Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or any of its characters. Bet that's a surprise.

*No stealing stories, thanks*

A/N: Hi there! If you are reading this, thanks for checking out my story! If you've been following along, thanks for reading along, I really appreciate it! I plan to write a final short conclusion chapter soon to end this off nicely, so stay tuned! Any reviews would be very welcome. Enjoy!

Kaoru walked down the hallway slowly, coming to a stop in front of his brother's bedroom door. Light dimly glowed from under the door; Hikaru was probably still up doing homework or something. Kaoru breathed in deeply, and sighed. He'd waited to approach his brother until he'd watched from his window as a cab drove up to the front door, picked up Haruhi, and disappeared back down the dark driveway with a gentle drone. But now it was inevitable.

Gently, Kaoru put his hand up and gave the door a gentle tap. Within a few seconds, the sound of a chair scraping the floor and muffled footsteps resounded from inside the room, and the door was thrust wide by Hikaru, looking fairly disgruntled at his brother's appearance. He was still wearing his clothes from the afternoon, though his feet were shod in slippers. His hair was disheveled, and Kaoru could see him fighting to stifle a yawn. Eyeing his brother with uncertainty, he frowned.

"What?" Hikaru asked.

Kaoru peered behind Hikaru into the room. His brother's desk was thrown into disarray, homework strewn across the surface, the chair pushed away. Hikaru continued to glare at Kaoru as his brother looked back at him.

"Could we talk for a minute?" Kaoru asked cautiously.

Hikaru said nothing, but walked back to his desk and sat down. Taking this as an invitation, Kaoru walked inside the room and, gently closing the door behind him, came to rest on the edge of the bed. Neither brother said anything for a minute. Hikaru turned to his desk and began scribbling away at his homework. Kaoru cleared his throat, and shifted uncomfortably.

"How did your day with Haruhi go?" He asked. Hikaru didn't turn around to answer.

"It went fine." He muttered.

The awkward silence filled the room once more. Sighing, Kaoru walked over to his brother and leaned on the desk, watching him work. Looking at Hikaru's face, he could trace every line and feature of his own. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing his reflection, however slightly distorted. Funny, Kaoru thought, how similar we look on the outside, but how different we really are.

After a second, Hikaru dropped his pencil and looked up at his brother in annoyance.

"Are you just going to watch me do math all night? What did you want to talk about?"

Kaoru took a deep breath before answering, searching for the right words. Hikaru glared at him, waiting for a responce from his brother. Kaoru sighed and looked at Hikaru with a leveled gaze.

"Haruhi doesn't like me."

Hikaru frowned deeper in exasperation, and turned his attention back to his homework. When he spoke, however, his voice had lost a bit of its cutting edge.

"Of course she likes you. She's our friend." Hikaru's tone faltered slightly at his last word. Kaoru understood why. Even after their acceptance into the Host Club, both twins knew it would always be hard to put the past behind them and realize they had friends who truly cared about them, especially Hikaru. Wondering if this wasn't exactly the right time to bring up Hikaru's feelings for Haruhi, Kaoru had to keep going. He nodded.

"I know that." He replied, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder in reassurance. Taking a deep breath, he continued.

"But I didn't mean in that way."

Kaoru could feel Hikaru tense up at his words. The dim light of the room did not allow Kaoru to see his brother's face, but the bond they shared as twins told Kaoru exactly what was going through his brother's mind.

"What do you mean?" Hikaru asked, his tone faking confidence in the matter.

Kaoru chuckled a bit, and leaned against the wall again. Hikaru knew what he was talking about. Running a hand through his tousled hair, Kaoru replied in a light tone.

"I mean, Haruhi never had eyes for me in the first place." His own words stung him, the memories of his feelings towards her coming to his mind. He felt a sharp twinge of underlying jealously that he still harbored in his heart towards his brother. But Kaoru knew now that it was not possible for him to love her like her wanted to, and he had come to terms with that.

"She likes you, Hikaru."

Hikaru kept writing for a minute before putting his pencil down slowly. Wheeling back his chair a little, he looked up at his brother, his brow barely furrowed. Searching Kaoru's face for any sign of jest or a hidden smile, he leaned back and looked back down at his hands.

"How long have you known?"

"I've had a hunch. Tonight, while you were in here, I talked to Haru."

The effect of Kaoru's words was instantaneous. Hikaru nearly knocked over his chair as he got up, standing eye to eye with Kaoru, a look of indignation on his face.

"What?"

Kaoru gave another quiet laugh. Gently pushing Hikaru towards his chair, he gave him the smallest of smiles at Hikaru's usual temper.

"Relax, dummy. She came to talk to me first."

Hikaru raised his eyebrows as he sat back down.

"What did she want to know?"

"Apparently she heard us fighting this morning."

A frown crossed Hikaru's face again before he answered.

"And?" he asked questioningly.

Kaoru shrugged.

"There's not much you can keep her from knowing eventually."

Hikaru nodded slightly in understanding. She had a way of doing that to people.

Kaoru cleared his throat, getting Hikaru's attention back on the topic at hand.

"She was concerned about you. She does care, whether you knew it before or not. For both of us." He tapped his brother's arm. Hikaru looked up at his twin, meeting his gaze. Kaoru could see the doubt in his brother's eyes. Hikaru wasn't sure how this would work. Opening up to people was something neither were good at. Hikaru had tried to be there for her once before, and it hadn't worked. Kaoru knew it would be tough for him to build a relationship with Haruhi. But she was worth it. What they could have was worth it. And Kaoru would do his best to put his feelings aside and help him. He would not let his brother down.

"Trust me." Kaoru said quietly.

The two boys stared into each other's eyes; one looking for his brother's attention, the other for his brother's reassurance. Kaoru nodded slightly, a gentle smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

"You need her more. I'll be fine."

Silently, Hikaru watched his brother for a moment, expressionless. Neither of them moved. Slowly, a glimpse of his old grin slowly appeared on his face. He nodded.

"Thanks." He murmured.

Kaoru smiled a bit wider before pulling away, his hand lingering softly on his twin's arm before he walked to the bedroom door. Reaching for the handle, he looked back over his shoulder at Hikaru, who had looked back down at his work.

"By the way, I saw you two together when you got home." He said, keeping his face straight. "Very suspicious."

Hikaru's face flushed a bright shade of pink, jolting up to look at Kaoru.

"What are you talking about?"

Kaoru chuckled.

"Nothing."

Hikaru frowned at him, but before he could say anything, Kaoru was already out the door. Turning the handle quietly, he walked back down the shadowed hall to his room, smiling tiredly but a bit mischeviously.

Suspicious? He thought.

Yeah, right.