"Touma?"

Kaoru sat on the couch, pressing the phone against his ear. He was shaking slightly, mouth dry and heart pounding.

"Hello, Kaoru. What a nice surprise…" Touma said from the other end of the line. Kaoru took a deep breath, trying to wrap his mind around the words he was about to say.

"I… I think I might take you up on your offer."

"Mmm, I hope this is the same offer that we discussed the other night?"

"Yes… Come to the club tonight, and I'll go home with you after work…"

"Well, I'll definitely be looking forward to it."

"Thanks… I'll see you then, alright?"

"Of course."

Kaoru set his phone down, resting his head in his hands for a few moments. He had to work soon… and after that, he would spend the night with Touma. He felt sick at the thought, a sense of dread building deep in his core, but even so, he was convinced that this was his only option. In Kaoru's mind, it was the only choice he had.

"Kaoru," a voice said. It was trembling slightly, but Kaoru was too preoccupied to notice. He looked up to see his twin standing over him, staring intently. "What was that?"

"Oh," Kaoru said, smiling feebly. "It was just a customer."

"A customer who you're fucking?"

"I… Um…" Kaoru took a deep breath, fighting to keep his smile, weak though it was. "This will be my first. I thought it was time, you know?"

"Yeah. Right," Hikaru retorted. "Lucky girl, nailing a Hitachiin twin, huh?"

Hikaru winked, a grin on his lips. Kaoru stood, grabbing his jacket off of the chair and moving towards the door. His fingers gentle took hold of the doorknob, lingering, looking back over his shoulder one more time, flashed a feeble smile, and said, "It's a man."

"Kaoru, you seem so shy tonight!" a customer giggled. Kaoru shook his head, though a slight blush tinted his cheeks.

"Is that an insult to my skill as a host?" he teased, forcing a mischievous smile. The woman shook her head, laughing.

"Oh, of course not. You know what a charmer you are, Kaoru!"

Kaoru's smile warmed, and he reached forward to place his hand on top of the customer's.

"I am happy such a beautiful woman finds me so charming, then," he purred. His job as a host was the one thing that could get his mind off of Hikaru—as a host, he could pretend he was normal. And so, he would make the most of it, he decided. He'd be more charming than ever.

"Do you like being a host?" the woman questioned. This customer was kind and mature; Kaoru liked her, if only as a sort of aunt.

"I do," Kaoru said honestly. "It helps to take my mind off of things, letting me focus instead on making my customers happy. It is hard to doubt yourself when there are beautiful women who find a moment of happiness because of you."

"Well, that is rather noble of you then, don't you think?"

"Hmm? How so?"

"Well, surely there are other ways to get your mind off of things. But instead, you choose to make lonely women feel loved, for a time."

"Everyone deserves to feel loved," Kaoru replied, his voice softening. "A lot of women come here because the one that they love does not feel the same. I'd like to ease that pain, if only for a while. There is no reason not to help, so why wouldn't I?"

The woman smiled knowingly, taking a sip of her drink before leaning forward once more, gazing fondly at Kaoru.

"And is there someone you love who does not feel the same, Kaoru?"

"Right now, the only one I love is you, of course."

"I'm talking to the real Kaoru, not the host," she said, waving a hand. Kaoru frowned.

"Yes, then. There is."

"Well then. Let's order another bottle of wine, shall we? And you can tell me all about this special person."

"I don't think you want to hear."

"Detail or no detail, I want to hear everything you are willing to share."

Hikaru had no idea what he was doing here. It's not like he hadn't always wanted to go and retrieve his brother from the club when he worked late; it was that he had decided it was best not to. But he couldn't take it anymore. After Kaoru had left, he had stood there for what felt like hours, staring at the door. He tried not to think about what his brother was going to do. He tried not to think about some asshole holding him, kissing him, fucking him—but he couldn't help it. Those damned images were burned into his imagination, and he didn't care if this ruined him and if Kaoru ended up hating him, he wasn't going to let those thoughts come to life.

He swung open the door to the club, eyes narrowed menacingly as he carefully looked over each table.

"Hello! Are you here for a host?" a cute blonde boy questioned, bouncing up to him. Hikaru glared at him, nodding curtly.

"Where's Kaoru?"

"O-Oh!" the boy exclaimed, his smile weakening a bit. "Kaoru has a private date with a customer right now! Would you like to spend time with one of our other hosts until his shift is done?"

"No," Hikaru demanded. His fists clenched, the frustration raging within him. "I need to see him now. I'm his fucking twin, I think I'm entitled to that."

The blonde nodded awkwardly, smile still admirably forced. He guided Hikaru through the club, gesturing to the booth where he sat with the customer.

Kaoru was leaning against the woman, his head on her shoulder, her arm wrapped around him as her hand played affectionately with his hair. Hikaru couldn't stand it. He stormed up to them, overwhelmed by jealousy. Kaoru's eyes went wide when he saw his twin, standing rapidly.

"H-Hikaru?"

"We're going home," he demanded. He grabbed Kaoru's wrist, yanking him away from the woman and towards the door.

"Hikaru, stop!"

The rash twin ignored the calls of his brother, pulling him down the street, not knowing where he was headed but determined to put as much distance as possible between them and that woman. He felt like he was going to cry when Kaoru stopped walking. He tried to yank him forward, but the boy refused to move. He was shaking, looking so small and weak, staring at Hikaru with wide, terrified eyes.

"What's going on?" he questioned desperately. "Why are you doing this?"

Hikaru let his hands drop to his sides. He didn't know what to say. Kaoru pressed his hands to his twins shoulders, a sob leaking from his throat.

"Hikaru, p-please—!"

And then Hikaru's lips were on his. Kaoru whimpered, shoving his brother away, crying dramatically now.

"W-What—"

"I was jealous!" Hikaru yelled taking a step closer to his brother. "I was fucking JEALOUS!"

"W-Why would you be jealous?" Kaoru asked, voice little more than a whimper. "I d-don't understand…"

"I love you, Kaoru. I'm sick of you going to the club every night and leaving me home to sit there and think about you flirting with all those women! I can't fucking take it!"

Kaoru was crying even harder now. He stumbled against his brother, leaning into him, trembling. He looked up at him, and through his sobs, he smiled.

"I love you, too, Hikaru," he said. Hikaru wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him closer. He couldn't believe it. He stared into space, trying to focus on the feel of his brother held tightly in his arms and forget about all of the confusion. Part of him wanted to deny what he had heard, to decide that Kaoru just felt sorry for him, or that he meant it purely in a brotherly way… but he knew better, and slowly but surely, he allowed himself to relax. They stayed like that for a while, one simply holding the other, until Hikaru took them home. And when they were home, they curled up in Kaoru's bed together, Hikaru whispering soothing words into the boy's ear, stroking his hair, arms wrapped firmly around him.

"D-Do you k-know why I worked so m-much?" Kaoru whispered hoarsely. Hikaru shook his head, frowning slightly.

"I thought it would d-distance us, so I could g-get over you."

"Why wouldn't you just tell me how you felt, Kaoru?"

"You're my b-brother. I was afraid you'd h-hate me… and I w-wanted you to have a normal life, and find a w-wife, and have k-kids…"

Hikaru laughed. He gave Kaoru an affectionate squeeze, pressing a kiss to his twin's forehead when he looked curiously up at him.

"You have always been the only one I want, Kaoru."

"B-but… Hikaru, we're twins…"

"And why can't twins love each other? We're not hurting anyone. I want to be with you. I'm not going to let anyone touch you. I'm too selfish to let you go."

"Thank you."

"Kaoru…"

"Yes?"

"Why were you going to sleep with that guy?" Hikaru choked the words out, grimacing at the sound. Kaoru turned around so that he lay on top of Hikaru, looking down at him. He placed a gentle peck on his twin's lips, Hikaru's arms pulling him closer. "I couldn't stop loving you. I thought that maybe if I slept with him, it would be easier to… get over you. I was disgusted by it. I felt gross just thinking about it, but… I didn't know what else to do."

Hikaru nodded, pursing his lips thoughtfully. He ran his hand gently down Kaoru's back, measuring him with an affection gaze.

"Will you be my lover, Kaoru?"

"Yes," Kaoru whispered, a few more tears escaping him. "I will."