Author's Note: Hi, y'all. Just to let you know, updates might be a little spotty. The hubby and I are seriously gearing up for Phoenix Comic Con now. For him, that means picking up the book from the printers, finishing his art prints, and doing miscellaneous little things. For me, this means crocheting little plush critters until my fingers fall off. And as I haven't been able to figure out how to crochet and write simultaneously, that means my writing is going to be limited to what I can get done in between plushieness. But I'll do my damnedest to not have too long a gap between chapters. :)
Honey walked back into the cabin he shared with Mori, his mind awhirl with everything he and Kyoya had been discussing, only to find his cousin standing perfectly still in the center of the main room. The tall host had his eyes closed and his hands hanging motionless at his sides, his breathing steady yet slightly harsh. The blond knew immediately that something was very wrong.
"Takashi?" he ventured hesitantly. At the sound of his voice the brunette's eyes snapped open and he looked down at the concerned face of his cousin. He exhaled slowly.
"I'm fine," he murmured. Honey didn't look convinced, but the next words from the stoic host froze the smaller one before he could respond.
"Go check on Haruhi."
Honey, eyes wide, registered Mori's words and was out the door like a shot. Left again in silence, the dark-haired boy closed his eyes and began his search for inner peace once more.
Giving up on the idea of sleep though it was getting fairly late, Haruhi was simply leaning back against a tree when Honey darted into the clearing. It looked like he'd been running but he wasn't out of breath.
"Haruhi!" he said, urgency in his tone as he crossed to her side, stopping her with a gesture when she would have risen and instead dropping to the ground in front of her. He gazed at her with concern. She was fairly certain she'd cleaned away the remnants of her brief cry, but by the way his eyes softened she knew he could tell anyway.
"What happened, Haru-chan?"he asked in a low voice as he reached for her hand. She shrugged nonchalantly, keeping her expression mild.
"Nothing, really," she said. "Dinner was delicious, by the way. Thanks."
"Haru...he murmured, his gaze not allowing her to look away. "Are you really going to close yourself off like this? To me?" His earnest entreaty broke her resolve to forget and she sighed but stayed quiet. Finally she spoke.
"It was...an accident, kind of."
"What was?" he asked quietly. She sighed again.
"Mori-senpai and I...well, he kissed me. And I'm pretty sure it was my fault. I just hope he's not mad at me. He ran out of here pretty fast. I...I'm worried that he won't want to, you know...be around me anymore." To her shock Honey's lips curved in an amused smile.
"You won't have to worry about that, Haru," he said with certainty.
"I hope you're right," she whispered.
"I know I am," he replied. There was silence for a while but Honey's curiosity was burbling and he had to ask.
"If he kissed you, how was it your fault?" To his amusement, she looked a bit embarrassed.
"I, um...well, I kind of sucked on his fingers." Her voice was chagrined and he could feel his eyebrows trying to climb up his forehead. Banishing the flare of jealousy that flashed through him, he let out a laugh.
"How on earth did that happen?" He watched as she turned a bit pink and listened to her halting explanations while she described how the simple act of eating dinner had morphed into so much more.
"...and then he took off out of camp and I know he was upset."
"Upset isn't the word I would have chosen," he mused, hiding his grin as the memory of his cousin's terse words and tense form began to make sense.
"What?" she asked, slightly confused. He waved it off.
"Never mind. Just trust me when I say he doesn't hate you." Her eyes weren't convinced, but she nodded anyway and he decided to change the subject from one that made her uncomfortable to one that he knew would upset her. Nothing for it now, he thought. A deep sigh was his only concession to his own turmoil.
"Haruhi?" he said softly. She looked back up at him and he felt a jolt in his soul at the knowledge that she was not going to like what he had to say. He decided it would be best done quickly.
"Haru...I told Kyoya about your dad." Her expression changed from curious to disbelieving.
"You...you told Kyoya-senpai?" Her voice was shaky. "Why? I didn't want...I..."
"Haru-chan, please just let me explain. I know you didn't want the others knowing. I can respect that. But Kyoya, with his family, his resources - if anyone could find some way to help, to do anything..." Her eyes had turned cold, distant, and she pulled her hand from his grasp. He felt his heart break a little and even though he'd been expecting it, her withdrawal burned like acid.
"Don't you think I'd thought about that already?" she hissed, all warmth gone from voice and expression. "Don't you think that he might have been the first person I thought of?"
"Then why didn't you say anything?" the blond asked hesitantly. If anything her expression became more forbidding, her voice more like ice.
"This is Kyoya. He knows everything about everyone." The pain in her voice was palpable and he knew immediately where her thoughts were running. "He probably knew before I did. And he said nothing."
"Haru-" he began, but she wasn't finished.
"That damned Shadow King has his fingers in every pie from here to America, but yet he couldn't be bothered to tell me that my father has leukemia. Instead, I had to listen to Dad's evasions and brushoffs -until I accidentally got the news from the doctor who had assumed I already knew. No, I had no intentions of ever going to Kyoya." She fairly spat the last sentence and he could feel her rage, her pain, her fear.
"Haruhi..."
"Just leave, Honey-senpai. Just go." She stood and began to walk away and though he ached at her formal address he knew he couldn't obey.
"Haruhi - he didn't know. Not until a few hours ago." She whirled around and fixed him with a skeptical glare.
"You expect me to believe that the man who has my menstrual cycles charted and my contact lens prescription memorized didn't know that my father is dying." It wasn't a question but he nodded anyway. Before he could explain she ducked into her tent and despite he wishes he followed, stopping just outside the closed flap.
"Haru, just listen. Someone blocked Kyoya's information. I can't tell you who or why, but I'm sure he would if you asked." He flopped down on the ground, stretching his legs out and leaning back on his hands. "You didn't see how furious he was when he found that the records and results of your father's medical issues had been withheld. I have never seen him so close to violence in all the years I've known him." Honey sighed. "Cold and calculating he might seem, but you know better, don't you?You know he would never have deliberately kept something like this from you. He's not a monster, Haru-chan, and he...cares for you. We all do."
There was silence for a while but before long Honey heard the unmistakeable sound of the girl he loved crying from within her tent. It shot needles of heartache through him. Unable to stop himself he gingerly opened the flap a bit and poked his head in, seeing her curled on her side on her sleeping bag, sobs wracking her body.
"Oh, Haru," he breathed. She glanced up at him, her eyes red, haunted, defeated.
"I...I just...I know Kyoya-senpai isn't that cold. But I just couldn't figure out why he didn't say anything." She was speaking through her tears and he just wanted to scoop her up, to protect her, but he knew this was one battle he couldn't fight for her.
"I'm sorry I broke your trust, Haruhi. But I felt I needed to. Whatever else can be said about him, Kyoya is in the best position to be able to help."
"I know. And I'm still mad that you broke my confidence. But I know why you did." She seemed weary now, beaten.
"I just can't stand seeing you like this. None of us can. Haruhi, you mean the world to us. Let us do what we can. Please." He watched as fresh tears began to fall from her dark eyes and figured he should probably shut up before he said something to make things worse. Clearing his throat, he prepared to take his leave.
"I, um...Haru-chan, I want you to know we're all here for you. Anything you want or need, you just have to say it." He smiled gently. "And right now you should probably get some sleep. The day will dawn brighter tomorrow, I promise." Looking her over one last time and feeling utterly useless in the face of her turmoil, he pulled his head back out of her tent. He was about to secure the flap when her soft whisper caught his ears.
"Honey-senpai?" she called on a breath. He winced against the return to the use of a title but responded evenly.
"Yes?"
"Could...would you...I mean..." She sounded unsure of something and he tucked his head back inside her tent.
"What can I do, Haru?" He watched as she took a deep breath but wouldn't meet his eyes, instead speaking to her sleeping bag.
"I don't think I can sleep. Not like this." When she looked up at him he swallowed hard. "Could you...stay with me? Just for a little bit? I don't -" She broke off and glanced down again. "I don't want to be alone right now."
His heart stopped beating. Was he forgiven that easily?
"Are you sure, Haruhi?" Her nod was slow, but certain.
"I just want to not feel alone." Gauging her sincerity, he toed off his shoes and slipped into the tent. There was a bit of shuffling but they ended up in a similar position to the one they'd napped in the day they left for the beach. He felt her sigh, felt her soft sobs still, and knew that despite what she thought exhaustion would have her asleep in minutes. Sure enough her breathing began to even out.
"Will you still be here in the morning?" she asked quietly.
"If you want me to be, I will." He felt her nod, and the wash of affection that ran through him had him tightening his arms around her shoulders. He was on the brink of sleep himself when her murmur came to him.
"Thank you...Mitsukuni."
It was a quieter Tamaki that reentered the cabin, a more thoughtful one, and though Kyoya had his own thoughts mostly monopolizing his mind he found himself rather curious as to what kind of conversation his lover could have had with the twins that would have left him so...mellow. Closing his laptop and rising from his chair, he stood as the blond approached.
"Have a good talk?" he asked mildly. Purple eyes gazed at him with an undefinable emotion in their depths.
"Kyoya, do you think of us all as a family? Or am I really the only one who sees us like that?" The Shadow King paused, the flippant reply he would normally have given eradicated by the sincerely questioning expression Tamaki wore. He kept his response short.
"I do not."
The blond visibly wilted and turned to make his way to the bed, but Kyoya reached out and placed one hand on the other boy's arm. The brunette waited until his partner had turned to meet his gaze before continuing.
"Tamaki, my family and I – well, you are aware of how we interact. As such I would never sully a single member of the Host Club by comparing them to 'family' as I have known it. They deserve far better regard than that." Tamaki's expression softened and he reached up to place his hand over Kyoya's.
"Kyoya, I..." He paused, gathering his thoughts, but when he spoke again it wasn't to complete his earlier sentence.
"Hikaru and Kaoru know. About us." The dark haired one refused to allow the worry he felt to show in either demeanor or expression as he responded calmly.
"We knew the others would learn eventually," he said.
"Yes, but...well, I talked to them. We talked together, I suppose. And they aren't going to say anything to anyone."
"Can we trust them in that?" Kyoya asked, his typical cynicism apparent. Tamaki just smiled softly.
"You know, I think we can. They...we...well, it was a good conversation."
"Very well," the youngest Ootori said.
"So, did you do anything important while I was gone?"the blond asked teasingly. Kyoya thought for a moment on how to respond.
Nothing much. Only discovered that Ranka is terminally ill, that my father has been withholding information from me; made some plans with Honey-senpai to look into what is perhaps a very radical solution – provided Ranka is agreeable – and began laying the groundwork for Haruhi's continued comfort and safety should the worst come to pass.
"Not especially," Kyoya replied as he made his way to bed.
As soon as Tamaki had left, clothes had flown around the room as the redheaded devils made up for lost time. In very short order they were sprawled together on the bed and Hikaru was making good on his promise of repayment. Kaoru simply lay back, fingers stroking through his brother's hair, moaning his appreciation of the elder twin's efforts and skill. He was already very close when Hikaru released his cock with a wet slurp and shifted to a sitting position. Dazed, painfully aroused, Kaoru turned sex-glazed eyes to his brother in shock.
"Hika?" he whimpered.
""You know, that wasn't very nice of you," Hikaru said with a smirk.
"Wha?" Kaoru's articulation had apparently been sucked away earlier.
"Telling the Boss I have a thing for Kyoya."
"But you do," the younger whispered dazedly.
"Yes, but Tama didn't need to know that now, did he?"
"Who knows – maybe he'd want to watch," Kaoru mused, slowly slipping from his lust-fogged fugue and wondering what he'd have to do to convince Hikaru to finish what he'd started.
"You little tease." Hikaru's eyes blazed. "Now you're playing with my exhibitionistic fantasies, aren't you?"
"Who's teasing? Hika, please – if anyone's teasing here it's you," Kaoru whined, pouting prettily, but the older twin's expression was nothing short of diabolical.
"I think you should apologize," Hikaru said easily.
"For what?" his brother asked, sitting up fully and glaring at him.
"For embarrassing me. For telling one of my secrets to an outsider." The tone of Hikaru's voice had changed, nearly causing Kaoru to moan out loud. That tone meant one thing – that Hikaru had decided to up the stakes in their little game. And as usual Kaoru knew exactly how to play along. He shivered in anticipation.
"Fine. I'm sorry. Now will you finish sucking my dick already? I'd like to get some sleep tonight." In a flash he was pinned to the bed, Hikaru's nude form almost but not quite brushing against his own.
"That didn't sound very sincere, Kao."
"Well then, what do you want me to do?"
"On your knees. I want you to bed for forgiveness."
With a grin quickly hidden the younger slipped out from under his brother to do as directed. One thing was certain: they may have a fairly equal partnership, but to Kaoru there was nothing in the world sexier than Hikaru taking charge.