"Kaoru."

"…Yeah?"

"That was some confrontation earlier, wasn't it? I didn't expect it to go so well. For us, I mean. The boss pretty much took the beating."

"Mm-hmm."

"Kaoru."

"Nnn."

"Why is everything turning out so well?"

"…"

"Hey, are you listening to—"

"Because Kami-sama loves us! Now please, can I go back to sleep?"

But the older twin was sitting up, and the movement on the bed that they were sharing resulted in Kaoru following suit. He blinked blearily and saw his brother hugging his knees to his chest. Hikaru never did that unless he felt vulnerable, and the younger boy tried sleepily to divine what on earth could make his twin feel vulnerable at 4:15 in the morning.

"What's on your mind, Hikaru?"

"Nothing."

"Then why'd you have to go and wake me up?" Kaoru grumbled.

"I don't know," Hikaru moaned. "It's just… Gah, I can't get this… This weight off my mind. I have the weirdest feeling, like I'm forgetting something really important. Something that will affect everything once it happens."

"Yeah, because we aren't exactly facing a life-changing situation right now, are we?"

"Well… I wasn't talking about that. There's something else… Something I can't put a finger on…"

Kaoru rolled his eyes before sliding back down onto his pillow. "You need to go to sleep. Maybe you'll remember it in the morning. Besides, you shouldn't be worrying about your drama right now; don't we have to concentrate on getting Haruhi to answer our proposal?"

It took a minute for Hikaru to digest those words and for his brain to process it. He gulped. So that's what it was.

"Ne, Kaoru."

"What now?"

"When we asked her that… We weren't drunk again, were we?"

"Hmm, nope. I'm pretty sure we were sober."

"What made us ask her that, then? It was completely insane!"

His twin gave a gaping yawn before continuing to speak. "Let's see… I think I can recall someone declaring that he was a genius and introducing that half-baked idea to me. Oh right, that was you."

"Well if you knew it was half-baked all along, then why the hell did you let us follow through with it?"

Hikaru received no response, and he deduced that Kaoru had fallen back to sleep. With a weary sigh and a much more confused mind than earlier, he drifted into a slumber.

On the contrary, Kaoru wasn't asleep at all. His twin's words had done the work of a defibrillator. When he heard the gentle, even rumble of Hikaru's breath a few minutes later, he knew that the latter had finally managed to doze off.

Kaoru sat up carefully. "Now I'm the one who can't sleep. Thanks a lot."

He was reduced to mulling over the previous conversation in his head. Hikaru had struck a chord back there. The truth is, Kaoru had no idea why he had agreed to propose to Haruhi. Maybe he had said yes to the plan because he thought it was some big joke. No, he argued inwardly. That couldn't be it. He was as up for it as Hikaru was. Maybe he just wanted to do so to prove to everyone that he and his brother weren't immature twits. When he put it that way though, they sounded as rash as ever.

Was Haruhi even considering all this? She had promised, after all. But who's to say that she didn't just agree for the sake of humoring them and getting them off her back? If she did take it seriously, wouldn't that present a bigger problem? Kaoru grimaced a little. How selfish. They had put her and themselves in another tight spot by acting so recklessly. If they didn't find out who the father of the kid was in time, she would have to choose between them. That didn't sound right in more ways than one.

His conscience tingled with guilt. He didn't even know he had a conscience. He felt a hole in his stomach, and for a split second he considered running away from it all to be a completely sane option.

But then, the look on Haruhi's face earlier when she was talking to her father… It was so determined. What did she say again?

"I just want you to know that I'm not scared, and I'm not going to look back at this one day and regret it. I'm going to have this kid."

How did the girl manage to do that? How could she be so resolute about everything, so unbendable? Was she so used to life throwing hardships in her way that she had become practically oblivious to them? It then occurred to Kaoru that he and Hikaru's so-called efforts were infinitesimal compared to Haruhi's. Even if they weren't there for her support, she would probably find a way to get by. She was that stubborn. If it were anyone else but her, the situation would be far, far worse… And maybe, just maybe, that was the reason why, when it all came down to it… They were really the ones who were depending on her.

--

"Kaoru, you look terrible. Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

"Barely a wink," he told the girl, who was now leaning over him with an overly-concerned look on her face. The rest of the twins' regular clients were clumped around their couch as well.

Kaoru went on, adding quite the dramatic flair as he heaved a little sigh. "This is all your fault, Hikaru," he purred into his brother's auburn hair. "You didn't let me fall asleep for a second…"

Hikaru responded by snaking his hands around Kaoru's waist and drawing him nearer. "Why, would you rather have me let you sleep instead?"

The younger put on a well-timed blush. "Hikaru! You already know the answer to that…"

And the girls swooned relentlessly, drowning in their fantasies.

From her end of the room, Haruhi was viewing them with an expression of distaste. Until now, she had no idea how anyone could find the Hitachiins' act to be appealing in any way. But today, she found them even more unbearable than usual. Her mood swings were on the high note, and the squealing women didn't help one bit.

"Something the matter, Haruhi?" her own client asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, princess. I'm sorry, where were we?"

"Well, me and the other girls just noticed something. Please don't think of our question as an insult, but… Are you putting on weight?"

Six pairs of ears pricked up.

"Haruhi!" the twins were beside her in a heartbeat. "So you've finally decided to work out huh? Look at that, that's clearly muscle right there!"

"Wow, Haru-chan's going macho!"

The girls took pleasure with this new prospect and fawned over Haruhi, who by now had already learned to accept the way their clients' minds worked. They simply would overlook any fault the Host Club had. From Tamaki's point of view, this turned the ladies into "the innocent little angels who so freely gave us their hearts; therefore it is our sole duty to keep them in bliss." In Haruhi's opinion, the visions that ran through the girls' hormonal brains weren't likely to be innocent.

After the customers dispersed, the room finally came to a standstill. Haruhi was much relieved and she sank down into the nearest couch, but not before someone else sat there and resulted in her head landing on their laps.

Her eyes flicked up and met the Cheshire grins of Kaoru and Hikaru. She bolted up immediately.

"Ugh, what was that for?"

"To make you more comfortable, of course."

"Sorry to say this, but falling asleep on either one of you isn't really my idea of comfort."

"Now I find that hard to believe," Hikaru smirked. "Seeing as that was what got you in your position. And I think you were quite comfortable on that particular night, weren't you?"

Haruhi chose to ignore that comment.

"It was a close call earlier," Kaoru said. "The girls almost noticed. Good thing they're just about as smart as the boss. They ate up our story like mad, didn't they?"

"Well, I didn't see the point," she replied bluntly. "It was useless to cover for me. After all, Akachan's going to be pretty obvious in a month or so." She paused for a while and spoke in an undertone. "Ah, about that. I've been thinking about it."

"Thinking about what?"

"You know what. Your… proposal, of sorts."

The twins exchanged a brief glance. "What did you think?"

Haruhi cupped her chin thoughtfully. "It's a nice gesture on your part. But I think you guys just did it on a whim. You couldn't possibly be serious about wanting to marry me."

Hikaru wrung his hands nervously, not knowing what else to say. Wasn't that what he had been so troubled about earlier?

"Eh, Haruhi. Why would you think that?"

She gave that that mysterious knowing smile. "You two can't bear to be apart for each other for even a minute. Would it really be alright if something as big as a marriage got between you? It's a really big step, you know. Not something to joke about, if that's what you're trying to do."

Well, what could the boys do? It would be a cowardly thing to turn back on their word. And as mischievous as they were, the twins were still raised to be fine gentlemen.

"No," Kaoru spoke. "We know how much it's going to change things. But it'll change things for the better, right?"

"I suppose. But from what I know, marriages are based on a romantic relationship." Haruhi laughed lightly. "I don't think we have that."

Kaoru caught his brother's eye again, and the message couldn't have been clearer. We do have that, it's just pretty one-sided.

"Well, we'll see," Hikaru said brightly. "I mean, once you find out who the dad is, won't you have some kind of special link with him? I mean, you did have se—"

"And what if I don't find out?" she cut across.

"Haven't we gone over this already?"

"Yes, but it's impossible."

"You know that's not true! If anyone has enough wits to be able to choose between us, it's you, Haruhi."

"Whatever you say. But I'm not going to do it."

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Nothing."

"So what's wrong?"

She just rolled her eyes. She clearly wasn't going to give them any answers.

Hikaru stared at her. How stubborn could she get? Was it so hard to choose between him and Kaoru? She was always the one who claimed they were different. So what makes it so hard for her? "Fine! Then I guess we don't have a choice but to find out who the dad is. That way, you don't have to choose. So we have to jog your memory. Only you can really tell what happened that night, so we'll find a way to make you remember!"

"And how are you going to do that?"

"Well, for starters…" Hikaru looked questioningly at Kaoru, who gave him a look that said: Well, if we must, we must.

"It's official. You're going to live with us!"

Tamaki was there so fast, they didn't see him coming. "And who exactly gave you permission to make that decision?"

"No one," the twins replied simply.

"Kyoya!"

"No, Tamaki, I'm not interfering with their affairs anymore. You should stop as well."

Violet eyes flashed. "Why should I stop? I'm Haruhi's—"

"What?" Kyoya's glasses were glaring ominously from the light, silently daring Tamaki to speak further. "You're her what? Open your eyes, baka. You are not her father. You are merely an older schoolmate. You and everyone else in here except for the twins are in no position to arbitrate. We have no say whatsoever when it comes to decisions that affect her life. That is entirely up to her."

The speech made everyone fall silent.

Tamaki faltered. "M-Mother, I…"

Kyoya broke that sentence with his own. "Didn't you comprehend a single thing I just said?"

Haruhi felt that it was about time for her to intervene. "Hey, stop it now. There's no need to make such a big deal out of this. But Kyoya-senpai is right, Tamaki-senpai. I know you mean well, but you can't go around controlling me."

Tamaki was wide-eyed with shock. He turned to Honey, who looked away. Next, to Mori. The stoic face held nothing, but his lips opened.

"Kyoya is right."

Then the blonde looked pleadingly up at Haruhi for a minute, meeting nothing but a silent apology. He hung his head and walked quietly out of the room.

"Kyo-chan," Honey cheeped. "That was a little tough…"

The boy adjusted his glasses and resumed scribbling in his notebook. "I apologize for Tamaki. He's still not used to the idea of someone else taking Haruhi from under his nose. Someone had to rub it in one way or another."

"And it had to be you?"

"No one else was going to do it."

Haruhi sighed. "I really don't understand him sometimes. Why does he have to react like that around me?"

Behind her, the twins palmed their faces. You're just as dense as he is.

"That was a bit random," Haruhi went on.

Kaoru hummed in mock agreement. "Well, anyway. Back to topic. I'm sure your real dad will be okay with you living with us."

"I don't think…"

"So it's settled, then," Hikaru interrupted. He took her hand. "Let's go home."

"Wait," she asked. "Did I agree?"

Hikaru stopped walking. "After what you just told the boss, I was under the impression that you were up for it." His tone turned somewhat hopeful. "Didn't you just dump him for us?"

"What?!"

Listening to this, Kaoru's conscience fidgeted uncomfortably. There it was again, that feeling in the pit of his stomach… Did they really cause this mess? Was everything going to fall apart? The spell… Was it breaking?

A hand waving in front of his face brought him back down. "Earth to Kaoru! Hello, come on."

Without giving Haruhi the chance to protest further, Hikaru carried the girl downstairs and into the waiting car. Kaoru shook his head a little. Maybe he was just taking the role of being the rational one far too seriously… He grinned and ran after his brother.


A/N: There ya go! Again, nothing much happened. Kekeke, the summary made it sound a lot heavier than it really is. Really just another filler for the next chapter. As you can see, Hikaru seems to be taking things in the usual happy-go-lucky way, leaving his little bro to do much of the thinking. And poor Tamaki got officially busted when he wasn't even trying. :(

Oh well. The next chapters will most probably be about life in the mansion with the twins, where they try to get Haruhi to remember things. And since this one was mostly on Kaoru's POV, maybe I'll do one for Hikaru to even things up.

And a little more on Haruhi's dream, maybe? Hmm. We'll see. x)

l
l
V