Keep It Together (OHSHC/Hikaru Love Story)

Chapter 14

I had to admit that I did feel a bit guilty about keeping the fact that Hikaru and Kaoru weren't really fighting to myself, but I didn't want to tell the others. Plus, I already promised that I would keep it a secret. I just wasn't sure when they were going to give up the whole act, and by the looks of it, they needed to soon.

Tamaki called a meeting to discuss the twins the next day. We sat at one of the long tables and had tea as Kyoya punched numbers into the calculator. Tamaki, looking defeated, sighed and laid his head on the table. I looked away from him and pursed my lips, thinking about the information I was already aware of.

"Looking at the numbers, if the situation isn't resolved, I'm afraid we're going to have to stop offering our Brotherly Love Package. We're down one pair of loving brothers," Kyoya finally said.

I asked, "And how bad would that be for the club?"

He told me, "They were the second most-requested hosts. Even with the extra money we're getting from the customers you're bringing in, it wouldn't be enough to meet the costs. There would have to be serious budget cuts in order to stay within our more restricted budget." He looked over at Haruhi. "Oh, Haruhi, I just want you to know there's no reason for you to feel responsible. Even though it was your tactless comment that started this whole feud between the brothers in the first place, right?" I frowned. Though he clearly blamed her, it wasn't her faute. The twins had taken advantage of the situation.

Honey played with his bunny as he commented, "It's weird for Hika-chan and Kao-chan to be fighting like this. It's never happened before." Mori nodded in agreement.

Haruhi asked, "They've never fought before?"

"They definitely didn't seem like the type to," I said.

"I've known Hika-chan and Kao-chan since we were in pre-school. We weren't in the same year, so I never really got to talk to them, but I remember that the two of them always played together," Honey explained.

Tamaki moved so that he was resting his cheek against his hand, "Yeah, that's true. I mean, I've only known the twins since they were in middle school... but they definitely stood out. It seemed like they kept everyone at a distance except each other. Believe it or not, they were even more warped back then. When you stop and think about it, maybe this fight is a good thing for them. Maybe it means that the twins are expanding their horizons a bit! We should just leave them alone, and let them work it out." I grinned a bit. Even if he was irrational at times, I always loved his ability to turn things into a positive situation.

I guess I knew why the twins had been so affected by me not telling them about Eric. It was hard to imagine them being any more isolated than they already were, but if it took them a while to become as open as they were, I couldn't imagine how much it hurt them to find out I had kept a secret like that. Though, they didn't really have the right to know. I mean, I wasn't obligated to tell them anything. It was my life, after all. Remembering that, I still felt bad, and that was enough to make me regret it.

We decided not to open the Host Club that day to give the twins a bit more time to settle things, and we tried to leave them alone... for a while. When it got to the point that they had nothing left to throw at each other because it was all piled up, Tamaki had finally reached his breaking point. "Don't you guys think that maybe it's time you give up all this fighting? It's driving me insane!"