Wow, this took a lot longer than I anticipated to get up. I was writing for my classes and then I had exams, and basically I just didn't have time to work on this. But I do now! And I hope to finish it by Halloween. I suspect that there are only 2 or so chapters left. But maybe not. We shall see.
Hikaru hadn't been happy to hear that Kaoru had revealed some of their plot to Kyouya, but he admitted that it had been necessary, considering the circumstances. Now, however, it would be even more difficult for Kaoru to get time alone with Kyouya.
"I didn't know what else to do! He was gonna strangle me with my tie and then skin me with his cell phone. Seriously. I was terrified."
The older twin sighed. "Alright, I forgive you. We'll just have to venture into more dangerous territory now."
"More dangerous than our original plan? Is that even possible?"
Hikaru's grin was full of mischief and evil. He leaned close to Kaoru and whispered the plan in his little brother's ear. Gold eyes widened. It was practically suicide, but it would be more fun than they'd had in a long time.
When they arrived at school, they continued their "fighting" act from the day before. The girls were alarmed and distressed over this, as was Tamaki.
Kyouya, however, did not seem amused.
"I'm not going to fall for the same trick again, you know."
Kaoru grinned at him, feeling a rush of danger. Gray eyes narrowed menacingly, raising Koaru's heart-rate.
The two of them were hidden in a little-used lab at the end of a hallway. Kaoru's grin grew wider when Kyouya jumped as Hikaru came from behind.
"It's like this, Kyouya," Hikaru began.
"Either I get to pick your brain apart every evening after club hours," Kaoru continued...
"Or we refuse to accept customers due to our 'fight,'" Hikaru finished.
Kaoru was extremely interested in the way Kyouya's face shifted minutely in the next minute. At first, his eyes got slightly rounder. Then his teeth began to grind together. Finally, glasses flashing, he assumed a look of stubborn acceptance. The twins grinned at each other over this reaction, which only made Kyoya's anger more difficult for him to conceal.
The twins had figured that Kyouya wouldn't let go of his suspicion that they were taking him as one of their toys if they took this route, which would help to hide Kaoru's real reason for wanting to spend time with him. They weren't sure that this wouldn't get in the way of Kyouya actually believing Kaoru when he confessed (if he confessed, Kaoru thought to himself), but he was a smart guy. He'd figure it out eventually, which actually worried Kaoru a bit.
"So Kyouya," Hikaru practically purred, "What do you say?"
Kyouya carefully unclenched his teeth. "Fine. I will accept this arrangement for now. But I will figure out what the two of you are up to. And then you will pay."
They simply smiled sweetly at him and waved. "See you at the Host Club, Kyouya!" Kaoru sang.
When he did see Kyouya at the Club that afternoon, the older boy was in quite a state. Kyouya's glasses were flashing more than usual, and his fingers pounded the keyboard with violent fervor. Kaoru knew he should be terrified, but Kyouya looked almost cute throwing his temper tantrum.
The twins played off their disagreement beautifully, an easy task considering they usually pretended to be in love with each other, trying hard not to catch each other's eyes too often. Of course, a chance at reconciliation would raise revenue, and Kaoru didn't want to hang out with a belligerent Kyouya later.
He caught Hikaru's eye and assumed his "uke-brother" look, knowing that Hikaru would figure it out. Hikaru gazed back longingly, and only Kaoru could tell how hard he was trying not to laugh. He undoubtedly knew what Kaoru was doing and agreed with it, but still thought it was funny how much Kaoru wanted to make Kyouya happy.
The gaze broke, and several girls sighed deeply. They wanted their favorite couple back together but they also enjoyed seeing how they obviously still loved each other despite their disagreement. It was just like a yaoi manga, when the lovers would fight, but the readers knew they were getting back together—the twins had done their research, after all.
Kaoru snuck a look at Kyouya, smiling when he saw his upperclassman smirk in approval. He could be so predictable sometimes. If only Kaoru could predict what his reaction would be to a confession from a boy.
When activities were over and everyone else left, Kaoru slid over to Kyouya's chair.
"So, did we do good today?" His head tilted endearingly, hands behind his back.
"I suppose," Kyouya tried not to look pleased.
"Let's take your measurements for that costume. Then we can start picking colors and specific designs." Kaoru was especially excited about having license to touch Kyouya so much. He had even made sure to wear extra-tight underwear today in order to hide his reaction.
Kyouya sighed, sounding world-weary and tired. He obviously harbored some anger still, but Kaoru was confident that he could dispel the bad mood. Or, rather, he hoped very much that he could, as that would mean that they were good for each other.
When Kyouya stood in front of him with an eyebrow raised, posture giving off a "well, what are you waiting for" vibe, Kaoru gulped. Just the night before, he'd allowed himself to imagine what being intimate with Kyouya would be like, and it had started off in his head with just that pose and expression. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all.
"You, uh, you should probably take off your jacket. That way the measurements will be accurate." Then he gulped as Kyouya stripped off his outermost layer.
Steeling himself, he walked within touching distance of Kyouya.
"Don't you need a tape measure?" Kaoru wasn't aware that a voice could smirk.
"Oh, hah, right. Sorry, I forgot." He scampered to his bag, grabbed said tool, and hurried back. "Okay, now we can get started," Kaoru laughed nervously.
He fidgeted as he felt Kyouya's eyes studying his expression. The older boy was still trying to figure out the twins' motivation. If Kaoru wasn't careful here, he knew Kyouya would see straight through him.
"You mentioned something about color choices," Kyouya softened his voice to accommodate for the short distance between them, making him sound slightly huskier. "Should we go with a more historically correct design? Or would it be better to stick with blacks and grays in consideration of the holiday being celebrated?"
The puffs of warm air seemed to Kaoru to caress his face, which turned warm again. He hated blushing, but all of the time he'd spent cultivating a fake blush for use with Hikaru had resulted in making a genuine blush more difficult to suppress. It didn't help that the whispering had also been part of his fantasy last night.
"Um, I'm not sure yet?"
"That's fine. We can figure it out later, I'm sure. I'll let you take your measurements now.
He decided to start with the neck measurement, since that one would be the least embarrassing. The ribbon wrapped around Kyouya's slender neck. Kaoru wrote a number on the scrap of paper he'd grabbed along with the tape measure.
Then he decided to take all of the measurements done from the back next, since that meant he wouldn't have Kyouya staring at him the whole time. He stretched the tape across the broad shoulders in front of him, unnecessarily running his hand along it in a smoothing motion. Kyouya's shoulders twitched, allowing Kaoru to feel the play of muscle under the white dress shirt.
Next, he took the measurements from the nape of the neck. First from the nape to the waist, then from the nape to the floor.
"Hold this?" He pressed on the ribbon at the back of Kyouya's neck. Their fingers brushed, and Kaoru licked his lips nervously at the jolt he felt. When he knelt to the ground, he took a voyeuristic moment to admire the fine ass he was eye-level to and inches from. Perhaps he stayed down there longer than strictly necessary before writing the number, but he didn't think Kyouya would notice.
When he measured Kyouya's inseam, his hands were trembling, and he was grateful he was still behind the Shadow King, still kneeling from the measurement to the floor.
"Sorry," he murmured, as he placed the end of the tape at the junction of Kyouya's leg and groin. This measurement he took quickly, beginning to feel exactly how uncomfortably tight that underwear was.
Then he stood, took a quiet steadying breath, and returned to face Kyouya. He told Kyouya to put his hand on his waist and measured the length of his arm. Next came the all-important waist measurement. Kaoru managed to keep himself from making a sound of approval at the firm stomach beneath his hands. Finally, he wrapped the tape measure around Kyouya's chest, for a moment encircling his crush with his arms, and then adjusted the measure to fit snugly and squarely.
"Interesting," Kyouya breathed.
Kaoru's eyes shot up, wide and terrified. "What's interesting?"
"Hmm, nothing," Kyouya looked far too smug.
Not at all comfortable with that answer, but not going to press any further because of cowardice, Kaoru just wrote down the measurements and rolled the ribbon into a tight circle.
"Um, I just remembered that I have some homework to do tonight," Kaoru managed to say, "So I'm gonna go ahead and go. We can talk about colors and stuff tomorrow."
Then, he was ashamed to tell his brother, he literally ran away.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. What did Kyouya find interesting? How hard will Hikaru laugh at Kaoru for being a little coward? Find out next time I post!
Also, I would love constructive criticism. Admittedly, this isn't my most revised work, but I'd still like to know where I can improve.
Thanks guys!