. You two have only ever needed each other."
"Not true," the twins chorused.
"It's always a game. It's always a prank. It's always something else."
"But Haruhi, we—we love you."
She just turned her back to them.
She hadn't talked to the twins in two weeks except for the usual club matters. She had taken to eating lunch with Kyoya and Mori because they never asked her what was wrong.
She hung out more with Hunny and Tamaki than she thought possible. They went everywhere together from Bunnies on Ice with Hunny to the newest French restaurant in the area with Tamaki.
Her life was full. She didn't need the twins to be happy. She didn't miss them.
Except for when she sat at lunch and it was too quiet. There were no loud arguments or constant banter. There were no hands playing with her hair or hugs. There were no constant jokes or tricks being pulled.
There were no identify the twin games. She didn't get teased or smirked at.
She found herself missing those devilish smirks. It was impossible for her not to find herself daydreaming at the sound of their voices.
They were in all of her classes. They sat near her to. And she would find herself watching them during tests. In literature class Hikaru would be writing slowly while Kaoru would be writing a mile a minute. In math class Hikaru would already have all the problems done while Kaoru still be on the first set.
Their redheads would be bent over their papers in sheer studious effort. They would smirk from time to time but their smiles weren't going to their eyes.
Why did she have to love them?
Haruhi was on her way to the Host Club meeting when she felt herself being dragged into a janitor's closet.
"We can't take this anymore."
Hikaru.
"This is insane. We know you're angry with us— "
Kaoru.
"But you don't think this going—"
"A little too far? It's not like we meant to—"
"Hurt you. In fact—"
"We love you," the twins said in unison.
"You can't possibly—" Haruhi started.
"But we do and we know you love us too."
"You miss us when we're not around and you need us," Kaoru said.
"Besides we miss you too," Hikaru replied.
"I can't be with you both," Haruhi said. "I can't just suddenly decide that I love one more than the other."
"We're not asking you to do that," Kaoru stated.
"All we want is to know that you love us too," Hikaru said.
"Do you want to be with us? Do you love us enough to do that?"
To be continued….
