Hikaru awoke and began to stretch out but stopped himself as he stared upwards. The ceiling was different than what he was used to waking up to and then it dawned on him why. He was in Kaoru's room after all, which meant that there was no place for Kaoru to flee to, which in turn meant that he should still be on the other side of the bed. Hikaru turned over to face his brother. He let out a defeated sigh and closed his eyes. "Gone again."
A groan came from the floor.
Hikaru's eyes popped open and he shuffled to the edge of the bed. He looked down at the floor and saw his brother stretching out of the floor. "Kaoru? What are you doing down there?"
Kaoru's eyes met Hikaru's, sending a shiver down his spine. "You kicked me out of bed. Again! What's worse is that it was out of my own bed this time."
"Again?"
"I should have known you wouldn't remember. You never did before." Kaoru muttered.
"I'm so sorry Kaoru. I didn't know." Hikaru apologized.
"What makes it worse is that I didn't even have my own bed to crawl into this time." Kaoru growled.
"I said I'm sorry." Hikaru repeated.
"Not as sorry as I am." Kaoru snapped. He began to sit up but stopped and let out a painful groan.
Hikaru's eyes widened, "Kaoru, are you okay?"
"I slept on the hard floor for half the night, what do you think?" Kaoru shot another look at his brother.
"Well climb up here and I'll massage your kinks out." Hikaru said offering a hand to his brother.
The younger twin stared at the hand extended to him before agreeing. "Fine." Kaoru said, grasping his brother's hand. Together they got Kaoru off the floor and onto the bed.
"You'll have to take your shirt off, if you want me to do it right." Hikaru pointed out.
Koaru didn't say anything he just unbuttoned his pajama top. He could feel his brother's eyes upon him as he fiddled with the buttons. He looked up at him, and when their eyes met, Kaoru could feel the temperature rise in his own face, causing him to quickly look away.
When the last button was undone, Kaoru laid face down onto the bed. Then he felt his brother's hands running over his back. His body shivered.
"You really did cramp up a bit on the floor didn't you?" Hikaru commented.
Kaoru just groaned a reply as his brother began to rub a sore muscle.
And so it went, Hikaru sat beside his brother slowly rubbing his brother's back and remembering just how soft and smooth his brother's skin was. How warm it was. But the moment was not for him he had to remind himself, as he worked out one cramp and then moved onto the next. That is until he came upon a rather stubborn one. "Come on Hikaru just get at it harder." His brother nagged.
"I can't from this angle." Hikaru replied.
"Well then move!" Kaoru whined.
And move his did as he took a position straddling his brother, it may have been slightly awkward but he was able to apply more pressure to the knot in his brother's back, or so he reasoned. He knew he was finally making headway by his brother's growing satisfied moans. It was after a rather loud drawn out moan that Hikaru looked up from his brother with a pleased look on his face, screamed and fell backwards between his brother's legs. Kaoru's head shot up, "what is it?"
"Masters. It is time for breakfast." Came two monotonous voices inches from the bed.
Kaoru turned scarlet, when did their maids enter his bedroom and how long had they been standing there?
Hikaru gathered his wits first, "Thanks…uhh...we'll be right down…"
The maids curtsied and left the room.
"How long had they…" Hikaru stammered out.
"I don't know." Kaoru groaned burying his head back into the bed.
Hikaru sighed, "Oh well, it's not like we haven't shown them worse while trying to get a rise out of them."
"But those were just jokes." Kaoru argued.
"Exactly, we've desensitized both of them so I don't think either one would really notice or be too disturbed if they saw actually anything." Hikaru reasoned.
"You think so?" Kaoru said lifting his head up once more.
"Yeah, besides if they didn't bat an eye that time we had the blowup doll between us in bed and condoms strung all over I don't think either one would even notice a massage like that." Hikaru said, "Now get up. It's Monday, so I have my pre-classes meeting with the computer club." Hikaru grabbed Kaoru's hand and pulled him up off of the bed to start the day.
When Hikaru and Kaoru came down to the dining room they saw that their plates were on opposite sides of the table. Hikaru picked his plate up and placed it next to his brother's. They then sat down and began eating in silence.
"You seem awfully happy this morning." Haruhi observed.
"Yeah, surprising since I woke up on the floor this morning." Kaoru replied without thinking. Once he processed what he said he did his best not to wince.
"You slept on the floor? Why did you do that?" Haruhi asked.
"I must have fallen out of bed sometime in the night." Kaoru reasoned.
Haruhi pushed further; there was more to the story, she could feel it. "Your bed is huge Kaoru. It's about the size of my whole bedroom, so how did you manage that?"
"He must have had a bad dream. He used to have them all the time." Hikaru said as he walked to his desk. "Then he'd helplessly call out my name with the most pathetic look on his face."
Kaoru began to smile, but it turned into a scowl. "No one asked you Hikaru."
"Come on guys, don't start this so early in the week. Class hasn't even started yet." Haruhi pleaded.
"Fine, forget I said anything" Hikaru said waving his hand through the air.
That afternoon at the beginning of club activates, Haruhi rushed to Music Room #3. "Something is going on between the twins." Haruhi said to the Vice-president of the Host Club.
"Oh? What sort of thing?" Kyoya inquired.
"I don't know. Kaoru was acting strange this morning. He mentioned that he woke up on the floor this morning." Haruhi said.
"That is hardly something to stop the presses for." Kyoya said before taking a sip of coffee.
"The only time Kaoru ever complained about waking up on the floor was when Hikaru would knock him down there in their sleep." Haruhi explained, "Not only that, but when Hikaru walked into class this morning, Kaoru gave him the briefest of smiles, before scowling at him."
"I see." Kyoya said setting his cup on the saucer and pulling out his notebook. He glanced through a few pages before scribbling a few notes.
"Well?" Haruhi prodded.
"Well what?" Kyoya said putting his notebook back down.
"This means that they are done fighting now, right? They've made up." Haruhi said.
"It's a possibility." Kyoya said with a shrug.
"Do you think they…" Haruhi began.
"That's not for me to speculate. If they have decided, then they'll either let us know or they won't. It's not for us to go prying into their lives." Kyoya stated.
'Right, because you never pry into people's personal lives' Haruhi thought to herself as she went to prepare for her guests. She knew that Kyoya knew more than he was letting on, she just knew it would be a waste of breath to try and get it out of him.
"Come on Kaoru, it's late. Time for bed." Hikaru called to his brother from the bed.
With his nose still buried in his textbook, Kaoru responded, "In a bit Hikaru. Just thirty more minutes."
"You said that two hours ago," Hikaru whined. "If you stay up any longer your lack of sleep will be more detrimental than not knowing the finer details."
"That's easy for you to say, this comes naturally for you." Kaoru retorted. Kaoru reached for his headphones and put them on. He turned his music on and picked his book back up. He began reviewing the same math problem for the umpteenth time and began to grow frustrated as it still looked like random numbers on the page. Just when he thought he'd scream, he felt arms drape over his shoulders, hands grazing his chest and a chin rest gently atop his head that slid the headphones off of his ears.
"Please come to bed. You'll do fine. I have full confidence in you." He then felt his brother's lips atop his forehead, "Besides we both know if you don't go to sleep now, you'll be a royal pain in the ass tomorrow. And I don't want to put up with that."
Kaoru sighed and admitted defeated. He closed his textbook and climbed into bed. But even in the darkness that now dominated the room, Kaoru couldn't find rest. His brain still was still actively trying to go over all the information that had just been crammed into it. Once again he felt his brother's arms around him, calming him down.
"Goodnight Kaoru. Everything will be fine, I promise you." Hikaru whispered.
Kaoru moved deeper into his brother's embrace, "I hope so."
Hikaru awoke and opened his eyes and as he had come to expect, the other side of the bed was empty. He glanced over to the desk and saw his brother already back to studying. "Please tell me you at least got some sleep."
"I've only been up for an hour." Koaru reassured his brother.
Hikaru closed his eyes and shook his head, "I'm going to go get dressed. I'll see you at breakfast."
Hikaru wound up eating breakfast by himself and had grabbed a banana for his brother to eat on the way to school. Kaoru had only eaten half of the banana before his nerves told him to give up. Knowing the anxiety that was fluttering around inside his brother instead of watching the passing scenery as he usually did on the way to school Hikaru looked at his brother; he couldn't believe his brother was stressing this much over a test. But then again, it wasn't like he had helped his brother with math every night like they used to. He looked down and saw his brother's hand had gone white by how tight of a fist he was making. Hikaru reached down and tried worming his fingers into it. At first it seemed impossible as his brother's fingers were clenched so tightly but after a few attempts they loosened. When Hikaru's fingers finally became intertwined with his brother's he saw a smile finally come over Kaoru's face.
When the car stopped and their diver opened the door Kaoru looked at his brother, "You don't have to keep holding my hand you know."
Hikaru looked his brother in the eye, smiled and squeezed his brother's hand. "I'm not letting you go that easily." As the twins exited the car the driver gave them both a large smile.
The first group of students they walked past at first didn't notice anything. It wasn't until after they had walked by that they understood what they had just seen and quickly turned their heads back around. The twins could hear the discussion start spreading as phones around the school started to ring.
That day in class Haruhi was glad to walk in and hear the rambunctious noise of the twins in the classroom, and grew happier still to find that Hikaru had return to his old seat. Yet, by that afternoon she found her eye twitching when she finally caught back up with them. "Tamaki-senpai just told me that you two said you weren't interested in rejoining the Host Club. Is that true?"
"It's partly true." Hikaru said.
"We do want to rejoin, but not right now." Kaoru added.
"I still have to arrange my leave with the computer club, otherwise they'll just sink back into obscurity. Besides, if we joined now it would look like we're doing it because Tamaki asked us, and he'd attribute it to one of his plans." Hikaru explained.
"This would just give him a larger head than he already has, and would make everyone's lives that much more miserable. So if we wait a bit, we can go back on our terms." Kaoru elaborated.
Together the twins concluded with, "Which is why we told him we weren't interested."
"He'll still think he had something to do with it when you finally do." Haruhi sighed as the image of a gloating Tamaki filled her head. "But mainly I'm just glad you two aren't fighting anymore." The twins looked at each other, their eyes narrowed, and their lips snarled. They took in a breath to begin speaking but as they did Haruhi clamped a hand over their mouths. "Don't even pretend to fight you two." Haruhi soon regretted her action as she felt two warm wet tongues slide against her palms. She yelped as she jerked her hands away from the twins' mouths, revealing large grins which let out a string of laughter.
While their day was pleasant things soon changed within an hour of returning home. Kaoru grit his teeth. The tension between the two brothers had suddenly spiked as only a few minutes prior they were laughing, while now they were almost at each other's throat.
"Damn it Hikaru let me through!" Kaoru shouted.
"In your dreams." The older twin retorted.
Kaoru let out a growl. "Last chance to let me pass."
"Or what? You'll tell on me?" Hikaru chuckled while unbeknownst by him his younger brother's foot began to inch towards his controller cable. "I thought you said you had played this before." Hikaru then let fly with some 'constructive criticism' "maybe if you didn't drive like a little old lady you could win."
Kaoru waited until his brother was entering the final corner before he grabbed his brother's cable with his foot and with a slight movement unplugged his brother's controller. Hikaru let out a string of insults as he watched his own car make a beeline for the wall while his brother's car zoomed past to the finish line. Kaoru laid on the pity but couldn't keep the grin from his face, "oh no, what's wrong Hikaru? Did you not see that corner there?"
Hikaru glared at his brother, fire raging in his eyes at the sight of his brother's smirk. "Kaoru…"
"Yes Hikaru?" Kaoru said, his grin growing larger.
Hikaru continued to glare at his brother. "…that was ingenious!" Hikaru's scowl melted away as he let out a laugh, and soon his brother joined him. All at once Hikaru's laughter stopped. "But you still cheated so you have to play a penalty game."
Kaoru's laughter ceased as well, but not for long as Hikaru's fingers began to flow over his body tickling him. Kaoru's laughter grew louder and before long his sides began to burn. "Stop." But as expected Hikaru kept tickling him.
"Sto…"Kaoru could barely laugh out words, he needed to get away. He swatted his brother's hands away and launched himself off of the couch. He watched as Hikaru's eyes followed him and fixated on him as if he was prey. Kaoru feigned left before running off to the right of the couch and out of the room, he could hear his brother laugh as he leapt over the back of the couch and gave chase. Kaoru let out a laugh, it had been ages since his brother and he had had as much fun as this.
Maids and other staff jumped out of the way of the rushing Hitachiins before giving them a smile, as the significance of such actions between the twins was not lost on them. Kaoru came to a sudden stop at his door and he began to frantically open the door. But he was too slow. He felt his brother's hands on him once again and felt the laughs forcing their way out of his body. Kaoru finally managed to fling the door open and slip away from his brother. Kaoru tried to close the door behind him but it bounced off of Hikaru's well placed foot. The younger of the twins began back stepping away from his brother, "I give up Hikaru. No more."
"Now what kind of penalty game would it be if you could just quit?" Hikaru responded moving closer.
"Hikaru" whined the younger twin, but not even that abated his hungry brother.
Hikaru lunged forward and placed his hands on his brother. Kaoru let out a slight yelp but soon uncontrollable laughter poured from Kaoru as his older twin's fingers rubbed over his skin. "Hikaru I mean it." Kaoru was finally able to laugh out. But his effort was in vain as all it did was make the grin on his brother's face grow larger. "Hikaru…" Kaoru laughed out, not able to get the rest of his plea out. In an effort to get away from his brother's tickling Kaoru began to backup further. However, he had forgotten just how close he already was to the bed and stumbled backwards. In his attempt to stay upright, the young red head clasped onto his brother, who due to the surprise lost his balance as well, sending both twins crashing onto the bed.
Kaoru looked up; his brother was mere inches away. He could feel his brother's breath against his neck. Kaoru stared into his brother's amber's eyes, trying to predict where this sudden twist was going. Hikaru's mouth moved closer and Koaru's already racing heart picked up speed. Hikaru's lips prepared to meet their twins. Instead Hikaru felt his brother's arms push him forcibly away. Hikaru staggered into a standing position and glared at his brother, "what was that for?"
Kaoru glared right back at his brother and climbed off of bed, "Get a grip Hikaru."
"I thought I had." Hikaru responded. "Is this not what you wanted?"
"No…yes…" Kaoru stammered, "Not yet!"
Hikaru's hunched an eyebrow, "what do you mean not yet?"
"You just don't get it do you?" Kaoru growled.
"Apparently not, because you won't tell me what I did wrong." Hikaru defended.
Kaoru shook his head and walked to the door, "get a clue Hikaru."
Hikaru watched as his brother walked out of the bedroom. The door closing wasn't the only thing that clicked, as something clicked in Hikaru's head as well. He leapt out of bed and chased after his brother. "You're still mad at me?"
Kaoru huffed, "You do have a brain after all."
"I thought we were over that."
"We are…I'm…" Kaoru sighed and looked down the hall to see if anyone was there. "You're the best brother anyone could ask for Hikaru. You're a great friend to me also. But as far as whatever 'it' is between us, you suck."
Hikaru blinked at his brother.
"You think that these few days of apologies and charming actions make up for months of your torture? I wanted you Hikaru. I trusted you Hikaru. I loved you. Then you threw all that away. You berated me and you belittled the feelings that we shared. Do you have any idea how many nights I cried myself to sleep? Do you know how many times I cried and with no one to hold as I tried to think about how we could be together? How many times I thought that if I had just said one thing different, or just done something else, that we would be together. But we're not. My heart died every time it thought of you since then. Now you think you can just have all that you purposefully threw away back whenever you want it?" Kaoru said firmly. "As if."
Hikaru took a step closer to his brother. "Honestly how long are you going to keep hanging all that over me? You may not think so, but I do know that I caused you pain, more than I can ever realize. So that's why I keep apologizing because I know that I hurt you so badly."
Kaoru matched his brother's step and jabbed him in the chest with his fingers. "That's right, you don't know how much I hurt. When I fall asleep next to you, I dream that when I wake up that you will be gone and these past few weeks have just been my imagination. My heart wants to forgive you but it's been so beaten and abused that I'm reluctant to allow it. And while I do want to forgive you I still want to yell at you. I want to scream at you. I want to hit you. I'm still so angry at you Hikaru. I'm angry at how you acted. I'm angry at all the words you said. I'm angry at you for all the self-doubt. I'm angry with myself over how much I let you break me down. I'm angry at myself that I let my brother leave so easily. And I'm angry that I'm so angry. So that's why I'm going Hikaru. I'm still hurt and I'm still angry. So why don't you just go back to being a dick for a night and just leave me alone?" Kaoru took a deep breath after such a rant, but soon found the air being forced from his lungs as his brother wrapped an arm around the back of his head and another around his body as Hikaru pulled him close.
Before Kaoru could offer any protest, Hikaru's lips were pressed against his. Hikaru's lips received a chilly reception in return. Kaoru's arms flailed about in an effort to remove Hikaru's mouth from his own. One hand found its way to Hikaru's head where it grabbed a tuft of hair and pulled, resulting in a yelp of surprise then a moan of pleasure being released from Hikaru's mouth into his brother's.
Kaoru felt his resolve begin to slip, it had been months since he had felt those lips against his own, and it was something that had been on his mind ever since they had. Yet he wasn't so quick to give into such desires, so he pulled on the hair clenched in-between his fingers once again. This time he was successfully able to pull his brother away from himself. Kaoru looked at his brother, he saw how his brother was taking deep breaths, he saw how his brother had passion burning in his eyes, and he saw how even now his brother's lips rested mere inches away.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kaoru objected.
"When are you going to let this go? Would you rather hold onto this anger and hate, or would you rather give all that up just to feel whole again? I know you feel whole, you feel completed when we touch, when there's nothing between us but us. I feel it too. Being with you and just simply touching you gives me a feeling unlike anything else in this world. I feel whole, like I've finally been completed." Kaoru's struggle with his brother slowed to a stop but the serious look upon his face remained. Hikaru knew he was making progress, he just needed to continue, "and besides my darling brother, I believe you are forgetting something."
Kaoru's face softened as an eyebrow rose, "like what?" he muttered.
Hikaru pulled his head free of his brother's grasp and moved in close to his brother's ear. "I know you are upset, I know that you are still in pain. But you forget something Kaoru..." Hikaru grinned as he could see and feel the way his younger brother squirmed once Kaoru felt the hot breath against his ear and neck. "I can kiss away your pain." Hikaru said latching his mouth onto the lobe of Kaoru's ear.
Kaoru clenched his hands against his brother's back and buried his face into the nook of his brother's neck and breathlessly whispered, "Hikaru".
That was all the older brother needed, he slipped the earlobe out of his mouth, gingerly lifted his brother's head from his shoulder and guided his lips to where he knew his brother's lips awaited him. Hikaru softly pressed his lips against his brother's, and felt his chest swell when he felt his brother's lips move against his own. And even though he couldn't see it, he knew his brother was trying to smile.
While it technically was a smile, it was contested between his heart and his body. His body was happy to once more feel the heat and the rush from having contact with its twin, yet Kaoru's heart still stung and urged his lips to protest once more. Having his words blocked by his brother's lips presented two problems for Kaoru. The first was that he could no longer verbally communicate. The second was that with every second he could feel his brother's warm lips against his own, his resolve weakened. He could feel the last wall of resistance crumbling and had to act quickly. He let his legs go, dropping him down and out of his brother's grasp, and then quickly skirted to the side. "You're not getting what you want Hikaru. Kaoru shouted then began to walk back to his bedroom. "Not this time."
"Where are you going?" Hikaru cried out.
"To my bedroom. You should go to yours." Kaoru snapped back
"Kaoru…" Hikaru's said as he watched his brother walk away. After a few minutes of standing in the hall, waiting to see if his brother returned Hikaru admitted defeat and went to his bedroom.
Hikaru flopped down on his bed. He growled into the large spongy mass he called a mattress, as he was pissed that his brother had rejected him and pissed that he had tried to force himself on Kaoru as he had. Yet, at the same time he knew what he brother said was the truth. He still wasn't the greatest boyfriend that someone could ask for. To prove it, he knew something needed to be done, he just didn't know what.
Kaoru threw himself into his office chair with a groan as the thoughts of what had just occurred buzzed through his head. Then he took a deep breath to try to recollect the breath that his brother had stolen from him. He folded his arms onto the desk and dropped his head onto them. When did his feelings get so confusing? While he knew he was still upset with his brother he couldn't deny that the kisses riled him up and made him crave more. But if those kisses felt so great, why did he grow so angry with his brother when he kissed him? Was it that Hikaru seemed to just want to jump to the physical relationship without investing anymore in emotions and romance? But if that was the case, would that not be typical of his brother? And if he was upset at Hikaru for being his typical self of wanting to skip to the 'fun' would that mean that he was no longer accepting of the way his brother was?
Kaoru let out another groan. One thing he did know was that he couldn't be angry at his brother for being so irrational when it came to their relationship, as he now understood that there was nothing rational about their feelings for one another. But still Kaoru tried thinking about the future. Were they doomed to repeat this self-defeating dance of back and forth or was some way they change the music and dance close together till the final note played?
The next morning as Haruhi walked into the classroom she saw the twins both at their desks. She smiled at seeing them in the same room without arguing. Except she noticed something was wrong. The room was silent. A silent room with the Hitachiin twins present was never a good sign. They were either up to something or they were fighting. She stopped at her desk and eyed it carefully, hoping it was the silence before a trap. It was then that Haruhi noticed the twins were not looking at each other or the desk, a sure sign it was not a trap waiting to be sprung. "Please tell me that this is all just an act this morning." She said eyeing the twins, hoping that it was a trick of another kind. The twins stared back at her out of the corner of their eyes but said nothing. Haruhi's chipper face turned sour, "Come on guys you two just made up. How are you two fighting again so soon?"
"Why don't you just ask Hikaru? Oh wait, you can't because he doesn't understand!" Kaoru fired off.
Hikaru huffed, "I get it Kaoru, you're still angry but what I don't get is why you're holding onto it."
"Maybe because it was the only thing I had to hold onto for the past few months Hikaru." Kaoru sneered.
Hikaru opened his mouth to fight back but instead closed his mouth and looked away from his brother.
Haruhi slumped her shoulders as it was back to the long dark days of the twins' feud.
Another night alone found Kaoru staring up at his ceiling. Could it be that he no longer loved his brother like he once had? He was sure there had been a day in the past when he would have forgiven his brother for anything that he had done, but now he wasn't sure. Was all he felt for his brother now simply a perverted mixture of hate and lust? Kaoru shuttered at the thought and rolled over onto his side and stared at the empty space on the other side of the bed. He hoped that there was still love somewhere in his heart; he just needed to remember where to look. Perhaps it wasn't his brother after all. Perhaps it was he himself that was unable to forgive.
It was since the brothers' conflict in the hall that meals were once again awkward as the twins sat across from each other once more and didn't willingly engage in conversation with each other, facts that didn't go unnoticed by their parents who once more felt the cracks appearing in the family. While they knew that asking or pressing their sons for answers would only cause more stress between them, they made their worries and their feelings known to their sons in other ways, and just as in the past, they were completely ignored.
By the fourth day Haruhi couldn't stand it anymore. So instead of eating her lunch she spent her time tracking down Hikaru. "What is going on with you two? Things finally looked like they were getting better then out of nowhere you two began fighting again."
"Why are you asking me this and not Kaoru? I want to get back with him. It's not my fault that he won't let go of what happened." Hikaru said.
"Have you given him any reason to?" Haruhi asked.
Hikaru was taken aback that his friend would ask such a question. "Of course I have. I've said that I was sorry countless times. He just refuses to listen."
Haruhi sighed and rested her head in her hand. "I mean something more than that, something to actually let him know that you actually mean that you are sorry."
"I've said I was sorry, what else is there to do?" Hikaru responded.
It was hard to believe that Haruhi was still learning new things about her friends after nearly two years. But there she was, in awe about the eldest Hitachiin twin's ignorance of apologizing. Yet if she thought of it she would understand that being part of a rich, famous and influential family meant never having to say you are sorry. Hikaru really didn't know how to apologize. If he didn't know how to apologize what other life lessons had passed him by?
"Actions can speak louder than words. You need to prove to him that you are sorry. He's still hurting, Hikaru, you need to comfort him and let him know that things will be different, that you really are sorry for what you did and not just saying it to get back with him. You have to remind him why he was so madly in love with you in the first place."
"Just tell me what to do Haruhi and I'll do it." Hikaru demanded.
"Sorry Hikaru, but if Kaoru is going to accept it, it needs to come from your heart not mine." Haruhi said.
Hikaru let out a huff and stormed away as Haruhi looked on, hoping that her friends would finally get out of their own way.
Late that night Hikaru knocked on his brother's bedroom door.
"What do you want Hikaru?" Called his brother's voice.
"How did you know it was me?" Hikaru asked.
"No one else would be so self-centered as to think that just because they're up at an ungodly hour means that everyone else is awake also." Kaoru replied.
"But you are awake." Hikaru pointed out.
The door cracked open. "What do you want Hikaru?"
Hikaru looked at his brother coldly, "I want my shampoo."
"Couldn't this have waited till tomorrow?" Kaoru asked pulling a hand over his tired face.
"Not if I want to keep my hair looking good." Hikaru grinned.
Kaoru knew that his brother already had shampoo otherwise he would have come days earlier, but he also knew better than anyone else that his brother wouldn't stop pestering until he got his way. So with a groan he opened his door up further. "I'll go get it for you. Last thing I need is you taking my shampoo instead." And with that Kaoru marched into the bathroom. When he returned a minute later however, his bedroom was empty and the door closed. Kaoru glanced around but his brother was nowhere to be found. Kaoru let out a growl of frustration and slammed the bottle of shampoo down on his desk; he had been played by his brother yet again. As Kaoru turned to go back to his bed to calm down and get some much needed sleep, something caught his eye on the desk. Something that he hadn't placed there, and yet it was something that wasn't there a few minutes prior. Kaoru turned back around and looked, it as an album with a small note attached to it saying, "For Kaoru"
Kaoru stared at the album, studying it and trying to decide if he wanted to open it. He was unsure what it could be filled with, and knowing his brother it could be anything. Kaoru sat down in his chair and with great reluctance opened the album. Right away he saw a picture of Hikaru and himself waving at the camera from aboard the yacht as they disembarked at the beginning of the previous summer.
Kaoru began to flip through the pages and realized it was a scrapbook of their trip. It had pictures of them sailing, of him cooking, of them swimming as well as pictures of him 'sleeping'. On the last page Kaoru's breathing faltered as he saw a picture of him picture of Hikaru and himself standing on the peer next to each other preparing for their trip; they both had an arm slung around each other's neck and large cheesy grins on their faces which were squeezed against each other. To add to the page there were other smaller pictures of them together holding hands, one picture of every year leading up to the present. With the words, "My Darling Brother, together we are one" on it. Kaoru felt a swelling in his chest as he stood up from the desk. He rushed out of his bedroom and ran down the hall and knocked on his brother's door.
A moment later a groggy eyed Hikaru opened the door, "Kaoru, who's the self-cent…" Any further words were lost in his brother's lips as they were pressed firmly against his brother's. Hikaru was caught off guard, not only by the suddenness of the kiss but by the ferocity of it as well. He had forgotten just how quickly his brother's delicate lips could become weapons of passion. He felt his brother's tongue wiggle its way through their lips and as suddenly as he opened his mouth Kaoru's tongue probed deep into it. Hikaru's tongue was slow to react but soon it was wrestling with its identical counterpart. But as the twins had learned, all good things must come to an end, and thusly their kiss did as well, leaving them both panting and gasping for air.
"Thank you Hikaru." Kaoru managed to gasp out.
Hikaru smiled at his brother and pulled him close and wrapped his arms snuggly around him. They rested their foreheads against one another and rubbed noses as large smiles grew on the faces.
The twins climbed into bed and moved to the middle of the bed. As they embraced Kaoru smiled at his brother. "You know Hikaru, you don't have to wear your pajamas if you don't want to."
A grin sprouted on Hikaru's face, "Kaoru is this your way of coming onto me?"
Kaoru giggled, "In your dreams. I just want you to be comfortable."
"Fine, if I have to..." Hikaru replied in a playful whine. As he began to get comfortable he noticed that his brother began to strip out of his pajamas as well. Hikaru's heart began to beat harder as started to believe that his brother had lied to him. However his fantasies soon came crashing down when he saw that his brother remained in his underwear. Hikaru let out a content breath. While it certainly wasn't the next step, it was moving back to a place where they already had been, and Hikaru was alright with that.
When they finished they moved back to the middle of the bed once more. This time when they embraced their bare skin pressed up against each other, exchanging warmth, feeling each other's smooth skin and sending shivers down their spines. As they laid there Hikaru began to notice that his brother's cheeks were warming up, becoming hot to the touch. "Kaoru, are you blushing?"
Kaoru mumbled a response.
"Even in the dark that's cute." Hikaru cooed.
"Hikaru…" Kaoru whined quietly. His older brother gave a chuckle before placing his lips on him, giving him a gentle reassuring kiss.
"Goodnight Kaoru." Hikaru whispered.
"Goodnight Hikaru." Came the reply.
The two brothers nestled against each other. Kaoru gave a hum of satisfaction at his brother's warmth. He had missed holding his brother like this, and it was just returning to him how much he had enjoyed it.
When Hikaru awoke the next morning he still had a smile on his lips. He began to stretch out like he always did; hoping that his mornings alone were gone. His wish came true as his hands met a soft resistance.
"Oww!" Kaoru groaned sleepily, "watch where you put your hands."
Hikaru's eyes shot open, "Kaoru, you're here."
"Yeah, I thought you established that when you whacked my nose." Kaoru responded rubbing his sore face.
"Sorry." Hikaru said sheepishly. He then leaned over and kissed his brother's nose, which received a giggle from his younger brother. "Better?"
"Better." Kaoru replied.
Later that morning Haruhi walked into the classroom and saw Hikaru sitting in her seat next to Kaoru. The twins stopped their conversation and looked at her. Hikaru began to stand up as she drew near. "There's no need to get up Hikaru." Haruhi said, glad to see that the twins were back together and did not want to take any chance of them separating.
"Well, I am in your seat. It would be difficult if we both tried to sit here." Hikaru said.
"Gees, Haruhi, I've always been told you were the smart one." Kaoru teased his friend.
"I suppose you could always sit on my lap." Hikaru said slyly.
"Hikaru…" Kaoru whined with jealousy at his brother's suggestion.
The older twin gave off a playful chuckle as he stood up and moved from Haruhi's seat then moved to his old desk beside her's. Haruhi gazed at her desk. "Alright guys. What did you do to it?"
"Who, us?" Hikaru asked innocently.
"We didn't do anything." Kaoru assured her.
"You two seemed rather eager for me to have my seat. I'm not falling for one of your tricks." Haruhi told the twins.
"We didn't do anything to your desk Haruhi, we promise. You can relax." Kaoru reassured her.
"You two were talking about something and then stopped when I came in, don't you think that seems a little suspicious?" Haruhi asked.
Hikaru laughed and Kaoru blushed slightly. As Hikaru's laugh wound down he said, "What makes you think we were conspiring against you?"
Haruhi ignored the elder brother's tone of superiority and responded with question of her own, "What else would you two be talking about in here, then stop talking about as soon as I walked into the room?"
The twins exchanged knowing glances before Hikaru began, "Well Haruhi, it started with the planning of taking Kaoru's tie from around his neck and tying his hands behind his back to the chair with it. Then I'd slowly unbut…"
"Forget I said anything." Haruhi pleaded, clasping her hands over her ears.
"You asked, so I was just giving you the details." Hikaru explained with a large grin on his face. He then looked at his brother, whose cheeks were red yet instead of gazing out the window as he normally would hav, he had his gaze fixated on his brother. Kaoru then mouthed the words, "later" followed by a blown kiss.
Haruhi's head thunked against her desk, glad that the twins were finally happy but it was difficult to be too happy for them when they used their rekindled relationship, not to their own benefit like any other couple would do, but instead using it as another weapon in their arsenal to toy with her.
Author's Notes: Just as I was going to post what was going to be the longest chapter I realized that the last part of it didn't have to be attached, so it got attached to next week which makes it a decent length. YAY! Then I felt that it didn't flow right and moved it back. So the next chapter is back to being short. BOO!
Anyways I'd like to say that I finished one of my oneshots over the weekend and added to all my other stories. I was productive for a change. So the week following Aftermath's conclusion I will post a new oneshot of twincesty goodness, so keep an eye open for a story called "A Stormy Night at the Hitachiin Estate". Sadly that is as much as I have completed as of now. I have decided to only post stories that are completed as it is the only way to guarantee that they ever will be. I've hated to stop posting to a story for whatever reason and then leave the readers hanging. It is not fair to you who have invested so much time and emotion into reading the story. So I feel like this will help protect you(the reader) as well as give you a better quality story as it will be edited and flushed out, much like this story hopefully has seemed (maybe less so here at the end because it didn't have 10 months of the process). I'll try to update my profile weekly to keep everyone informed about story progress.
AnimeFreaksAreBetter/Officially-Mrs. Trancy: You are very welcome.
Daringly Delightful: Happy feelings are nice. :) I'm glad I was able to give them to you.
Ratty4949: Well pick up the book mister and get to reading because now you have a napkin. Or I suppose you can just wait till next week and I'll give whatever comes next to you anyways. But then I'd feel like I would be forcing it upon you instead of you asking for it. It would be a slightly different story if it was "If you force a cookie upon a mouse". Oh, and you totally made my week when I saw that you were even entertaining the idea of writing a fanfic of Quincy and Hibiki. Go right ahead, you already have one eager and excited reader right here. If I can be of any help just let me know.
EternalFalsity: Updates make your day and reviews make mine. :) Also, sometimes I wonder if you are in my head. I've thought about the twins returning as well but decided against it for a reason I can't even remember now. Which now is coming along in my head as a few bonus chapters down the line. This has turned into another story that is very tempting to write a spin-off of just to expand side characters as people seem to like them. Yet I'm hesitant because the last one stalled 2/3 of the way through and the rest is just sitting in my computer in the form of notes.
LadyKayla: Well weekly updates were one benefit of having written 90% of the story before I started posting it. So while it will be a short while before my next lengthy story will come out, I feel it works better than sporadic updates. Now if only I could keep myself to posting on the same day every week instead of moving from Sunday, to Saturday, to Friday, to Thursday and now to Wednesday.
BlueMoonKittyKitty: Sorry about the heartache, but I suppose that is a sign of a job well done. I know how you feel though, so I try to toss in some comedic/light hearted things in every chapter. Thank you for the complement as well.