Hikaru's tongue had just begun to trace a teasing trail down his brother's chest when the knock at the door came – followed immediately by a familiar blond head poking through the now-open portal.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, do you have a min – ohmygodI'msosorry!" The door shut and the twins looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Buttoning his pants, Kaoru – still chuckling – made his way over and opened the door, leaning against the frame and smirking at the blushing Host King.

"You know, Boss, that's why we try and tell you to wait for one of us to open the door."

"I am so sorry," Tamaki said again, but Kaoru waved it off. By this point Hikaru had made himself presentable once more and joined his twin in the doorway.

"So did you want something...or were you just planning to take us up on our offer?" The blond looked as flustered as they had ever seen him but to his credit he stood his ground, clearing his throat as he spoke.

"I, um...I wanted to talk to you. Both of you." Sharing a grin the twins stepped aside and bowed.

"Welcome to our humble cabin," they intoned with regal dignity, a vocal expression made all the more mocking by the grins they still sported. Looking far less composed than he probably wanted to, nevertheless Tamaki stepped inside and they closed the door behind him. He stood in the center of the room and stared at the floor, obviously still embarrassed. Kaoru took pity on him.

"Have a seat, Boss," he said, gesturing to the comfortable armchair. As he took the seat offered, his redhead hosts plopped down on the bed, leaning against each other and regarding him through languid amber eyes. He cleared his throat again, but though his cheeks were still pink his voice was steady when he spoke.

"First off, I want to apologize."

"No biggie," Hikaru said with a wicked smile. "After all, we did invite you to watch." Tamaki shook his head.

"Not about tonight – though I am sorry for that as well."

"What, then?" they asked. The blond looked down at his hands.

"For hitting you two. The other day. I...I don't know what happened. I never lash out like that. And I never, ever would want to hurt either of you. I am so very very sorry it went as far as it did, and I hope you will – if not forgive me, then at least accept my apology." The room was totally silent. It was obvious the Hitachiins had never planned to bring the incident up but now that it was mentioned, seeing the chagrin, shame, and regret in those violet eyes that were looking at them so sincerely forced them to admit they had their own apologies to make.

"We're sorry, too," they said quietly.

"For what?" their guest asked, visibly confused. They sighed in unison, but Hikaru let Kaoru take the lead in the conversation.

"We kind of pushed the issue, you know. With our comments," the younger explained. "We shouldn't have said a lot of the things we did – we knew it would upset you." They, too, were rather embarrassed by their actions and it showed in their expressions. For a long while there was silence in the room, none of the three knowing what to say, what to do.

"I...I don't think of Haruhi as my daughter, you know. Not really." The admission was so quiet they almost didn't hear it.

"We know," they said just as softly.

"You do?" Tamaki sighed. "Everyone does, I suppose." The twins nodded; the blond slumped further into the chair.

"Does Haruhi know?" he asked the carpet. The two on the bed shared a glance before answering.

"We don't think she does," Kaoru hedged.

"She notices even less than you do sometimes – and that's saying a lot," Hikaru followed. Tamaki leaned his head back, fingers tracing idly over the arms of the chair.

"Well that's something, at least." He lapsed back into silence and the mirror image devils had one of their wordless conversations before deciding to ask what was really on their minds.

"Tono – what about Kyoya?" Violet eyes snapped open in shock.

"You...you know about..?" They just nodded, though a trace of sheepishness entered their expressions. "How?"

"It's been pretty clear how you felt for a while now," Kaoru said hesitantly, wondering exactly how much to reveal. Hikaru, however, didn't seem to have engaged the same brain-to-mouth filter.

"Plus we were out...taking a walk last night, and ended up going past your cabin window." Kaoru winced as their guest sat straight up and fixed them with a gaze that seemed to pack indignation, surprise, and worry into one powerful look.

"You...you..." He didn't seem to know how to respond and Kaoru, ever the peacemaker, shot his brother a glare before speaking.

"We didn't plan to, honestly," he said reassuringly. "We just couldn't sleep, so we decided to go walk in the rain like we used to when we were little. It was a total accident we walked past your window on our way back."

"Did you see...anything?" the blond asked cautiously, as though he wasn't certain he wanted to hear the answer. This time there was no need for a shared glance between the twins.

"No, not really," they declared firmly. Tamaki's sigh of relief was nearly explosive. He turned pleading eyes to them.

"Kyoya and I...please don't mention any of this. It's still kind of, well really..."

"New?" they asked. He nodded, beginning to babble in his haste to make them understand.

"Exactly. He's still adjusting – well, we both are. We're not sure where this is going. And when you add in the fact that we're both in love with Haruhi as well, Kyoya – well, he's not having an easy time, realizing that you can love more than one person at the same time, even though I've tried to explain that a person's heart has room for so much more...but then, you two know what I mean, right? What with your own bond and your feelings for Haruhi as well..." He broke off, seeing their incredulous expressions. "What? What is it?"

"You've never talked with us like this before," they said.

"Like what?" Tamaki asked, perplexed.

"Like what we think matters," Hikaru said bluntly. The Host King looked utterly flabbergasted.

"Of course you two matter! I wouldn't have asked you to join the Club if you didn't matter!" The sincerity with which he spoke rendered the Hitachiins speechless for a long moment. When it became obvious they weren't going to break the silence, Tamaki continued.

"You're family – we're all family. At least that's how I see it." He spoke softly, belatedly realizing that not all of his friends might have a similar opinion of what constituted 'family'. In fact, as he watched the faces of the two beautiful rascals before him, seeing them process his words, he came to the conclusion that indeed he may be the only person to hold his opinion. The thought made him feel worse than he already did.

"You really do see us all that way, don't you? As family?" Kaoru asked almost reverently. The princely one shrugged and nodded.

"Yes. I do." It was quiet once more until the oldest of the twins began to snicker.

"So if we're all family, and you're Daddy and Kyoya is Mommy..." he trailed off, chuckling wickedly. Tamaki regarded him curiously, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes?" he asked. Hikaru grinned.

"I just didn't picture Kyoya as a bottom, that's all."

"Well, he hasn't yet – HEY!" the blond shouted indignantly while Hikaru collapsed backwards in a fit of laughter. Kaoru, himself chuckling, was nonetheless more sympathetic to the plight of the now red-faced King and decided to interject.

"Ignore him, Boss," Kaoru soothed. "He's just jealous 'cause you're banging the Shadow King." Two sets of eyes met his outwardly calm gaze – amber ones wide with disbelief, violet ones with surprise. "What?" he asked them innocently.

"Kaoru!" his twin hissed.

"Hikaru?" the blond asked, amazement in his voice. Hikaru turned a shocked, guilty face towards their guest. And like a good little instigator Kaoru simply leaned back on his hands and watched, looking for all the world like the cat that ate the canary. The other two regarded each other carefully. Tamaki couldn't seem to figure out what, if anything, to say, and it was obvious that his continued silence was making the elder twin twitchy. Finally Hikaru burst out speaking, shattering the silence.

"It's not like I want to date him or anything – but he's hot and I wouldn't mind taking him to bed." Upon finishing that sentence it seemed his mind finally caught up with what his mouth had just admitted and he flushed a bright enough red to put his brother's well-known blushes to shame. Tamaki, looking more stunned than Kaoru had ever seen him, just stammered out whatever wandered through his brain.

"I...Kyoya, he – well, I thought you were more of a pitcher and he, he isn't very submissive, and...I mean..." Kaoru couldn't help but laugh at how shaken they both were. It wasn't often he got the chance to play devil's advocate of his own accord – he usually followed his brother's lead, after all – and he found he was enjoying himself immensely.

"Oh, that's okay, Boss. Hika can be very...accommodating." He drawled the last word with a smooth insolence that made the innuendo less of a hint and more of a description.

"Really? But I thought you..." The Host King trailed off, unsure how to address the usually quieter twin. Kaoru smiled and stroked his hand down his brother's arm, watching as their flustered guest followed the movement with his eyes.

"We don't really follow set roles like most people assume. Not when it's just the two of us," the younger twin explained. "It's more, well, equal." Tamaki blinked.

"So it's...there are...I don't even know what I'm saying," he muttered, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands. By this point Hikaru had recovered from his near-aneurysm and after shooting his sibling a look that promised horrid, horrid payback turned his attention to the confused and worried blond.

"Boss, if you wanna, I dunno, talk or whatever...well, we can listen." It was Kaoru's turn to goggle at his brother, who just shrugged. He didn't know where the impulse towards generosity had come from either but it felt...right, somehow, to offer to help. Seriously, who else did the lonely prince have to turn to that might even come close to understanding what he was going through? The prince in question looked up, hesitant and almost scared, and the two on the bed could see just hoe much his entire situation had thrown him for a loop. Seeing the normally confident and vivacious King so shaken and unsure thrummed something deep within the two of them, something not quite like understanding and not quite like compassion yet at the same time it was a little like both. Reflexively Hikaru reached out and threaded his fingers through Kaoru's, remembering how hard it had been when it was all new and strange and wonderful to them as well.

"I – I don't even know what..." Tamaki murmured. "I mean, I...really, how...what..?"

"It's okay," Kaoru said in a calming voice. "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"But I do!" Tamaki protested. "I mean this is all so...it's...well, so different from what I'd imagined." His masks were down now, and they could see how shell-shocked he really was.

"It usually is," the younger twin murmured. Neither redhead planned to push the issue. If Tamaki wanted to talk he would. Still, they did have one question they felt okay about asking.

"So how long have you and Kyoya officially been together?" they asked. A small smile appeared on the blond's face.

"Believe it or not, it all happened the day that the three of us fought. He came to my home to find out what had happened and, well..."

"Really?" Hikaru seemed a bit curious but Kaoru found he could understand. He knew how high his and Hikaru's emotions had been running when they left the school that day. If they were that upset, he could imagine that Tamaki's feelings and thoughts were all over the place.

"Yeah," their fearless leader said. "It was – it was completely unexpected. I actually thought he might just leave in the morning, just try to forget it all happened."

"Not a chance, Boss," the elder said. "You haven't been the only one guilty of staring. I'm just surprised he admitted it. His family is not gonna be happy when they find out." The Host King blinked for a minute, raking his fingers through his hair as he apparently debated whether or not to say something, but in the end he just nodded as he replied.

"We've talked about that a bit. That's the other reason I'd like to ask you not to say anything. Kyoya has some...plans...for after graduation -"

"No surprise there," Kaoru broke in with a grin.

"True," Tamaki said fondly. "But if any of this comes out before then...I don't know how much it would disturb what he's got set up."

"We won't say anything," they promised readily, both of them thoroughly cognizant of the various needs for secrecy. Their guest's expression was nothing short of blissfully grateful.

"I...thank you, you two. Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

"You've kept our secret," Hikaru said reasonably, his brother following as usual.

"We'd be real bastards not to keep yours." It fell quiet again, but this time it was rather comfortable. Tamaki seemed to finally relax a bit, the tension he'd been carrying slowly sliding away. The same could be said of the Hitachiins and Kaoru – as usual the most emotionally observant – couldn't help but comment.

"I didn't realize how much it was really still bothering me – our altercation, you know?" The other two looked at him with considering expressions before nodding their agreement.

"Again, I am so sorry," Tamaki said. "And I am so thankful you guys were willing to hear me out rather than just shutting the door in my face – though I couldn't have blamed you if you had."

"Eh, no big deal, Boss," Hikaru said casually, still not quite sure how to deal with a contrite Tamaki. The blond shook his head.

"But it is, at least to me. You two have no problems keeping to yourselves. I was afraid that I might have driven you away." They blinked at him and he shrugged. "You have to admit that you guys aren't the easiest to befriend." His tone turned teasing. "Don't think I've forgotten the task you set me as your condition for joining the host club."

"Well," they said reasonably, "why should we be willing to be a part of any group if they won't make an effort to see us for who we are?"

"I agree. And while I still have a hard time telling you two apart all the time, that usually only lasts until you start talking." He grinned at their expressions of mock outrage and started to chuckle. Soon the mischievous duo joined in and the last of the dark feelings were banished by the emergence of a friendship stronger for having survived conflict.

"Enter." Kyoya was sitting at the table, eyes fixed firmly on his laptop screen when the eldest host walked into the cabin. One look at the Shadow King's visage told Honey all he needed.

"So you know then," he stated simply, sitting on the foot of the bed and regarding Kyoya with an inscrutable expression."

"Leukemia." Kyoya finally looked up. "Haruhi knows, obviously. Are you the only one she's told?" The diminutive blond nodded.

"She just said it was cancer – she didn't give me any specifics. She was too upset and I didn't want to pry." The brunette nodded his understanding. "She doesn't want the others to know yet. In fact, I doubt she'll be happy once I tell her I've told you."

"To be completely honest, you didn't tell me," Kyoya pointed out, the familiar look of calculation shining in his dark eyes. Honey shook his head.

"I won't lie to her. I came here tonight to speak with you, knowing that in doing so I would be violating her trust. The fact that you already knew is completely coincidental."

"So if you know she will be upset, why say anything at all?"

"Because I love her. We all do. And she should never have to go through anything like this alone." Honey's steady gaze left no wiggle room, not even for Kyoya, and the brunette nodded his surrender to the older boy's logic before turning his attention to the matter at hand. His next words were said in an almost thoughtful tone, but Honey wasn't fooled.

"I have alerts set up in numerous ways, instructions to notify me in the event that anything comes up in the lives of various people. Yet I actually had to look for Ranka's diagnosis. This make me less than pleased. It means someone has actively looked to keep me ignorant of information." By the time he finished speaking his voice had dropped to a level as cold as Honey had ever heard it, but the smaller boy knew that the dark host was even more angry than he was letting on.

"Who would block you like that?" he asked.

"My father."

"But why?"

"What I am about to say is not to leave this room for any reason." A frozen obsidian glare left no doubt that he was serious and his guest nodded agreement.

"In his infinite wisdom my father has decided to arrange for me to become betrothed to Haruhi." Honey's eyes widened but he didn't interrupt. "This would serve several purposes. The fact that she is a commoner with no breeding or background would ensure that we would always be seen as the less socially acceptable Ootori couple. My brothers have already been promised and wed to suitable brides from more 'proper' circles. It is my father's subtle way of assuring that I will never forget my place.

"However, Haruhi herself is an exceptional young woman, and her drive and determination are characteristics that are quite desirable in my family. Having another attorney in our line would be rather well-received. And in this case her common background could potentially work in our favor as she would bring a fresh, unbiased viewpoint to certain issues my family has as of late fallen into set views about.

"It also bears mentioning that my father has been fairly intrigued by her since she stood up for me at the fair. Anything that interests him must be acquired at any cost."

"Okay," Honey said thoughtfully. "I can see all that. But why would he circumvent knowledge about her father?"

"Because as long as Ranka is alive, no amount of story-spinning or subterfuge can bypass the fact that the head of the Ootori empire approved the common-bred child of a single transvestite father as a suitable mate for his son. Third or not, my status is such that a move of that caliber would be looked at as unconscionable."

"So he's perfectly okay with letting the father of his son's future bride suffer because of social convention?" Honey's demeanor was dark, his countenance forbidding, and he only got more angered as Kyoya continued.

"Absolutely. My father did not become as successful as he is by being kind. My brothers are just as ruthless. To them, Fujioka Ryoji, also Ranka, is unacceptable simply because his lifestyle is not acceptable to our societal peers."

"That is reprehensible," the blond growled.

"Yes it is. Which is why I am going to do what I can for Ranka and for Haruhi. My father does not realize the enormity of the error he has made." The bland way he delivered that sentence did not fool the older boy in the least – not with the fury simmering in Kyoya's eyes. "You see, not only am I...fond...of Haruhi, I've become rather close to her father as well. Ranka has become someone I can trust. And for daring to harm either of them, even through inaction, my father will pay. And he will pay dearly."

"So what can we do?" Honey asked. Kyoya tapped away at his keyboard for a moment.

"Nothing immediately – not until we get home. However, I have requested Ranka's full medical records and any and all transcripts to be delivered to me at the school when we return, as well as digital copies to be sent to my private email – thereby keeping them far from my father's knowledge. He seems to have exerted some control over a few of my contacts, hence the halt of information. These people have been removed from my active contingent of contacts, though they will never know it - after all, a known spy is better than an unknown one. And my web spans far, far further than my sire could even begin to fathom. Once I have the records and information, I plan to speak with both Ranka and Haruhi." He looked up from his screen. "You could be an invaluable help to me, actually."

"Name it."

"Haruhi confided in you and you alone. I do not plan to mention our current conversation to anyone. What I need you to do is to speak with her again. It would make things much easier all around if she could be convinced to tell the others of her own accord."

"I'll talk to her, and see if she might be willing."

"It might also be helpful if she would be willing to announce her presence here to Tamaki – both for her sake and his." Kyoya returned his gaze to his laptop screen as though it didn't matter to him one way or another, but Honey knew better.

"I can try, but I promise nothing. I won't push her to do anything she doesn't want to do."

"I wouldn't expect you to. Now that we've covered the main topic – I believe you've dabbled a bit in the medical sciences, correct?" Honey nodded, not in the least surprised that the younger boy knew of his recreational interest in medicine and health.

"A little. My studies have mostly related to bodily injury and physical therapy, both traditional and non."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you. Look at this here..." Kyoya gestured to the screen before him and as Honey joined him the brunette began to explain his tentative thoughts. Intrigued, the shorter boy pulled up another chair and began to ask questions, the two brainstorming late into the quiet night.

Author's note: I know most of you want me to get to Mori and Haruhi and their evening together, but there are still other things brewing. Fear not - I wouldn't leave the quiet duo hanging indefinitely. *grins*